Welcome To Wonkette Happy Hour, With This Week's Cocktail, The Shelbyville Cola!
What a Jack and Coke ought to be.
Greetings, Wonketeers! I’m Hooper, your bartender. Today I’m focusing on a Tennessee whiskey that isn’t Jack Daniels. I’ve never been a huge fan of Jack, but Uncle Nearest is another story altogether — or more accurately, it’s the half of the story you haven’t been told. Let’s enjoy a spicy, elegant version of the classic Jack and Coke. This one might be a bit much for Lemmy, but I know you’ll enjoy it. Time to make a Shelbyville Cola. Here’s the recipe:
Shelbyville Cola
1 ½ oz Nearest Green Tennessee Whiskey
2 oz Coca-Cola reduction
½ oz fresh orange juice
¼ oz Averna amaro
2-3 dashes orange bitters
Add all ingredients to a shaker tin. Shake for 15 seconds, until the outside of the tin is cold. Pour into a rocks glass over ice. Express a large lemon twist over the cocktail and garnish with the twist.
Coca-Cola Reduction
355 ml Mexican Coca-Cola (1 bottle)
Heat cola in a small saucepan over medium heat. Simmer 35-40 minutes, until reduced by half. Will keep in the fridge indefinitely.
Nathan “Nearest” Green invented Jack Daniel’s whiskey. More precisely, he invented the “Lincoln County process,” the sugar maple charcoal filtering technique that makes Tennessee whiskey unique. He didn’t get paid for the bulk of his labor, because he was a slave — the property of the Landis & Green firm, who rented him out to Reverend Dan Call as labor. An orphan named Jack Daniel went to work on the Call farm, where eventually one of his jobs was running the preacher’s whiskey still. It was Nearest who taught Jack to make whiskey. After Emancipation, Jack hired Nearest as his master distiller, and a legend began.
In 2020, the historian who unearthed the story of Nearest teamed up with Nathan’s descendants to create Nearest Green Distillery. I remember tasting their initial efforts and found it a bit too hot and sweet for my taste. Recently, Nearest Green released a lower-proof bottle that’s more mellow and approachable. I’d cheerfully recommend it as an addition to your liquor cabinet.
Jack Daniel’s is on my “do not buy” list. In January, the company that owns Jack decided to fire 650 of their employees and close the cooperage that has supplied barrels to Jack Daniel’s for generations. According to Brown-Forman: “This organizational evolution will simplify and streamline Brown-Forman’s structure, allowing it to become a more agile and efficient organization and …” blah-blah-blah. Spare me. Yet another company selling off its heritage in the name of short-term growth.
Inevitably, building this cocktail led me to reinvent the wheel and try to capture the magic of a “proper” Jack and Coke. There’s nothing wrong with the two-ingredient classic, but I love stripping flavorless water from cola and replacing it with flavors that pop into something magic. Amaro, the herbal Sicilian liqueur, shows a lot of promise in doing just that. Orange and cola also go together beautifully. I’ll probably be tinkering with this recipe for a long time, but this version is complex, refreshing, and delicious. I’m proud to offer it to you as a way to honor Nathan Green’s legacy.
Let’s talk ingredients:
Nearest Green Tennessee Whiskey: The difference between this whiskey and Jack Daniel’s is night and day. Jack has a heavy, obnoxious stone fruit note at the end of a sip. Nearest Green is light, sweet, and floral by comparison.
Cola reduction: I have considered making cola from scratch. It takes dozens of essential oils and exotic ingredients to get right. For now, I’m content to reduce decent cola down to syrup as a cocktail ingredient.
Averna amaro: This bittersweet Sicilian digestif provides a lot of punch and lift to the heavy cola syrup. Amaros have been the darling of the craft cocktail scene for years. They’re great when used in moderation, but they can take over the glass if you aren’t cautious.
Fresh orange juice: Do *not* use bottled OJ. It barely resembles the stuff from a fresh orange. Coca-Cola has an orange base, and the fresh juice reinforces that light citrus note.
Orange bitters: A little bergamot and related herbs from the bitters tie together the amaro and orange while reducing the overall sweetness level of the cocktail.
In summary and conclusion, drink well, drink often, and tip your bartender — donate to Wonkette at the link below!
We aren’t linking to Amazon anymore, because fuck Bezos with a rusty bar spoon. Go read
Love & Whiskey: The Remarkable True Story of Jack Daniel, His Master Distiller Nearest Green, and the Improbable Rise of Uncle Nearest by Fawn Weaver instead. Ms. Weaver is the woman who researched Nearest Green for decades and helped found the distillery. Her work is well worth the read.
You can find me on Bluesky at @samuraigrog!
OPEN THREAD! DRINK!
Masters tournament. Looks pretty light reservations, but Lord knows what will happen. Questions here.
You can sip this drink on the Monorail!