Tennessee Road Trip

This one I created on vacation!  I just got back from a trip to Tennessee for my dear friend Aubrie’s 40th birthday. She wanted to celebrate in Dollywood and it seemed like a good plan to head down a little early, stay a few days in Nashville and then end my trip in Pigeon Forge.  I flew into Knoxville and on my journey to my first destination stopped at an antique store near the Crossville Buc-ee’s.  I found this gorgeous glass and some very cute cocktail stirrers.  This glass is a Tennessee beauty and I knew I wanted to create a drink for her that reminded me of my trip.  While in Nashville I visited Nelson’s Green Brier Distillery.  It’s a whiskey company started by two brothers in 2006 when they discovered their great great great grandparents ran the nation’s largest producer of Tennessee Whiskey in the country before prohibition. They were able to find the original recipe from the Greenbrier Historical Society and started the family business back up.  They have an amazing assortment of whiskeys but I was very drawn to the original recipe and got a small ‘vacation size’ bottle.  I also found some local honey from Eagleville and it seemed like a drink was coming together. Neither of my Airbnbs had a cocktail shaker so I wanted to avoid citrus or anything else that needed to be shaken. I also wanted some element of bitterness and I ended up in a liquor store in Knoxville chatting with the staff about the perils of having to find something in tiny bottles for making cocktails on vacation. They had a tiny bottle of fernet and I thought it would be a nice addition. My last stop was Dollywood and I knew they had a famous cinnamon bread so I wanted to try to incorporate that. I couldn’t find just a jar of cinnamon at the park, so I decided to go all in and use the delicious cinnamony goo from the loaf itself. It does take a bit to stir this one up, but the result is delightfully sweet and sophisticated flavor that felt like a perfect representation of my journey through Tennessee served in the perfect souvenir!