Youâve heard us and probably everyone else in town talk about how excited Memphians are for patio season. I mean, with great weather and so many local bartenders showing off their skills, there are plenty of reasons to be hyped! But itâs not just about the patios–itâs whatâs on the inside that counts. Even though our friends at Central Station have the perfect patio for some South Main fun, their lobby bar, Eight & Sand, is where you need to be.
We caught up with Will Davenport, Eight & Sandâs general manager, and learned a little about him and how the cocktail program at the bar combines with the most chill atmosphere to make one unforgettable experience!Â
We Are Memphis: What do you love about working at Eight & Sand?Â
Will Davenport: I was born and raised in Memphis and I have so much love for this city and the people and stuff that comes out of here. I also have a really soft spot in my heart for Memphis music so here I get to blend my love of cocktails–we do a very Memphis forward program here where we try to highlight Memphis products and producers and locally owned companies through our menus and products that we bring in. So Iâm happy to work on that side and also as far as the atmosphere weâve got a killer music program.Â
WAM: What makes Eight & Sand different from any other bar in town?Â
Will: Most of my career, I was working in fine dining restaurants which I had a lot of fun with and it was where I was able to grow a lot of my knowledge and ability to build beverage programs. Eight & Sand has been a whole changeover. Weâre a bar so Iâm able to focus in on that. It provides a really fun atmosphere with great drinks behind it and making it very accessible–I want everyone to come in here and have a good time.Â
WAM: What are your top two favorite drinks to make?Â
Will: I love making a drink called Boulevardier it’s a negroni riff–I usually use rye whiskey in mine because I love the bite and the extra heat you get from that and then Campari which is a bitter orange liqueur and then just a good sweet vermouth usually those are done in equal parts but I usually bump the rye up on mine and drop the sweet vermouth down so you get this nice a little bit bitter but real boozy kind of whiskey style cocktail. I think itâs a nice little sipper. Another favorite is just a classic margarita. Itâs actually my parentsâ favorite cocktail, so Iâve got a lot of practice in!Â
WAM: Whatâs your favorite dish from the bar menu?Â
Will: Thatâs a tough one–I think Iâm going to have to go with our wings. Theyâre just super tasty and theyâve got this sweet and spicy Asian style sauce and this blue cheese ranch on the side. I absolutely hate blue cheese, I canât eat it with anything but with those wings itâs really really good.Â
WAM: What should someone order for the first time at Eight & Sand or their first time at the bar in general?
Will: Honestly what I encourage a lot of people to do is to just come up. We have a lot of talented, well-trained bartenders and just kind of come in. If you canât find anything immediately off the menu, just ask them to whip you up something! We all do that, itâs one of our favorite things. Itâs just a time to get creative and make something custom and unique for each individual person. But if thatâs not your speed and you want something off the menu, I recommend an Andrew Michael Old Fashioned. Itâs just a tried and true classic and itâs hard to beat.Â
WAM: If you could make a classic âMemphisâ themed cocktail, what would you make? What about something more modern?Â
Will: For a classic one, just kind of taking our Old Fashioned on the menu is a great idea. I use Old Dominickâs Huling Station for the base in it and then we make bitters in-house to go along with it. Itâs a very local thing. For a modern style–getting into spring and summer things I like to do that I don’t see very often are shandy style cocktails–so incorporating beer in some way. So Iâd like to make some light patio sipper that has a cool local beer on top of it.Â
WAM: What is your advice to someone who is a beginner looking to get into mixology?
Will: I would say just have fun with it. The way I got into it was through cooking. I love to cook a lot so I took that passion and threw it into bartending. It can be a bit overwhelming at first, but you kind of just learn more every single day. Then, you get to a point where youâre just creating stuff. And sometimes itâs not going to be good–youâre going to make some bad stuff every now and then but donât get discouraged by it. At the end of the day, you can just shoot it back and start over!Â
If you havenât been to Eight & Sand yet, nowâs the time! Check them out online here or follow them on Instagram @eightandsandmemÂ
Cheers!