We are delighted to announce that Applewood Manor has received its mixed beverage permit enabling us to launch cocktail service for our guests beginning in September, 2023. We’ve been working on this for 3 years! But now that we can offer mixed drinks, we have to come up with our drinks menu. It’s tempting to grab a few mixology books and offer everything, however that’s not practical. So, we’re going to focus on the most classic libations applying time tested recipes.
By happenstance, I have a mixology book from the 1941 that was passed on to me by my father. I can remember this particular book from my very early childhood for whatever reason perhaps because the binding is real wood and the book contains amusing images. In my mind, I thought it was a children’s book..LOL. So, I grabbed “Here’s How” by W.C. Whitfield off the shelf and when I photographed it for this blog to my surprise I saw that the book was published in Asheville, NC! Now I know that my mind was affected as a child because a) I love classic cocktails and b) I chose Asheville for our retirement destination.
“Here’s How” and an early edition published in 1939 titled “Just Cocktails” will serve as our guide to begin our service, but we’ll surely evolve over time. As for brands, we have two family members working with Diageo in some capacity, so we’ll do our very best to chose spirits from their portfolio.
Here then are three selections from our inaugural Applewood Manor cocktails menu:
The Vesper Martini (hat tip to Ian Fleming’s James Bond)
- 1.5 oz of Tanqueray No. 10 gin
- .75oz of Ketle One vodka
- Splash of Lillet Blanc
- Shaken not stirred!
- Garnish with fresh lemon peel
Rye Whiskey Manhattan
- 1.5 oz Bulleit Rye bourbon
- 0.75 oz Cñia Mata Vermouth Tinto Reserva (our version) or a sweet Italian vermouth such as Carpano Antica Formula
- 2 dashes each of Angostura and orange Angostura bitters
- Stirred gently over large ice cubes
- Garnish with fresh orange peel and Luxardo cherries (none of those bright red abominations)
Tom Collins (my dad’s name by the way)
- 2.0 oz Tanqueray No. 10 gin
- .75 oz fresh squeezed lemon juice
- 0.5 oz simple syrup (make from scratch when you can)
- Combine in shaker over ice and agitate vigoursly
- Strain into chilled Collins glass with ice and top with club soda with lemon wedge on rim
Applewood Manor Bloody Mary
- 2.0 oz Ketle One vodka
- 0.5 oz lemon juice
- 0.75 oz Worcestershire sauce
- 4.0 oz high quality tomato juice combined in equal parts with passata
- A dash or two of Tabasco or something more invigorating if you like
- A pinch (or two) of Atomic horseradish
- Himalayan sea salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
- Combine all ingredients in an ice filled shaker and agitate until well chilled
- Pour into an highball glass filled with medium size ice cubes and garnish with fresh celery stick, a sour pickle, two green olives and an green apple wedge, of course.
