Cocktails that Asheville imbibers and bartenders love, and those they can do without

ASHEVILLE - A tried-and-true classic is what imbibers want most when it’s time to unwind with a spirited cocktail, according to a recent survey conducted by the Citizen Times and local bartenders.

Citizen Times readers voted for their favorite cocktail in a poll open from March 20-March 31.

The Old Fashioned won with 25% of the votes. The Negroni came in second at 14% with the Manhattan in a close third at 13%.

The poll results align with what local bartenders Danny Boyer and Mitchell Labuda said they’ve witnessed in Asheville’s bar scene as classic cocktails remain favorites with customers, however, there’s plenty of room for contemporary recipes and experimentation.

The Citizen Times asked these seasoned mixologists about cocktail classics, current trends, and trends they wouldn’t mind seeing fade away.

Old Fashioned traditions

Mitchell Labuda, bar lead at Posana restaurant, has worked behind many bars.

“When people come to Asheville, I think that people are looking for a unique experience, whatever that may be,” Labuda told the Citizen Times. “That’s a goal, to provide something unique not only as a business that wants to offer something no one else is offering but provide this really dope experience for somebody.”

Labuda said the most requested cocktails are the espresso and classic martinis, margaritas and the Old Fashioned.

Considered the original cocktail, the Old Fashioned, at its base, is a spirit mixed with sugar, water and bitters.

Danny Boyer is bar manager at The Crow & Quill, where he has worked for 10 years, and he has been in the industry for longer still. He said the Old Fashioned is made with whiskey nowadays, but it was common for other spirits to be used instead.

“Throughout the years it’s kind of become the most default cocktail you can get, and I don’t think that’s necessarily a bad thing,” he said “It’s a well-balanced cocktail. It shines through with the spirit.”

Martini and mezcal madness

Boyer said mezcal and mezcal cocktails have risen in popularity due to their increased availability in the U.S. within the past decade.

“The American public has gotten a taste for it,” Boyer said. “We still can’t get a lot of what you can get in Oaxaca (Mexico) but those drinks have become more popular."

Boyer said he regularly makes mezcal Old Fashioneds and Naked & Infamous ― made with mezcal, yellow chartreuse, Aperol and fresh lime juice, according to an industry cocktail publication, Imbibe.

Boyer said he’s observed the resurgence of espresso martinis at local bars.

“Espresso martinis are incredibly huge,” Boyer said. “There’s been a trend toward all of these 90s cocktails that kind of went out of vogue 10 years ago and have come back now.”

He said the French and cosmopolitan martinis are having their moment. The Negroni has made a comeback as gin has become more popular in recent years, which he attributes to improved distilled products and its promotion in the media, like Imbibe's annual Negroni Week fundraising campaign.

“(The Negroni) is a bartender's favorite cocktail. It’s bitter, it’s herbaceous, it’s got everything you want in a nightcap drink," Boyer said.

National cocktail trends

One national trend Boyer said he's seen at some area bars is in-house-made ice cubes. The artisan ice cubes may be hand-carved from large blocks into cubes or molds.

Labuda said he’s seen an uptick of ingredients native to Asia used in cocktails locally and on social media, such as ube ― or purple yam ― and Japanese herbs and citrus, and pandan ― a plant species that leaves may be used to make an aromatic syrup.

He said fat-wash, in which the glass is rinsed with animal fat, remains popular though bartenders are venturing out to wash glasses with different ingredients, like olive oil.

What bar customers want, what bartenders don't

Boyer said craft cocktail bars are known to have premium, house-made ingredients and their bartenders have earned a reputation for their creativity and expertise. Mix that with Asheville’s established reputation as a destination for custom cocktails and get guests who are more daring with their order requests.

“You know they have fresh ingredients; you know they have stuff they’re working on,” Boyer said. “We get a lot of customers who are like, ‘I’m going to tell you about what flavor profile I want or a dream I had yesterday. Can you make a drink based off that?’”

What cocktail orders make bartenders cringe will differ from person to person. Some establishments may prohibit certain drink orders depending on what's required to prepare them.

Labuda said he’s glad Ramos Gin Fizz is a lesser-known cocktail because it’s time-consuming, especially during peak traffic.

According to Imbibe, the Ramos Gin Fizz is a frothy drink made with Old Tom Gin, simple syrup, fresh lemon and lime juices, fresh egg white, heavy cream, orange flower water and club soda. The recipe requires the bartender to shake the ingredients vigorously 50 times or 12 minutes.

Boyer said he doesn’t mind making a complicated drink, like the Ramos Gin Fizz or the Fall Fashion, a signature cocktail on The Crow & Quill’s menu, because it’s fun.

The Fall Fashion is a smoked Old Fashioned made with Four Roses Small Batch Bourbon, maple syrup, orange and pimento bitters and Black Cavendish pipe tobacco smoke.

“It’s one of the most complicated drinks on our menu and people see us do that and are like, ‘Do you ever get tired of making this drink?’ And I’m like, ‘No, I do so many of them I could make them in my sleep.’ I have no issue with it,” Boyer said.

Labuda said a trend he wouldn’t mind falling out of fashion is the bubble gun ― a handheld machine that makes a flavorful, edible smoke bubble that sits on top of a cocktail.

“I’m glad that’s done,” Labuda said. “People ask about it and I’m glad I don’t have one.”

Stories you may have missed:

• What cocktail reflects Asheville's style? Vote for your favorite spirited drink

• Distillery expands with East Asheville tavern, more changes to come

• Fletcher food hall to make a splash with bourbon, burgers, tequila, tacos, more

Tiana Kennell is the food and dining reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA Today Network. Email her at [email protected] or follow her on Instagram @PrincessOfPage. Please support this type of journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Cocktail trends in Asheville, according to readers, bartenders