Sea Island Life Magazine Fall/Winter 2014 | Page 61

From left: Sea Island’s fresh carrot cocktail;
Randi Zeagler picking ingredients for her
creations; Old-Fashioned with fig jam

“I like what you’re drinking to be fresh, balanced and unpretentious.”
—RANDI ZEAGLER

MARK ALLEN PHOTO BY LAHCEN BOUFEDJI

Getting Crafty
The recent growth of craft distilleries has
been especially noticeable in Georgia, where
locally made spirits give Sea Island bartenders even more opportunities to reimagine
classics that represent the region. Mark
Allen, who founded Lazy Guy Distillery in
Kennesaw, thinks the rise in micro-distilleries in the Peach State may have taken a cue
from the success of its microbreweries, but
ultimately, he says, “We believe people like
to venture away from the mainstream rum,
vodka, gin and whiskey labels.”
Bourbon is Lazy Guy’s prize spirit and an
old-time favorite in mixed drinks, from the
tails are on the upswing in large part due
to the craft distilling industry,” Allen says.
thing more than a label that’s been around
since Prohibition. They look for a different,
unique spirit.”
Zeagler’s John Daly Revisited cocktail, on
the menu at Sea Island’s Oak Room, combines
jasmine tea simple syrup with unsweetened
iced tea, lemon juice, Texas-made Southern

Son Vodka and Atlanta-brewed SweetWater
420 Extra Pale Ale. Zeagler calls it “the
epitome of the South,” and shows that integrating locally made spirits into cocktails is
just another way to add a new dimension to
old classics.

Regional Expression
Using Southern labels isn’t the only way that
bartenders are keeping things local. Fresh
herbs and indigenous ingredients also amplify
the libations at Sea Island. Zeagler enjoys
plucking English thyme and sweet basil from
the Georgian Room’s garden and making
rosewater out of fresh blooms for her drinks.
Tavola is currently adopting a garden-toglass program, which sources ingredients and
garnishes in cocktails from the patio garden.
Because Italian food is a celebration of simple,
fresh ingredients, the drinks also echo this
sentiment. For instance, Zigman will be pairing
gin with juiced ginger and fresh carrots, and
bringing tequila, basil, grapefruit and rosemaryinfused syrup together. “Tequila isn’t what
you normally associate with Italy but, with the
herbs, it becomes our interpretation,” she says.

The bar opens at the Georgian Room
Lounge at 6 p.m. every day, but at 5:30 you’ll
for the evening menu from farmers market
infused with lime zest simple syrup. “It tasted
like a bright limeade,” she says. “Sometimes,
when you’re trying to be overly creative, you
lose focus on the important thing: the cocktail. … I like what you’re drinking to be fresh,
balanced and unpretentious.”
Part of the craftsmanship of creating the
perfect cocktail is the balance Zeagler mentions. There is an unmistakable marriage of
old and new in what mixologists are serving.
The recipes are time-tested favorites, but the
interpretations are cutting-edge. Although
stepping out to the patio to pick herbs follows
the recent trend of using local and homegrown
ingredients, cocktails were originally created
through the very practice of backyard experimentation. According to John T. Edge, director
of the Southern Foodways Alliance, appreciating the recipes of the past while supporting
local craft distilleries does Georgia proud:
“That’s progress built on tradition.”

FALL/WINTER 2014/15 | SEA ISL AND LIFE 61

SI4_Simple-e_v2-e_v3-e_v4-e.indd 61

9/19/14 8:39 AM