A Night For New Beginnings Gala 2018

LowCountry Orphan Relief (LOR) presents the 218 Annual Gala- A Night for New Beginnings. LOR works to provide aid and services to Lowcountry children identified as at-risk of suffering from abuse and/or neglect. This Black Tie event attracts over 300 guests with a live 7 piece band, silent & live auctions, decadent dinner, and dancing.

2018 sponsors include SC Federal, Equiscript, KB Kitchen & Bath Concepts, Keller Interiors, and Gentry Law Firm.

 

Purchase tickets for this event here: https://lowcountryorphanrelief.charityproud.org/EventRegistration/Index/826

PechaKucha- Talks for Creatives

The Cocktail Bandits join the Charleston Music Hall and Charleston Arts Festival as featured presenters for PechaKucha. PechaKucha got it’s name from the Japanese word for “chit chat” and aims to deliver powerful, concise presentations that are less than 7 minutes each. This event will feature talks from a diverse array of artistic, creative, and entrepreneurial speakers that represent the Charleston creative community.

 

Tickets are $14.00 at the door.

Buy advance tickets here: https://www.ticketfly.com/event/1725306-pechakucha-31-charleston/

Booze & Books Recap!

There was a packed house at Itinerant Literant

The Cocktail Bandits hosted the Inaugural Booze and Books Happy Hour: for the inebriated reader.

The Cocktail Bandits served samples of their signature cocktail, Peninsula Tea.

Peninsula tea is a perfectly balanced cocktail featuring Firefly Sweet Tea Vodka. You can learn more about the origins of the Peninsula Tea recipe in their book, Holy Spirits! Charleston Culture Through Cocktails

Fun fact: Firefly was one of the first brands that the Cocktail Bandits built a relationship with!

Guests were impressed and inspired as they flipped through Holy Spirits!  and sipped their craft cocktails.

Itinerant Literate was the perfect place to host an event like this. The little independent bookstore was packed with unique, thought-provoking titles and diverse authors. The store features several cozy reading nooks, inspiring quotes, and interesting trinkets. We are so appreciative of the support we get from the Charleston community. Can’t wait for our next book signing event!

 

Ladies Wine & Design- Confidence

The Cocktail Bandits will be taking over Wine and Design at SDCO Partners. We will sip on some custom cocktails as we discuss the Confidence Gap. This event will be held outside.

If you’re a female student or creative and would like to join, please RSVP. It’s free and reservations are first come, first serve. We welcome creatives beyond traditional designers – the more varied the better!

Reservation details will be sent prior to the event. If you need to cancel, please release your ticket to allow attendees to join from the waiting list.

This event is currently sold out.

Join the waiting list: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/ladies-wine-design-confidence-tickets-48177501203

Summer Soiree at The Tiny Tassel

The Cocktail Bandits link up with Mimi Striplin, fellow College of Charleston Alum and founder of The Tiny Tassel. The Tiny Tassel is an accessory boutique that offers fun, colorful accessories and gifts. Join us for cocktails and extended hours Wednesday 8/15/2018 from 5-7 PM. Plus 50% off Turkish Towels and 20% off Straw Clutches and Totes!

We look forward to seeing you there!

 

Gin+Watermelon Dinner Recap

We had the pleasure of doing a collaborative dinner at The Asbury with Chefs Matt Krenz and Scott Crawford of Crawford and Son. The theme was ‘Gin and Watermelon’.

Our task was to pair a delicious cocktail with each course the chefs prepared.

 

 

First Course: We wanted to keep the first beverage light and refreshing.

We used Owl’s Brew Wicked Watermelon Radler (a tea beer), and topped it with prosecco and a splash of lime juice to pair with Chef Scott Crawford’s, Watermelon Carpaccio.

 

Second Course: We made a cocktail featured in our book called “Porgy and Bess”

We replaced the tequila in the original cocktail with Doc Porter’s Gin. We also topped this cocktail with Cannonborough honey basil soda. We paired this cocktail with Chef Scott Crawford’s spicy watermelon Gazpacho.

 

Third Course: Fried foods, Watermelon, and tea are perfect summer staples.

When we noticed that Chef Matt Krenz made Grilled Watermelon with fried green tomatoes and crawfish salad, we had to pair this dish with our signature cocktail, the Peninsula Tea featuring Firefly Sweet Tea Vodka.

Fourth Course: We paired the “Charleston Single” with the Snapper, Watermelon, and Crispy Ham

Learn more about the Charleston Single in our book, Holy Spirits! . We used local Conniption Gin, cucumber syrup, grapefruit juice, and tonic from Jack Rudy and co.

 

 

For the last course, we decided to go with a Matcha Mint mocktail.

We wanted to provide the guests with a non alcoholic option to pair with the salted ganache, Matcha meringue, pickled and compressed watermelon. The flavors worked perfectly, together.

 

After dinner we were able to sit and chat with the guests; everyone was happy and excited to be there. We were excited to hear that people enjoyed the food and drink pairings as well!  I mean, who doesn’t love gin and watermelon?!

Pictured: Matt Krenz, Taneka Reaves, Jonathan Cooper (photographer), Scott Crawford, Johnny Caldwell

We HAVE to thank ‘NC’s Chef of the Year’ Matt Krenz and his staff at the Asbury for hosting us. They were phenomenal and such a pleasure to work with. Chef Scott Crawford visiting from his restaurant, Crawford and Sons was amazing as well! We can’t wait to visit his restaurant when we make it back to North Carolina. We also want to thank all of the guests for their enthusiasm… although it was a rainy evening, people came out, showed love, and purchased a book! We are forever thankful!

 

Special shout out to Jonathan Cooper. Who did a FANTASTIC job with these photos!! THANK YOU!!

Get another perspective on this event+ more pictures from our guest blogger NomKnowledge

 

Black Girl Magic: Divas of Hospitality

Female chefs face unique challenges in the male-dominated hospitality industry.

Divas of Hospitality is a celebration hosted by Chef Natashnym Meggett that exists to shine a spotlight on black women Chefs in Charleston and the surrounding area. The Cocktail Bandits were behind the bar serving up delicious craft cocktails.

The drink menu included favorites such as Cocktail Bandits’ Peninsula Tea featuring Firefly Sweet Tea Vodka and Gentle Lady Gimlet featuring Bristow Gin. You can find recipes for these drinks in our book, Holy Spirits!

 

The Cocktail Bandits also mixed up some fresh Margaritas made with Goza Tequila and garnished with a sprig of mint to surprise and delight the palette.

Featured Chefs, Vendors, and Organizers

Natashnym Meggett– Johnson & Wales alumni, Founder of Divas of Hospitality and owner of Southern Gal Catering. Follow her on Facebook @southerngalcatering or Instagram @iam_southerngal

Tales of the Cocktail in New Orleans

Look out New Orleans! The Curly Ladies Who Talk Cocktails Daily are coming to NOLA for Tales of the Cocktail – 💃🏽🍸We are bringing Charleston culture and cocktails to the biggest beverage festival in the country!

We are hosting two book signing for Holy Spirits by Cocktail Bandits (Wednesday & Thursday), speaking on a panel about diversifying the bar scene (Tuesday) and maybe a little pop-up bar action 😉🥃
Hope to see you in the BIG EASY😎

Read about last year at TALES!

The phrase, ‘It’s a marathon not a sprint’ takes on new meaning at this five day beverage celebration. Industry professionals descend on New Orleans to educate themselves in all that is trendy and new in the beverage market. Tales of the Cocktail started in 2002 and has since dominated the industry as a premiere beverage festival.

 

The French Quarter provides the perfect setting for this event.

Pedestrians are permitted to walk all public streets, cocktail in hand. We took full advantage of this, never feeling the need to ‘finish’ our current drink before leaving the bar or restaurant.

 

Our first taste of the Tales experience, was the Bacardi Party.

The international brand brought more than just rum to the party. Grey Goose Vodka, Bombay Sapphire Gin and Cazadores Tequila served cocktails and provided interactive entertainment. The ladies of St. Germain place flowers in our hair and mini bottles in our pockets. Guest were encouraged to add their mark on an active mural in the center on the party. Inside, the venue was transformed into in a jungle where trees moved and rum was sipped from coconuts. Silent Addy from Miami played a blend of reggae dancehall and New Orleans bounce music that kept the dance floor rocking.

Over the weekend, we visited smaller more curated events.

Absolut Elyx brought the tropic to Tales. The space was covered in bright palm leaves that matched the clothing worn by the servers. Every corner of the ballroom featured specialty vodka cocktails expertly prepared and presented.

 

The main bar required a reservation for which we waited 45 minutes before being seated. We were given twenty minutes to enjoy one cocktail based on a menu made of emojis. The world renowned mixologist crafted beautifully complex cocktails full of whimsy and imagination.

 

Suze, a gentian liqueur hosted a reception around the corner that was packed with French influence. We enjoyed mini croque monsieurs and baby quiches feeling transported to the French countryside.

The Monteleone acted as headquarters for Tales tastings.

We visited the tasting rooms to sample the variety of new spirits.

 

Pasote Tequila and Bazel Mezcal served in mini cocktails in the lobby that embraced the smoky spirit without any bitter aftertaste.

 

We also tried some very clean gin from North Carolina

Disaronno, the Italian liqueur brought their global ambassadors together for a very unique tasting session. Each bartender served a cocktail that reflected their respective cocktail market. Super dope!

Festival Favorites

1. Seeing/Meeting Industry Friends

We were able to meet beverage professional who we respect and admire in person.

1. Local cuisine

We are local everyday, tasting NOLA. We dined at Borgne, Bombay Club, Ruby Slipper and Nosh. Each serving a different part of NO culture.

1. So much swag

We love our brand apparel and the sponsors of Tales spared no expense with their product marketing. Suze gave attendees Parisian walking shoes while Absolut Elyx provided portable fans to beat the heat. So necessary.

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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