2 oz. Uncle Nearest 1884
1 oz. lemon juice
.5 oz. ginger syrup
.5 oz. honey syrup
4 drops 20% saline solution
Smoke a double rocks glass on a cedar plank.
Combine ingredients in a shaker, shake with ice, then double strain
into the smoked glass with a large ice cube.
Garnish with a speared candied ginger cube.
Ginger syrup
200g fresh ginger root
500g sugar
500g water
Combine sugar and water in a vitamix or similar blender and blend for about two minutes. Roughly chop the ginger and add it to the blender. Blend for three minutes, then strain through a fine mesh chinois. Press the ginger pulp with a spatula to squeeze all the syrup out.
Honey syrup
250g raw honey
150g water
Mix honey and water until fully dissolved.
I created this drink as a way to showcase this wonderful expression of Tennessee whiskey. The story of Nathan "Nearest" Green is truly remarkable. He is credited with perfecting the Lincoln County process while working at a distillery as a slave in Tennessee. He mentored the young Jack Daniels, and is the first recorded black master distiller in the United States. This whiskey honors his legacy, and the master distiller today is his third generation descendant. The distinctive smokiness from the sugar maple charcoal is boosted here with the sweet fragrant cedar smoke. The pungent fresh ginger and raw honey flavors stand up to the assertive smokiness in this variation on the modern classic Penicillin cocktail.