Zero Proof: Three mocktails to celebrate Dry January in Nashville
Here are three alcohol-free beverages served at The Fox Bar & Cocktail Club in East Nashville.
I feel I just met the most inventive bartender in Savannah. *Mind blown.*
Sharing the same 40th Street patio entrance as Starland’s acclaimed Brochu’s Family Tradition, the Garden Square restaurant and bar opened Halloween night at 2400 Bull St. Featuring a lushly planted outdoor seating space and a roomy interior dominated by a colorful botanical and Forsyth Park fountain-inspired mural created by Savannah artist Kipper Millsap, Garden Square offers a curated selection of small dishes that are fresh, bright and sharable. But it is the impressively original cocktail menu that piques my interest most.
The beer list, wine list, non-alcoholic and alcoholic crafted cocktails were all created by longtime hospitality maven and entrepreneur Natasha Conyers. Savannahians may recognize her from her years at the Forsyth Farmer’s Market selling her Milk Maid Made line of bottled plant and nut milks, overnight oats, and peanut butter. But it’s a time-consuming hustle being an entrepreneur and that business has taken a backseat to her new role as bar manager for Garden Square.
Owners David Winer, of EatWellDC neighborhood restaurant group, and Jake Grier rightfully and graciously acknowledge both Chef Brain Gomez and Conyers front and center on their menus, and Conyers is grateful for the creative freedom they afford her.
Grier has a stake in DC’s Union Market Cotton & Reed rum distillery, which Conyers visited prior to the restaurant’s opening. “I’m very much a wine and tequila person [at one point, she took the first steps to become a sommelier] but my whole world opened up on that trip. I showcase the rums a lot. They are astonishing. So smooth and yummy. We are the only place in Savannah to serve them.”
Indeed, the only cocktail Conyers did not craft herself, the Cocomotion, was lifted straight from Cotton & Reed and is described on the menu as “the Best Frozen Drink I’ve Ever Had.” Featuring the distillery’s white rum, it derives its striking St. Patrick’s Day green color and nutty vanilla flavor from the leaves of the tropical Pandam plant, a staple ingredient in Thai and Vietnamese cuisines.
Some of Conyer’s more innovative creations are her Little Ceasar Martini (“I’m very interested in savory cocktails”) crafted with parmesan and anchovy-infused vodka, oxidized vermouth, and olive brine, and her Pistachio Matcha, made with oh-so-smooth Cotton & Reed coconut rum, her own pistachio matcha hemp milk, and coconut honey foam.
Conyers has a background in clinical laboratory science and takes pride in the weeks spent in her “home lab” perfecting the ingredients of her drinks prior to opening. “I am a scientist at heart. My dad was a scientist, and we took experimentation and science fairs very seriously in my house!”
She jokes about fighting over stove and kitchen space with Gomez with whom she works closely as they collaborate on pairings, saying, “we click together like a seat belt.”
Bemoaning the lack of attention many establishments give to mocktails, Conyers makes her own spirit-free mezcal, gin, rum, tequila, and amaro for the bar. “I’m very passionate about NA cocktails.”
She also creates such unique ingredients as a bubblegum stock (!), which makes an appearance on this month’s NA special menu in the Rhubarb Limoncello. She serves me an NA Cucumber Clouds, a blend of cucumber and celery juice, spirulina, and celery bitters sweetened with house-made vegan lemon curd. It tastes decadently delicious but also like imbibing a healthy tonic. The presentation is astounding―using an aquarium motor(!), this mad scientist of a mixologist whips up cucumber foam to spoon on top of the green liquid, finally adding a sprinkle of marigold petals.
Other drinks sampled were the Boiled Peanut Garden Shot. Created “because Savannahians love a pickleback.”
Conyer’s take on the traditional shot, which serves two to three people, and is presented with a small bowl of seasoned, boiled peanuts and hot peppers. She boils peanuts, strains off the brine, and adds pepperoncino and vodka to make a peppery, vinegary, spicy mixture that many crave.
Finally, I try her Affogato Expression, which rivals the deliciousness of Gomez’s desserts of lemon posset, apple crisp, and chocolate cake. The drink is a divinely smooth mix of 2 ounces ice cream fat-washed Tito’s vodka and 2 ounces cold brew and simple syrup, topped with coconut cold foam frothed to order. And yes, Conyers fat-washes bourbon, tequila and vodka herself.
Conyers, self-proclaimed liquid culinarist, is having fun. Don’t wait to join her.
Garden Square, gardensquaresav.com, is located at 2400 Bull St. and is open for dinner Wednesday through Sunday. It also offers a “Buzzed In the Garden” Happy Hour menu, periodic “Sips in the Garden” cocktail classes, and a weekend brunch menu. Follow them on Instagram @gardensquaresav.
Comments are closed.