SC State Social Media Mavericks Forum
The Communications Program at SC State University will host “Social Media Mavericks”, a forum for our students that will bring together professionals who are successfully leveraging new or social media to achieve goals. The forum will be on Friday, Nov. 2 from 10 a.m. to noon in SC State’s Crawford Communications Building, Room 208 (this is formerly Crawford Engineering) in Orangeburg. The campus community is invited. Claflin University students and faculty will also be invited.
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Charleston Coffee Cup Recap
The Charleston Coffee Cup celebrates the budding Charleston craft coffee culture.
This year, the Cocktail Bandits were invited to judge the Latte Art competition. Local baristas competed in the timed competition to make the perfect Latte art.
The competition required speed, skill, and a steady hand.
Baristas create latte art using expresso and steamed milk called microfoam.
Local coffee roasters and coffee shops participated in the event offering samples and tips for enjoying your perfect cup of coffee. The event was a valuable source of information about craft coffee in Charleston.
The Four Steps of Coffee Tasting
1- SMELL
Smell your coffee before tasting it. Your nose can detect thousands of smells that enhance flavor. Cup your hand over the coffee. Hold the cup close to your nose and inhale.
2- SLURP
Next, Slurp the coffee in your mouth. Slurping splashes the coffee across your entire palate and lets subtle flavors and aromas reach your nose.
3- LOCATE
Where and how are you experiencing the flavors on your tongue? On the tip or sides of your tongue? What is the weight and mouthfeel of the coffee?
4- DESCRIBE
How would you describe the tasting experience of the coffee? How is the aroma, acidity, body, and flavor? What food flavors or other experiences could you compare this coffee to?
Fork&Knife, a sponsor of Charleston Coffee Cup, provided these tips.
Charleston Cocktail Week
Join us as we celebrate Charleston Cocktail Week Oct 28-31
Sunday
Cocktail Week Charleston celebrates its inaugural opening day by partnering up with Breakthru Beverage and The Alley and throwing an All You Can Eat, Drink, And Bowl Brunch on Sunday, Oct. 28th. The ticket price includes shoes, lanes, food, and custom cocktails created by The Alley bar team. Plus a ton of swag and other surprises…did someone say Raffle?
Come celebrate (responsibly!) with us as we kick off the USBG Charleston Cocktail Week with a Sunday Funday.
Proceeds of ticket sales and raffles benefit local charities.
See y’all there!
With its newest lineup of Aged Spirits, Bacardi is now featuring a 4 year, 8 year, and 10 year flight of premium rums that represent their dedication to creating the best rums available. Additionally, the newest member of the collection, Bacardi Reserva Rum will also be flowing during this dinner. Hosted at the beautiful Restoration Hotel, Chef Jordan Moore will pair each of his dishes with individual tastings of each Bacardi Spirit, along with interactive conversation with Chelsea Nightengale, Food and Beverage Director of The Restoration Hotel, and Pedro Irizarry, local Bacardi representative. Expect four courses of delicious pairings (with a little Tiki Love) for this dinner!
Monday
Join us at Charleston Distilling Co. as we discuss in detail the creation of each of their spirits, from the idea stage through final distillation and bottling. A light lunch and a tour of the facility is included, as well as some specialty cocktails featuring their products! Feel free to peruse their gift shop as well as interact with those that create the spirits themselves!
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Tuesday
This whiskey laced dinner will be held at Prohibition, this year’s Charleston Choice winner of Best Cocktail Menu and Best Downtown Bar. With the kitchen manned by the talented Chef Greg Garrison, expect an amazing multicourse meal paired with custom cocktails using Jameson Caskmates, IPA, Stout, and Black Barrel. In addition to a spirited paired dinner, each guest will get to sample the brand new Jameson feature, only just released!
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What can we say about Lynn that hasn’t already been said? National Brand Educator for Heaven Hill Brands, former beverage director for several award winning establishments in Chicago, and named one of the “Top 20 Most Fabulous Bartenders in the World”, Lynn has done it all! YET she still has time to educate the masses in such an easy-going and friendly way that everybody has a great time learning and understanding the nuances behind each product she presents! And if ANYONE can make DUBONNET a relevant product in today’s “what’s the newest bourbon/rum/gin, etc” market, Lynn can! Once perceived as “something my grandparents drank in the 50’s and 60’s”, and pretty much a forgotten or neglected cocktail modifier over the last 50 years, the facts are that Dubonnet is actually one of the top selling apertif brands in the US!
Intrigued? Each ticket includes a sample tasting of Dubonnet Rouge and a cocktail (or 3), as well as a tasty lunch provided by our friends at Burwells and an educational seminar with Lynn. See you there!
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If you’re a tequila fan, you don’t want to miss this dinner! Hosted by Patrón, we would like to invite you to taste an extensive array of very limited and special Patrón tequila tastings, including the Roca and Gran Patrón line. Signature cocktails will perfectly paired and curated for a multi-course dinner prepared by the kitchen team at Burwells. You don’t want to miss this!
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Wednesday
This USBG Charleston Cocktail Week Finale will be of EPIC PROPORTIONS!
Featuring 8 tents filled with custom cocktails from some amazing spirit brands, all decorated in different themes, beer and wine from our friends at Gallo, food from the kitchen of Scarecrow Catering, music from DJ Bryan Mahanes, and lots of swag from our gracious sponsors. Wear your best costume and bring your best dance moves as we party the night away.
Tickets for this event are all inclusive, and proceeds will go to Charleston Children’s Museum, as well as other local charities. Activities will be held in the alley between South Seas Tiki Bar and the Children’s Museum, with the entrance on the Ann Street side of the alley.
PLEASE DRINK RESPONSIBLY…. we all want to have fun, but if you think you’re not able to drive, please use the code the complimentary Uber discount, provided with your ticket. Charleston Visitor’s Center Parking will be available at a discount from 7pm.
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Afrikan Konciousness Koalition Festival
At this annual festival, we share together about our Afrikan diaspora. We encourage community engagement, supporting black businesses, enlightening each other on various topics all while having hot topics speakers – fun activities – games – and best of all trunk or treat for our kids in their chosen costume! We hope to see you there!
Eventbrite – akk.eventbrite.com
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/events/1902024083178195/
This post was submitted by a community member. Submit your event today on cocktailbandits.com
Soul Food Sessions Recap
Change happens by breaking the rules.
A pop-up dinner series created in partnership with Coca-Cola, Soul Food Sessions aims to uncover opportunities to increase diversity throughout the food industry. Soul Food Sessions encourages guests to tackle complex conversations on race and privilege. Chefs encouraged a general feeling of honesty and vulnerability as they shared their personal experiences growing up with Soul Food and creating their unique dishes.
Soul Food is varied and deeply personal.
Soul Food Sessions Chefs skillfully displayed the range and versatility of classic southern flavors. It was special to be a part of a plated Soul Food dinner that featured such rich seafood dishes. Highlighting their own range and versatility, The Cocktail Bandits created unique craft cocktails for the event using all Coca-Cola products. During Hors D’Oeuvres, the Cocktail Bandits served a light and refreshing mocktail featuring fresh juices and herbs. The drinks were perfectly balanced complements to a delightful evening.
The 7 course dinner featured
Hors D’Oeuvres
Chef Greg Collier
Mushroom Duxelles with marinated pulled chicken on toasted crostini with orange coulis
Chef Jaime Barnes
Blue Corn Cake and Green Tomato Marmalade with okra and tasso ham streusel
Chef Jason Sherrill
Blue Crab-stuffed Carolina Shrimp with spicy tomato jam, collard greens and pickled vegetables
Cold Appetizer
Chef Elaina Ruth
Smoked Trout Pontchartrain and Crab Salad with pickled mushrooms, black pepper tuile and Creole hollandaise
Hot Appetizer
Chef Michael Bowling
Rabbit Rillette Cake with potato and golden beet pave, crispy greens and smoked rabbit jus
Vegetable Course
Chef Mike Sheats
Tuskegee Soup with crab, sweet potato, scarlet queen turnip and benne seeds
Seafood Course
Chef B.J. Dennis
Creek Fish with Shrimp Purloo croquette and she-crab gravy
Fowl Course
Chef Kevin Mitchell
Pan-seared Duck and Sweet Potato Confit with bourbon-braised dinosaur kale and sorghum reduction
Featured Dish
Chef Greg Collier
Grillades over Cornmeal Waffle with green strawberry relish and smoked peanut dried okra crumble. Paired with a Coca-Cola
Dessert
Chef Jamie Turner
Poached Pear Napoleon and Goat Cheese Chiboust with cashew crumble and red wine gastrique
African-American Tourism Conference
The Annual African- American Tourism Conference is designed to show local residents how to engage with the Tourism industry.
It is also designed to show tourism Industry leaders how this niche can grow the overall industry by attracting millions of additional visitors interested in the African- American history and culture of our state. The event drew a diverse crowd that was curious about the impact social media could have on their business.
This year, the Cocktail Bandits were honored for their voice in advocating for African-American Tourism.
During the conference, they led a panel in which they discussed the valuable role that African Americans play in creating Charleston’s rich cultural identity.
The conference aims to connect entrepreneurs with the movers and shakers in the Charleston Tourism industry.
Get inside the room and hear key insights by listening to the Podcast!
Get more information at: https://scaat.us/
Lip Sync for Lungs
The American Lung Association in South Carolina is hosting its 3rd annual Lip Sync for Lungs Live Battle, presented by Motley Rice Law Firm, on Wednesday, September 26, 2018 at Charleston Music Hall (37 John St, Charleston, SC 29403). This unique, action-packed event features five local celebrities in a wildly entertaining live performance that raises funds to provide lung health programs and advocacy in coastal South Carolina.
This year’s Lip Sync for Lungs Live Battle III performers include: Lauren Fox (President, Fox Events), Heather Holmquest (President, Maritime Association of South Carolina), Mike Lata (James Beard Award Winning Chef/Owner of FIG and The Ordinary), Buffie Bell Lilly (Owner, Charleston Wine Pairings-Exclusive Matchmaking) and Susan Pearlstine (Susan Pearlstine Sarcoidosis Center of Excellence and Owner of The Bend).
September Trappy Hour Recap
The latest installment of Trappy Hour was something special.
Trappy Hour is the only downtown event that plays your favorite hip-hop hits all night. DJ T.O curates the mix and makes sure to play music from local Charleston artists. Check out the clip below to see footage from the performances by Jax$ and Chubbz.
Espolon Tequila is a huge sponsor of Trappy Hour.
Taneka served some expertly made Espolon tequila sour shots and handed out free gear.
You can always count on Trappy Hour if you’re looking for a place to dance.
There was a little bit of everything from twerking to bachata. I even saw a few mean shoulder leans.
The Royal American is such a perfect place to hold an event like this.
The bar is laid-back and eclectic (much like the party-goers). Inside by the bar, there is plenty of room to dance and watch the live performances. Out on the balcony, it’s a bit quieter with room to talk, chill, flirt, take pictures, and have a great time. The bartenders serve great drinks all night.
Why we do it.
The Cocktail Bandits started Trappy Hour to provide a platform for up and coming hip-hop artists. Trappy Hour strives to ensure that the homegrown Hip-Hop we enjoy is widely considered a part of Charleston’s cultural identity.
Make sure you join us for the next Trappy Hour so you can see for yourself how the Cocktail Bandits throw a party.
Black Ink Book Festival Recap
Black Ink is Charleston’s African American Book Festival.
The festival aims to support emerging artists by immersing them in a rich literary environment surrounded by Black authors from all walks of life.
The theme for this year’s festival was Wakanda from the movie “Black Panther”.
Wakanda provided a refreshing look at the diversity and creativity present within the black community and Black Ink succeeded in doing the same. There were over fifty authors present, each with a unique story to share. Their books covered a variety of genres including romance, science-fiction, and history. Speaking with the authors, their passion for their work was contagious.
The Cocktail Bandits spoke on the Empowerment panel.
Other Empowerment Panelists included authors Kimberly Bowman and Gaynelle Whittle-Ship. Each author on the panel took a different path to authorship, but found writing their story to be a source of strength. The Cocktail Bandits view their book as a statement of the progress they’ve made within an industry that has not always been kind or welcoming to women of color.
Black Ink also hosted a series of poetry Readings. Regina Duggins delivered a powerful reading of her poem, “Black Magic”. Participants also included local writers Sybil Nelson, Marcus Amaker, and Synithia Williams who shared their own stories and experiences of self-discovery through writing.
Terry McMillan was the keynote speaker for the event.
McMillan is the #1 best-selling author of “Waiting to Exhale” and “How Stella Got Her Groove Back”. Her story of perseverance and determination is an inspiration.
Black Ink was organized by Charleston Friends of the Library. Friends of the Library is a non-profit organization that raises money to support the Charleston County Library programs and events.
Fried Chicken Challenge Judges
Charleston is known for it’s delicious southern cuisine. The Cocktail Bandits lend their refined palette as featured judges at the 2nd Annual Southern Fried Chicken Challenge. Local and Regional chefs will compete to see who has the best fried chicken. Culinary students from Charleston County School District will also compete.
In addition to the fried chicken samples, attendees will spend the day listening to live music from Quentin Ravenel and The Dubplates.
Purchase tickets here: https://tickets.postandcourier.com/e/southern-fried-chicken-challenge/
