Now that the temperatures have more or less maintained the downward trend here in Nashville, we’re all trying to figure out ways to stay warm.
Whether we’re picking up the pace on our walking food tours, or bundling up in our warmest coats and scarves to beat the chill, we can’t seem to shake the need to get warm! And while moving our bodies and packing on layers sure can work wonders, sometimes it’s more effective — and more fun! — to slurp something down that will warm us back up.
That’s why we’ve compiled a list of our Eight Favorite Places to Warm Up In Nashville, featuring the best hot [mostly boozy] drinks Music City has to offer!
High garden Tea
High Garden Tea is the kind of place that will warm up your body while also warming your soul. Featuring a massive selection of loose leaf teas that will leave you utterly amazed — plus spices, herbs, and their own line of kombucha on tap — this East Nashville tea shop encourages guests to enjoy a cup of tea in their cozy space, and actually discourages the use of laptops and big screens. Instead of zoning in to a computer, take a hiatus at High Garden and instead read a book, enjoy a board game, or simply connect with other humans over a cup of Music City’s best hot tea. Talk about heartwarming!
Photo Courtesy: Nashville Guru
Photo Courtesy: Urban Cowboy
The charming bar located just behind East Nashville’s trendiest bed & breakfast, the Public House Bar & Kitchen at Urban Cowboy is one of my favorite spots to warm up on a cold night. With an outdoor space that features two roaring fires plus plenty of blankets for bundling up, you’ll stay cozy out there even when the temps are low. Want to know the trick for warming up quick? Order the Hot Toddy. I repeat: order the hot toddy! A combination of bourbon, brandy, citrus, and spices, all blanketed by a pillowy layer of egg white and nestled into a vintage enamel mug, I can confidently call it the best hot toddy in Nashville.
Big Machine Distillery
Originally known as Tenn South Distillery, this Lynnville, TN-based spirit maker recently merged with powerhouse, Big Machine Label Group, to form Nashville’s newest spot for spirits: Big Machine Distillery. While the distillery is known first for their 25-times-distilled vodka, they also produce a Tennessee craft whiskey and New American style gin, all three of which go splendidly in their Hot Cider! Personally, I’m partial to spiking that sweet and spicy hot cider with the citrus-forward notes of gin, but any spirit is available for mixing. Best of all, these folks have two Nashville locations, one in Berry Hill and one on 3rd Avenue South, right off Nashville’s infamous, neon-lit Broadway!
Hot Tip! The downtown location of Big Machine Distillery is right smack in the middle of our downtown walking food tour route! Often times we’ll stop in for a sample throughout the winter. Book a tour with us today!
Photo Courtesy: Pinewood Social
With an entire section devoted to hot cocktails on their extensive cocktail list, it would be blasphemous to leave Pinewood Social off this roundup! One of my favorites is a coffee-based cocktail called The Southern Limerick. It mixes seasonal coffee, rye whiskey, amaro meletti and heavy cream to make a slightly bitter, yet subtly sweet coffee concoction that I could drink all day and all night! Equally as delicious but slightly more gluttonous, the Jack’s Cardigan is a fancy, spiked hot chocolate garnished with cookie shavings — it’s like a liquid dessert! If it’s imaginative hot cocktails you’re after, Pinewood Social is the place to go.
Two Ten Jack
Tonkotsu Ramen (Pork Belly Ramen)
Photo Courtesy: Two Ten Jack
Diving headfirst into a bowl of luscious, savory, piping-hot ramen on a freezing cold night is a no-brainer. But Two-Ten Jack does us one better: hot sake. This Izakaya + Ramen house is one of my first stops when the weather finally takes a turn towards single digits. I’ve long been a fan of their tori paitan shoyu ramen (in english: chicken meatballs ramen), but it wasn’t until recently that I discovered the joy of hot sake. Enjoyed in the traditional Japanese style, hot sake is served in a ceramic carafe and then poured into a tiny cup akin to a shot glass, and sipped in a similar way you would a neat whiskey. The experience of drinking sake alongside a good bowl of brothy noodles completely warms me to the core.
Dose (East)
One of Nashville’s best local coffee shops, Dose in East Nashville is a great spot to get your caffeine buzz and your booze buzz. Although the Murphy Road location is very cozy, we prefer the Eastside outpost on Riverside Drive when we’re in the mood for something boozy. Dose East offers both a traditional hot toddy and Irish coffee, but we’re partial to their Tennessee twist on the Irish drink. A mixture of their house coffee spiked with Belle Meade Bourbon and Louisa’s Liqueur — both of which are made by Nelson’s Green Brier Distillery right over in Marathon Village! — and topped with salty whipped cream, this hot, boozy treat makes us feel right at home.
Hot Tip: Interested in checking out Nelson’s Green Brier Distillery? Starting in 2020, A Little Local Flavor will be offering a brand new tour: Marathon Village Spirits Tour. Keep checking back on Our Tours page for more information.
Etc.
The younger sister to my favorite Nashville restaurant Etch, Etc. is like a mini version of Chef Deb Paquette’s beloved downtown restaurant. Tucked into Green Hills just off Crestmoor Road, Etc. is my go-to reprieve following an afternoon spent Christmas shopping at the mall. I still dream about the Apple of Solace cocktail I enjoyed there last year. A mixture of buttered rum, hot cider, and pretty much all the spices that taste like Christmas, this drink is happiness in a mug. Plus, it’s the perfect remedy for the shopping pandemonium in Green Hills these days. Don’t miss it
Photo Courtesy: Powell Architects
Bongo Java
No, Bongo Java’s coffee isn’t alcoholic (nor do their coffee shops serve spiked coffee drinks) but with the omnipresence of Bongo coffee all around Nashville, an at-home coffee cocktail is a breeze to whip up! Pick up a bag of beans or a hot cup to-go at their locations on either side of town, or check out any number of local cafés, shops, and grocery stores if you just need the grinds. Then take it home, and doctor it up! If you want to add a bit of buzz to your drink, I’d suggest keeping it local: drizzle a bit of Whisper Creek Tennessee Sipping Cream into your coffee, made over at Pennington Distillery right in Nashville’s Nations neighborhood. Or, add a glug of heavy cream alongside a glug of Sweet Lucy, made at Prichard’s Distillery in White’s Creek. The sky’s the limit! You’re drinking at home after all :)
Photo Courtesy: Bongo Java