“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.
Related Stories:
Drinks
Regional favorites, from Grapico to Ale-8-One, are all grown up and ready for happy hour
Recipe
A sweet and spicy drink loaded with Bluegrass State flavor
Recipe
A sophisticated boozy spin on a classic grape soda
Trending Stories:
Land & Conservation
The future of conservation in the South just got a little bit brighter—and not just for salamanders
Land & Conservation
The mounds may look insignificant, but they’re the craftsmanship of local crustaceans called lawn lobsters
Arts & Culture
The drawls are receiving a lot of flak across the internet, but a North Carolina linguist argues they’re actually pretty accurate