Unleash your inner bartender with these spirited recipes.
Photo by Sera Petras / Courtesy of The Georges
A couple delicious drinks from TAPS at The Georges in Lexington.
A great bartender will lure you back to a restaurant or bar time and again by putting a new twist on a classic cocktail, introducing innovative ingredients, and keeping the room humming with smooth service, stories, music, and a sympathetic ear. We’re playing bartender by sharing a few recipes inspired by our “best cocktail” winners.
TAPS at The Georges in Lexington serves a wide variety of specialty cocktails, as well as some classics that are making a comeback.
The Blue Ridge Summer
- Muddle 5 blueberries and 3 mint leaves
- Add 1½ oz. Cirrus Vodka
(made from potatoes in Richmond)
- ½ oz. Orgeat
- ½ oz. lemon juice
- Shake and top with club soda.
Paloma
- 2 oz. fresh grapefruit juice
- 1 T. lime juice
- 1 tsp. sugar
- 2 oz. tequila
- 2 oz. club soda
Combine the fruit juices and sugar in a highball glass, and stir until the sugar dissolves. Stir in the tequila, then add ice and top with club soda. Garnish with a twist of grapefruit zest.
Jimmy Madison’s in Harrisonburg is all about whiskey. Follow their lead and try it neat in a flight consisting of Virginia favorites Bowman Brothers, Copper Fox, and Filibuster. Or, mix your favorite spirit into a classic whiskey cocktail.
Old Fashioned
- 2 oz. whiskey
- 1 lump sugar
- 2 dashes aromatic bitters
Combine in a rocks glass and stir until smooth. Add ice and stir another 30 seconds. Garnish with orange zest.
Whiskey Sour
- 2 oz. whiskey
- ¾ oz. fresh lemon juice
- ¾ oz. simple syrup
Shake all ingredients with ice. Strain into an old fashioned or rocks glass, and garnish with a slice of orange and a cherry.
