From the time Ticonderoga Club opened 10 years ago, its proprietors have cheekily claimed that it’s been around since 1766. And while no business in Atlanta is that old, the Club does feel like a relic. Rather than chasing cocktail trends or forcing a theme, the team simply follows its instincts and curiosities, and shares them with genuine warmth. They poured low-ABV “suppressors” before the Aperol Spritz was a fashion statement, gave real consideration to zero-proof drinks when most bartenders still called them mocktails and carved out an easygoing, irreverent refuge when other cocktail bars were awash with pomp and didactics. As a result, Ticonderoga eludes classification. Is it a Colonial-style tavern with a suspiciously tiki-ish signature drink? A New England lodge serving fried clams and cold Narragansetts, or a Southern icon with James Beard nods and 1974 Armagnac on the backbar? (Yes.)
Three of the Club’s five partners—Greg Best, Paul Calvert and Regan Smith—are veterans of Atlanta’s cocktail renaissance, and the bar is a mashup of their sharpest instincts and strangest passions, from the short-lived quarterly house magazine to the hodgepodge of curios on the walls. Whether you’re there to drink an eponymous Ticonderoga Cup or a boilermaker with a pop of house “Amer Ticon,” the close attention to detail and quality is such a given that neither the bartender nor menu needs to spell it out for you. But if you do need something spelled out, just look down, and you’ll find the Club’s ethos scrawled into its custom oak bar: “Audacity. Integrity. Camaraderie.”
Champ-Ale
Named for a somewhat maligned sparkling malt liquor, this off-menu beer cocktail is one of Ticonderoga’s low-proof “suppressors.”
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MAKE IT
Ticonderoga Club’s inspirations pull from everywhere: taverns, the tropics and beyond.
Brandy connoisseurs should check out the Spirits Locker, which features a small but specialized list of some truly exceptional bottles of Calvados, Cognac and Armagnac.
The Ticonderoga Cup is a tropical take on the Julep made with rum and golden pineapple syrup.
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