I really enjoy where I live in the hinterlands of East Asheville, just short of crossing into Fairview. I have great mountain views from my patio that I would not have if I were closer to downtown, I can get on the parkway in 3 minutes, and I cherish my local, not-super-crowded-yet-with-tourists coffee shop as a workspace (and procurer of excellent pumpkin chocolate chip muffins). My one complaint is that aside from The Piazza (which I love), there’s not really anything right in my neighborhood. One either has to truck out to Fairview (which I also love) or go into town, which, at a 10-minute drive, isn’t bad at all. Still, it’s very nice that the “Reynolds Community” where I live has finally got a neighborhood bar, and thus far, it’s looking pretty promising.
I had my friend Dani over for a pumpkin-themed dinner the other night (I had some Pennsylvania pumpkin beers my parents brought down on a recent trip for her to try, and since I had some pumpkin pasta in the freezer, too, we figured we’d just make it a themed night). Post dinner, we were relaxing out on my patio enjoying the aforementioned mountain views over a Stegmaier pumpkin ale when she mentioned Cultivated Cocktails—a downtown distillery just across the street from the Grove Arcade I’ve never been to, but I know she loves—was opening a location, in what she incorrectly, initially thought was Fairview. We were both trying to figure out where in Fairview one could open up what she was under the impression was “a big space” when we realized we both had Google Maps right at our fingerprints and could look things up rather than conjecture.
We discovered that the new Cultivated Cocktails was right in my neighborhood, just a half mile away in an empty (not anymore) strip mall I typically pass at least once a day (and shares a parking lot with my favorite gas station!). The venue is open on Thursdays till 9, and since it was barely 7, we figured we might as well give it a shot.
Once I was parked, I was almost embarrassed I hadn’t noticed this new space because the parking lot was packed (though when we brought this up to our bartender, he assured us they’d only been open two weeks “ish” and had done minimal advertising on their new location yet).
Cultivated Cocktails looks very similar to any large, beer-hally brewery you’ve ever been to (for local reference, aesthetically, it reminds me of a Cawawba or a slightly smaller Highlands) with a big open space, bean bag sets, plenty of tables, and two large bars. While cocktails based on their spirits are obviously the main draw, they also have full wine, cider, and beer menus AND have a full food menu provided by a partnership with Mountain Madres (another downtown locale I’ve never been to), which I’m excited to check out (food options by me are limited). The place was very lively for a Thursday, which I hope is an indicator of things to come. I’m excited to see how it evolves—the bartender also told us they were planning on airing the Reynolds High School football games on Fridays over a projector, which sounds like my personal nightmare for a whole host of reasons, but I won’t hold that against them
AshevilleExplorer 