The place to Seize a Submit-Journey Drink off the Overwhelmed Path
Discovering booze in a significant metropolitan space is straightforward. Throw a rock, and also you’ll certainly hit a craft cocktail lounge or bougie brewery. However discovering a high quality alcoholic beverage in a small city? That’s an entire totally different story. Decided to quench your thirst, we’ve rounded up 5 watering holes within the rural reaches of the Blue Ridge.
Appalachian Mountain Brewery Taproom and Kitchen
Mills River, N.C.
Signature Drink: Boone Creek Blonde Ale
Mills River, N.C., (inhabitants 7,134) is an agrarian neighborhood. Drive down any curvy backroad, and also you’re sure to see black-and-white Holsteins grazing on alfalfa and farmers tending to neatly tilled fields. However the newly included city can also be a beer lover’s paradise. Appalachian Mountain Brewery (AMB) Taproom and Kitchen makes positive of that.
Positioned off the primary drag, AMB is a bustling bar that serves up James Beard-worthy Appalachian fare (assume pork stomach burnt ends, do-it-yourself cornbread smothered in sorghum butter, and confit rooster wings) in addition to award-winning brews.
In accordance with co-owner Nathan Kelischek, one of the vital widespread and lauded beers is the Boone Creek Blonde Ale, an excellent sessionable blonde with zips of orange zest and wildflower honey.
Earlier than you go to, convey your mountain bike 10 minutes down the street to North Mills River Recreation Space. This secluded nook of Pisgah Nationwide Forest is dwelling to miles upon miles of swoon-worthy singletrack. There’s loads of gravel to grind, too.
After you’re employed up an urge for food, pair your AMB brew with a post-adventure banana pudding (made with Nilla Wafers, in fact) and a few pleasant dialog. You would possibly even meet a farmer or two.
The Hare and Hound
Landrum, S.C.
Signature Drink: Guinness
The Hare and Hound is rather a lot just like the bar from “Cheers,” says proprietor Patty Otto. “It’s an area spot to satisfy household and pals. Everybody is aware of everybody.”
A mainstay of Landrum, S.C., (inhabitants 2,540) for greater than 20 years, the bar makes a speciality of English-inspired pub fare like Guinness pie (sirloin steak slow-cooked with beer and veg, served with mash and spicy onion straws). For greatest outcomes, Otto recommends pairing the stick-to-your-ribs entrée with a velvety pint of Guinness and a serving of deep-dish bread pudding for dessert.
In your method to the pub, drive to Campbell’s Coated Bridge. The one remaining lined bridge in the complete state, the landmark is the right place to snap some images, calm down on the shores of Beaverdam Creek, or discover the half-mile nature path.
Bridge buffs will even recognize Poinsett Bridge. Positioned about 10 minutes away, the stone overpass was in-built 1820 and is believed to be the oldest surviving bridge within the Southeastern United States.
Roo Mountain Vineyards
Ellijay, Ga.
Signature Drink: Clutch
Ellijay, Ga., (inhabitants 1,847) is a good distance from Wine Nation. However the people at Roo Mountain Vineyards don’t let that discourage them.
Positioned on 226 acres of former farmland, Roo Mountain is a panoramic spot to sip some vino. A pair of native entrepreneurs bought the place six years in the past. Set on turning water into wine, they planted grapes, employed a winery supervisor, and constructed an open-air tasting room. It’s been a success ever since.
In accordance with one of many homeowners, their hottest wine is Clutch, a full-bodied pink mix with notes of cedar and clove. It’s a fantastic afternoon sip, particularly when loved with panoramic views of Cowpen Mountain.
Earlier than your winery go to, solid a line in Fort Mountain Lake, a 17-acre reservoir situated in Fort Mountain State Park. The swimming space can also be open within the summertime, must you wish to cool off.
Lush Lounge
Floyd, Va.
Signature Drink: Something with smoked whiskey
At midnight on January 17, 1920, the USA went dry. However in Virginia, thirsty mountain folks stored makin’ and sippin’ intoxicating spirits, Prohibition be damned. “We undoubtedly had a whole lot of bootlegging happening,” confirms Lindsey Parks.
As a nod to this boozy historical past, Parks owns and operates a Twenties-themed speakeasy known as Lush Lounge in downtown Floyd, Va. (inhabitants 450). True to its theme, the watering gap has a covert entrance created from a classic Coca-Cola machine. It additionally slings pre-Prohibition and Prohibition-era libations with a contemporary molecular spin.
“We alter our cocktail menu seasonally,” says Parks. “However our smoked whiskey cocktails are all the time our prime sellers.”
Previous variations vary from The Hitman’s Nightcap—an applewood-smoked sip made with rye whiskey, Frangelico, Demerara sugar, and cinnamon—to The Bacon Bourbon Bloody—a bacon-washed bourbon cocktail that includes home bloody combine and a splash of hickory smoke.
Evidently, these drinks are eclectic. However so is the encompassing city.
Whilst you’re on the town, make plans to take heed to bluegrass on the Floyd Nation Retailer, purchase a hand-carved spoon on the Floyd Artisan Market, or go horseback driving alongside the Little River. You can even lace up your mountaineering boots and deal with close by Rock Citadel Gorge Path, a lung-bursting 10.8-mile loop that’ll have you ever begging for a stiff drink by the tip of it.
Copperhill Brewery
Copperhill, Tenn.
Signature Drink: Ocoee
Most know Copperhill, Tenn., as a historic mining village. However this place has extra going for it than mineral deposits, due to Sarah Berry.
Because the co-owner of Copperhill Brewery, Berry provides Copperhill’s 444 residents with high-quality lagers, porters, and the whole lot in between. Their signature sip is Ocoee, an American-style IPA that’s dry-hopped for a silky mouthfeel and tangerine-coconut style. “It’s simple consuming,” says Berry, who bought the brewery again in 2021 after transferring to Copperhill from Illinois.
Berry describes her new hometown as “relaxed, comfy, and neighborhood primarily based.” There’s additionally loads of heart-pounding journey when you’re prepared to search for it.
Ocoee Journey Middle, as an example, provides guided rafting journeys on the long-lasting Ocoee River. Paddlers can count on Class III and IV rapids with ominous names like Dragon Slayer, Double Suck, and Hell’s Half Mile.
After a day on the water, deal with your self to a celebratory sip. Along with Copperhill Brewery, you’ll be able to trek out to Berry’s second enterprise, Ocoee River Distillery. Positioned in neighboring Ducktown, the “brewstillery” dishes out brats, Southern-inspired sloppy joes, and higher-ABV drinks that’ll calm your post-rafting nerves.
Cowl Photograph: Attempt the Boone Creek Blonde Ale and Nosh on Southern fare at Appalachian Mountain Brewery Taproom and Kitchen. Photograph courtesy of Appalachian Mountain Brewery Taproom and Kitchen.