Mad Hatter Tea Party
A fancy fun tea party to celebrate + support our creative minded Queens of Charleston: a collaboration of style and self care featuring the movers & shakers of our community.
Tickets starting at $75 and available at:
Mad Hatter Tea Party
For more information visit our Upcoming Events page on our website:
Da Happiest Hour
We taking over Classic Bar on King (541 King Street) for the happiest of happy hours on a Monday! August 5 from 4 till 8, Taneka and Johnny will be taking over the bar and Charleston Gullah Chef Bj Dennis will be in the kitchen with some small bites!!
No cover charge and no reservations!
Beauty & Bubbles
Come sip and learn with InnaGlow Beauty and the Cocktail Bandits. You will experience a live full face demo of the infamous “no makeup” makeup look with a mini hands on workshop to achieve a flawless blank canvas. Grab your makeup bag and a friend and join us for this one of a kind social. This first class is for anyone between the everyday beauty and aspiring makeup artists.
Get there early for a chance to win one of the door prizes!
Purchase ticket using the link below:
Sips Italiana
Last September, we had the opportunity to spend 7 days in the Italian countryside. Escorted by the Italian Trade Commission, we visited a combination of 10 different distilleries in the Northern and Southern regions of Italy. We met the owners and distillers of mostly family owned companies while sipping from their expansive spirits portfolio.
Additionally, we visited several popular Italian bars to research how the locals enjoyed these classic spirits. What stood out the most was the Aperitivo Cocktail hour. Typically, when one orders a drink at an Italian bar, some snack or complementary bite is served as well (and not just bowls of pretzels and nuts).
This is brillant. This culture of drinking and eating kept us at each bar longer than expected. The assortments of cheese, sliced meat or fresh veggies encouraged us to socialize more and order more drinks because the snacks were free.
Some establishments like the world-famous, Martini Bar in Turin, Italy require guests to stand at the bar to enjoy the free nibbles; this encouraged us to dance and move more about the space.
Upon returning home, we were reminded how solitary American bar culture can be. We looked for an opportunity to share the concept of Aperitivo hour in Charleston. Our annual Spoleto Festival provided that opportunity. Charleston has celebrated its connection to its Italian sister city Spoleto since 1977. For 17 days, the Holy City hosts international musicians and artists for plays, art shows and performances primarily focused on our art and historical connection to Spoleto. This festival served as the perfect setting for our event series celebrating our food and beverage connection to Italy.
Bitter & Bubbly
That’s how I would describe an Aperol Spritz. I would also use words like: refreshing, light and social. This low ABV cocktail has been enjoyed in Italy for ages but is still largely under appreciated in America. While the bold crimson hue is attractive, the bright bitter flavor can shock the palate.
Our Spritz Pop Up was the 1st introduction of the cocktail to the majority of our audience. Surrounded by Italian inspired art, The Meyer Vogl Gallery served as an excellent setting for our cocktail hour.
The Aperol Spritz cocktail is fairly simple: mix 1 part Aperol, 1 part Champagne (or some other sweet bubbles) plus 1 part club soda over ice with orange peel garnish. That’s it!
Aperol is a bitter liqueur made from orange peels. Its classified as an aperitif because it is usually enjoyed; before a meal; the bitter flavor stimulates the appetite. Which is why there are always snacks nearby when the cocktail is served.
Lemon Lover
The name speaks for itself. There is a sense of familiarity with this cocktail. This bright yellow beverage has been seen in movies like “Under the Tuscan Sun” giving Limoncello a romantic feel. We wanted to give the citrusy cocktail an artsy vibe.
We asked attendees to wear some shade of yellow and meet us at The Martin Gallery. The Broad Street showroom houses large metal sculptures as well as intricate paintings. The classic cocktails were comprised of Limoncello di Capri, Tiziano Prosecco and club soda – garnished with a lemon slice. Salute.
Our friends at Carolima’s Lowcountry Kitchen provided us with pimento cheese crostinis topped with okra slices.
Chef Sameka Jenkins, known for her buttery Charleston Chewies, created a lemon infused “blondie” type treat for guests. So good!
Celebrate Italy
Italian spirits range from herbal bitter liqueurs to fragrant aromatized wines. Our event series finale allowed us to share more from the Italian Spirits spectrum.
We featured some of the lesser known Italian Liqueurs like Molanari, an anise flavor liqueur and Fragoli, a wild strawberry liqueur. We mixed these foreign spirits with familiar ingredients to encourage guests to try something new.
The most popular cocktail of the evening was called, “Brown Bunny”. This cocktail was a combination of Nocello (a walnut flavored liqueur), Arabica Coffee flavored soda and lime juice.
Guests Sipped Italiana while enjoying a violin performance from local artist, Tyree McDowell. 
Big thanks to Redux Art Center, our gracious host, for being an open and inviting venue which allowed our attendees to socialize and appreciate the creations from local artists.
Stay on the lookout for more cultural cocktail events from us soon!
http://spoletousa.org http://meyervogl.com/ http://www.martingallerycharleston.com/ http://reduxstudios.org/ http://www.carolimas.com www.aperol.com www.ice.it www.totalbeveragesolution.com http://www.molinari.it Photos by Julia Sanders
Day Drinking: at Millers All Day
Ever found yourself wandering South King Street around 8AM in need of a spirited beverage? Your best and only option would be Millers All Day. The restaurant operates from 7AM to 3PM offering seasonal breakfast options all day.
Choose from fluffy buttermilk biscuits or something more adventurous like pink unicorn grits. Out person favorite, the patty melt, always a win.
The picturesque venue reminds me of a retro diner slash 1950’s soda shop tinted in a calming yet inspiring blue shade. The bar and lounge area are as comfortable as they are stylish. While at the bar, order one of the premium cocktails. The bar menu offers a range of cocktails to excite the taste buds no matter the time of day.
The Mezcal cocktail affectionately named ‘Holy City Desperado’ would make any hater of the smoky spirit, a believer. Try it out to change the way you think about day drinking.
Another memorable cocktail, the Strawberry Basil Collins. This bright Gin based cocktail is very refreshing on warm Charleston afternoons, Stop in early.
Cheers –
Toronto Cocktail Conference
The Cocktail Bandits are venturing to Canada to spread their love of cocktails and culture. Check them our during Toronto Cocktail Conference this August 12th throught the 14th. The duo is leading a discussion on using social media as a tool for brand growth and development. Join the conversation using the link below:
Toronto Cocktail Conference 2019
COLA Food & Wine 2019
Everytime I visit Soda City, I ask myself, “Why don’t you come here more often?’. The drive from Charleston is quick and scenic while the vibe in the Capital city is completely different from the Lowcountry. The beautifully decorated Hotel Trundel made our stay amazingly comfortable.
Conveniently located downtown Columbia, the hotel provides spacious suites with stylish appliances featuring modern upgrades like USB outlets. The front desk offers a variety of draft beverages including a delicious Rose and local beer.
Hopefully, Hotel Trundel is a sign of what is to come, active tourist traffic throughout the main street area.
Coa Agaveria Y Cocina
We were also delighted to visit Coa Tequila Bar located right on Lady Street, the craft Tequila bar offered more than amazing tacos. We sampled a wide variety of cocktails ranging from very earthy Mezcal based cocktails to delicately floral Tequila cocktails. Each sip was complimented by their an assortment of small plates. The octopus was definitely a stand out.
COLA Food & Wine
The festival completely takes over the 5 points area. Tents are situated on the street giving festival goers free reign of the thoroughfare. Clothing stores and other shops remained open allowing attendees to take advantage of special pricing. Very fun! We meandered throughout the food stations, sampling bites and taking sips. My first nibble came from Sakitumi Grill & Sushi Bar.
It was a combination of 3 pieces from their menu. Delicious and easy to transport which is important at tasting events. Luckily, there were plenty of tables and seating areas to sit down and enjoy the festivities. Another plus, no long food lines. This is amazing.
Most tasting events of this sort have super long lines for food samples, often running out of food before the event is over. Not at Columbia Food & Wine. We left the tents with full bellies, which is rare.
VIP Lounge
The upstairs of Saluda’s restaurant was converted into the VIP lounge hosted by Columbia Metropolitan Airport.
The cozy, well air conditioned area featured signature cocktails, speciality bites from Soda City Chefs and live entertainment. As a keepsake, CAE custom stamped luggage tags encouraging attendees to travel well. Super cute.
Highlights
- ‘The Chill Zone’ – everyone knows that COLA is famously hot. Conveniently located in the center of the festival was an air conditioned lounge. Sponsored by Cool Care Heating & Air and open to the general admission ticket holders. This area was a welcomed respite with access to cold water, bites and industrial strength fans. Cool!
- Speakeasy style bar – The White Mule was transformed into a hub for cocktail enjoyment. The bartenders served made-to-order cocktails, created by bartenders from some of Columbia best bars. My favorite from the speciality menu was a Roku Gin based cocktail called, “Cherry Blossom”. This spirited cocktail was the perfect drink to end a full day at #COLAFW
- Columbia Museum – We took advantage of our time in Columbia to get in a little local culture. The Museum of Art houses an assortment of static and interactive exhibits. We wandered throughout the two level gallery being stimulated by the large scale sculptures as well as the elaborate paintings hung on the wall. Definitely a must visit while in the city. Insider tip: free admission on the 3rd Thursday of the month.
https://www.experiencecolumbiasc.com/
https://www.columbiafoodandwinefestival.com/
https://www.columbiamuseum.org/
Trappy Hour: Summer Edition
You Go Girl Brunch
The You Go Girl brunch was created to recognize and celebrate women entrepreneurs who are constantly grinding to better themselves and their businesses.
This year we are having the event on Aug 3rd. This is the 3rd event since it was it first launched in September of 2017.
There will be vendors, interactive activities, food and special guests.
Tickets are currently on sale now at eventbrite: https://yougogirlorg.eventbrite.com/
Our social media pages:
IG: YouGoGirlBrunch
Celebrate: Italy
A tasting exploration and celebration Charleston’s food and beverage connection to Italy. Featuring signature Italian cocktails (Aperol Spritz, Limoncello di Capri, Nocello, Fragoli, etc.), live entertainment and Geechee-Italian style bites.
Be inspired by the art, culture and Italian Liqueurs. Salut! #GentleLadySips
Ticket link below:
