It’s midnight in downtown Asheville, and the Phish show has just let out, pouring thousands of happy phans into the streets. Photo by Jason Sandford Here they are, at the Rankin Vault: “They really know their audience,” one Phishhead says as the bartender pours a concoction of vodka, liqueurs and cranberry juice into a towering […]
Tag: Bar Beat
Showing 1-21 of 29 results
Bar Beat: Nova
Nova bartender Justin Crawford goes down the ranks of silver shakers like a field marshal, taking a moment to eyeball a cocktail ingredient before adding it to the mix. Cocktail culture, one drink at a time: A golden cucumber fizz, a mix of classic cocktail and current innovation, sits atop the bar at Nova, while […]
Bar Beat: Hannah Flanagan’s
Go into long-time downtown-Asheville mainstay Hannah Flanagan’s just after work gets out and you’ll find an interesting sight: an assortment of well-decorated beer pulls for brews from around the world, lining the bar. Natural friends: A pint of beer and a glass of Irish whiskey in front of the pulls for Hannah Flanagan’s impressive beer […]
Bar Beat: Curras Dom
Tequila has, among the uninitiated, acquired a bit of a bad reputation. This is supposedly the stuff college students glug in their rotgut days or that’s simply shoved into legions of frozen margaritas on Cinco de Mayo. Unexpected delight: One of Curras Dom’s masterly concoctions, the surprisingly smooth and pleasing avocado margarita. Photo by Jonathan […]
R.I.P. “Popcorn” Sutton
Marvin “Popcorn” Sutton, the legendary moonshiner, died March 16 at his home in Cocke County, Tenn. Photo by Michael Stock According to his wife, Sutton took his own life to avoid going to jail for 18 months under a looming incarcerations for moonshining and weapons charges. She found him dead of carbon-monoxide poisoning inside his […]
Bar Beat: The Thirsty Monk
It’s an interesting night to be at downtown beer den the Thirsty Monk: It’s Pint and Cask night, a team-up with Highland Brewing while debuting parts of the Monk’s new food menu. There’s a chef dishing out Salmon Sliders and goblets with roasted cashews. A cask of Highland’s new Black Mountain Bitter pale ale sits […]
Bar Beat: Boozin’ it up
If you haven’t been to the Woodfin ABC store yet, you should remedy that soon. All-cohol: The smiling face of Captain Morgan greets customers at a packed display at Woodfin’s new liquor store. Photo by Jonathan Welch Inside is a veritable Taj Mahal of liquor stores: It looks good, the staff is extremely helpful and […]
Bar Beat: Scully’s
Scully’s is nestled just next to Chicken Alley, but the feel is quite different from the alternative cultures dotting Lexington Avenue. Photo by Jonathan Welch Come in here and you might well find the voices of local sports announcers booming through the place. During Bar Beat’s recent visit, three of them—from local ESPN radio 1310 […]
Bar Beat: Mo Daddy’s
You have to give Mo Daddy’s credit for going for something different: In a city full of restaurants and bars, they’re going for the feel of an old-school blues joint. Blues night: Regular Mo Daddy’s band The Js during a recent performance at the blues-inspired downtown bar. Photo by Jonathan Welch This is pretty obvious […]
Bar Beat: Barley’s Taproom (upstairs)
Downstairs, Barley’s Taproom has a bustling, restaurant-style feel, albeit with a considerable and well-stocked bar. On a given night, it’s usually packed. Photo by Jonathan Welch Upstairs, however, is a different story. Here, it feels much less like a restaurant and much more like an old-school pub, complete with dart boards and, of course, pool […]
Bar Beat: ED Boudreaux’s
If you’re romping around Biltmore Avenue on a busy night, trying desperately to find a spot at a bar, let it be known that ED Boudreaux’s Bayou Bar-B-Que, which, true to its name, offers up great barbecue and other fare, also boasts a hidden gem of a bar, both in terms of price and quality. […]
Bar Beat: Election night is made for drinking
Drinking and politics have been joined at the hip since America’s founding—or even before. Sam Adams, as the commercials never cease to remind us, was a brewer, and his second cousin John, along with other Founding Fathers, would make the rounds in taverns, often downing a “flip”—a concoction made of stout beer and harsh New […]
Bar Beat: Decades
It’s a week night at Decades, and the husband-and-wife house band, Southern Silk, are proving as smooth as their name, announcing Al Green’s classic “Let’s Stay Together” triumphantly as “our love song.” They hit all the notes just right—“Whether times are good or bad, happy or sad”—and rich electric-guitar riffs roll over the room. Photo […]
Bar Beat: Dirty Jack’s
The appearance from the outside isn’t the most awe-inspiring thing: Dirty Jack’s, located adjacent to Green Man brewery, is housed in a utilitarian concrete box off of South Lexington—not exactly the neighborhood you expect to find a bar in. It would be a shame to pass it by, however, as there’s a very cozy, old-style […]
Bar Beat: Best kept secrets of the liquor store
The first time you visit the Merrimon Avenue ABC store, it’s easy to be surprised. This is not the spartan spirits shop of yesteryear: There are ornate displays and a considerable selection of liquor of all sorts. And a bottle of … : A selection of some of the best deals available at the ABC […]
Bar Beat: Zambra
Entering Zambra, you could get the feeling that the place is the brainchild of a mad Spanish admirer of Captain Nemo. The light is low; the decor mixes classical arches and modern curves; old pipes, complete with pressure gauges, jut up from the winding bar. Given its location, running alongside Walnut Street and partially under […]
Bar Beat: Hangover helpers
If you drink, you’ve probably had a hangover one at some point. Even cautious and health-minded bar-goers will occasionally end up groggy and disheveled the next morning, feeling entirely out of place in the sunlit world. Everyone seems to have a different antidote for those woeful morning-afters, ranging from the simple to ornate. In addition […]
Bar Beat: Signature summer drinks
Summer’s winding down, but it’s still plenty warm out there. And something about the heat brings out some particularly interesting concoctions. So here (in no particular ranking or order) Bar Beat samples some favorite summertime offerings at Asheville drinkeries. Fire it up: Bartender Jamie Reel of the Yacht Club lights up a Painkiller. Photo By […]
Bar Beat: See the making of the Painkiller
This week, Bar Beat is featuring some of the tastiest beverages in town for these last weeks of summer.
Bar Beat: Ruby’s
When you think “bar,” serene Haw Creek may not be the area of Asheville that first comes to mind. But local institution Ruby’s BBQ Shack has had a full bar since it got a liquor license at the beginning of this year. Photo by Jonathan Welch That makes Ruby’s a pretty versatile place, as the […]
Bar Beat: The Wedge Brewery
It’s a weekday evening at the Wedge Brewery, which recently opened in the corner of a building facing the railroad tracks and the sunset. Photo By Jonathan Welch The rest of the Wedge Building, a cornerstone of Asheville’s River Arts District, is taken up by artists’ studios. The brewery itself shows a fitting flair, from […]