When Chris McNeill makes the syrups and shrubs that go into his hand-crafted cocktails at Marietta’s Seed Kitchen & Bar, the place smells like a spice rack.
Standing behind his bar on a recent day, he is simmering the port-and-pineapple elixir he uses to build Capture the Flag, a wonderfully complex drink that includes Maestro Dobel tequila, lemon, Amaro Ramazzotti and Mexican mole bitters.
“We like to make all of our syrups at the bar on portable burners, so when we make this one, the whole restaurant smells of pineapple-upside down cake,” he says of the syrup, which contains allspice berries, peppercorns, star anise, cloves, cinnamon sticks, vanilla bean, orange peel, brown sugar and port. Served with a chunk of pineapple that’s been caramelized in the syrup, Capture the Flag is a heady, intoxicating beverage that feels both contemporary and tropical.
McNeill, who learned the art of the bar at the old Bluepointe in Buckhead, is at the forefront of the city’s craft-cocktail movement. As anyone who has visited a restaurant lately will surely know, creative mixologists, from the Pinewood Tippling Room in Decatur to Seven Lamps in Buckhead, are making their own sodas, shrubs, syrups, bitters and tinctures to mix with whiskey, wine, bubbles and beer.
At the Pinewood, barkeep Julian Goglia pours some of the city’s most memorable and exciting cocktails. He works with surprising, arcane ingredients like bee pollen, edible orchids, roasted Georgia pecan tincture, watermelon shrub and pickled watermelon rind, among other things. Likewise, Seven Lamps’ Arianne Fielder has a rarefied arsenal of tricks, including potent potables cooked in vacuum-sealed sous-vide bags for 48 hours, slushies and beer-tails. She even makes a rye infusion with Cap’n Crunch cereal, which she turns into a slurpable dessert.
At the other end of the spectrum, Miller Union bartender Stuart White likes to keep things simple and straightforward.
White recently won the cocktail division of the JCT Kitchen Attack of the Killer Tomato Festival with an elegant drink called the Heirloom Reviver. Inspired by Le Bernardin chef Eric Ripert’s tomato water, White used Black Krim and Purple Cherokee heirloom tomatoes to make a water infused with Thai basil and cilantro. Shaken with white tequila, lime and agave nectar and garnished with candied basil, the Heirloom Reviver is a zingy, almost tart drink that conjures Mexico. It is far from the heavy tomato-based drinks that White finds so filling.
The Reviver, now on the menu at Miller Union, is an ambitious endeavor that takes hours to make—since the tomato water has to be strained through cheesecloth. An easier option is White’s Summer Cooler of Tequila, Watermelon, Cucumber and Mint. The all-natural, virtually sugar-free drink requires no cooking, either. But you will need a heavy-duty juicer or food processor to make the juices. Simpler still is his Tangled Up in Blue, which calls for gin, lemon, an easy-to-make ginger syrup, muddled blueberries and a glug of ginger ale.
You may know already that simple syrup (1 part water to 1 part granulated sugar) can be used as a base for all kinds of infusions. When heating the water to dissolve the sugar, try adding lavender, mint, basil, vanilla bean, or chopped fresh ginger. Let it steep for 30 minutes, and strain. Instead of granulated sugar, try brown sugar, which marries well with bourbon, rye and rum.
At Seven Lamps, Fielder makes an easy strawberry syrup, mixes it with honeysuckle vodka and lemon juice and tops it with dry sparkling white wine; she calls it the 75 South, a play on the classic vodka-and-champagne-laced French 75. At Seed, McNeill’s Horse’s Neck (With a Kick) is a seriously good, intensely ginger-y riff on the classic Horse’s Neck (brandy or bourbon, ginger ale, lemon peel). It starts with a bright-yellow ginger-lemon syrup pepped up with Thai basil and chiles (the “kick”). The syrup is then mixed with Lexington Bourbon, a drop or two of bitters and spicy Blenheim Ginger Ale from South Carolina. It’s a modern Southern gentleman’s drink, and so delicious.
After looking at recipes from some of Atlanta’s most creative mixologists, I understand why people pay big money for these cocktails. They require time, labor, rigor and passion. One of these days, I am going to buy a bottle of tawny port, raid my spice cabinet and cook up McNeill’s pineapple-scented Capture the Flag. For now, I’ll just have to sit at his bar and let him make it for me.
Intro for inside
Hot weather cocktails
We recently asked some of the city’s top mixologists for their best summer cocktail recipes. If you can make a simple syrup or juice a cucumber, you can create these drinks at home. So what’ll it be — tequila, bourbon, vodka or gin?
Summer Cooler of Tequila, Watermelon, Cucumber and Mint
Hands-on time: 10 minutes
Total time: 10 minutes
Makes: 1 cocktail
Miller Union bartender Stuart White has this drink on his summer menu.
5 leaves fresh mint, plus optional mint sprigs for garnish
2 ounces tequila
2½ ounces fresh watermelon juice
½ ounce fresh cucumber juice
3/4 ounce agave syrup (1 part agave nectar mixed with 1 part water)
½ ounce lime juice
Additional watermelon with rind, cut into spears to use as garnish (optional)
Place mint leaves in the palm of your hand, slap them to bruise and place in a shaker. Add tequila, watermelon juice, cucumber juice, agave syrup and lime juice. Fill with ice, shake and pour into tall glass. If desired, garnish with sprigs of fresh mint and watermelon spears.
A note on making the juice: If you don’t have a juicer, you can make juices in a food processor. No need to peel or seed the cucumber. Cut off stem ends, cut into chunks, and pulse until soupy. Do not strain. For the watermelon, place chunks of seedless watermelon in the processor and pulse until soupy. Do not strain. You can also juice the watermelon by pushing chunks through a metal sieve.
Per serving: 171 calories (percent of calories from fat, 7), 1 gram protein, 10 grams carbohydrates, 1 gram fiber, trace fat (no saturated fat), no cholesterol, 6 milligrams sodium.
Tangled Up in Blue
Hands-on time: 5 minutes
Total time: 35 minutes (includes cool time)
Makes: 1 cocktail
From Miller Union bartender Stuart White, this drink is super easy and very refreshing.
For the ginger simple syrup:
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup water
1 tablespoon (or more) chopped ginger
For the cocktail:
8 blueberries, plus more for garnish
½ ounce lemon juice
½ ounce ginger simple syrup (see instructions)
1½ ounce gin
Ginger ale
To make ginger simple syrup: Place granulated sugar, water and chopped fresh ginger in a small boiler. Bring to a boil over medium high heat. Stir well to dissolve sugar. Remove from heat. Cool for 30 minutes, and strain. Makes 1½ cups. Leftover syrup may be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
To make the cocktail: Place blueberries in a cocktail glass or shaker. Add lemon juice and ginger simple syrup. Muddle well to break up blueberries. Add gin and fill with ice. Shake well. Pour into a cocktail glass and top with ginger ale. If desired, thread a few blueberries on a toothpick or cocktail skewer and place over top of glass.
Per serving: 166 calories (percent of calories from fat, 1), trace protein, 14 grams carbohydrates, 1 gram fiber, trace fat (no saturated fat), no cholesterol, 7 milligrams sodium.
75 South
Hands-on time: 10 minutes
Total time: 1 hour, 25 minutes (includes chill time)
Makes: 1 cocktail
This drink by Arianne Fielder is on the menu of Seven Lamps restaurant in Buckhead. Any kind of bubbles (champagne, prosecco) will work fine, as will plain vodka.
For the strawberry syrup:
2 cups fresh strawberries, cored and sliced
2 cups granulated sugar, divided
3 cups water
For the cocktail:
1 ounce Cathead Honeysuckle Vodka (or unflavored vodka of choice)
1/2 ounce strawberry syrup (see instructions)
1/4 ounce lemon juice
4 ounces dry sparkling wine
Lemon twist for garnish
To make the strawberry syrup: Place strawberries and 1 cup granulated sugar in a medium boiler. Allow to macerate for 20 minutes. Add 3 cups water and bring to a gentle boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium and simmer for 25 minutes, uncovered, or until the mixture is reduced by a third. Place remaining 1 cup granulated sugar in a medium heat-proof bowl. Strain juice into the bowl. Stir well to dissolve. Chill for at least 30 minutes before using. Makes about 1 quart. Store unused syrup in the refrigerator in an airtight container.
To make the cocktail: In a mixing glass or cocktail shaker pour vodka, strawberry syrup and lemon juice. Shake with ice and strain into a champagne flute. Top with sparkling wine and garnish with a lemon twist. (To make a lemon twist: Peel a long strip of lemon zest with a zester or knife. Shape into a twist by wrapping around a chopstick or skewer.)
Per serving: 161 calories (percent of calories from fat, 0), trace protein, 6 grams carbohydrates, trace fiber, no fat, no cholesterol, 6 milligrams sodium.
Horses Neck (With a Kick)
Hands-on time: 5 minutes
Total time: 1 hour, 5 minutes (includes cool time)
Makes: 1 cocktail
Chris McNeill of Marietta’s Seed Kitchen & Bar is a big bourbon lover, and bourbon and ginger lovers will love this drink. Instead of the ginger-lemon syrup, you may substitute plain ginger syrup. (See Tangled Up in Blue recipe). Blenheim Ginger Ale is delicious but can be hard to find in Atlanta; one reliable source is Candler Park Market. McNeill uses the spicy Blenheim, which is not labeled as such but has a bright pink cap. (The gold cap works well, too.) Or, you may use any ginger ale of choice.
For the ginger-lemon syrup:
1 pint simple syrup
2 tablespoons chopped fresh ginger
6 to 8 Thai basil leaves
2 small Thai chiles
zest of 1 lemon
2½ ounces fresh lemon juice
For the cocktail:
1½ ounces Lexington bourbon
¾ ounce ginger-lemon syrup (see instructions)
2 dashes Jerry Thomas’ Own Decanter bitters
Blenheim spicy ginger ale (or other ginger ale of choice)
Long strip of lemon peel for garnish (optional)
To make the ginger-lemon syrup: Place simple syrup, ginger, basil leaves, chiles and lemon zest in a medium boiler. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce to medium and simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes. Add lemon juice and simmer 10 more minutes. Cool for about 30 minutes and strain. Makes about 1¼ cups syrup. Store leftover syrup in a tightly sealed container in the refrigerator.
Pour bourbon and ginger-lemon syrup in a cocktail shaker. Sprinkle with bitters. Cover with ice. Shake well and strain into a glass with ice. Top with ginger ale, and garnish with lemon peel.
Per serving: 160 calories (percent of calories from fat, 0), no protein, 14 grams carbohydrates, no fiber, no fat, no cholesterol, 7 milligrams sodium.
