Savoring Rituals

Five Signature Drinks for the Modern Gentleman

Sometimes one of the most Southern qualities a gentleman can possess is the ability to slow things down and appreciate the details of time-tested rituals. Peeling the perfect citrus curl, muddling a sugar cube, or smoking the water for the ice in your drink are telltale signs of someone who knows how to take the time to enjoy the little things in life. Whether they’ve honored the classics or created their own signature drinks, these five gentlemen showcase how they savor the ritual.

By Katie Faulkner | Photography by Rich Smith

Manhattan My Way

Ingredients

2 oz. Maker’s Mark bourbon

1 oz. sweet vermouth
(I prefer Dolin Rouge)

2 dashes Angostura bitters

1/2 tsp. Luxardo cherry juice

1/2 cup ice

1 large round ice cube

2 Luxardo cherries

Directions

Combine bourbon, vermouth, bitters, and cherry juice in a cocktail shaker over ice.

Stir vigorously.

Strain cocktail into Old Fashioned glass over large ice cube.

Garnish with cherries.

Dan Norton

Chattanooga

“While most traditionalists serve their Manhattan neat in a martini glass, I prefer my cocktail over one large rock. I like my drinks cold, and the large ice cube keeps the drink from being too diluted.”

Smoked Whiskey Sour Flip

Ingredients

2 oz. bourbon or whiskey of choice

1 & 1/2 oz. fresh squeezed lemon juice

1 oz. simple syrup

1 egg white

Signature smoked ice

1 piece thick-cut candied bacon
for garnish

Directions

Add all ingredients except ice and bacon to a shaker and dry shake. 

Add smoked ice (2-3 cubes will infuse the perfect amount of smoke flavor) to the shaker and shake well. 

Strain into a chilled cocktail glass or over ice into a rocks glass. Garnish and serve.

For Signature Smoked Ice

Pour approximately 1 cup of water into a Pyrex dish and place into your smoker/grill. If using a grill, you will need a smoke tube or a smoke tray that will hold wood chips or pellets to generate smoke.

Smoke the water for about 45 minutes to an hour, then remove from smoke source. 

Once the water has reached room temperature, place into your favorite ice tray and freeze. 

For Candied Bacon Garnish

Cook thick-cut bacon on a wire rack over a baking sheet at 350° until partially cooked (10-15 minutes).

Remove bacon from oven, and cover liberally in brown sugar. Place back into the oven until the brown sugar starts to caramelize and becomes tacky. 

Remove from oven, and let sit at room temperature until set.
Trim about 1/4 off one strip for drink garnish.

Aron Duty

Soddy Daisy

“This drink is where a Southern gentleman and a rugged man collide. Indoctrinated by smoke with a sophisticated twist, this whiskey sour won’t disappoint.”

Classic Gin Martini

Ingredients

16 oz. ice cubes

2 oz. gin

1/4 oz. extra dry vermouth

3 pitted green olives
(I prefer Tomolives)

Directions

Fill shaker 1/2 full of cubed ice (not crushed).

Add 2 oz. of gin and 1/4 oz. of extra dry vermouth.

Put lid on tightly, wrap the metal shaker with a kitchen towel, and shake vigorously until the towel literally sticks to the metal shaker (45 seconds to 1 minute).

Pour through strainer into glass. There should be a sheen of ice across the top.

Add olive garnish and serve.

Pete Lapina

North Chattanooga

“When one goes to a restaurant and orders a martini ‘up,’ you begin the litany of questions – vodka or gin, cosmopolitan, a list of flavors. But a classic martini is understood as gin, with extra dry vermouth and olives.”

Orange Is the New Black

Ingredients

1 & 1/2 oz. Frosted Orange Moonshine by End of the Line Tennessee Moonshine (distilled at Historic Brushy Mountain State Pen)

1/2 oz. Cointreau

1 oz. orange juice

1 oz. soda water

Splash of half & half

Orange peel

Directions

Fill rocks glass with ice.

Pour Frosted Orange Moonshine, Cointreau, orange juice, and soda into a shaker (no ice).

Shake the shaker to your favorite song.

Pour over ice.

Add splash of half & half and stir.

Garnish with an orange twist.

Enjoy with friends.

Brian May

North Chattanooga

“Mixing a drink is a lot like making a party playlist. You must set the right tone from the start, keeping everyone entertained and surprised. Orange Is the New Black is like starting with Steely Dan. It’s smart, requires patience, and finishes like a great summer’s day with friends.”

Saint & Citrus

Ingredients

Ice, regular or tonic water (for a less watered-down drink)

3 oz. Tanqueray Rangpur Gin

3/4 oz. St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur

Tonic water (can use diet if you prefer)

1 lime

Directions

Fill glass with ice, then pour in gin and St. Germain.

Fill glass with tonic water.

Place shaker on top of glass and shake back and forth until well-mixed.

Squeeze the juice of one lime wedge, garnish, and enjoy!

Preston Putnam

NorthShore

“This drink is simple to make and refreshing for any time of year. I enjoy putting my own twist on a time-honored cocktail classic like the Gin & Tonic.”