Whether you’re looking for a new addition to your home bar or something to ask for from a restaurant’s back bar, we’ve got you covered. These four new-to-Georgia spirits are now available across the state.
Nelson’s Green Brier Tennessee whiskey
Want to drink a bit of whiskey history? Before Prohibition, Nelson’s Green Brier was the largest brand of Tennessee whiskey in the world. Founded in 1860 by Charles Nelson, and run by his wife Louisa after he died, it was established before Jack Daniel’s, and produced 2 million bottles a year, until the sale of whiskey was outlawed, forcing the distillery to close. Through painstaking research, Nelson’s great-great-great-grandsons, Charlie and Andy, resurrected the original recipe. The wheated Tennessee whiskey is mellowed through hunks of sugar maple charcoal and aged in new charred oak barrels in their Nashville distillery. The first bottles sold here since 1909 just hit shelves in Georgia, and bear the original label design. The 91-proof, bright copper whiskey has a nose of vanilla-bakery and tastes of sweet wood, with cinnamon roll-like sugars jumping out for a lingering finish.
$29.99 per 750-milliliter bottle. Available at Toco Giant, Ansley Wine Merchants and Smyrna World of Beverage.
Credit: Amber Fouts
Credit: Amber Fouts
Fast Penny Spirits amari
Not only are Fast Penny Spirits’ Italian-style amari intriguing and delicious, but the Seattle, Washington-based company also has a goal of stirring up positive change. The female-owned and operated company contributes 3% of its bottle revenue to elevate women in business, and is committed to sustainability. The neutral base of its Amaricano and Amaricano Bianca comes from reutilized West Coast wine grapes. The 45-plus botanicals are sustainably sourced, and recycled bottles and reclaimed corks are used. Amaricano is rich and herbaceous, with notes of dark fruit, Rainier cherries, caramelized sugar and chocolate. The lighter Amaricano Bianca is a silky swirl of candied lemon, saffron, cherries, Yakima hops and locally foraged truffles.
$52 per 750-milliliter bottle. Available at Elemental Spirits Co. and from the back bars at Nina & Rafi, Brick Store Pub, No. 246, Poor Hendrix and Cohen’s Retreat.
Credit: Handout
Credit: Handout
Five Trail blended American whiskey
David Coors has aspired to make whiskey for 20 years. When Molson Coors created its Next Generation Beverages division, he took the lead and knew one of its first offerings had to be whiskey. He sampled more than 100 whiskies before landing on a blend that marries a Colorado single malt (distilled from Coors’ barley) and three bourbons. The Five Trail name refers to the team of five hands crafting it, and it being piloted by a fifth-generation member of the Coors family. The dark amber whiskey is distilled, blended and cut to 95% with Rocky Mountain water in a partnership with Kentucky-based Bardstown Bourbon Co. With a nose of candied spice, it’s light in body. Cola-like flavors with cinnamon tickle the tongue to a slightly spicy finish. It’s sweet, but not cloying.
$59.99 per 750-milliliter bottle. Available at M&B Liquors, Mac’s Beer and Wine, Corks & Caps, Green’s Discount Liquor and at fivetrail.com.
Credit: Handout
Credit: Handout
Rockey’s liqueur
Eamon Rockey may have cut his teeth in the higher tiers of the hospitality industry — with a degree from the Culinary Institute of America and beverage positions at Eleven Madison Park, Aska and Betony — but he was raised in Mississippi, drinking sweet tea. Marry those two perspectives, and you get Rockey’s liqueur. It’s an all-natural, crystal-clear blending of green apple, pineapple, green and black tea and citrus (lemon orange and lime) that is velvety in texture and tropically tart, yet curiously subtle. “I designed it to be sipped over ice as an aperitif, or with something else as the ultimate, versatile modifier,” Rockey said. Mix it with anything, from mezcal to wine to ginger beer. Light, bright and refreshing, it brings out the flavors of other spirits and is simpatico with Southern food.
$23.99 per 750-milliliter bottle. Available at rockeysliqueur.com and at Red Phone Booth, Muss & Turner’s, Little Alley Steak and F&B Atlanta.
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