Blog
Thoughts, Musings, and anecdotes from the Gate 11 Team
Soul Warmers
As cold weather descends upon the Tennessee Valley, we know that it is time for Gate 11 Distillery to bring back our seasonal warm cocktails. We call them Soul Warmers – because that’s what they do. Its an exciting time of year at the Choo Choo and our creative bartenders has found a way toRead More…
Craft by Design Part Two: The Distillery
There are currently over 2,300 craft distilleries in the US and they display an astonishing degree of diversity in their products, in their back stories and in their approaches. With so many producers in this craft beverage space, its a fair question to ask – what makes this one different? One key difference is thatRead More…
Boxcar Whiskey – A Fortuitous Gimmick
We didn’t plan to have a boxcar barrelhouse from the start. It wasn’t until we had actually built the distillery and started to plan for whiskey production that we realized – we just don’t have room to store barrels around here. Distiller and Gin Mistress Wanda suggested using a railcar but the ones on-site wereRead More…
Craft by Design – Part One: The Bar
“So is this a distillery with a cocktail bar or…a cocktail bar with its own distillery?”. That’s a question we get a lot here at Gate 11. And, admittedly, its a fair one. What is not in question however is that the commitment to craft creativity does not stop at the distillery boundary. Gate 11Read More…
The San Fransisco World Spirits Competition – What’s the Big Deal?
As the US craft distilling industry has grown, so have the number of distilled spirits competitions. Amidst all the hoopla, however, the San Francisco World Spirits Competition (SFWSC) has emerged as the most prestigious spirits competition in the world. Founded in 2000 and pre-dating the craft spirits movement, the SFWSC has grown increasingly popular year-by-year.Read More…
The Tennessee Whiskey Trail
To first understand what the Tennessee Whiskey Trail is you’ve got to understand the history of whiskey in Tennessee and the people who distill it. In the early 1800s the United States had over 14,000 registered distilleries across the country with Tennessee being home to hundreds of them. Heck, even Chattanooga was home to overRead More…
Cocktail Pairings with Gate 11
Event planners have the challenging task of making each event something special and truly memorable. Great care goes into developing a creative menu of delicious courses that excite the mind as well as the palette. Two techniques that are often used to help make events special are to highlight the use of quality local ingredientsRead More…
The Perfect Vodka Martini
A vodka martini is a timeless cocktail with a history dating as far back as the gold rush in the late 1880’s. At the most basic level, it is a simple combination of vodka and vermouth, masterfully crafted into a delicious cocktail Some of the greatest historians and writers had named the vodka martini asRead More…
House Made Simple Syrups-”The Real McCoy”
The bartenders at Gate 11 Distillery are creative mixologists who fully embrace the notion of craft cocktails. One of the ways we reach and maintain the high standards we set for ourselves is to make many of the simple syrups used in our cocktails in-house. You can use this same approach to help create classicRead More…
Understanding Gin Styles and the Evolution of a Spirit
Gin enjoys a reputation as the sophisticated spirit – the foundation for the gin and tonic, the gin martini and other posh libations from the Golden Age of cocktail culture. However, the history of this venerable spirit reveals a humble beginning and an ongoing pattern of evolving gin styles. The earliest versions of gin areRead More…
Distillery and Cocktail WINTER Bar Hours:
Mon – 1 pm to 11 pm
Tues – 1 pm to 5 pm
Wed – 1 pm to 5 pm
Thur: 1 pm to 10 pm
Fri – 11 am to 11 pm
Sat – 11am to 11pm
Sun – 12 noon to 7 pm
We are serving cocktails at our indoor and outdoor cocktail bars overlooking the Chattanooga Choo Choo engine and our spacious covered patio. You take your cocktails with you as wander around the Choo Choo gardens since the entire area is Open Container.