The rain was steadily falling when I made my way across Mississippi state borders, but it did little to curb my enthusiasm to experience the Delta Blues history, Abe’s Bar-B-Q, and meeting some of the most accommodating bartenders in the country. (Though I sadly did not get a chance to see any catfish playing blues music on a fence). In Oxford, I stopped by William Faulkner’s grave to pay my respects to the literary lion. Empty whiskey bottles and flowers were scattered everywhere, and I was reminded of his famous quote: “Don’t bother just to be better than your contemporaries or predecessors. Try to be better than yourself.”
MISSISSIPPI
Lots of legendary products claim Mississippi as their birthplace, such as pecans, cotton, catfish, sweet potatoes, towboats, and Pine-Sol, invented in Jackson in 1929. Blues music originated in Mississippi. Robert Johnson sold his soul to the devil at a Mississippi crossroads in the 1930s in order to become the greatest guitarist of all time. Bootleggers and blues-influenced music runneth deep in the history of Mississippi. Mississippi was the last state to repeal Prohibition, finally turning a corner in 1966 after outlawing hooch in 1907, so Mississippians have a lot of catching up to do with the rest of the country.
In Mississippi, we like to drink quote a bit, and we do this in the woods and on front porches, just as people up North might imagine (we also drink in homes and restaurants, too, of course). The best thing about living in the Deep South is that it’s warm nine months a year and we can take our drinking outside. There’s nothing better than a nice porch, the sun shining, a cold drink . . .
—Mary Miller, novelist, Always Happy Hour (Oxford)
Juke joints—post-emancipation southern establishments featuring music and dancing, and clandestinely serving alcohol—were kickin’, hootin’, and hollerin’ from the stages to the dance floors in the 1940s, some of them staying open all day long to keep the party in full sweat swing (homemade moonshine was popular, but even after Prohibition ended, blacks were still not being admitted to many licensed bars). The most popular joints were situated around the Delta, most of the music was ragtime or blues, and the dancing that took place was unapologetically American. The blues took shape in these hallowed places, and they are sadly disappearing.
Jayce McConnell was one of the first people in Mississippi really working on the craft of making proper cocktails. His influence on the direction of Snackbar’s program is why I am here today. There are a lot of talented bartenders in the state and Jayce played a huge factor in helping create Mississippi’s cocktail culture.
—Ivy McLellan, Snackbar (Oxford)
Mississippi was formerly known for its Milk Punch cocktail, enjoyed on riverboats and often used as a hangover cure, but its popularity eventually faded everywhere except New Orleans, which is not a surprise, as the drink is essentially the South’s version of a Long Island Iced Tea, a boozy cocktail packed with a mind-bending 4 ounces of Cognac, rum, and bourbon waiting to derail your plans for not only the rest of the night but a good portion of your following morning. “Professor” Jerry Thomas, the first American celebrity bartender, was responsible for putting the Mississippi Milk Punch on the map in 1862, publishing the first recipe in his seminal The Bar-Tender’s Guide, or How to Mix Drinks, and the spirits and cocktail historian David Wondrich captured its historic American essence best in Esquire when he wrote about the drink in 2007: “Consider the origins of its ingredients: French cognac, American bourbon, Jamaican (and therefore British) rum, Mediterranean (and therefore Spanish) lemons, and sugar. It’s Mississippi history in a glass—de Soto, Louis XIV, Bull Connor, and all.”
Feel free to expand your cocktail survey throughout the state of Mississippi, as many towns feature wonderful cocktail menus, such as Hattiesburg’s Branch Cocktail Bar (which has an extensive menu) and Mahogany Bar (“each cocktail is crafted individually with loving, often calloused hands”).
Starkville is the location not only of Mississippi State College, but also the Guest Room, where co-owner Brian Kelley and his talented team of bartenders have been making residents very happy over the years. One of their famous cocktails is the Slaughter Tobacco Company, a Four Roses bourbon–based cocktail with tobacco syrup, citrus, honey, and hickory sumac bitters, named after Ray Slaughter, a local Starkville legend and one of the first regulars at the Guest Room. His family owned the town Chevrolet dealership for many decades, and you still see plenty of old Chevys with “Slaughter Chevrolet Company” branded on the bumper.
Oxford alone has a surprisingly large number of bars worth visiting for a town of only 24,000 people. City Grocery is a can’t-miss for a cold beverage and its legendary status as a literary haunt; the Blind Pig is where everyone in the industry hangs their hat after a long bar shift (so you know it’s worth paying a visit); and it’s never wrong to angle toward the elevated cocktail programs at Saint Leo and the Saint Leo Lounge, co-directed by the talented, praiseworthy, and always cool-under-pressure Joseph Stinchcomb.
An Old Fashioned is the most American cocktail. It uses an American-made spirit, yes, but you can add any other spirit bases and make it your own.
—Joseph Stinchcomb, head bartender, Saint Leo (Oxford)
MISSISSIPPI COCKTAIL BAR
Snackbar is a busy place with lots of comfortable, casual energy going on, and the bar is a feel-good destination for classic cocktails, creative housemade originals, and award-winning food. I managed to speak with everyone in proximity, which is an interesting social dynamic. An older man started talking to me as though we had been speaking for some time, and he said we as men need to be more careful with our hips. “My doctor said this to me,” he said. “And we just happen to have a proclivity to need hip replacements more than women. And that’s good to know.” They featured a female musician menu when I visited, with a great quote from Dolly Parton: “God tells us not to judge anyone, no matter what anyone’s sexual preferences are or if they’re black, brown, or purple.” Love you, Dolly!
Farmers Coke is something that has a cool tradition here in the South. Peanuts in a glass Coke bottle make for an interesting combination of flavors. Sweet and salty with that crisp bite from the Coke is pretty awesome on a hot day.
—Ivy McLellan, Snackbar (Oxford)
MISSISSIPPI SPIRIT
Downtown Jackson has been lucky enough to host Cathead since 2010. Cathead Distillery got its name from the area’s close relationship to blues (as anyone from the Mississippi Delta who is a blues musician is called a “cat head”), and the distillery provides support to the local music scene on a regular basis. The honeysuckle and pecan-flavored vodkas are top choices for people’s boogie shoes at the nearby juke joints, but don’t skate on the Hoodoo chicory liqueur or aged gins.
I grew up going to Mississippi State and Ole Miss football games. Mississippi is right in the middle of SEC football country, and I’m pretty sure the unofficial drink of Southeastern Conference football is Jack Daniel’s and Coke.
—Brian Kelley, owner, the Guest Room (Starkville)
MISSISSIPPI’S OLDEST BAR
Richard King acquired this historic building in 1789 and turned it into a tavern, an inn, and the town’s post office. Stories surrounding the bar include one of a ghost being spotted in the tavern, allegedly the mistress of Mr. King (no relation to Stephen . . . or is there . . .?). It was a private residence from 1823 to 1973, but was taken over by the native queen of Natchez, Chef Regina Charboneau, and King’s now offers wood-fired flat-bread pizzas, farm-to-table food, craft cocktails, mixology classes, and complimentary hauntings.
BUCKET LIST BAR
The Apothecary, located in the back of Brent’s Drugs, was the first craft cocktail bar to open in Jackson, in 2013. They name their cocktails after memorable figures in and around Mississippi’s bygone era of soda fountain lore (a nod to Prohibition-era bartenders who stayed in the United States instead of traveling overseas to bartend, some of them working in soda fountains, serving nonalcoholic beverages), featuring drinks such as the Doc Noble, named after an actual Brent’s Drugs pharmacist employed there in the 1960s. Take a seat at the bar, take a photo or two of the back bar—which is home to a series of vintage wooden drawers used during their early soda fountain days—and sip your barrel-aged Negroni amid the unfussy refinement.
BLOOD ON THE LEAVES
Come take a journey on the Mississippi Blues Trail to visit some of the greatest juke joints in the world. You might never be the same.
—Brian Kelley, owner, the Guest Room(Starkville)
In February 2018, Joe Stinchcomb, a black bartender, made waves in the local community for putting out a cocktail menu honoring African Americans affected by racial oppression, including famous black bartenders like John Dabney, who was born a slave in 1824 and made Mint Juleps for privileged white people in Virginia before earning enough money to negotiate his freedom, and Tom Bullock, a famous St. Louis bartender and author of The Ideal Bartender, the first cocktail book published by a black author, in 1917. When a black bartender is being whistled at, or finger-snapped, or called with “Ay, boy,” there is still a problem. I visited Oxford the same weekend a rally was going to take place in defense of the Confederate flag. These issues are unfortunately still with us. They need to be addressed. Joe, thank you for raising awareness.
1 ounce Pusser’s rum
1 ounce Cruzan Black Strap rum
¼ ounce Campari
1 ounce blood orange juice
¾ ounce orgeat
¾ ounce fresh lime juice
2 dashes Bittermens ‘Elemakule Tiki bitters
Garnish: fresh mint sprig
Combine ingredients with ice in a shaker and shake until chilled. Strain and serve over ice in a chilled highball glass.
THE PILOT
Living in the South and being so close to Tennessee, I would say whiskey is our go-to state spirit. We don’t have many distilleries making whiskey in Mississippi but we sure love to drink it.
—Joseph Stinchcomb, head bartender, Saint Leo (Oxford)
Ivy McLellan is a true gentleman bartender and has been representing the wonderful Snackbar for a few years now. He moves through the busy space with hospitality and finesse, and conjures some very delicious cocktails in the process. One of the best is the Pilot, a terrific summer cocktail honoring Mississippi by using local favorite Bristow gin—though when I asked Ivy what the state’s cocktail should be, his droll answer was: “Light domestic beer and humidity.”
1¾ ounces Bristow gin
1½ ounce Luxardo maraschino liqueur
1 ounce watermelon juice
¼ ounce fresh lime juice
Garnish: 3 fresh basil leaves
Shake the ingredients with ice until chilled; fine strain into a chilled Collins glass with fresh ice. Garnish with the basil.
What does every American bar need? Heavy hands, good personalities, and a copy of this book.
—Ivy McLellan, Snackbar (Oxford)