Inside dish: Take a look inside new South Slope craft cocktail bar, Antidote
Original Article: Take a look inside new South Slope craft cocktail bar, Antidote
By Mackensy Lunsford
Antidote Cocktail Lounge looks as though it's stood on the South Slope for 100 years. That is, if it wasn't for the fading smell of wood stain, the too smooth walls, the USB port and outlets embedded in each tabletop
The bar is set in a new, three-story building with a rooftop and front patio, all dressed in a pre-Prohibition look without veering toward a vision of inauthentic camp.
Instead, with its turn-of-the-century antiques, period wall treatments and tile, it feels like something you might stumble upon while wandering a city with a deeper history of bar culture.
A bar 'like grandma's house'
On the main floor are several nooks in which to gather over drinks, several tables lit with dim lamps before an elegant but sturdy marble-topped bar.
There's a small booth to the left of the bar, one under the stairs, and another little room with a desk and a chess board at the top of the stairs, marking the entrance to the second-floor mezzanine. Against the south wall of the mezzanine, a piano awaits trained fingers. Nearby are tables and a long, comfortable couch.
“Every time you come in, there’s somewhere else to sit and explore, All these different nooks and crannies that are kind of like grandma’s house in a way.”
That's if grandma was particularly stylish and had a proclivity for fine liquor and turn-of-the-century cocktails.
A ROBUST SELECTION OF COCKTAILS
Behind the bar, you'll see a notable gin selection, including Chemist gin, made in the building next door. You can even get a peek at the Chemist's production facilities through a window in Antidote's first-floor seating area.
The Chemist and many other labels will find their way into a variety of cocktails, including Spanish-style gin and tonics with thoughtfully paired tonics, seasonal garnishes and botanical elements, served in goblets.
Antidote also carries a large assortment of whiskey, rum and amari. And, speaking of local botanicals, the thee main products from Asheville's own Eda Rhyne Distillery: Appalachian Fernet; Rustic Nocino; and Amaro Flora. If you're lucky, you'll spot behind the bar a bottle of the next-door distillery's Shadowclock Bierbrand, a limited-edition beer brandy made in collaboration with Burial Beer.
"It's something you don't see in the States very often," said Burritt, explaining how the finished beer is distilled and aged to make a beer brandy with a noticeable hop profile. "It gives it almost a sweet, floral profile that's hard to describe."
The bar pairs the spirit with the Burial Shadowclock beer it's distilled from to make a distinctive boilermaker, he explained. "It's the most unique drink I've ever tasted."
Few distilleries in the United States make a beer brandy, a primarily European tradition. But it fits well with Burritt's vision for Antidote, which he pulls from the European bar world. "These cities that have these really beautiful hotels where bars first started, and where that cocktail culture never died."
Now, where breweries have lately reigned supreme, Antidote will add another layer to the South Slope, as well as Asheville's own deepening cocktail culture.
Details about Antidote
There's room for about 20-30 people on a rooftop patio, which has its own bar and a nice view
The bar is rated for about 130 people inside, another 30 on a front patio, which has a fire pit. It's likely that Antidote managers will not allow the bar to reach capacity.
Antidote is in soft-opening mode, with an expanded selection of liquor, wine and beer to come, and a grand opening in January.
The bar does not serve food, making it a private club.
Antidote is open daily at 151 Coxe Ave.