Coffee Cocktails
Life is too short crappy coffee cocktails! And with yummy cocktail creations for Brooks Reitz of Leon’s Oyster Shop there’s never a need too! Brooks brought along his signature Jack Rudy Tonic to blend the Cherry Bourbon syrup cocktail and a few ounces of Revelator El Carmen – cold brew. With literally a cherry on top, this cocktail is refreshing at any time of the day.
Remember, it’s never too late for coffee or too early for a cocktail. But if you’re looking for a happy medium, combine Bourbon infused with Revelator’s Shakiso coffee, coffee syrup and a few dashes of bitters for a Coffee Old Fashioned that takes the classic cocktail to the barista level!
Get as creative as possible when adding coffee to your cocktail. Try chocolate rum or vanilla flavored vodka to your usual morning cup of joe to add spice to your afternoon. If you’re in need of a bit of variety in your coffee collection, grab a ticket to the Charleston Coffee Cup on November 8th at the newly open Cigar Factory from 10am until 3pm.
Charleston Magazine 40th Anniversary Party
Join us to celebrate our big 4-0 at a ’70s-inspired cocktail soirée at the newly opened Gaillard Center! Expect great food, drinks, and entertainment, PLUS amazing live and silent auction items—all valued at $1,000 or more and all proceeds to benefit the new MUSC Shawn Jenkins Children’s Hospital.
ENTERTAINMENT: Peter Kiral, Steinway Charleston’s Annette Cantrell Martin, The Plantation Singers, Calvin Taylor, Charlton Singleton and The Dubplates, Elise Testone, & more!
SIGNATURE COCKTAILS: Dixie Vodka, Badger Drinking Vinegar, Red Harbor Rum, Striped Pig Distillery Moonshine, Charleston Distilling Gin, and Chattanooga Whiskey 1816 Reserve, Virgil Kaine, and Bittermilk, PLUS Holy City Brewing and Biltmore Wines
PASSED HORS D’OEUVRES & CHEFS STATIONS by Duvall Catering
DESSERT: Special anniversary cakes by DeClare Cakes
EVENT DESIGN: The Event Cooperative, Big Hair Productions, Miele Events, Nuage Designs, Snyder Event Rentals, and Sperry Tents Southeast
PARKING: Overflow parking will be available in the Aquarium Garage. Shuttles provided by Absolutely Charleston will be available to the Gaillard Center. They will run every 15 minutes from 6-10:15pm.
Whiskey After Dark
The newly renovated Gadsden House on East Bay Street opened its doors for Whiskey lovers and others who just like a good time! With over 100 whiskies to sample, we were more than eage to get started. We tasted a variety of brown water ranging from Kentucky Rye Whiskey to ultra aged single malt Macallan.
While the majority of the bourbons were being enjoyed straight up or on the rocks, we appreciate sampling the whiskey in a cocktail. It’s difficult to taste drink sample after sample of any liquor straight – even for a Cocktail Bandits.
Serving samples as a cocktail also gives your audience an idea of how the spirit can be enjoyed at home, after he or she has purchased a bottle.
Lewis Barbeque was the only food option at that evening. While guest stood in line all night for their plate of beef brisket, coleslaw, rice and other sides, we mostly partook in the liquid libations. Great evening and fun event overall!
Yogapop
Us along with a couple hundred other yoga enthusiast met at The Grove at Patriot’s Point for an afternoon of play. The schedule detail large group yoga sessions as well as smaller more intimate classes focuses on mediation and advanced poses. Vendors were lined the perimeter offering healthy snacks and funky workout gear. We snagged a couple flower halos from Flowershop to increase our zen. Musical acts like McKenzie Eddy and Eliot Smith serenaded that last mass yoga session as we stretched our bodies to new lengths.
The theme this year was play. We were reminded that as children, we jumped and flipped and rolled our bodies around for fun. Yogapop encourages us to get back to that playful place to better expand our body, mind and spirit.
Find out about the next Yogapop event by visiting www.yogapop.org
Oktoberfest Charleston
With October only days away it is only right that we discuss Oktoberfest and all of it’s glory beer, brats, lederhosen, and stein hoisting, did we mention beer?
Well despite the grand fest being called Oktoberfest we were lucky to attend one that was held only a few weeks ago at the Visitor’s Center, and man oh man was it a party. Samuel Adam’s Oktoberfest came to Charleston and took no prisoners. When we first arrived we were ID and let into the marvelous world of Sam Adams. Upon entering we received our VIP Packages that included free beer tasting tickets, a cute orange mug with the Sam Adams Logo in bold white letters as well as a ticket for a free full mug of beer. Sam Adams was the star of the show for sure but with local restaurants from Bay St Biergarten to Bohemian Bull we were overloaded on pretzels, and brats even brats wrapped in pretzels!
From the time we arrived to the time we left full of beer, brats, and no regrets we truly were prepped for Fall season to arrive. A special thanks to Sam Adams as well as A Snappy event for sending us on this amazing adventure.
by Areriel Hayward
Grand Marnier Cuvee and Cheese pairing
The recently opened and newly renovated Westendorff restaurant at 114 Saint Philip Street served a wide assortment of cheese to accent the flavors of the Grand Marnier Cuvee line. We started with the Grand Marnier Cordon Rouge, this bottle is the most familiar and often shot hastily by college students.
The real treat – The Grand Marnier Cuvee 1880. Gorgeous bottle aside, the contents aged to perfection tasted of orange perfume and French oak. To our surprise the variety of cheese emphasized the subtle notes of the liqueur.
The addition of nuts, fruit and thinly sliced meats released even more flavor to each sip. We highly recommend experimenting with cheese and liqueur pairing. We typically see these combinations when trying new wines but the same technique can and should be applied to tasting spirits, liqueurs, sakes and the like.
Ballpark Festival of Beers 2015
What’s becoming on of our favorite events of the year, the Ballpark Festival of Beers at The Joe Reilly Stadium is a beer lover’s dream. With over 100 beers on tap, this years festival sold; which explained the longer wait for the craft brews.
In between sips, we danced to a great live band playing top 40 hits and watched as several beer enthusiast hop on only to fall off the mechanic bull.
There was a good mixture of local, regional and imported beer, enough variety to challenge the most avid of beer collectors. Our favorite beer of the day – the Shocktop Pretzel Wheat. The brand known for their awarding winning wheat beer served their seasonal blend in a chocolate coated pretzel cone! What a treat!
Scarlet Wedding Tour
Whisked around town by the amazing drivers at Absolutely Charleston visiting some of the most romantic venues in the holy city is an excellent way to spend a Sunday afternoon. We toured Cannon Green, Striped Pig Distillery, Wingate Plantation and the Cedar Room at the Cigar Factory. Each location was staged and ready to served as the backdrop the committing of everlasting love. Complete with Bride, Groom and wedding cake, designers and florist attempted to give ideas to couples planning their Charleston wedding but also to showcase the range of each sponsors creativity.
Memorable moments: spotting the cutest hedgehog outside of Sonic himself, yummy cocktails using Blanc en Bleu champagne and a bacon bar featuring white chocolate bacon pops and smoked pancetta.
Visit Southern Bride for more information on the next Scarlet Wedding Tour – a fun experience even if you aren’t planning to jump the broom.
Sweet & Sensual Pop-up
Some say dancing is the language of love, well salsa dance instructor Georgia Schrubbe of Baila Conmiga is fluent in sensuality. Others say food is the key to a lover’s soul, then pastry Chef Danetra Richardson of Swank Desserts creates treats that will empassion the mind, body and soul.
The pair’s Sweet & Sensual Pop-up featured delicious macaroons and close dance steps. We loved seeing a room full of women spinning and twirling around in a room scented by powdered sugar.
Swank desserts also created cocktail inspired confections at www.swankdesserts.com
Miss Schrubbe teaches more intensive dance classes, for more information visit www.bailaconmiga.com.
Brooklyn Brews at Blossom
On an unusually busy Sunday afternoon, Blossom Restaurant on The Market hosted a six course meal paired with cold summer brews. The head chef at Blossom worked closely with Andrew Maxson of Brooklyn Brews to comprise a menu that represented southern comfort food elevated. The first course introduced us to a zesty Green Market Wheat beer and light flavorful bite of yellowfin tuna. Our favorite courses of the evening included batter fried chicken and waffles topped with Bourbon maple syrup, powdered sugar and local strawberries enjoyed alongside the “I wanna Rye It” blend from Brooklyn Brews.
This black owned brewery based out of Brooklyn, New York plans to make a mark in Charleston’s growing beer game. Look out for your opportunity to taste a Brooklyn Brews available at locations like Blossom.
