Italian Inspiration with Toschi Fragoli

We were first introduced to Toschi Fragoli during Southern Regional Conference for the United States Bartenders Guild. The 4-day program included sessions on professionalism in the bar community, training on the latest bar gadgets and, of course, spirits tastings.

Tad Carducci partnered with the Italian Trade Commission to educate our group of over 50 food and beverage veterans on Italian Amari. With ease, Tad delivered a brief history on each liqueur followed by a tasting of a craft cocktail using an Amaro. The herbal liqueurs were once used to stimulate ones appetite before a meal. Now, the bitter modifiers are a popular addition to craft cocktails. #ItalianSpirits

We fell in love with Toschi Fragoli. The strawberry liqueur is deliciously sweet without a medicinal aftertaste. The bottle is uniquely shaped and actually contains a couple handfuls of small strawberries. Very cute! We added a botanical Gin and dry Vermouth to balance the bright flavor and rounded out the cocktail with lime juice.

Infrared
1 oz of Toschi Fragoli
1.25 oz of Hendricks Gin
.75 oz of Dry Vermouth
.50 oz of Lime Juice

Garnish: Fresh herbs (rosemary, thyme, basil)

Add ingredients to mixing tin. Fill tin with ice. Shake passionately. Strain mixture into chilled coupe glass. Take #GentleLadySips

We named the cocktail ‘Infrared’ after the Pusha T song of the same name. The smooth beat of the song over poignant lyrics parallel the flavors of the cocktail.

 

http://italianspirits.ice.it/
www.usbg.org
Photos by Kim Craven Photography
MUA – John Mikal Artistry

Cocktail Bandits Host: Trappy Hour

Highlighting up-and-coming Charleston artists, Trappy Hour is truly a unique experience.

The energy in the room was magnetic and it was so special to hear live hip-hop performances in a downtown Charleston venue.

We had great live performances by Matt Monday and Salis.

Matt Monday has opened shows for artists like J. Cole, Wiz Khalifa. He brought that same energy to his intimate live performance at The Royal American

Salis’ first EP, Cadillac Chronicles was inspired by artists like UGK, Outkast, and Big Krit. He did an awesome job opening up the show.

The Cocktail Bandits shared their love of Tequila with rounds of Espolon Tequila shots and delicious Tequila sours.

 

The Royal American kept the crowd hydrated with their 32 oz Royal American Whiskey Punch featuring William Wolf Whiskey. The Royal American always has great drink specials.

 

DJ T.O. kept the crowd moving all night. We love to work with women making their mark on male-dominated industries.

 

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Make + Shake Cocktail Class

Learn how to mix up drinks like the pros with this two hour, hands-on introduction to cocktail basics.  Attendees will learn how to measure, shake, stir and pour proper drinks. Each attendee will have the opportunity to make and enjoy two cocktails, all while learning a brief history of the drinks being made. Certified experts and recipe book authors, Taneka & Johnny, Cocktail Bandits will teach you to shake your own original craft cocktail using recipes from their newly released book, ‘Holy Spirits!’  Guaranteed to surprise and delight every palate!

Holy Spirits! Book Launch

Holy Spirits! Charleston Culture Through Cocktails is our debut publication. In the book we take readers on a journey through the City of Charleston, exploring its culture from our unique, urban perspective. We worked so hard to bring this idea to life and we are so excited to share it with all of you.

To celebrate this monumental occasion, we mixed up craft cocktails directly from our book, Holy Spirits! We also signed copies of our book as a special thank you to our supporters.

Pancito & Lefty provided a great setting and delicious food for people to mingle and enjoy the craft cocktails.

Attendees had a great time playing with our special ring light for awesome social media photos.

 

The most popular cocktails of the night were:

Gentle Lady Gimlet with Bristow Gin, fresh lime juice, and Alley 26 Tonic

Peninsula Tea with Firefly Sweet Tea Vodka, fresh lemon juice, ginger honey syrup, and ginger ale

Blacker the Berry with Milagro Tequila, Montelobos Mezcal, blackberry puree, and lime juice

 

Learn to make these cocktails and more in our book! We appreciate everyone who came out to celebrate with us and kick off our book tour.

 

Vodka Tasting with Dale DeGroff

A Comparative Tasting of Vodka and its Legendary Mystique.

Join James Beard award-winning mixologist and author, Dale DeGroff, for a tasting seminar on Vodka. Learn to identify a variety of flavor profiles that distinguish some of the more popular vodkas in today’s marketplace, and discover the origins and history of a spirit that was introduced to the American public through clever advertising and the iconic cocktails we still enjoy to this day. Following the presentation, guests will enjoy a cocktail and light snacks at the bar.

Tickets $20 at http://www.citypapertickets.com/events/55006929/iced-bloody-screwed

Artisan Global Benefit Night

USBG Happy Hour with Plantation Rum

Enjoy some Plantation Rums at South Seas Oasis next Thursday 6/21 5-7pm!

Maison Ferrand Vice President, Guillaume Lamy will be present. This event is hosted by USBG’s Charleston Chapter.

USBG is a national network of beverage service professionals dedicated to the continued refinement of original, hand crafted cocktails. If you’re interested in meeting other talented bartenders Toki Tuesday is a great time to sign up to become a member!

 

USBG Toki Tuesday Happy Hour

Calling all USBG members! Tuesday 6/20 come enjoy a Happy Hour with us at Edmund’s Oast Brewing Company. We’re teaming up with Short Grain and they’ll be serving up delicious Japanese inspired dishes all day long.

The USBG is a national network of beverage service professionals dedicated to the continued refinement of original, hand crafted cocktails. If you’re interested in meeting other talented bartenders Toki Tuesday is a great time to sign up to become a member!

See you there!

Holy Spokes! Anniversary Bike Ride

One of the best ways to experience downtown Charleston is on a bike.

The City of Charleston has made great strides to improve the roads and access to sustainable biking solutions. This month the City of Charleston and the Gotcha Group celebrate Holy Spokes‘ successful first year of providing a useful and affordable Charleston bike share.

To celebrate this milestone, Local Works helped to organize a bike scavenger hunt. The goal was to get the community out on bikes while incorporating other great local businesses.

We started our scavenger hunt on the East Route. We had 6 clues to guide us to local businesses on our way to Edmund’s Oast for free beer and snacks.

Follow along on our journey around the Peninsula.

Let’s get rolling, it’s time to head east. We’ll start at the place for the eyes to feast. Just which place to go, our lips are sealed. But your favorite artform just might be revealed.

This was the toughest clue of the hunt. We rode around in circles racking our brains as to which local business the clue was referring to. With a little prompting, we found our way to the Revealed Art Gallery. Revealed is a contemporary art gallery tucked away on Church Street. It is a bright, open space that features many beautiful, varied pieces. We could have spent hours appreciating every detail, but we were on the HUNT! We made sure to snap a few pictures for the road.

Keep your eyes sparkling and wide. Head to a corridor where the tourists can’t hide. We’ll browse the market for gold. And create memories that only a sweetgrass basket can hold.

For this hint we knew to go straight to the Charleston City Market. We parked our bikes and navigated through the hordes of tourists straight to Gold Creations fine jewelry. Gold Creations has been a crux of the Market for over 40 years. The store’s warmth and energy likely comes from being family owned and operated.

Just as pure and rich as gold. Stop number three is where the olive oil is sold. The Lowcountry’s foodies swear by it. And it’ll be a sure fit for your kitchen cabinet.

Our next stop was none other than Lowcountry Olive Oil. They carry a huge selection of over 60 olive oils and vinegars. Being able to stop and sample these delicious oils was such a treat. It also gave us some much needed energy as we continued our trek through the city.

Steer your bicycle north for the next stop. Books adorn the narrow aisles of this shop. Browse for your next summer beach read. It’s local shops like this every community needs.

This was such an important stop for us. Local bookstores like Blue Bicycle Books are vital to the success of our new book, Holy Spirits! Charleston Culture Through Cocktails. There is so much local talent in Charleston and Blue Bicycle Books does a great job of showcasing that.

You can find the next shop up a flight of stairs. A place to explore one-of-a-kind gifts and wares. Plenty of grit hides behind delicate lace. But the owner is full of love and grace.

This hint sent us right to Grit & Grace, a charming gift shop that captures the essence of the Southern woman. Amazingly, Grit & Grace works with SCDNR’s oyster restoration and enhancement program to recycle and replant 10 oyster shells for each one sold.

The end of your hunt is near. Can’t you almost taste that cold beer? Kick it into high gear to this distillery first. No Hat Tricks here- just quench your thirst.

What we needed more that beer at this point in our 4 mile bike ride was a tall glass of water. That’s just what we got at Highwire Distilling. This is a place we know all too well. We recently hosted the soft launch of our book here because of the space’s character and hospitality. It was a great last stop for the scavenger hunt.

Finally, we made our way to the Edmund’s Oast patio where we were treated to delicious free beer and expertly-made Charcuterie boards.

This was a great opportunity to appreciate the gains that Holy Spokes, Gotcha, and the City of Charleston have made to make the Holy City a great place to bike. We’re also so appreciative of great organizations like Local Works that bring attention to the amazingly unique local businesses all over Charleston. This is exactly why Locals Prefer Two Wheels!

Surfing Lessons with Isla Surf School

Charleston beaches are great for new surfers. The water is warm and the waves are mild.
Isla Surf School on Folly Beach invited the Cocktail Bandits to come out and ride the waves. It was a new and exciting experience for the both of us. We’ve never surfed before, but the instructors Peter, Trip, and Tommy did a great job making us feel comfortable.

We started with a land lesson where we went over the different parts of the board, safety tips, positioning, and the “pop up”. The “pop up” refers to when you stand up on the board while riding the wave. Mastering the pop up was pretty easy on land, but it was a totally different experience out on the water. It was all about timing and making smooth, balanced movements.

Once we completed the land lesson, we headed into the water. The instructors guided us to the optimal spot and helped us get positioned. When the right wave came, they told us when to paddle and when to start the pop up. Then, it was up to us to ride the wave back to shore. Riding the waves was such a unique experience. It was a weightless glide towards the shore.. unless you fell (which we did often). According to the instructors, “If you’re not falling then you’re not surfing”. We really took that to heart.

Isla Surf School hosts a variety of activities and events including Yoga out on the water and summer camp for the kids. It’s also a great activity for groups looking to learn a fun new skill. Surfing was a great experience and we look forward to our next opportunity to get back out on the water! Find more information about Isla Surf School or register for a lesson on their website