Participate in the Best Bloomin’ Beverage Contest!
Spring is here, and we’re celebrating with the Best Bloomin' Beverage Contest, a fun and festive way for Downtown Asheville’s cafes, restaurants, bars, coffee shops, and breweries to show off their floral-inspired creations!
The People’s Choice Award winner will be announced at the Community Concert on May 29, the culmination of Asheville Beer Week, so get your beverage ready for the spotlight! This is a chance to showcase your creativity and attract more customers while celebrating the season of bloom.
Enjoy a floral-inspired drink at any of the following establishments and vote for your favorite here!
Antidote
Featured Beverage: Pink Pony Club
Description: This delicious springtime cocktail brings a floral twist to a traditional gin sour, featuring Chemist’s Biltmore Rose Gin, Italicus liqueur, House-made Vegan Egg-white for a silky texture, and an herbal tea blend from Dobra Tea.
Battery Park Book Exchange & Champagne Bar
Featured Beverage: Honey'd Vine
Description: Delicate like a childhood memory, the sweet taste of Cathead Honeysuckle Vodka is brightened by the soothing flavors of Asheville Grey Tea with Lemon. But then it's brought back to earth with the unique botanicals of Hendricks Gin and the distinctive nutty flavor of Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur.
Bear’s Smokehouse BBQ
Featured Beverage: Dilly Dahlia
Description: A bright and refreshing mix of Ketel One Botanical, Disaronno, grapefruit, lemon, and Sprite. Floral and citrusy with a hint of almond sweetness.
Boomer’s Bourbon and Cocktail Bar
Featured Beverage: Violet Whisper
Description: A house-made Lavender Spritz that’s delicate, floral, and perfect for a soft spring evening.
Botanist and Barrel
Featured Beverage: Glass Garden
Description: Rooted in craft and collaboration, Glass Garden blends Botanist & Barrel’s Pink is a Feeling muscadine cider with botanical vermouth blanco, lemon, and fresh local flowers—served in a handblown Iris Tumbler by Lexington Glassworks. It’s a piece of art you can sip from, showcasing local craftsmanship and Asheville’s natural spirit. 3% of proceeds for the cocktail and the tumbler will be donated to RiverLink.
Chai Pani
Featured Beverage: Golden Hour Sour
Description: A golden-hued gin sour infused with warm Indian spices—fennel, fenugreek, and turmeric—balanced with aquafaba for a silky finish.
Chestnut
Featured Beverage: The Hungry Caterpillar
Description: A lush and layered drink with Oak & Grist Genever Gin, Montenegro Amaro, local honey, citrus, and a crown of passionfruit foam.
Cúrate Tapas Bar
Featured Beverage: Suelo y Pétalos
Description: Crafted by bartender Cesar Morón, this springtime tribute to his daughters blends Dewar's White Label Scotch, Domaine de Canton, Cynar, hibiscus and pink peppercorn syrup, lemon, and edible flowers. Lightly smoky, floral, and full of heart and balance.
Creperie Bouchon
Featured Beverage: Garden Party
Description: A floral and effervescent delight with Local Chemist Gin, St. Germain, Crème de Violette, lemon, and a splash of pink bubbly.
Dobra
Featured Beverage: Blue Magic
Description: Incredible combination of Yao Bae tea, spiralina,coconut milk, honey and nutmeg.
Foggy Mountain Brew Pub
Featured Beverage: Strawbreezy
Description: Fresh strawberries and basil with vodka, lemon, and soda water.
Gemelli
Featured Beverage: Flower Drop
Description: Smirnoff vodka meets elderflower and house-made hibiscus-lemon balm syrup, finished with a grapefruit twist. Floral, bright, and lightly tart.
Malaprops Cafe
Featured Beverage: Carnival Instincts
Description: A rich and aromatic coffee creation made with Counter Culture espresso, cardamom rose syrup, and your choice of milk—served hot or iced for any spring mood.
Noble Cider and Mead
Featured Beverage: Pomegranate Rose Mead
Description: A juicy, floral mead made with pomegranate, rose hips, and rose petals. Sweetened with wildflower honey for a well-balanced sip that celebrates spring blooms.
One World Brewing
Featured Beverage: Spring Pilsner
Description: A crisp, dry-hopped Pilsner brewed with Audacia hops and local Riverbend malts. Notes of berries, purple flowers, and dried stone fruit. Crushable and refreshing! (ABV 4.7%, IBU 28)
Pack’s Tavern
Featured Beverage: Blackberry Basil Smash
Description: Hendrick’s Gin, muddled basil, and house-made blackberry sour mix (with honey and citrus) come together in this herbaceous and fruity spring sipper.
Pulp
Featured Beverage: Violet Femmes
Description: Four Roses Bourbon meets Crème de Violette and Crème de Cassis, brightened with lemon juice and a touch of simple syrup. Bold, floral, and beautifully balanced.
Roll Up Herbal Bar
Featured Beverage: Something Floral
Description: This alcohol-free creation tastes like spring in a cup. Delicate rose and juniper are mixed with cucumber lime agua fresca, a dash of dragonfruit powder for color, and a dusting of rose petals and buds.
Strada Italiano
Featured Beverage: Blossom & Blaze
Description: Smoky Lunazul El Humoso tequila paired with hibiscus-agave syrup, lemon, and a salt rim. Floral, semi-sweet, and bold with a kiss of smoke.
Terra Nova Beer Co
Featured Beverage: Les Fleurs
Description: A light, refreshing summertime lager inspired by a rosé spritz—minus the grapes. Brewed with hibiscus, rose hips, rose petals, and sumac berries, it pours a vibrant pink with bright floral notes, subtle fruitiness, and a crisp, dry finish. Naturally carbonated and brilliantly clear, it’s a crushable beer that surprises and delights.
Twin Leaf Brewery
Featured Beverage: Les Roses Du Joséphine
Description: French saison brewed with rosebuds and lemongrass utilizing a unique blend of Saison yeasts. Floral aromatics lead to peppery notes, lemon, fresh cut grass, and hints of ginger. The dry finish will have you reaching for another sip. A beautiful and complex ale fit for Empress Joséphine herself.
Twisted Laurel AVL
Featured Beverage: Blushing Botanist
Description: Bacardi and Crème de Violette muddled with mint, lime, and blueberry. Fresh, fruity, and slightly tropical.
Well Played Café
Featured Beverage: Miyabi: Matcha Fizz
Description: Give a toast to spring growth with Dobrá’s Matcha Natural, Cultivated Cocktail’s Highway 9 Gin, and Edna Ryne’s Appalachian Fernet. Herbal, fizzy, and full of life.
Wicked Weed
Featured Beverage: Rosè Season
Description: A bright and refreshing blend of Tito’s Vodka, rhubarb amaro, muddled strawberry, fresh lemon, VIDL Rosé, and soda.
Zelda Dearest Hotel’s Wine and Roses
Featured Beverage: Velvet Bloom
Description: Yuzu gin and chamomile dry vermouth softened with an orange blossom honey milk-wash. Smooth, velvety, and sophisticated.