“My wife and I are huge Avett Brothers fans and when they did the Cheerwine Giveback Concert [in Charlottesville, Virginia], I had never heard of Cheerwine,” says barman Todd Thrasher of Restaurant Eve in Alexandria, Virginia. “When I tasted it for the first time, I really wanted to use it in a cocktail.” His solution: Pair it with Cardinal Gin (another North Carolina-based company), preserved cherries, and—of course—a splash of tonic for an extra-fizzy G&T.
Recipe
North Carolina’s Cheerwine Gets the Cocktail Treatment
1 cocktail
A Tarheel State–inspired twist on the classic gin and tonic
photo: Margaret Houston
Ingredients
The Avetts Made Me Do It
1 ½ oz. Cardinal Gin
2 ½ oz. tonic water
½ oz. Cheerwine
preserved cherry for garnish
Preparation
Fill a highball glass with ice, pour in ingredients, and stir.
Recipe from Todd Thrasher of Restaurant Eve in Alexandria, Virginia.
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