Top Ten Charleston Cocktails

What is a Charleston Cocktail?

When we asked bartenders, as well as Charleston cocktail lovers to define a “Charleston Cocktail” – we got very similar responses from almost everyone. They stated that the most popular cocktails in Charleston are “porch pounders”.

Porch Pounders are crisp, refreshing beverages made with a few simple ingredients. Perfect for a hot summer day on the porch or at the beach.

Here are our top 10 Charleston Porch Poundin’ cocktails.

1. Peninsula Tea- (Cocktail Bandits Original)

Firefly Sweet Tea Vodka
Tippleman’s Ginger Honey Syrup
Topped with Blenhim Ginger
lemon

This is one of the first cocktails we curated for a public event. This cocktail is made with all local SC products and is extremely light and refreshing. Anything made with Charleston tea is perfect anyway. Learn more about Peninsula Tea in our book, Holy Spirits! Charleston Culture Through Cocktails

2. Green Gimlet- (Feathertop)

Gin
Genepy
Cucumber
Lime
Matcha Tea
Thyme

This beautiful, green gin cocktail is so smooth. The crisp, cool flavor of the cucumber is perfect for any warm occasion. Bartender Ryan Jones, of Feathertop says that it has been a hit since they have opened and we have to agree!

3. Charleston Daiquiri- (Rarebit)

Dark rum
Banana liquor
Local honey
Lemon

Rarebit’s bartender, Ramon Caraballo, came up with this super simple, yet bright and beautiful cocktail. The rum and banana liquor pair perfectly together and are the perfect suggestion for any hot, humid day in Charleston.

4. Double Standard- (Cocktail Club)

Gin
Jalapeno
Lemon
Honey Simple Syrup

This gin cocktail, made by Ryan Welliver of Cocktail Club, is a great balance of sweet and spice, its the beverage to order on a nice Charleston summer eve.

5. Shoulder Monkey- (Darling Oyster Bar)

Monkey Shoulder Scotch Whiskey
grilled pineapple & sage syrup
Orgeat
Lemon

Grilled Pineapple

Its rare to find a scotch cocktail in Charleston and even more difficult to find one that is palatable in this heat. This beautiful scotch and sage cocktail from The Darling is extremely easy on the eyes and taste buds.

6. Instant Vacation – (Canes Rhum Bar)

Mt. Gay Rum
Ginger
Felernum
Orange Juice
Lemon Juice

This drink should be called an “Instant Staycation” because that is how it feels when you take one sip of this fabulous cocktail. Rum was the first liquor that was drank in Charleston and this cocktail explains why people love it!

7. Arnold Palmero – (492) – vodka

Vodka
Ramozzotti
Yerba Mate’
Strawberry
Lemon

The Arnold Palmero is a play on the classic sweet Tea and lemonade drink called the Arnold Palmer but this cocktail has a bit of a kick. Bartender, Megan Deschaine, says the Yerba Mate’ gives you a burst of enegy and the strawberry purée creates the beautiful color.

8. Bubbly Bliss – (Cocktail Bandits original)

Striped Pig Gin
Strawberry puree
Lemon juice
Agave
One Hope Bubbly Wine

Created for a fun photoshoot with @charlestonweekender, this champagne drink is a simple, fun and fruity DIY cocktail that can be made for a girls day at the pool. Find more Cocktail Bandits recipes in our book!

9. The Barn Raiser- (S.N.O.B)

Honey-Infused Bourbon
Orange bitters
Blenheim’s Ginger Ale
Orange bitters

This cocktail embodies everything about Charleston in the summer. This cocktail is simple, effective, and full of bourbon! Oh and we love anything with Blenheim’s Spicy Ginger Ale.

10. Foraged French- (The Westendorff)

Sorrel Infused Hat Trick Gin
St. Germain
Cava
Mint
Lime
Basil

The Westendorff was extremely creative with this cocktail. The Sorrel infused Gin combined with the St. Germain liqueur gave this cocktail delicious floral notes. It felt like sipping spring/summer.

We had a great time visiting and listing our top Charleston cocktails for the summer! Now, go try one of these “Porch Pounders” for yourself and enjoy this amazing city! CHEERS!

This article was originally published in the Post and Courier

www.postandcourier.com/article/20160926/PC12/160929556

The Teal Drop Cocktail on LCL

The Bandits had a great time on Lowcountry Live this morning. We had the honor of partnering with the Center for Women and creating a Teal cocktail in honor of #wearteal day for GYN health and awareness. Encourage women in your life to learn more about her body.

For our craft cocktail, we came up with a simple, pretty cocktail called the “Teal Drop.”

THE TEAL DROP

1.5 oz vodka

.5 oz pineapple juice

.5 oz Blue Curaçao

Shaken and poured into glass

Topped with O and O Hooch

Garnished with lime

Use the link below to watch the full clip!

http://abcnews4.com/lowcountry-live/c4w-cocktail-bandits

Feature Blog: by Palms In Atl

Acecily Alexander of Palms in ATL attended our first #CharlestonTea Read about how she felt fancy with her finger out using the link below!

Tea Time with Cocktail Bandits

Miss Naturally Crowned Charleston

Miss Naturally Crowned

On June 24th, History was made in Charleston, South Carolina. “Miss Naturally Crowned” was the First Natural Hair beauty pageant to come to the American Theater. Nine beautiful, black, natural women walked across the stage that night. We were so thankful to be in attendance, and happy to be a part of it.

Jessica and Maureen, have been putting on this event in Columbia for the last three years. They decided to create a pageant to fund a natural hair beauty supply store that they want to open in Columbia. They started the “Miss Naturally Crowned” franchise in December of 2013 and received an overwhelming response. It’s become one of the most creative, unique events to happen in the natural hair community. These besties/co-owners created a platform where women of color could be celebrated for naturally being themselves; that’s pretty rare and amazing to us. They also empowered women of color to be proud of who they are. We love that and were so thankful that they decided to bring this concept of Charleston, and allowed us to be proud judges of this special pageant.

This pageant, was about more than just being beautiful. Being a natural woman was very difficult for a lot of us in the beginning. It’s so empowering to see young women embracing who they are and the curls that grow out of their head; is simply beautiful. All the contestants were professional, educated and highly motivated. All nine have serious goals, hopes and dreams but don’t want to be judged by their hair. One great thing about this pageant is that the winner was able to take the prize money and apply it to their business. Quite the incentive considering most of the women who participated are entrepreneurs.

This year’s winner is Miss Paige Green. Paige is a social worker at her day job and the owner and operator of Paige’s Sweet Treats as well. She received $1000 to invest in her personal business. We were so inspired by this event and can’t wait to attend Miss Naturally Crowned Charleston, 2017.