Green Tings

For our July campaign, we wanted to go with a green theme. Firstly I, (Neka) absolutely loves the color green, but green means so much more to us.

Green is Growth.

Firstly, the color green reminds us of growth, LIFE, healthiness, abundance, and prosperity. When we see beginner spuds or healthy plants, they are at their most green. Green land that is cultivated, and nurtured properly yields harvests that nourish future generations. There’s nothing like the beginning of spring, the fresh blooms, fresh fruits and veggies, and new leaves on the trees to remind us of the magic, and consistency of this great planet.

Green is sustainability.

Secondly, green can also mean sustainability. How are we taking care of our planet? We make recycle, repurpose things that we already have, and definitely use eco-friendly straws… (because, we’re saving the turtles too.) Being more mindful, more green, and more intentional on how we navigate the world, is what helps us become better people, and the world become a better place. 

Green is nourishing.

Finally, when you eat green, you are giving yourself some of the best benefits for your body… especially if you consume more than 4 alcoholic beverages per week. Some  green places that we love to eat and drink (LOCALLY)  are Huriyali, Verde, Clean Juice, Blend Juice, Gnome Cafe, Harold’s Cabin. 

Green drinks are a must have. Especially after a long weekend. We love to juice, or get juices from the local shops we mentioned above. A green juice or smoothie will completely change the way your body feels. For happy hour, we love some green cocktails. The cocktails that we feature in the green promotion are called “The Green Lotus” and “Spritz Verde”, the recipes are below. 

“Spritz Verde” (low ABV)

1 oz Midori

1 oz pineapple juice 

Topped with  Hop Water OR

Dry Champagne

“The Green Lotus”

1 oz Jim Beam

2 oz green tea 

.75 oz lime juice 

.5 oz mint simple syrup 

.5 oz Elderflower liqueur

What does green mean to you?

In conclusion, Green is such a regal color and has so many meanings. We have so many people telling us on Instagram what green means to them, and we are interested to know what it means to you? Cheers

Cognac 2020

Last year, before the world took a pause, and we experienced a whole pandemic…. we had the honor and privilege of going to France to learn more about the amazing town and spirit, known as Cognac. It was an unforgettable experience.

We took the 4 hour train ride from Paris south to Cognac and it was a beautiful sight indeed, full of countryside homes and land as far as the eye could see. It was a very different vibe from the hustle and bustle of big city France. 

Once we arrived at the train station, we were greeted by Amy Pasquet  and she drove us to her home in the countryside of the Cognac region called Chez Ferchaud. Amy and her husband Jean Luc have a cognac “house/distillery” named after her husband and father Jean Luc Pasquet Cognac. What’s special about their cognac is that it is ORGANIC and all natural. 

What is organic cognac? Firstly, cognac is a type of brandy made from distilled white wine. (White wine comes from white grapes.) Organic cognac does not use any chemicals on the grapes when they are growing. When we were driving through the countryside we saw lots of grape vines with orange grass under them, we were told that the grass turned orange from Round Up.  (Pesticide) Well, Amy and Jean Luc do not use any pesticides or chemicals in their grape fields like their neighboring houses. They use all natural plants to keep bugs away from their grape vines. When we saw their grape vines, the earth below was very green and leafy. Just beautiful. It is more expensive to do, but yields a better product. 

After they showed us their distillery and the fields, then put us up in this lovely home from their English neighbor. It was such a cute house for us to stay in for the duration of our trip. 

The next day, Benedicte Hardy, owner or Hardy Cognac, picked us up from our place and took us to see her cognac house. It’s was really cool to see that Grey Goose was across the street from Hardy. When we first went to her office, we saw beautiful bottles of Hardy Cognac everywhere. She told us that they have custom glass makers who make every bottle. #impressive! We chatted a little more, had an espresso and headed to the distillery. 

 Hardy Cognac is a medium house but has so much room for growth. They have soooo many barrels that are aging and you can smell the fermented wine and cognac as soon as you walk into the place. Benedictine gave us a tour around the distillery and introduced us to her Cellar Master, Mickaël. 

Mickaël let us sample some of the barrels that were aging. We tasted cognac that had been distilled from only a short time ago, to cognac that was aged for a few months, to cognac that was aged for a few years, to a cognac that was aged for a few centuries. Yes you’re reading that correctly. We tried a cognac from 1854. It was a surreal moment because we honestly thought back to that year and realized that Blacks in America were enslaved at the time they were making this juice. Now,  we have the privilege to travel around the world  and taste something from a time when our ancestors were in bondage. It’s moments like that, we never take for granted. 

After the tour, Benedicte took us to lunch in the city of Cognac in this beautiful hotel/restaurant. The food was great, and when she was taking us back home, she talked about the importance of African Americans, and our relationship to cognac. She stated that black people kept the spirit relevant, because back in the day, most people from France, stopped drinking cognac and drank scotch for the most part.  It is black people, from America specifically, that kept Cognac in business. She told us that she would travel to America often, back in the 60s-70s and frequent the black night clubs and restaurants. She always felt welcomed there. Once we arrived at our place, Benedicte gave us some delicious XO 20 year Hardy Cognac and lots of information to think about for the rest of the trip. 

Later that day, Amy took us to Courvoisier  to check out their production. They are a much bigger house, so they have a bigger distillation process. They were very busy receiving a wine truck while we were there as well, so they didn’t have much time. It was interesting to see how the big houses handle production.

When we left Courvoisier, we went back to the Pasquet’s home where Amy cooked dinner for us. (Actually, Amy cooked dinner for us every day, and it was amazing each time.) We enjoyed dinners with Amy, Jean Luc, and Amy’s mom because it was a time for us to really talk about issues that we face in our respectable regions, politics, and of course more spirits. The best part of our trip were these dinners and discussions we had over the week. 

Later that night, we checked CVBLb out a bar in Cognac called…… we met Amy and Jean Luc’s friends that are in the industry. The cocktails were great, the vibe was even better. After a long Valentines Day full of cognac, it was time for bed. 

The next day was all about Pasquet Cognac. We were up bright and early to catch Jean Luc Sr. In their distillery getting ready to finish us up the distilling process for his own cognac. Cognac Pasquet is a small house that only has one copper pot still to complete its distilling process. Their distillery is also connected to their home. Once you walk out of the distillery, there are storage rooms all around the property that have barrels of aged cognac. Amy opened a few of the barrels and let us taste some older cognacs. After spending the morning in the distillery and sampling cognacs, Jean Luc’s mom made us some homemade duck confit and it was the best we’ve ever had! There’s nothing like mama’s cooking. Jean Luc’s dad told us stories about how Italy took over France years ago, and artifacts from that war are still being found. Then he showed us this arrow from way back then in the grape vines. It was a wonderful lunch.

After lunch, we traveled down the road to a Castle and met Sophie from Cognac Expert. They have a blog on all things cognac and their name says it all: they really are EXPERTS! When we went into her home, there were hundreds of bottles of Cognac. I think that we sampled about 10 of them. #dontjudge! It was awesome to meet people that were as passionate about spirits as we are and we enjoyed the dialogue. 

After we left Sophia’s castle, we went back to the Pasquet House to see the rest of the distillation process. We learned how to watch the distillate (or alcohol from distillation) and recognize when it’s the best for human consumption. When distilling a spirit, there are 3 parts to the distillate. The “heads”, which is the liquid that comes out in the beginning of distilling, it’s very harsh, and not fit for us to drink. The “tails” which is the product that comes out at the end of distillation… also very harsh. What a distiller wants is the “hearts” of the spirit. This liquid begins to appear during the middle of the distillation process and is best for human consumption. Jean Luc and his father have state of the art machinery to help identify the hearts of their distillate, they can also tell by looking at the liquid coming out of the stills. The less bubbles, the closer you are to the hearts of the distillate. It was so interesting to watch!

Our last full day in Cognac we went to yet another castle that had these wonderful vinegars that had been aged in cognac barrels. They are called La Baume de Bouteville balsamic vinegars and they tasted fantastic! They were paired with oysters and champagne and it was a wonderful experience! 

After we left the castle, we went to a nearby restaurant where we had these amazing views. What I loved most about our dining experiences were the 3 courses. Every where we had food, whether it was lunch or dinner, it was 3 courses… so we could experience so much cuisine! 

The Pasquets took us back to Cognac to just walk around the city. It’s so old and historic, and very chill. While we were walking we saw the Hennessy Empire and it was MASSIVE! The have a lot of real estate in Cognac, they even have boats and moats and event bridges. Can’t wait to go back and actually tour inside the space. Cognac is a beautiful city with sooo much to sip, but even more to learn. 

For our last day, we went to lunch and a local restaurant and met the Pasquet’s friends from the bar we went to on the first night. The bartender brought his wife who represents a gin brand and we talked about spirits the whole lunch. 

After lunch we went to the Pasquet’s tasting room and experimented with all types of cocktails. It was an unique experience to make and try everyone’s cocktails. We also had a blast, listening to Michael Jackson while making drinks (because who doesn’t like MJ around the world??) 

After making and drinking all of the cocktails, we had a final snack at the Pasquet’s of pate, cheese, cognac and Pineau. We gave Jean Luc, Amy’s mom, and their 3 beautiful children hugs and Amy took us back to the train station. We spend the night in Paris and left the next morning. 

We learned sooo much in Cognac, but the biggest thing was how the family spent time together and appreciated one another through Cognac. Amy and her family treated us like we were apart of their family and we can thank them enough for making the entire Cognac experience unforgettable. 

If you’ve never had Cognac Pasquet, you don’t know what you’re missing! Go get you some! Cheers!  

TBAPOD #16 Taneka Reaves

Part two of a two parter! Taneka Reaves of Charleston’s Cocktail Bandits tells us about the move from a town of 3000 people to the big city. She also talks about her poli-sci history and how if you see a gap in your hospitality community, fill it.

Taneka is a great ambassador for her city and that really shows in this episode. She discusses a Bajan connection, what it’s like to work at Coyote Ugly style bar and parental pressures to pick a career.

Listen Now:

Vive Gullah Cultural Brunch

Last month, we had the absolute pleasure of hosting a cultural event with a major brand at Republic Garden and Lounge . It was a Geechee Gullah Brunch with Grey Goose and it was epic!

 

On the last day of the Charleston Wine and Food Festival, we decided to do something for the culture. Our culture. We partnered with Earlicia Gibb of Grey Goose and Chef Charlotte Jenkins of the late Gullah Cuisine restaurant that closed in 2014. We paired 3 small plates and cocktails for this celebration of Charleston and affectionately named it “Vive  Gullah”

The welcome cocktail, “Le Fizz Locale” was made with Grey Goose, St. Germaine, and O and O Hooch.  (Hooch for short.) Hooch is a local product made here in Charleston that’s also featured in our book. Holy Spirits: Charleston’s Culture through Cocktails.

 

Once everyone arrived, Chef Charlotte, began to talk about her menu and her history. She used to own and operate the restaurant, Gullah Cuisine with her husband for 17 years before it closed. She also wrote a cookbook book, with the same title. After she finished, her daughter and sister brought out the first dish, fish head soup. Fish head soup is an old  Charlestonian staple and it was paired with a Grey Goose martini, garnished with pickled okra. The dryness of the martini along with with salinity of the pickled okra worked perfectly with the spiciness of the seafood soup. It was great.

The second pairing was Shrimp and Grits. Chef Charlotte emphasized how she made the BEST Charleston shrimp and grits and she did not disappoint. The shrimp were locally caught, the grits were very creamy and the gravy… man the gravy was EVERYTHING!  We decided to pair this dish with our Hibiscus Chucktown Mule; a recipe that is also included in our book. Hibiscus is native to west Africa, South Asia and India. It’s a natural coolant and works well with spices and umami flavors. We also garnished the cocktail with a candied Hibiscus flower that came from our friends at Wild Hibiscus Co. We thought that this was the perfect cocktail to pair with this dish! 

The final pairing was equally as amazing as the other two. We had sweet potato tartlets. These tartlets were AMAZINGLY paired with a Grey Goose espresso cocktail. The bitterness from the coffee cocktail was magical with the sweet potato. Many of our guests were not coffee drinkers, but they loved this pairing. We even had a few ask for seconds.

We enjoyed the experience because each pairing represented an era in Charleston. The Fish Head soup represented ‘Old Charleston’, the Charleston Shrimp and Grits represented ‘Current Charleston’, and the sweet potato tartlets represents ‘New/Modern Charleston’. We also want to emphasize that 4 women of color put on this event in downtown Charleston.

 

Following the event, Grey Goose purchased signed copies of our book for all of the attendees so they can make Charleston cocktails at home! This gesture definitely put everyone in the “Holy Spirit!”

 

Later that day, I was overwhelmed with a sense of honor and pride. Charleston is the home to some of the best cuisine in the US. It was the stomping ground of a lot of our ancestors and it’s a privilege to celebrate and empower one another through the history of our food. We would like to thank Earlicia and Grey Goose again for partnering with us on this event. We will never forget it. More cultural events to come! Cheers to Charleston!

 

Toyota #letsgoplaces Tour: Durham

Even though we are well into the new year, we have some unfinished business from 2017.

During the month of November we had the opportunity to travel to 3 cities: Durham NC, Washington DC, and Charlotte NC. We were very excited about this trip, because it was the first 10 day excursion since we’ve done since the “Satisfy Your Thirst Tour” with South Carolina PRT. We reached out to Toyota, and they were thrilled to sponsor this trip with a 2017 Avalon Tour! So for this adventure, we had to name our tour the Toyota “Let’s Go Places Tour!

Before we left we had to get our car!! Toyota was so amazing, they brought the car to our front door the day before we left.

The Avalon Tour was spacious, comfy, tech friendly, and easily carried all of our items!

The first day we traveled to Durham, NC.

Durham is an up and coming city, that is revitalizing their downtown. We had the pleasure of staying at the 21C Hotels and it was an amazing experience.

The 21c Hotel has been in Durham since 2015 in the historic Hill Building (an old bank). This hotel brand is notorious for re-purposing old buildings in medium sized cities. They also have an amazing museum that features art from the owners’ private collection. These museums are open to the public.

All of the 21c Hotels have a flock of signature of limited edition sculpted penguins by artist collective, Cracking Art, which are on permanent exhibition at all the hotels. The Durham location has fuschia penguins that are so cute! We had to take a photo with one!

The next day, we went to do yoga and a tour of Fullsteam Brewery.

The yoga was very relaxing and our instructor helped us get out some much needed kinks… after that, we met with the Sean Lily, owner of Fullsteam Brewing to check out the place. Sean showed us an amazing time when we visited. We sampled a few beers, (10 to be exact) three sodas, and a few Kombuchas because….. why not?!

The most interesting beers were local and seasonal: a persimmon beer and a sweet potato beer.

North Carolina has been the top producers of sweet potatoes since 1971. Sean even makes sure that his employees know about seasonal foods as well as different beer trends BEFORE he hires them!

Fullsteam Brewery also has an amazing kitchen!

We had wings with sorghum sauce and gnocchi that was made perfectly!

After we stuffed our bellies, Sean took us on a tour of the facility. It’s fascinating to see how passionate he was about his beer process. It was even better to taste some of the fresh beer before carbonation!

We went during a weekday, but Sean says that they have an awesome weekend crowd with live music! The entire experience was incredible and we can’t wait to get back to Durham to see what Fullsteam Brewery is doing next!

After we left Fullsteam Brewing, we went down the street we went a few blocks away to Durham Distilling.

 

Melissa and Lee Katrinic are not only married, former scientists, they are also the founders of Durham Distilling, founded in 2013. They wanted to make amazing southern spirits that incorporated art and science, and that’s exactly what they did.

Melissa, who was our lovely host, also manages the distillery. She told us it took them tasting approximately 250 gins over a year to even figure out what gin flavor they wanted!

The small batch gin process starts with Gertrude. Who is Gertrude you ask? Well she’s just a 230 liter German copper pot still. Melissa named her still Gertrude after her grandmother who always told her to “NOT HAVE A CONNIPTION!” Now, she’s has 2 kinds of conniptions: Navy Strength, and American Dry.

Gertrude runs EVERY day, and since she has a custom design, the product results in a clean, flavorful gin. There is also a custom designed trey for the essential gin botanicals like cardamom and juniper. The more delicate botanicals are individually vacuum distilled at room temperature to maintain flavor consistency. They do this with their 20L evaporator. Durham D. is the only Distillery that has vapor and vacuum for the production of their spirits.

Conniption Navy Gin

The Conniption was the first time we ever had Navy Strength Gin. A navy strength gin is a powerful alcoholic expression of the juniper informed spirits, typically 57% alcohol by volume (ABV). That means that this gin is over 114 Proof! That’s a strong gin! But the flavor is incredible. We were very impressed.

Conniption American Dry Gin

The Conniption American Dry gin is has a lower ABV (44%). Its processed with herbs like coriander, Angelica root, cardamom and of course juniper. It also has a very crisp, clean, flavor.

Durham Distillery is the #2 gin producing distillery in the U.S.

Cucumber Vodka

Although, we are not huge vodka fans, their vodka is pretty awesome! Since they use cucumbers in their evaporator to naturally flavor the vodka, it’s the ONLY cucumber vodka that’s not flavored with extracts! How amazing is that?! It was delicious by itself, and even BETTER as a cocktail.

 

Damn Fine Liqueurs

These liqueurs incorporate ingredients sourced locally from the Raleigh-Durham area. They use Slingshot Coffee Company, and Videri Chocolate Factory products to make ALL NATURAL liqueurs. There are 3 flavors: Coffee, mocha, and chocolate and they are all terrific!

We had so much fun at Durham Distillery with Melissa and we can’t wait to go back! We hear they have CANNED cocktails now! Can’t wait to try one of those. If you’re ever in the Triangle area, please check them out!

We loved exploring the up and coming beverage scene in Durham and we can’t wait to go back! Cheers! Now, where are the restaurants and bars?!?!

Riding fine in the Toyota Prius Prime

We had the pleasure of getting a 2018 Prius Prime from Toyota last month for our Red Bull presentation in Raleigh. This. Car. Is. Amazing! When we first got into it, it felt like a modern day episode of The Jetsons! (may be telling my age here… oh well.) The interior was spacious, yet  sleek and sexy. It had leather seats, a smooth, spacious console, a comfy headrest, and a HUGE screen!

The screen was everything. The GPS on the car screen was more precise than the directions on my phone and the rear view camera was great. The Prius Prime was also very tech friendly. It connected easily with our phones. It reminded me of a Tesla…. BUT it was a Toyota!

The driver’s seat  automatically adjusted to the person and of course they were heated. There was a speedometer on the dashboard and lit on the driver’s left corner of the windshield… just dope.

It’s such a quiet car too. I didn’t even hear it crank when I started it… EVER. And the gas mileage was SPECTACULAR!!! We only filled the tank ONCE and drove around Charleston, went to Raleigh AND came back. We drove that car for an entire week on that one tank. This baby can go 53 miles to each gallon and we filled it for less than $25. Seriously. It’s my new favorite vehicle.

The trunk was hatchback style. It was plenty of space for our luggage and all of the Red Bull we had to bring back from Raleigh. (Beverage Professional Concerns.) It was a champagne color and a more modern Prius car shape.

 

Thank you Toyota for letting us experience the amazing-ness (is that a word?) of the 18’ Toyota Prius Prime last month. Extra honored that this car is not even out yet!! We are currently saving all of our extra money because WE MUST HAVE ONE of our own! I’ve never fallen in love with a car until I drove the Prius Prime. It has been the most pleasurable car experience I’ve ever had. I recommend this vehicle to anyone. You will NOT be disappointed! Cheers to more car adventures.

MARCH Madness Part 2 SCANPO/Together SC

Part  2 – The Philanthropy

 

After we got our full of amazing libations and food, we went to the SCANPO/TogetherSC non-profit summit in Columbia, SC.

SCANPO/TogetherSC, founded in 1997, holds a non profit summit every year in different parts of the state and we were happy to be in attendance. We are honored to serve as board members  for the Sweetgrass Cultural Arts Festival non profit organization and we’d never been to a summit like this before. The purpose and mission of this event and organization is to “unite, strengthen, and advance our state’s nonprofit community, so we may enrich the quality of life for all.” 

There were many classes that we could attend during the 3 day conference. We enjoyed hearing keynote speakers, learning about fundraising and social media in non profits; but the event that left the biggest impression was a poverty simulation. 

The poverty simulation was a 2 hour exercise where participants were given a packet and had to get through “4 weeks” of life in poverty. The exercise was meant to portray real life in poverty. Participants were given a bank, grocery store, a pawn shop, social services (welfare/Foodstamps) and a place to pay bills (rent/lights/phone) and even law enforcement to interact with. Poverty is real for many people. It affects families everyday. 

I portrayed the life of an 85 year old retired woman, named Eunice,  who lived on a fixed income. I only received around $550 per month, and the goal was to pay all of my bills before the month was over. Of course my bills were more than $550 a month, so it was not an easy task. It was hard to stretch my money.  I found myself pawning household items like my TV and camera. I also had to beg for a few payment arrangements. When I went to social services to receive some assistance, I was treated very poorly and it seemed like no one cared. For a few weeks, I stayed at home because I didn’t have money to ride the bus. I did manage to pay all of my bills by the end of the month but I was living on the BARE minimum. I couldn’t even purchase much food or my medicine. 

My neighbors (the other participants in the simulation) had families, school and jobs. It was insane to see them fighting for resources among one another. There were even police in the simulation because poverty leads a lot of people to a life of crime. 

I, being the child of a teen mother, already knew about poverty and trying to make ends meet on unliveable wages. It’s not as simple as some people think and this task proved it.  It really touched my spirit because the people in the simulation are REAL people, going through this in REAL LIFE. Participants couldn’t believe that there are people that have to deal with this reality everyday. Some people even cried. This project should make anyone appreciate their own life and hopefully makes us think twice before judging someone. 

This simulation allowed us to be immersed in the poverty experience… hopefully it has sensitized participants to be more sympathetic and empathetic to the less fortunate. 

Overall, the Together SC Non profit Summit was amazing, educational, and enlightening. We were honored to be there. 

http://www.togethersc.org
http://www.sweetgrassfestival.org

Red Bull Orange Party

The Red Bull Orange Party at Music Farm was awesome. Red Bull spared no expense planning the biggest F&B Industry party of 2017! They had a Red Bull Lab Bar that had fruit, mixers, garnishes and Red Bull Orange so that all of us bartenders/mixologist could make our own cool concoctions.

 

(We actually featured a cocktail ourselves! It was called Agent Orange.)

There was an amazing LOCAL artist, Reese of @reese.designs, who did a live painting and even allowed people to contribute to the art! (Love his work!) 

We were amazed by the sounds of the DJ from Keys N Krates, and their light show was phenomenal …. The DJ had everyone on the dance floor all night dancing the night away.

 

Our favorite part of this event was the OPEN BAR! We were able to pair Red Bull with any of our favorite spirits!

It was awesome to see industry folks from the community, coming together over a can of Red Bull orange. We can’t wait til our next Red Bull adventure… CHEERS!

 

Cocktail Bandits give 4 Tips to Prepare for #CHSWFF

And just like that, Charleston Wine and Food Festival is only ONE WEEK away!! We are so pumped about this year and we can’t wait to share all of our food and bevvie experiences with all of you next week…

But FIRST, we to share some tips on how to prepare yourself for 5 days of eating and drinking BEFORE the Festival. We have gone for the past 3 years and we think these tips will prepare your mind, and body for the week!

1. Hydrate!!

The FIRST thing one should do before attending #chswff, or any food and wine fest, is drink plenty of water and green juices/smoothies. Since the festival is in seven days, this is the perfect time to prep your body by filling up on healthy fluids. During #chswff, there will be so many different foods and beverages to sample so it is IMPERATIVE to hydrate so your body can handle the pounding it’s about to receive from the week!

2. Exercise!

Similar to hydrating, engaging in physical activity for at least 30 minutes per day, a week BEFORE THE FESTIVAL will give you more energy and stamina during the week of the events. There are over 100 events around the city with plenty of eating, drinking AND walking…  so prepare that body to enjoy everything that #chswff has to offer!

3. Check the weather!

This city is very temperamental in March, it could be freezing one day, a pure sauna on the next, and raining the day after. Checking the weather before #chswff will determine what to wear for each event. The goal is to be comfortable and have fun.

4. Pre plan each day!

There are events happening all over the peninsula and beyond during the festival. We have seen so many attendees miss events that they paid for because they didn’t know how far it was from their previous event. Don’t let this happen to you. Review your schedule for the week and devise a clear plan of action each day. Create your own customized schedule and map around the events you will be attending for #chswff. Between events, check out other Charleston attractions that are in the area. We have plenty of art galleries, retail stores, and the College of Charleston is only a block away from the tasting tents.  Do your research, make a solid plan for each day… FOLLOW that plan, and enjoy Charleston Wine and Food!

 

We hope that these tips make your experience with #chswff even BETTER than expected! We are a part of the Social Media “Street Team” this year and can’t wait to see your smiling faces around the city! 

 

 

Lexus CFW Pre-Party/Charleston’s Next Top Cocktail Competition

The Lexus Charleston Fashion Week pre-party/ Next Top Cocktail competition at Republic was one for the books this year! There was amazing food, gorgeous fashions and of course delicious cocktails.

We love every thing about Charleston Fashion Week but we are the “Curly Ladies who talk Cocktails Daily, so we want to spend time talking about the 6 cocktails that were up for the title of Charleston’s Next Top Cocktail.

The first two cocktails were presented by Steven Huddleston of Prohibition. The Ciroc Mango cocktail called, the “Charleston Washout” was a beautiful blue color and was garnished with palmetto leaves that represented the Holy City. It’s was a beautiful cocktail and it tasted just as good as it looked!

His second cocktail made with Crown Royal Vanilla, was named “Early Morning Roll Call” included barrel aged cold brew coffee, chocolate walnut bitters, Crème de Cocoa and Tolerance liqueur; garnished with 3 barrel aged coffee beans. It was just like all of Steven’s cocktails…. Yummy and creative!

Ryan Welliver of Cocktail Club created a coconut milk based cocktail called “Kid that Can’t Read Good”. The Ciroc Mango cocktail brought savory sesame seed oil and sweet flavors together with ease! He also used these wonderful geisha glasses that were perfect for his Asian inspired cocktail. 

Keith Gasque of Cherrywood BBQ, made a Ciroc Spicy Mango Mule. The sugar-cured jalapenos paired well with the mango notes from the vodka… and we love ANYTHING with spice. It was a Moscow Mule with a makeover.

Mimi Welmeth of the Cocktail Club made this incredible cocktail with Crown Vanilla called “The Red Stiletto” and it was as sexy as it sounds. This drink also included a house made brandied cordial, lemon juice, and was topped with lavender & thyme foam. The lavender flower and thyme garnish were the perfect accent to such a beautiful, aromatic and delicious cocktail.  

Last, but certainly not least, Katie Daniel of Poogans Smoke House curated a Crown Royal vanilla cocktail named the “Charleston Crown Affair.” This spirit forward cocktail included local Amaro and tart cherry saffron bitters. It was very balanced and garnished with an orange crown and brandied cherry. It felt like sipping royalty. Haha!

After the cocktails were made, the bartenders made special samples of each drink for the guests of the party… Nice touch!

The 5 bartenders worked really hard on their presentations. It was obvious because the judges had to deliberated for quite some time choosing the winners. (But, it had to be done!)

The pre-party was a success! There were emerging designers that will be participating on the runway, gorgeous designs, and of course cocktails on cocktails on cocktails!! The judges had a hard time choosing from all of those fantastic drinks the bartenders created but the winner can’t be announced until Fashion week which is March 14-18, 2017. See you then! #charlestonfashionweek

 

 

www.crownroyal.com
www.charlestonfashionweek.com
www.republicreign.com
www.ciroc.com