By Jenny Elig
Sure, eggnog is tradition. We won’t fight you there, and plenty of us love it and count down the days until the packaged versions of this viscous, spiced and creamy beverage finds its way back into grocery stores.
We’re all for hallowed practices of ye olden days, but what about setting new traditions?
Here, four southside options should you wish to nix the ’nog and mix it up this season. Cheers!
Chocolate Martini, The Mint, 40 N. Water St., Franklin. (317) 668-3178, mintfranklin.com
Franklin’s own bourbon and cocktail bar features such an eye-bugging drinks menu it’s hard to settle on just one. But, when we think of the holidays, we think of chocolate advent calendars, chocolate Santa Clauses, and chocolate, chocolate, chocolate! We might as well spend the holidays floating down a chocolate river. Mint’s chocolate martini is a smart and sweet cocktail featuring Smirnoff Vanilla, Kahlua, dark chocolate and white chocolate. For a runner-up, we can’t ignore the Grasshopper, which features crème de cacao, crème de menthe and cream.
The Hard Truth, Tried and True Alehouse, 2800 S. State Road 135, Suite 100,
Greenwood, (317) 530-2706 triedandtruealehouse.com/DrinkMenu
When the temperatures drop, little matches the warm-up a mule cocktail provides. Tried and True Alehouse offers several mule options: The O.G. Mule, Purple Rain, Irish, The Captain, Eye of The Tiger, Mexi, House Specialty, The Hard Truth and the Hoosier Derby. For us, the holiday season might be best captured in the Irish Mule, which features Jameson Irish Whiskey, fresh lime and ginger beer, or the Hard Truth, a concoction of Hard Truth cinnamon vodka, fresh lime and ginger beer.
The New Old Fashioned, Bar Louie, 1251 N. U.S. 31, Greenwood, (317) 215-5400, barlouie.com
What could be more appropriate than singing “Auld Lang Syne” while lofting the New Old Fashioned? Featuring Bulleit Rye, Angostura bitters, simple syrup, amarena cherry and orange twist, this cocktail will not fall under the “never brought to mind” heading.
