Lifting Up Southern Spirits

The third cookbook from Tupelo Honey Cafe and Tupelo Honey Southern Kitchen & Bar—the rapidly growing restaurant group with 15 locations across the Southeast—focuses on southern cocktails and small plates. 

The South loves to drink; this is no revelation. But understanding the rich traditions behind why southerners drink, what they drink, and when they drink is critical to learning the art and fashion of southern imbibing. They certainly know their spirits, artisanal distilleries, and prolific craft breweries, and at Tupelo Honey Cafe and Tupelo Honey Southern Kitchen & Bar’s 15 locations, the staff is committed to sourcing the best ingredients to make some of the tastiest cocktails and small plates south of the Mason Dixon Line.

In Tupelo Honey’s latest cookbook, 70 unique cocktail and 30 delicious small plate recipes are organized around popular themes, such as Friendly Competition, The Roots of Southern Music, Southern Festivals, Southern Drinking Celebrations, Iconic Southern Food and Drink, and Simple, Everyday Life. Some of the playful cocktail names in this book may give you pause, but once you try them, your taste buds will smile.

Among the made-from-scratch cocktails and small plates perfect for two or twenty are Violet Beaureguard, Tar Heel Gin Fiz, Rubbin' is Racin' Peach Moonshine-Sweet Tea, Johnny Cakes with BBQ Pulled Pork and Corn-Jalapeño Slaw, Goat Cheese Deviled Eggs with Country Ham Prosciutto, and Don't Judge My Okra Obsession.