Merely thumbing through the pages of Mike Wolf’s holiday drink guide, “Cheer,” will show you that the key to a merry Christmas and a happy holiday isn’t presents, festive lighting, decorative trees, or hot cocoa. 

And it isn’t just family and friends, as that inclusion often begets an all-too-familiar social lubricant we’ve come to enjoy. You might have guessed it by now: the key to enjoying the holidays — or surviving — is alcohol. However, cynicism aside, Mike’s latest publication is a holiday haven of new experiences waiting to happen, whether you drink or not.

That’s because as much of a drinking guide “Cheer“ is, it’s also Mike’s personal story with the holidays, from fond memories of his mother setting the table to forming new experiences with his growing children. Recently, the Nashville-based writer, alchemist, vermouth maker, broadcaster, gardener, general manager, husband, and father sat down with TLM to discuss this wonderful season of drinking, sharing his hyper-seasonal and regional approach to cocktails, how the Nashville bar scene came together during the pandemic, and a simple party cocktail we can all use this upcoming Christmas.

Your latest book, “Cheer,” explores the joyous era of holiday drinking. What about this time of year makes it “drinking season?”

It’s a festive time of year when you either want to be out and about meeting folks for cocktails or coffee to reconnect, or you may just want to sit by the fire with a good book and a whiskey. Both activities go well with a drink in your hand, and these days, it doesn’t even have to be an alcoholic drink. This time of year is about the ritual of reconnecting and celebrating, trying to make sense of our ever-changing, crazy lives.

You take a hyper-seasonal and regional approach to cocktails. What are the benefits or significance of taking this approach?

Focusing on microclimates and “seasons within seasons” makes you realize that there aren’t just four seasons in a single year. Ingredients ebb and flow, and there’s a really interesting cadence to ingredients that go well together (tomatoes and basil, blackberries and chamomile, strawberry and rhubarb) that appear around the same time. The benefits are allowing nature to point you in an inspiring direction.

What are your favorite seasonal or regional ingredients to use? 

In “Cheer,” I have a whole section dedicated to Persimmon, which is a fascinating ingredient. There are Japanese varieties, which are gorgeous, and they have so many ways to coax out flavor from them in that culture (like drying them out by tying each one to a string and hanging it from the ceiling). Still, the wild persimmons that grow all over the United States have such a cool autumnal flavor. You have to wait until they’re basically overripe to use them, but they’re amazing with whiskey and rum.

Your earlier books, “Barantined,” and its predecessor, “Lost Spring,” are intimate and insightful journeys with bartenders as they share stories of the pandemic and recipes for at-home libations. Can you tell us about your experience writing this book and reliving some of these not-too-distant troubling times?

It was a rough one honestly; a very confusing time in which I had started a book in early 2020 all about the second golden age of drinking in America. Then flash forward a few months, and everyone is holed up in their house or apartment, and so many people are out of work. I shifted the second book I was working on after “Garden to Glass“ (which came out in late 2019), and I changed it to a book about how hospitality folks were coping with being out of work and watching their industry change overnight. An organization called Tennessee Action for Hospitality started, which helped raise money for hospitality workers in danger of losing their housing situation. So, the book helped raise money for that cause and was an effort to turn lemons into lemonade, as we do in this business. Looking back, it’s basically a really complicated home bar book.

Can you tell us about your Liquid Gold podcast?

Liquid Gold began as a way for my favorite bartender partner, Kenneth Dedmon, and I to continue working together. I was working on opening a tiki bar called Chopper back in 2018, and we were getting delayed constantly, so I needed a project to work on outside of that. The podcast was a way to stay connected and explore all kinds of topics within the world of beverages. Once we started, we realized we had so much to discuss; new ideas for episodes came easily. We’re on hiatus while I’m working on a new book project, but we hope to pick it back up in 2025. 

In addition to being a writer, mixologist, alchemist, vermouth maker, and broadcaster, you’re also the Assistant General Manager at Nelson’s Green Brier Distillery and Restaurant. What makes this distillery so historically significant, and what would you recommend for guests as they visit?

So many stories in the whiskey and bourbon world are inflated, distorted, or just complete bs. What’s amazing about Nelson’s Green Brier is that you have this 160-year-old story that is still unfolding to this day. Nelson’s is the original Tennessee Whiskey and was outselling Jack Daniels many times over way back in the 1880’s. It was a premium craft spirit way before there was such a thing. I’d definitely recommend taking a tour and learning the incredible but true story of this whiskey; then, I’d say you should stay for a cocktail and a meal. We’re proud of the food and drink here. It’s a world-class kitchen and bar program. 

Now, we’re in peak drinking season. As many of us start hosting family and friends, what is the easiest and tastiest holiday drink you recommend for these gatherings?

I recommend pre-batching Manhattans. Go with a simple 2:1 ratio (2 parts whiskey to 1 part Italian sweet vermouth and a few dashes of bitters). Bottle up your Manhattan mixture and store it in the freezer until the party starts. Then, you just pour three ounces of the Manhattan mix into a frozen coupe or old-fashioned glass with a big ice cube, add one ounce of water, and garnish with an orange peel expressed over the top and a cherry. Easy peasy!

To learn more about Cheer and other books by Mike, visit www.mikewolfbooks.com/. Follow Mike on Instagram and TikTok.

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Cover photo by Rinck Content Studio on Unsplash.

Martin Ramirez is a brisket-eating, Shiner-loving, road-tripping enthusiast of all things Texas. This Dallas-born writer / adventurer is ready to take his ‘78 El Camino to find the best in food, fun, and fitness throughout the Lone Star State.