There’s nothing like peach season in Georgia.
This year’s crop was bountiful in quantity and flavor, and bartenders are finding creative ways to keep the season of the fuzzy stone fruit going, using cordials, infusions, liqueurs, syrups and shrubs in their cocktails.
Credit: Handout
Credit: Handout
Pearson Farm has been growing peaches in Georgia since 1885, each one picked by hand. Kevin Bragg, assistant general manager at Southern Belle, is a devotee. “While their season is ending, we’ve turned them into a beautiful peach shrub to extend their time with us as long as possible,” he said. He serves the shrub in a Damsel in Distress, with locally produced Horizon koji rice spirit, Cocchi Americano aperitif, lemon and Peychaud’s bitters. Southern Belle also has a nonalcoholic Just Peachy cocktail, made with the same peach shrub.
1043 Ponce de Leon Ave. NE, Atlanta. 404-698-3961, southernbelleatl.com
Credit: Handout
Credit: Handout
At North Italia, bartenders use a peach infusion, created with a similar process to making limoncello from steeping lemon peels. This peachcello is the base of a Georgia peach tea, along with tea-infused Tito’s vodka, lemon and mint.
3393 Peachtree Road NE, Atlanta. 404-841-7630; 4800 Ashford Dunwoody Road NE, Atlanta. 770-804-8403, northitalia.com
Credit: Matt Watkins
Credit: Matt Watkins
Deer and the Dove bar manager Matt Watkins’ Hell Hath No Fury centers on a Pearson peach and tarragon cordial, which is mixed with bourbon, gentian amaro and lemon. “I wanted to simply enhance the refreshing nature of a whiskey sour-type cocktail with the juicy and ripe flavors of these delicious peaches,” he said.
155 Sycamore St., Decatur. 404-748-4617, deerdove.com
Credit: Handout
Credit: Handout
Along the Beltline, Slabtown serves a drink that carries peaches into fall. In the Georgia Peach Lit, peach-infused vodka, Lapsang souchong tea, bitter orange, paprika, lemon, orange flower and saline are stirred together over ice. Smokey notes in the tea balance the sweetness of the peach, bringing out campfire vibes in the bright drink.
670 DeKalb Ave. NE, Atlanta. 404-254-1032, slabtownatl.com
Credit: Handout
Credit: Handout
There is a hint of juicy ripeness in the Southern Gentleman’s Breakfast in Georgia. Like a Southern spin on a whiskey smash, the cocktail incorporates peach-infused whiskey with muddled lemon and an unexpected herbal flourish of basil.
3035 Peachtree St. NE, Atlanta. 404-939-9845, thesoutherngentlemanatl.com
Credit: Handout
Credit: Handout
The Caribbean Soul at Atlas helps to extend both peach and vacation season. Fresh white peaches are used to make a syrup that lends Georgia sweetness to Balvenie Caribbean Cask whisky and vanilla. The frothy top is garnished with an edible rice paper Bahamian flag.
88 W. Paces Ferry Road NW, Atlanta. 404-600-6471, atlasrestaurant.com
Peach liqueur captures flavors and aromas of fresh peaches in a bottle for year-round pleasure. Gypsy Kitchen uses it for a sultry take on an Old-Fashioned. Smoke in the Orchard stirs together rye whiskey, peach liqueur and orange bitters.
3035 Peachtree St. NE, Atlanta. 404-939-9845, gypsykitchenatl.com
Credit: Handout
Credit: Handout
What began as a Negroni riff morphed into what is now the Black Sheep at Falling Rabbit. Castle & Key’s Roots of Ruin gin, Zucca Rabarbaro, peach liqueur and Douglas Fir liqueur are barrel-aged, resulting in a drink that has a slightly bitter and herbaceous backbone, balanced by a burst of peach and hints of vanilla.
3580 Lawrenceville St., Duluth. 770-623-1452, fallingrabbit.com
Credit: Handout
Credit: Handout
With the bourbon tea spritz at the Monroe Drive location of Varuni Napoli, beverage director Marco Moran said he wanted to combine Italian culture with that of the Peach State. What’s better than an Italian spritz with muddled peaches?
1540 Monroe Drive, Atlanta. 404-709-2690, varuni.us/midtown
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