Charleston City Paper - Swig Bar Guide, Fall 2019

— CHARLESTON’S BAR GUIDE—

A Charleston City Paper publication

Fall 2019 // Free

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SINCE 2004 VOTED BEST WATERFRONT BAR SINCE 2004 — CHARLESTON CITY PAPER —

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Historic Shem Creek - 98 Church Street - Mt. Pleasant - 843.388.0003 - redsicehouse.com

SWIG // Fall 2019

The Lowcountry is Our Country

PUBLISHER Noel Mermer

EDITORIAL

Sam Spence Connelly Hardaway CUISINE EDITOR: Mary Scott Hardaway MUSIC EDITOR: Heath Ellison STAFF WRITER: Skyler Baldwin WEB EDITOR: Lauren Hurlock EDITOR:

ARTS EDITOR:

FROM THE EDITOR Welcome to our annual SWIG bar guide, Charleston sippers. As always, we’ve curated a list of as many bars and bar-centric restaurants, divided geographically and then alphabetically. We’ve got a bead on where to score the best craft beer, where to save on cheap pints, and where to head for glasses of carefully selected vino. In between the guide you’ll find six stories detailing the latest in cocktail trends — yes, that includes “cheese washing” — and why you should shop local (looking at you, Bottles) and follow local social media accounts to find out where to check in when you clock out. We also look at the other side of the bottle, profiling one local woman who decided being sober curious was the right choice for her. Holy City AF meets up for fun events around town every month, alcohol-free (that’s the AF). Read about them on p.

34 — we also have deets on where you can find the best spirit-free drinks around town. Whether you prefer gin or ginger ale, we’ve got your tab covered. Drink on. —Mary Scott Hardaway

6

#NOFILTER

Two local booze influencers share the swills they love

14 24

THREE’S COMPANY

We asked local bartenders to create a cocktail using only three ingredients — and share the recipes

IN GOOD SPIRITS

How Bottles in Mt. Pleasant supports the community by putting locals first

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ALONE

Ruta Smith

Fat washing, milk punch, and feta cheese gin — what’s new in cocktails

Enid Brenize, Lindsay Collins, Melissa Hayes, Vanessa Wolf

INTERNS:

Alison Mader, Ryan Rothkopf, Lilli Serral, Connor Simonson, Matt Woodhull

SALES

Blair Barna Cris Temples

ADVERTISING DIRECTOR: SALES MANAGER:

ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES:

Hollie Anderson Colby Chisholm Ashley Frantz Lauren Kesmodel Sarah Minotti

SALES COORDINATOR:

DESIGN

ART DIRECTOR:

Melissa Veal

Scott Suchy

PRODUCTION DIRECTOR:

Déla O’Callaghan

GRAPHIC DESIGNER:

34 NOT 42 MIXIN’ IT UP

CONTRIBUTORS:

Brantley Saunders’ Holy City AF group organizes alcoholfree gatherings around the city

52 100 PROOF

Firefly eyes December opening of 20,000-square-foot distillery near Park Circle

Christina Bailey PHOTOGRAPHER: Ruta Smith

THE COVER

The pina colada milk punch at Doar Bros. Photo by Ruta Smith.

Swig is a publication of the Charleston City Paper and is published once a year by Jones Street Publishers, LLC. All content is copyrighted and the property of Jones Street Publishers, LLC.

Charleston City Paper 1316 Rutledge Avenue Charleston, S.C. 29403 (843) 577-5304 charlestoncitypaper.com

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SWIG // Fall 2019

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#NoFilter Two local booze influencers share the swills they love

By Connelly Hardaway

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Kirsten Bhattacharyya

considers The World Atlas of Wine to be bedside reading. Bhattacharyya, who works full-time at Graft Wine Shop, shows me a map of the Mâconnais region, the southernmost part of Burgundy, as she pours me two different chardonnays during her weekly Thursday evening wine tasting. She started the free tastings last year as a way to introduce people to all the wines in Graft (there are shelves upon shelves, y’all), and to educate people about wines they thought they knew.

Take chardonnay, for example.

Used to that rich oak flavor you can find in California bottles? You’ll find something a bit lighter in Graft’s Macon La Roche Vineuse. As Bhattacharyya describes it, this chardonnay “has a lot of freshness to it, I think of ginger candy, warm spice, and orchard fruits like apples and pears.”

While you can find a number of regulars at Bhattacharyya’s Thursday tastings, a lot of people know the oenophile from her Instagram, @kirstensgotwine, where she shares the wines she’s selling at Graft and other fun bottles she finds in the wild.

There’s something appealing — and undoubtedly accessible — about learning more about booze from a personal Instagram account. Bhattacharyya’s posts assure followers that she’s learning along with us, which plays to Graft’s laidback vibes. Wine isn’t just for snobs anymore, and you’ll find that same user-friendly approach at several other wine bars in town. In the same vein, beer ain’t just for chugging anymore, either. That’s where another local drinkfluencer, Ana Richards comes in.

Richards is the woman behind @beergirlmeetsworld, an account she started a few years ago when she realized that people really like beer pictures. While working at a beer distributor Richards snapped a picture of a beer that hadn’t been released yet. “It was dumb,” laughs Richards. “But I got like 51 likes.”

Now, the verifiable influencer snags upwards of 200 likes on any given post, whether she’s drinking around town (Freehouse, Munkle), or escaping hurricanes in nearby beerContinued on page 9

Kirsten Bhattacharyya pours free tastes at Graft every Thursday, 5-7 p.m.

Ruta Smith

SWIG // Fall 2019

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Ana Richards’ dog has his own Instagram too, @chewbacca_ thebulldog

Ruta Smith

#NOFILTER continued from page 6

loving towns (we see you Asheville). Like Bhattacharyya, Richards posts pictures because she’s having fun with the beer she’s drinking, and she wants to show people how many great local spots there are for sipping.

Bhattacharyya and Richards are certainly not the only local Instagram influencers when it comes to this boozedrenched city. If you want to see beautiful drinks (and a to-die-for home bar), check out @holycityhandcraft. Interested in behind-the-scenes brewing? You’ll want to check out @craft_wench. Want to see more wine than you thought you ever needed to lay eyes on? Southernbased distributor @imbibeadvintage has got you covered. Oh, and you’ve heard of The Cocktail Bandits, right? Beyond Instagram influencers, these two women have a thriving brand under their respective belts, and have been at this game since way back in 2015.

The list goes on, of course (don’t even get us started on foodie accounts), and we encourage you to get your hands dirty scrolling through all the city has to offer — and then get out there and drink.

Do as Bhattacharyya does: “I do save pictures of bottles fairly frequently and let myself go down the rabbit hole of seeing what other restaurants/wine bars/wine professionals are tasting.”

Bhattacharyya nods at @the.glug.report, @vervewine, and @helenswines as accounts she looks to for vino inspo.

Both a beast and a burden, social media has changed the way we consume information and meet people (I Instagram

messaged both Bhattacharyya and Richards for this story). Richards says that her handle alone has gotten her in touch with several other like-minded influencers. The popularity of her account inspired her to start her own business marketing company, Butterfly Social CHS. While another kind of Instagram inluencer is currently having a moment — the sober influencers, their own very cool, and useful niche — there’s no denying the fun associated with a wine or beer-centric account, especially for us booze-curious folks in a booze-curious town.

“

I’d say Instagram plays more directly into influencing and pushing us to creating innovative experiences.”

Bhattacharyya says that @kirstensgotwine goes beyond the actual wine, too.

With so many bars, restaurants, breweries, and wine shops in town, she’s helping her place of work create something special. “I’d say Instagram plays more directly into influencing and pushing us to creating innovative experiences. No matter what bottles you have, you’ve got to be drinking them in a place (or with the people) that you feel comfortable with and impart some sense of community.”

Picturesque Views, Cuisine and Cocktails Experience a panoramic view of Charleston’s skyline paired with an expansive spirit selection and Mediterranean-inspired culinary offerings.

SWIG // Fall 2019

hotelbennett.com/dine/fiat-lux | 843.990.5454 | 404 King St. Charleston, SC 29403

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POWERED BY

The

B AR C RAWL

From the posh cocktail clubs to the neighborhood watering holes, we’ve got you covered Downtown

Baker & Brewer

When it comes to imbibing downtown, there’s no doubt there’s something for everyone. From dive bar PBRs to $20 cocktails to bottle service, on King Street you’re about 10 feet from each of the aforementioned.

39 Rue de Jean

39 John St. (843) 722-8881 holycityhospitality.com GO FOR:

Full bar • Wine list Full menu • Patio

82 Queen

charlestoncitypaper.com/SWIG

131 Columbus St. (843) 818-4080 thealleycharleston.com GO FOR:

Craft beer • Wine list Full menu

A.C.’s Bar and Grill 467 King St. (843) 577-6742 GO FOR:

Cheap beer • Late night eats • Full bar • Full menu

AMENITIES:

Billiard tables

Live music

Bangkok Lounge 353 King St. the bangkoklounge.com GO FOR:

Full bar • Cheap beer

76 Queen St. (843) 577-2500 huskrestaurant.com

Anson

GO FOR:

AMENITIES:

Trivia • Multiple TVs

GO FOR:

289 E Bay St. (843) 579-4997 167raw.com

Full bar • Full menu Craft beer • Patio

AMENITIES:

AMENITIES:

167 Raw

GO FOR:

Watch sports • Craft beer Games • Full menu Full bar • Cheap beer

82 Queen St. (843) 723-7591 82queen.com

Wine list • Patio Full menu • Full bar

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The Alley

94 Stuart St. (843) 297-8233 bakerandbrewer.com

12 Anson St. (843) 577-0551 ansonrestaurant.com GO FOR:

Full bar • Wine list Full menu

AMENITIES:

Live music

Babas on Cannon 11 Cannon St. babasoncannon.com GO FOR:

Full bar • Full menu Wine list

Karaoke

The Bar at Husk GO FOR:

Full bar • Craft beer Full menu • Wine list

Bar Mash

701 E Bay St. (843) 793-2636 barmashchs.com GO FOR:

Full bar • Craft beer Games • Full menu Late night eats

AMENITIES:

Live music

Barsa

58 Line St. (843) 577-5393 barsacharleston.com GO FOR:

Sip classic and creative cocktails at the Bar at Husk

Full bar • Wine list Full menu • Patio Dogs allowed AMENITIES:

Live music

Basic Kitchen

82 Wentworth St. (843) 789-4568 basickitchen.com GO FOR:

Full bar • Craft beer Full menu • Patio

Bay Street Biergarten

549 E. Bay St. (843) 266-2437 baystreetbiergarten.com GO FOR:

Craft beer • Games Full menu • Late night eats • Patio Watch sports • Full bar Dogs allowed

AMENITIES:

Trivia • Multiple TVs

The Belmont

511 King St. thebelmontcharleston.com GO FOR:

Wine list • Full bar

Big Gun Burger Shop

137 Calhoun St. (843) 789-3821 GO FOR:

Craft beer • Full menu

Jonathan Boncek file photo

Watch sports • Full bar

AMENITIES:

Multiple TVs • Billiard tables • Dart boards

Bin 152

152 King St. (843) 577-7359 bin152.com GO FOR:

Wine list

Blind Tiger

36-38 Broad St. (843) 872-6700 blindtigerchs.com GO FOR:

Craft beer • Full menu Watch sports • Patio Full bar

AMENITIES:

Live music • Multiple TVs

Bourbon N Bubbles 570 King St. (843) 847-9058 bourbonnbubbles.com GO FOR:

Full menu • Full bar

Live music • Dart boards Multiple TVs

Butcher & Bee

1085 Morrison Drive.

(843) 619-0202 butcherandbee.com GO FOR:

Full bar • Craft beer Wine list • Full menu

Burns Alley Neighborhood Bar 27 Burns Lane.

(843) 723-6735 burnsalley.com GO FOR:

Cheap beer Watch sports • Games Craft beer • Full bar

AMENITIES:

Live music • Karaoke Billiard tables Multiple TVs

AMENITIES:

Cane Rhum Bar

The Brick

GO FOR:

Live music

24 Ann St. Suite A (843) 998-6828 thebrickcharleston.com

251 E. Bay St. (843) 277-2764 eatdrinkcane.com

Full bar • Full menu Craft beer

GO FOR:

Craft beer • Cheap beer Games • Watch sports Full menu • Patio Dogs allowed • Full bar

AMENITIES:

Continued on page 12

SWIG // Fall 2019

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The

Bar Crawl

Continued from page 10

Carolina Ale House

145 Calhoun St. (843) 805-7020 carolinaalehouse.com

POWERED BY

Chez Nous

6 Payne Ct. (843) 579-3060 cheznouschs.com GO FOR:

Wine list • Full menu Patio

GO FOR:

Watch sports • Craft beer Cheap beer • Patio Full menu • Late night eats • Full bar

AMENITIES:

Multiple TVs

Charleston Beer Works

480 King St. (843) 577-5885 charlestonbeerworks.com GO FOR:

Craft beer • Watch sports Full menu • Late night eats • Full bar

AMENITIES:

Circa 1886

149 Wentworth St. (843) 853-7828 circa1886.com GO FOR:

Full bar • Wine list Full menu • Patio

Citrus Club

334 Meeting St. 8th floor (843) 558-8000 thedewberrycharleston.com GO FOR:

Full bar • Full menu Rooftop view

Live music • Multiple TVs

Charleston Grill

224 King St. (843) 577-4522 charlestongrill.com GO FOR:

Full bar • Wine list Full menu • Craft beer

CO

Coast

39-D John St. (843) 722-8838 holycityhospitality.com GO FOR:

Full bar • Patio Full menu • Wine list

AMENITIES:

Live music

The Cocktail Club

479 King St. (843) 724-9411 thecocktailclubcharleston.com GO FOR:

Full bar • Craft beer Patio • Wine list

AMENITIES:

Live music

The Commodore 504 Meeting St. thecommodorechs.com GO FOR:

Full bar • Craft beer Cheap beer Bottle service

340 King St. (843) 720-3631 eatatco.com

AMENITIES:

GO FOR:

Container Bar

Full bar • Full menu

Live music • Dancefloor

2130 Mt. Pleasant St. (843) 793-1480 containerbarchs.com GO FOR:

Full bar • Dogs allowed

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charlestoncitypaper.com/SWIG

OCT 16 AUG 25 21+

Craft beer • Games

AMENITIES:

Live music

Cru Cafe

18 Pinckney St. (843) 534-2434 crucafe.com GO FOR:

Craft beer • Wine list Full menu

Cutty’s

227 St. Philip St. (843) 724-4111 GO FOR:

Full bar • Cheap beer Games

AMENITIES:

Billiard tables • Trivia

D’Allesandro’s Pizza 229 St. Philip St. (843) 853-6337 dalspizza.com GO FOR:

Cheap beer • Full menu

Dalila’s

441 Meeting St. Ste. F dalilasonspring.com GO FOR:

Full bar • Patio

Daps Breakfast & Imbibe

Edmund’s Oast

GO FOR:

GO FOR:

280 Ashley Ave. (843) 718-1098 dapsbreakfast.com

Craft beer • Full menu Dogs allowed • Patio

The Darling Oyster Bar

513 King St. (843) 641-0821 thedarling.com GO FOR:

Full bar • Craft beer Full menu

1081 Morrison Drive, (843) 727-1145 edmundsoast.com

Full bar • Craft beer Full menu • Patio Wine list

Edmund’s Oast Brewing Co.

1505 King St. Ext. (843) 718-3224 edmundsoast.com GO FOR:

Craft beer • Full bar Full menu • Watch sports

Delaney Oyster House

AMENITIES:

GO FOR:

18 Percy St. (843) 577-0028

115 Calhoun St. (843) 594-0099 delaneyoysterhouse.com

Full bar • Craft beer Full menu • Patio • Wine list

Doar Bros.

225 Meeting St. doarbros.com GO FOR:

Live music • Multiple TVs

Elliotborough Mini Bar GO FOR:

Craft beer • Full menu

AMENITIES:

Live music

The Establishment

Full bar • Full menu

28 Broad St. (843) 789-4028 establishmentchs.com GO FOR:

Full bar • Full menu Wine list Continued on page 16

S OB UETEHRE R N F R OS PMI RHI ET RS E

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SWIG // Fall 2019

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Three’s Company

We asked local bartenders to create a cocktail using only three ingredients — and share the recipes

By Vanessa Wolf

I

t’s the season of mandatory evacuations and hurricane parties, and there’s nothing quite like cocktail simplicity when contemplating the seaworthiness of your Charleston single.

We asked three celebrated local mixologists to craft something new using the three ingredients of their choice, with delicious results. Whether you tend to face the storms with an aura of tranquility, bravado, or getting the hell out of here, we’ve got a drink for that.

BOLD Batten down the hatches, turn on The Weather Channel and say a prayer with a smooth, smoky ‘Typical Miracle.’ Edmund’s Oast head bartender Jayce McConnell’s cheerful-looking concoction packs a punch. “I don’t try to hide the spirit base in this one at all,” McConnell notes. “With a three-ingredient cocktail you have to make sure everything in the glass stands out and supports the other two.”

Made with Spade & Clover turmeric-rootinfused simple syrup, McConnell chose the locally grown plant for both the vibrant yellow color it provides, as well as the “balanced, earthy undertone” the dried plant imparts, perfect for pairing with a plate of tacos al pastor. Turmeric is also a powerful anti-inflammatory and antioxidant, helpful after a day spent manhandling plywood boards.

‘Typical Miracle’

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charlestoncityppaer.com/SWIG

1½ oz. mezcal (Vago Espadín preferably) 1 oz. turmeric syrup (recipe below) ¾ oz. lemon juice For the turmeric syrup: 1 cup Demerara whole cane sugar 2 oz. Spade & Clover turmeric root, grated Combine sugar and turmeric in a metal bowl and mix well, pressing the turmeric into the sugar. Allow this to macerate at room temperature for at least an hour. When ready, add 1 cup boiling water and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Strain through a fine mesh strainer, and allow to cool to room temp before use. Store in the refrigerator for up to a week. Prefer a drier drink?

Reduce tumeric syrup used to ¾ oz.

Combine ingredients in cocktail shaker and shake well until very cold. Double strain over cracked ice in rocks glass. If you’re feeling fancy, splurge with a fourth ingredient and garnish with a lemon twist or mint leaf.

Photos by Ruta Smith

FRESH

SMOOTH

Better safe than sorry. Pack your bags, fuel up the car, and make for sunnier skies. Once there, stop and smell the roses while sipping on bartender Michael Moore’s (39 Rue de Jean) ‘Flora.’

Also the owner of Charleston’s Rooftop Bees and Honey, Moore’s passion project pairs beehives with foster restaurants. “The bees get a safe environment downtown and the restaurant will be getting a greener product with the community becoming a little healthier,” Moore explains.

“Win/win for everyone!”

Same goes for his floral cocktail, designed to showcase the honeybee and the deep, molasses-like richness of the honey they produce. “With the deep, clean, and refreshing flavors, I’d suggest a cheese plate to accompany this cocktail,” Moore advises.

How would The Dude take on a hurricane? Well, you know, with like a bathrobe, a laid-back attitude and a steadfast determination that this aggression will not stand, man. And should storm conditions find him short on milk and vodka, Jamie Price’s (The Royal Tern) ‘The Brew’d Abides Y’All’ is sure to do the trick.

Once handed her assignment, Price took the challenge seriously. “I left The Royal Tern to brainstorm at Low Tide brewery,” she shares. “They have this delicious Hazelnut Brown right now that I wanted to do something with, but I just couldn’t seem to do it justice.”

However, Price’s self-confessed love for fall flavors and Kudu pumpkin spice lattes got her thinking, and — a bag or two of Olde Colony Bakery Original Charleston Benne Wafers later — inspiration struck, man.

A dessert cocktail, this White Russianesque libation features a base of robust coffee vodka enhanced with a toasted nutty flair and slight toffee sweetness.

1½ oz. Nippitaty Gin 1½ oz. Hibiscus Tea ½ oz. Rooftop Bees and Honey fall wildflower honey syrup

For the Benne wafer cream: Soak a 5 oz. box of Original Charleston Benne Wafers in 1 pint of cream for a couple hours and blend. Press through cheesecloth.

Shake together and serve over ice.

15

Shake together and serve over ice, and if you’ve got some on hand, garnish with bee pollen for some extra-special flair.

1½ oz. Cannon Coffee Vodka ¼ oz. Frangelico 2 oz. Benne wafer cream (recipe below)

SWIG // Winter 2019

‘Flora’

‘The Brew’d abides Y’All’

The

Bar Crawl

Continued from page 12

Felix Cocktails et Cuisine

550 King St. (843) 203-6297 felixchs.com GO FOR:

Full bar • Full menu Wine list

Fiery Ron’s Home Team BBQ

126 Williman St. (843) 225-RIBS hometeambbq.com GO FOR:

Watch sports • Full bar Craft beer • Patio Full menu • Dogs allowed

AMENITIES:

Billiard tables • Dart boards

The Grocery

4 Cannon St. (843) 302-8825 thegrocerycharleston.com GO FOR:

Full bar • Craft beer Wine list • Full menu

Full menu • Games Full bar • Craft beer

AMENITIES:

Multiple TVs

Hooked Seafood

24 N Market St. (843) 723-0044 hookedcharleston.com GO FOR:

Full menu • Full bar Watch sports

AMENITIES:

Multiple TVs

GO FOR:

GO FOR:

Halls Chophouse

Fleet Landing

186 Concord St. (843) 722-8100 fleetlanding.net GO FOR:

Patio • Full menu • Full bar

Forte Jazz Lounge 477 King St. fortejazzlounge.com GO FOR:

Wine list

AMENITIES:

Live music

Fuel

211 Rutledge Ave. (843) 737-5959 GO FOR:

Craft beer • Patio Full menu • Dogs allowed Full bar

AMENITIES:

Trivia

Gabrielle

404 King St. (843) 990-5460 hotelbennett.com/dine/ gabrielle GO FOR:

Wine list • Patio Full menu • Full bar

charlestoncitypaper.com/SWIG

GO FOR:

Cheap beer • Craft beer Full menu • Games Full bar

GO FOR:

Full bar • Craft beer Wine list • Full menu

16

GO FOR:

563 King St. (843) 573-7505 homcharleston.com

FIG

232 Meeting St. (843) 805-5900 eatatfig.com

Gaulart and Maliclet Fast and French 98 Broad St. (843) 577-9797 fashandfrenchcharleston.com GO FOR:

STEPHENMASSAR.COM

HŌM

18 Vendue Range (843) 723-1700 griffoncharleston.com

Husk Restaurant

Trivia • Live music Multiple TVs

ENGAGEMENT • FAMILY • PORTRAITS EVENTS • BRAND • REAL ESTATE • DRONE

The Griffon

goat.sheep.cow. north

AMENITIES:

PHOTOGRAPHY • VIDEO PRODUCTION

POWERED BY

Full menu • Wine list

Gin Joint

182 E Bay St. (843) 577-6111 theginjoint.com GO FOR:

Full menu • Full bar

804 Meeting St. (843) 203-3118 goatsheepcow.com

Wine list • Full menu Patio • Dogs allowed

434 King St. (843) 727-0090 hallschophouse.com GO FOR:

Full bar • Wine list Full menu

AMENITIES:

Live music

Harold’s Cabin

247 Congress St. (843) 793-4440 haroldscabin.com GO FOR:

Craft beer • Full bar Full menu

Henrietta’s

334 Meeting St. (843) 872-9065 henriettascharleston.com GO FOR:

Full bar • Full menu

Henry’s on the Market

54 N Market St. (843) 723-4363 henrysonthemarket.com GO FOR:

Patio • Full bar • Rooftop view • Bottle service Full menu

AMENITIES:

Live music • Dancefloor

76 Queen St. (843) 577-2500 huskrestaurant.com

Full bar • Craft beer Wine list • Full menu Patio

Indaco

526 King St. (843) 872-6828 indacocharleston.com GO FOR:

Full bar • Wine list Full menu • Patio

JohnKing Grill & Bar

428 King St. (843) 965-5252 GO FOR:

Watch sports • Full bar Full menu • Cheap beer

AMENITIES:

Live music • Multiple TVs Billiard tables

Josephine Wine Bar 64 Spring St. (843) 974-4105 josephinewinebar.com GO FOR:

Full bar • Wine list Full menu

Juanita Greenberg’s Nacho Royale 439 King St. (843) 723-6224 juanitagreenbergs.com GO FOR:

Cheap beer • Patio Full menu • Watch sports Full bar

Herd Provisions

AMENITIES:

GO FOR:

Kaminsky’s

106 Grove St. (843) 637-4145 herdprovisions.com

Full bar • Full menu Craft beer

High Cotton

199 East Bay St. (843) 724-3815 highcottoncharleston.com

Live music • Multiple TVs

78 N Market St. (843) 853-8270 kaminskys.com GO FOR:

Full bar • Craft beer Wine list • Full menu Late night eats

GO FOR:

Full bar • Wine list Full menu

AMENITIES:

Live music Continued on page 18

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SWIG // Fall 2019 17

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The

Bar Crawl

Continued from page 16

Kickin’ Chicken

337 King St. (843) 805-5020 kickinchicken.com GO FOR:

Cheap beer • Full menu Late night eats • Full bar

AMENITIES:

Trivia • Live music

King Street Cabaret 1337 King St. (843) 789-4488 kingstreetcabaret.com GO FOR:

Bottle service • Late night eats • Full bar Adult entertainment

AMENITIES:

Dancefloor • Live music

Le Farfalle

15 Beaufain St. (843) 212-0920 lefarfallecharleston.com GO FOR:

Full bar • Wine list Full menu • Patio

Leon’s Oyster Shop 698 King St. (843) 531-6500 leonsoystershop.com GO FOR:

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charlestoncitypaper.com/SWIG

Full bar • Craft beer Patio • Full menu Dogs allowed

POWERED BY

Leyla

Local 616

Maison

Millers All Day

Muse

GO FOR:

GO FOR:

GO FOR:

GO FOR:

GO FOR:

AMENITIES:

Malagon

Minero

Mynt

GO FOR:

GO FOR:

298 King St. (843) 501-7500 leyla-charleston.com

Full bar • Full menu Wine list

Lewis Barbecue

464 N Nassau St. (843) 805-9500 lewisbarbecue.com GO FOR:

Full bar • Craft beer Patio • Watch sports Full menu

AMENITIES:

Multiple TVs

Little Jack’s Tavern 710 King St. (843) 531-6868 littlejackstavern.com GO FOR:

Full bar • Wine list Full menu • Craft beer

The Living Room

334 Meeting St. (843) 558-8000 thedewberrycharleston.com GO FOR:

Full bar • Wine list

616 Meeting St. (843) 414-7850 local616.com

Watch sports • Cheap beer Full menu • Games • Full bar Trivia • Multiple TVs Billiard tables

The Macintosh

479 King St. (843) 789-4299 themacintoshcharleston.com GO FOR:

Full bar • Craft beer Wine list • Full menu

Mac’s Place

215 E Bay St. (843) 793-4653 macsplacecharleston.com GO FOR:

Watch sports Cheap beer • Full bar Full menu • Late night eats

AMENITIES:

Trivia • Multiple TVs

Magnolias

185 E Bay St. (843) 577-7771 magnoliascharleston.com GO FOR:

Full bar • Wine list Full menu

708 King St. (843) 990-9165 maisoncharleston.com

Full bar • Wine list Full menu

33 Spring St. (843) 926-0475 GO FOR:

Wine list • Full menu

Maui Tacos

200 Meeting St. Unit 2 (843) 793-4441 mauitacos.com GO FOR:

Full bar • Full menu

Melfi’s

721 King St. (843) 513-0307 eatatmelfis.com GO FOR:

Full bar • Wine list Full menu

Mellow Mushroom 309 King St. (843) 723-7374 mellowmushroom.com GO FOR:

Watch sports • Craft beer Full menu • Full bar • Patio

AMENITIES:

Trivia • Mulitple TVs

120 King St. (843) 501-7342 millersallday.com

Craft beer • Full menu Full bar

153 East Bay St. (843) 789-2241 minerorestaurant.com

Full bar • Full menu

AMENITIES:

Multiple TVs

Moe’s Crosstown Tavern

714 Rutledge Ave. (843) 641-0469 moescrosstowntavern.com GO FOR:

Cheap beer Watch sports • Games Full menu • Late night eats

AMENITIES:

Billiard tables Multiple TVs

Monza

451 King St. (843) 720-8787 monzapizza.com

82 Society St. (843) 577-1102 charlestonmuse.com

Wine list • Full menu Patio

135 Calhoun St. (843) 718-1598 myntcharleston.com

Patio • Cheap beer Full bar • Bottle service

AMENITIES:

Live music • Karaoke Dancefloor

O-Ku

463 King St. (843) 737-0112 o-kusushi.com GO FOR:

Full bar • Full menu Late night eats

AMENITIES:

Live music

The Ordinary

544 King St. (843) 414-7060 eattheordinary.com GO FOR:

Full bar • Wine list Full menu

GO FOR:

Wine list • Full menu Patio • Full bar

Continued on page 20

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SWIG // Fall 2019

DJ JUDE • DJ WOODGRAIN • DJ MJ12 AND MANY MORE

The

Bar Crawl

Continued from page 18

Palace Hotel

35 Hanover St. (843) 608-6889 GO FOR:

Full bar • Cheap beer Games • Full menu Late night eats

POWERED BY

Poogan’s Smokehouse

188 E Bay St. (843) 577-5665 pooganssmokehouse.com GO FOR:

Full bar • Full menu Patio • Craft beer

Rappahannock Oyster Co.

701 E Bay St. (843) 576-4693 rroysters.com GO FOR:

Full bar • Craft beer Full menu • Patio

Pour Taproom

Rarebit

Pawpaw

GO FOR:

GO FOR:

GO FOR:

AMENITIES:

AMENITIES:

Multiple TVs • Dancefloor Live music

209 E Bay St. (843) 297-4443 pawpawrestaurant.com

Full bar • Craft beer Wine list • Full menu

Pearlz

153 E Bay St. (843) 577-5755 pearlzoysterbar.com GO FOR:

Full bar • Full menu Craft beer • Patio

Pink Cactus

100 A Spring St. (843) 764-9343 pinkcactuschs.com GO FOR:

Full bar • Full menu Patio

560 King St. (843) 779-0810 charleston.pourtaproom.com

Full bar • Full menu Patio • Craft beer Rooftop view Live music • Trivia

Proof

437 King St. (843) 793-1422 charlestonproof.com GO FOR:

Full bar • Craft beer Wine list

AMENITIES:

Live music

Purlieu

237 Fishburne St. (843)300-2253 purlieucharleston.com GO FOR:

Wine list • Full menu Craft beer

474 King St. (843) 974-5483 therarebit.com

Full bar • Craft beer Full menu • Late night eats

The Recovery Room

685 King St. (843) 727-0999 recoveryroomtavern.com GO FOR:

Full menu • Patio Cheap beer • Dogs allowed Games • Full bar

AMENITIES:

Live music • Billiard tables Multiple TVs

Republic Garden & Lounge

462 King St. (843) 724-7400 republicreign.com GO FOR:

Full menu • Patio Full bar • Bottle service

sports • Dogs allowed

AMENITIES:

Live music • Dancefloor

AMENITIES:

Live music • Multiple TVs

Renzo

Rutledge Cab Co.

384 Huger St. (843) 952-7864 renzochs.com

1300 Rutledge Ave. (843) 720-1440 rutledgecabco.com

GO FOR:

Wine list • Full menu Full bar

GO FOR:

Craft beer • Full bar Full menu • Patio Watch sports

Revival

162 E Bay St. (843) 414-2335 revivalcharleston.com

AMENITIES:

Live music • Multiple TVs

GO FOR:

Wine list • Full menu Full bar

Santi’s

1302 Meeting Street Road.

(843) 722-2633 santisrestaurantemexicano.com

The Rooftop at Vendue

19 Vendue Range, (843) 577-7970 thevendue.com GO FOR:

Rooftop view • Full menu Full bar • Craft beer Wine list

AMENITIES:

Live music

The Royal American 970 Morrison Drive, (843) 817-6925 theroyalamerican.com

GO FOR:

Full menu • Patio Cheap beer • Full bar

The Silver Slipper 2015 Pittsburgh Ave. (843) 722-1492 silverslippersc.com GO FOR:

Full bar • Adult entertainment

Slightly North of Broad

192 E Bay St. (843) 723-3424 snobcharleston.com GO FOR:

Full bar • Full menu Wine list

SOL Southwest Kitchen & Tequila Bar

385 Meeting St. (843) 203-4424 solsouthwestkitchen.com GO FOR:

Full bar • Patio Full menu • Watch sports

AMENITIES:

Multiple TVs

Sorghum & Salt

186 Coming St. (843) 872-6393 sorghumandsalt.com GO FOR:

Full menu • Craft beer Wine list

The Spectator

67 State St. (843) 724-4326 thespectatorhotel.com GREAT PLACE TO:

Full bar • Wine list Full menu

GO FOR:

Cheap beer • Full bar Patio • Full menu • Watch

Continued on page 22

20

charlestoncitypaper.com/SWIG

CHECK OUT OUR NEW COCKTAIL MENU (yes...we’ll still have our mule)

Happy Hour Tue - Fri • 4 - 7 pm Breakfast All Day 474 King Street

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HDTVs

21

Voted Best Neighborhood Bar 19 years!

714 Rutledge Ave. (843) 641-0469 MoesCrosstownTavern.com

SWIG // Fall 2019

LUNCH. DINNER. LATE NIGHT. DAILY SPECIALS.

BAKERY 7AM - 10PM | PIZZERIA & TAPROOM 11AM - 10PM 94 STUART ST. | 843-297-8233 | BAKERANDBREWER.COM

The

Bar Crawl

POWERED BY

Stella’s

Tommy Condon’s Irish Pub & Seafood Restaurant

GO FOR:

GO FOR:

Continued from page 20

114 St. Philip St. (843) 400-0026 stellascharleston.com

Full bar • Wine list Full menu • Patio

160 Church St. (843) 577-3818 tommycondons.com

Patio • Full menu Full bar

AMENITIES:

80 N Market St. (843) 577-2511 tbonzgillandgrill.com GO FOR:

Watch sports • Full bar Craft beer • Full menu Patio

Trattoria Lucca

41-A Bogard St. (843) 973-3323 luccacharleston.com GO FOR:

Wine list • Full menu

AMENITIES:

Mulitple TVs

Tu

Taco Boy

217 Huger St. (843) 789-3333 tacoboy.net GO FOR:

430 Meeting St. tu-charleston.com GO FOR:

Full bar • Full menu

Full bar • Full menu Patio • Dogs allowed

Thoroughbred Club

Live music • Multiple TVs

GO FOR:

205 Meeting St. (843) 722-4900

Watch sports • Full bar Craft beer • Full menu Late night eats • Rooftop view

AMENITIES:

Multiple TVs • Live music Karaoke

The Watch

79 Wentworth St. (843) 518-5115 therestorationhotel.com GO FOR:

GO FOR:

Full menu • Wine list Full bar

GO FOR:

Full bar • Wine list • Patio Full menu

103 Spring St. (843) 817-7311 wildcommoncharleston.com GO FOR:

Full menu • Full bar Wine list

Xiao Bao Biscuit 224 Rutledge Ave. xiaobaobiscuit.com GO FOR:

652 King St. (843) 755-4664 highwiredistilling.square space.com

Full bar • Tastings

Lo-Fi Brewing

Downtown Breweries & Distilleries

2038 Meeting St. Road, (828) 582-2175 lofibrewing.com

Cooper River Brewing Co.

Munkle Brewing

GO FOR:

GO FOR:

Craft beer

1513 Meeting St. Road, (843) 789-3109 munklebrewing.com GO FOR:

Live music

Fatty’s Beer Works 1436 Meeting St. (843) 974-5330 fattysbeerworks.com GO FOR:

10 Conroy St. (843) 203-6194 revelrybrewingco.com GO FOR:

Craft beer • Patio Rooftop view Dogs allowed • Full menu

AMENITIES:

Live music

Tradesman Brewing Co.

1647 King St Ext. (843) 410-1315 tradesmanbrewing.com GO FOR:

Craft beer • Games Dogs allowed

Craft beer • Games

Craft beer

AMENITIES:

Revelry Brewing Co.

Palmetto Brewing Co.

289 Huger St. (843) 937-0903 palmettobrewery.com GO FOR:

Craft beer • Games Dogs allowed • Patio

Craft beer • Watch sports

AMENITIES:

AMENITIES:

Live music

Multiple TVs

Full bar • Craft beer Full menu • Patio

INGREDIENTS

INGREDIENTS

In a mixing glass add cherry, orange and bitters. Gently muddle as to break up the fruit. Next add simple syrup, Elijah Craig and ice. Stir until well chilled. Fill a rocks glass with fresh ice, strain cocktail over ice and garnish with a lemon twist.

GO FOR:

0 George St. (843) 817-7900 zerogeorge.com

Multiple TVs

Larceny Kentucky Mule

DIRECTIONS

High Wire Distillery

2201 Mechanic St. B, (843) 830-3681 cooperriverbrewing.com

Elijah Craig Old Fashioned · 2 oz Elijah Craig Small Batch · 0.5 oz Simple Syrup · 3 dashes Angostura Bitters · 1 Orange Slice · 1 Brandied Cherry

Zero Restaurant + Bar

Rooftop view • Patio Full menu • Full bar

Wild Common

Full bar • Full menu

476 King St. (854) 222-3939 uncorkcharleston.com

charlestoncitypaper.com/SWIG

GO FOR:

AMENITIES:

Uncork Charleston

22

587 King St. (843) 793-1837 uptownsocialchs.com

Live music • Multiple TVs

TBonz Gill & Grill

AMENITIES:

Uptown Social

· 2 oz Larceny · 1 splash Lemon Juice · 3 oz Ginger Beer · 1 dash Bitters

DIRECTIONS

Build over ice in a copper mule mug. Garnish with lemon twist.

PAMA Margarita INGREDIENTS

· 1.5 oz Lunazul Blanco Tequila · 1 oz PAMA Pomegranate Liqueur · .5 oz Lime Juice · .5 oz Simple Syrup

DIRECTIONS

Shake and serve over ice in a margarita glass. Garnish with a lime wheel.

Ginger Margarita INGREDIENTS

· 1.5 oz Lunazul Reposado · 1 oz Domaine de Canton · 1 oz Orange Juice · 0.5 oz Agave Syrup

DIRECTIONS

Create agave syrup by combining equal parts of agave nectar and water. Combine all ingredients in a mixing glass. Ice and shake until chilled. Serve on the rocks. Garnish with a lime wedge.

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19 Vendue Range | RooftopCharleston.com

SWIG // Fall 2019

CHARLESTON’S BEST ROOFTOP BAR

In Good Spirits How Bottles in Mt. Pleasant supports the community by putting locals first

By Melissa Hayes The folks at Bottles aren’t your average spirit slingers.

The beverage superstore contains 15,000 square feet of boozy abundance, but unlike similarly laid out national chains, Bottles is a locally owned business with a fundamental commitment to the community. It’s a philosophy found in their relationship with customers on every level from the restaurateur in search of a rare spirit to the passing tourist looking to stock the beach house with a sampling of local brews.

24

charlestoncitypaper.com/SWIG

Continued on page 26

Zach Isaacs has created an entire store aisle featuring local breweries

Photos by Ruta Smith

SPRINGKING IS THE NEW

Tues-Fri 7:30am-6pm Sat 8:30am-5pm • Sun 9am-3pm

132 Spring St 132spring.com

Serving dinner and drinks nightly Closed Sunday 64 Spring St josephinewinebar.com

25

100-A Spring St pinkcactuschs.com

SWIG // Fall 2019

Tue–Fri 11am–3pm Sun, Tue–Thu 5pm–10pm Fri–Sat 5pm–11pm Happy Hour • Tue–Fri 5pm–7pm Brunch • Sat–Sun 11am–3pm

SPIRITS continued from page 24

“I try to support every local brewer we have,” says Zach Isaacs, who handles all things beer at Bottles. Though he keeps the shelves stocked with brews of every class and category, local providers take the spotlight. The proof is in the presentation. One of the first things you see when entering the store is a stack of local single cans waiting to be arranged into a customized six-pack. “Our local single section is just insane. It gets demolished almost every day,” he says.

He’s also arranged an entire aisle — around 100 collective feet of shelving — from top to bottom with local flavor. With more than two dozen breweries now in Charleston and — and even more on the way — it’s like playing beer display Tetris to find space for them all. “I feel like supporting local is pretty important, so I try to give everyone a fair chance,” he says. “We’ve talked about how we future-proof this if we just keep growing. We want to give the breweries good representation, but it does get tricky. We have to constantly think about how we’ll grow and reorganize things.”

Beyond puzzling over space, Isaacs has to work closely with distributors to stay up-to-date with the breweries’ everrotating taps. “I see my distributor twice a week, so we’re constantly talking about what’s new, what’s coming up, what’s

going away for the season, what’s getting low in inventory,” explains Isaacs. These relationships are essential to keeping Isaacs tapped into the community. The distributors are the mediators between the store and the local brew masters who are crafting your next seasonal go-to.

“

I feel like supporting local is pretty important, so I try to give everyone a fair chance.”

On the spirits side, these relationships can get more complex. Spirits consultant Travis Hartong often will act as the mediator between the restaurant or bar and the distributors, advocating for a particular spirit on the restaurant’s behalf. “I’ve been doing this for eight or nine years now, so my relationship with these local restaurants is pretty personal,” he says.

His timing joining Bottles was advantageous for all involved. To understand why, you have to take a quick look at the state’s history with liquor sales.

You would’ve been hard pressed to

find a decent cocktail bar in Charleston before 2010. From 1973 to 2006, South Carolina’s government tried to keep bartenders honest and tax revenue flowing by forcing bars to use mini bottles.

When the asinine law was scrapped in 2006, great cocktail minds with visions of a better watering hole began to emerge.

Around the same time that Hartong joined Bottles as their spirits consultant, top-notch cocktail havens like Proof, FIG, and Gin Joint began to spring up across the city. “They were asking for all these weird things that didn’t really exist in the market but now seem kind of commonplace like chartreuse and aperol and campari,” says Hartong. “Those things were harder to get back then. My job was to help them find what they needed.”

Now that the state has entered the modern era of liquor laws, Hartong spends time hunting down the truly offbeat spirits like Baijiu, an ancient Chinese spirit that he helped import for Kwei Fei. “I had to reach out to this small distributor out of Charlotte that no one else was really working with,” he explains. “They had all the Baijiu on the east coast in this one distribution center. They were super surprised that anyone was even interested in Baijiu in the southeast market.

That was one of my longer reaches.”

Consider the exploding rum scene that we’ve seen in the past few years. Part of

Hartong’s job is to recognize the beginnings of a movement like this. When rum rumbles started, Hartong teamed up with Cane Rhum Bar to make sure they’d be stocked with the best offerings of the islands. “If you walked through and looked at our rum bottles four years ago, it looked pretty ordinary. We worked together to tap some of these distilleries and importers like Plantation Rum and El Dorado,” he says.

The effects of the alcohol law come full circle when you consider the rise of dining options that need culturally representative spirits. Hartong helps restaurants like Mex 1, Minero, and Pink Cactus source mezcal, another unique spirit for the area.

“Mezcal is a tough one to get in,” says Hartong. “The problem with mezcal is that they’re so single village, and they don’t make a lot of it.” After the distributors source the spirit, Hartong has to convince them that there’s a market for the product in Charleston. Guys like Hartong play a big role in helping Charleston earn its culinary renown. He’s not just sourcing the liquor — he’s selling the city as a cocktail capital. Between logistics and taxes, it can be pricey for a distributor to move product in and out of the state. They need to know that there’s some ROI to be had.

“One situation like this that I’ve dealt with most recently was finding a Mexican fernet called Fernet-Vallet,” recalls Hartong. “I’ve been looking for

26

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it for about eight years. The distributors have no idea if there’s any interest in it, so they asked me. I was like, ‘Yeah, I have at least 11 cocktail bars that would put that on their menu.’ So that helps them decide to bring it in.”

“

We don’t want to just supply the liquor. We want to actually be business partners with them. That relationship grows the community and is part of loving local.”

Bottles supplies over 160 bars and restaurants with the hooch they need to keep you buzzin’ — and we’re not talking Applebee’s. “We don’t work with a lot of chain restaurants,” says Hartong. “We don’t want to just supply the liquor. We want to actually be business partners with them. That relationship grows the community and is part of loving local. That’s really what pushes us all forward.”

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The

Bar Crawl

East Mt. Pleasant

Mt. P has upped its tony cred of late and that means you can find craft beer, cheap brews, and cocktails all in the same suburb.

Art’s Bar & Grill 413 Coleman Blvd.

(843) 849-3040 GO FOR:

Full menu • Patio Cheap beer • Full bar

AMENITIES:

Live music • Karaoke

Bacco Italian Restaurant

976 Houston Northcutt Blvd.

(843) 884-6969 baccocharleston.com GO FOR:

Full menu • Wine list Full bar

Butcher & The Boar 730 Coleman Blvd.

(843) 868-8000 butcherandtheboar.com

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charlestoncitypaper.com/SWIG

GO FOR:

Full menu • Wine list Full bar • Watch sports AMENITIES:

Live music • Multiple TVs

Cantina 76

819 Coleman Blvd.

(843) 388-7717 cantina76.com GO FOR:

Full menu • Full bar • Dogs allowed • Watch sports

AMENITIES:

Live music • Multiple TVs

Crave Kitchen & Cocktails

1968 Riviera Drive. (843) 884-1177 cravekitchenandcocktails.com GO FOR:

Full bar • Craft beer Full menu • Patio Late night eats

The Dog & Duck

1117 Park West Blvd.

(843) 388-6127 624 Long Point Road (843) 881-3056 dogandduckfamilypubs.com GO FOR:

Craft beer • Full menu Cheap beer • Watch sports Patio • Dogs allowed Full bar

AMENITIES:

Trivia • Live music Multiple TVs

Grace & Grit

320 Wingo Way Suite 100 (843) 698-4748 gracegrit.com GO FOR:

Full menu • Full bar • Patio Wine list • Craft beer

Graze

863 Houston Northcutt Blvd.

(843) 606-2493 grazecharleston.com GO FOR:

Wine list • Full menu Full bar • Craft beer

Harbor Breeze 176 Patriots Point Blvd.

(843) 606-2110 GO FOR:

Full bar • Cheap beer Patio

AMENITIES:

Multiple TVs

Juanita Greenberg’s

410 West Coleman Blvd.

(843) 329-6224 juanitagreenbergs.com

Eliza’s Bar + Kitchen

GO FOR:

GO FOR:

AMENITIES:

250 Johnnie Dodds Blvd.

(843) 884-6000

Full menu • Full bar • Patio

Indigo Reef Brewing is the newest brewery to make its way on to the East of the Cooper beer scene

Full menu • Watch sports Cheap beer • Full bar Late night eats Live music • Multiple TVs

Fuji Sushi & Bar 644 Long Point Road (843) 856-5798 fujicharleston.com GO FOR:

Full bar • Full menu Late night eats

Continued on page 32

Ashley Rose Stanol file photos

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BLOODY MARY BAR, 9 MIMOSA CARAFES & LIVE MUSIC

$

202 Coleman Blvd, Mt. Pleasant • 843-388-3625 • TheShelterKitchenAndBar.com

SWIG // Fall 2019 29

COVERED DOG-FRIENDLY PATIO WITH DECK • CORNHOLE ACTIVITY AREA • POOL TABLE • LIVE MUSIC

TUESDAY

charlestoncityppaer.com/SWIG 30

THE LOWCOUNTRY’S LARGEST SELECTION OF LINGERIE FOR ALL SHAPES & SIZES

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31

Coco de Mer (a Guilty Pleasures Exclusive) • EVA & FIN

by DAME Products • Air Touch • Rhythm by Kama Sutra We-Vibe • LELO • G Vibe • Jopen • Vibratex Jimmy Jane • Je Joue • OVO • Cal Exotic • Doc Johnson Pipedream • Nü • NS Novelties • Topco • Blush Afterglow • SportSheets • DOXY Massagers Evolved • Hitachi • Bodywand • Sex & Mischief Womanizer • OhMiBod • Bedroom Kandi • LoveLife Spartacus • KinkLab • SpareParts • Wet for Her

SWIG // Winter 2019

e r u s a e l P Ge t ! k n Dr u

The

Bar Crawl

Continued from page 28

Kickin’ Chicken

349 West Coleman Blvd.

(843) 881-8734 Kickinchicken.com GO FOR:

Cheap beer • Patio • Late night eats • Watch sports Full bar

AMENITIES:

Trivia • Live Music Mulitple TVs

King Street Grille 1136 Hungry Neck Blvd.

(843) 216-7272 thekingstreetgrille.com GO FOR:

Watch sports • Full menu Late night eats Craft beer • Full bar

AMENITIES:

Trivia • Multiple TVs

Locals Bar

1150 Queensborough Blvd.

Unit B. (843) 388-5114 localssushi.com GO FOR:

Full menu • Watch sports Patio • Full bar • Cheap beer • Late night eats

AMENITIES:

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charlestoncitypaper.com/SWIG

Trivia • Live music Karaoke • Multiple TVs

POWERED BY

Mainland Container Co. 1528 Ben Sawyer Blvd.

(843) 284-8174 mainlandcontainerco.com GO FOR:

Patio • Full bar Full menu • Watch sports Dogs allowed • Late night eats

AMENITIES:

Live music • Multiple TVs

Mex 1 Coastal Cantina

1109 Park West Blvd.

(843) 352-9699 mex1coastalcantina.com GO FOR:

Full bar • Full menu Cheap beer • Craft beer Watch sports

AMENITIES

Trivia • Live music Multiple TVs

Mellow Mushroom

3110 N Hwy. 17 (843) 881-4743 mellowmushroom.com GO FOR:

Patio • Craft beer Full bar • Full menu Watch sports Dogs allowed

AMENITIES:

Trivia • Multiple TVs

Nico Oysters + Seafood

201 Coleman Blvd.

(843) 352-7969 nicoshemcreek.com GO FOR:

Craft beer • Full bar Full menu • Patio Wine list

O’Brion’s Pub & Grille

361 N. Shelmore Blvd.

(843) 388-9733 obrionspub.com GO FOR:

Watch sports • Full menu Patio • Cheap beer • Late night eats • Full bar

AMENITIES:

Trivia • Multiple TVs

Opal

1960 Riviera Drive (843) 654-9070 owensdininggroup.com GO FOR:

Wine list • Full menu Full bar • Craft beer

On Forty-One

1055 Hwy. 41. (843) 352-9235 onfortyone.com GO FOR:

Full menu • Full bar • Patio

Page’s Okra Grill 302 Coleman Blvd.

Mt. Pleasant (843) 881-3333 pagesokragrill.com GO FOR:

Full bar • Patio • Full menu • Dogs allowed

Pier 41

1055 SC Hwy 41 #600 (843) 352-9235 pier42mtp.com GO FOR:

Craft beer • Full bar Patio • Full menu Cheap beer

RB’s Seafood Restaurant

97 Church St. (843) 881-0466 rbsonshemcreek.com GO FOR:

Full menu • Patio Full bar

Red Drum

803 Coleman Blvd.

(843) 849-0313 reddrumrestaurant.com GO FOR:

Wine list • Full bar Full menu • Patio

Red’s Ice House

98 Church St. (843) 388-0003 Redsicehouse.com GO FOR:

Full menu • Cheap beer Patio • Watch sports Full bar

AMENITIES:

Trivia • Live music Multiple TVs

Saltwater Cowboys

130 Mill St. (843) 856-0700 saltwater-cowboys.com GO FOR:

Patio • Full menu Full bar • Dogs allowed Late night eats

AMENITIES:

Live music

Reel Bar & Sunset Deck

The Shellmore

GO FOR:

GO FOR:

20 Patriots Point Road (843) 856-0028

Full menu • Patio Dogs allowed • Full bar Late night eats

The Rusty Rudder 3563 N. Hwy. 17 (843) 388-3177 rustyruddermtp.com GO FOR:

Full menu • Watch sports Patio • Cheap beer Full bar • Late night eats

AMENITIES:

Live music • Multiple TVs

357 N Shelmore Blvd.

(843) 654-9278 theshellmore.com

Wine list • Craft beer Full menu

The Shelter

202 Coleman Blvd.

(843) 388-3625 theshelterkitchenandbar.com GO FOR:

Watch sports • Full bar Craft beer • Dogs allowed Patio • Full menu Late night eats Cheap beer

AMENITIES:

Live music • Billiard tables Multiple TVs

Continued on page 40

WEST ASHLEY LOCATION OPENING SOON!

SWIG // Fall 2019 33

Not Alone Brantley Saunders’ Holy City AF group organizes alcohol-free gatherings around the city

By Mary Scott Hardaway

It starts with a bang — late nights, rounds for the bar, spontaneous karaoke, new friends. Blurred joy. Foggy memories.

Inexplicable bruises. Angry words.

Regret. More, more, more.

“Any time anything went wrong it was like ‘Well, I’m gonna get hammered.’ It was a party thing, a social thing, a stress reliever — when I was sad, when I was celebrating something. There was not a time when booze wasn’t around.”

Brantley Saunders, a CofC alum who lives and works in the Lowcountry, says she never drank so much that she wound up in the Blotter. She never got a DUI or punched a bouncer or fell down a flight of stairs. She didn’t even start drinking until she turned 21, when she realized that booze made her more confident and outgoing.

charlestoncitypaper.com/SWIG

Holy City AF founder Brantley Saunders sips a spiritfree drink at Cocktail Club

34

Continued on page 36

Photos by Ruta Smith

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SWIG // Fall 2019

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35

ALONE continued from page 34

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“When I started drinking, I thought, ‘OK, maybe this magic potion is what it’s all about,’” says Saunders. “As that progressed obviously in Charleston there are far more people drinking and partying than there are not — it wasn’t like the outlier where I was the person who drank too much.”

This June, Saunders hosted her first Holy City AF (alcohol free) event, a book club at Indaco. Through word of mouth and social media, Saunders was able to reach a dozen people who showed up that Tuesday night. “It was already gaining momentum in my life and people reached out and thanked me,” says Saunders. “Charleston is such a hard city to not drink.”

Saunders knew her steady drinking habits were not healthy. A few glasses a night became a bottle, became a magnum, especially after a traumatic life event in 2017.

Drinking was the answer for all of life’s triumphs and tragedies.

Then, one day, 14 years after she started drinking, Saunders realized that no matter the resplendence of the first “bang!” the decision to stop for good would end with a whimper.

“It was really scary to think ‘never ever again,’” she says.

At the beginning of 2019, she decided to try a “96 percent sober” approach, allotting herself one drinking day a month.

A few months in, after getting “hammered” at a friend’s wedding and waking up the next day feeling terrible, she decided to cut the cord. “I went to Barnes & Noble’s self-help shelf and grabbed a stack of books,” says Saunders.

“Everyone’s story of why they quit is different but we all come to the same place: there’s gotta be something else.”

One of the books that Saunders grabbed was Ruby Warrington’s Sober Curious: The Blissful Sleep, Greater Focus, Limitless Presence, and Deep Connection Awaiting Us All on the Other Side of Alcohol.

It’s a growing national trend, this “sober curious” movement that caters to “gray area drinkers” like Saunders and Warrington. Dingy AA rooms and 12 step programs feel archaic, and rehab feels like a last resort.

A New York Times article from June of this year “The New Sobriety,” looks at society’s evolving attitude toward nondrinkers: “It seems not even sobriety will be saved from enjoying a made-for-Instagram moment, with new hashtaggable terms like ‘mindful drinking’ and ‘sober curious.’ No longer do you have to feel left out or uncool for being sober.”

And while Charleston has made

advances with our own take-down of sober taboos — please see: Wine + Food’s proliferation of wellness events and mocktails — we’re still at our core a college town and a foodie town, a city held up by the hospitality industry. It’s easy to be sinful in the Holy City — far easier than tee-totaling.

“For a city that’s all in for events, like the Bridge Run — whether you’re running it or not, it’s Bridge Run weekend, and during Wine + Food weekend it’s food and wine whether you go to the festival or not,” says Saunders. “I thought surely someone has done this, surely there’s something already in place.”

The Macintosh’s Slow and Steady spirit-free drink Photo by Ruta Smith

Saunders references Ben’s Friends, a food and beverage industry support group founded in Charleston in Oct. 2016 by sober food and bev professionals Mickey Bakst and Steve Palmer. The group, which now has chapters in five other cities, offers “hope, fellowship, and a path forward to professionals who struggle with substance abuse and addiction.” In Charleston, groups meet every Sunday at 11 a.m. at the Cedar Room.

Saunders reached out to Ben’s Friends when she started pursuing her idea of founding a group that focused on having fun sans libations. They even helped organize her first Indaco event. “They do great things,” says Saunders.

But she wanted to do even more — hosting a handful of events every month where those who are completely sober or simply “sober curious” could meet up and have a lively social experience without knocking back a few cold ones. “For me it was important to not feel alone, to not feel like the Continued on page 38

Dinner Sun-Thu 4:30 to 9PM Fri and Sat 4:30 to 10PM

Bar Hours Sun-Thu 4 to 10PM Fri and Sat 4 to 11PM

250 JOHNNIE DODDS BLVD. MT PLEASANT MOUNTPLEASANTLYINDIGO.COM

37

Breakfast Mon-Fri 6:30 to 10:30AM Sat and Sun 7 to 11AM

SWIG // Fall 2019

MORE THAN JUST A HOTEL RESTAURANT

only person who had gone through this, the gray area drinker,” says Saunders.

Holy City AF is gaining momentum; Blue Bicycle Books now has a Holy City AF shelf where they carry books for the book club past and present. Saunders has book clubs, dance parties, and exercise classes on the docket, and is in the process of securing dates for workshops and events around the city. Saunders is curating a list of restaurants who make it easy to not drink, from the full alcohol-free section on the menu at Le Farfalle to the bartender’s mocktail choice at Gin Joint.

“I think that is where my place is — providing the option, providing the space to explore it so that you can realize life is good, and 99 percent of the time it’s better without alcohol,” says Saunders.

“It started with my wanting to build this sober tribe and it’s turning into this really exciting thing that I think is just making people feel less alone.”

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Upcoming Holy City AF events include an Oct. 10 Holy City AF Self-Care Soirée at Wild Craft starting at 5:30 p.m. — “Treat yourself to a luxurious night of pampering at Charleston’s best clean beauty shop! $40 covers all your relaxation needs, beverages, and snacks.” Follow holycityaf.com to keep up to date.

WHERE TO SCORE ALCOHOL-FREE COCKTAILS AROUND TOWN INDACO • Limonata: house lemongrassthyme soda

BASIC KITCHEN “Probably the best alcohol-free menu in town,” says Saunders.

• Blueberry Sage Cooler: blueberry sage shrub, club soda, and blueberries • Watermelon Spritz: watermelon, club soda, and Himalayan salt • Turmeric Tonic: ginger, lemon, turmeric, and soda • Tea Totaler: hibiscus, lemon, grapefruit, agave, and mint

LE FARFALLE • Pineapple ginger beer, cucumber mint lemonade, blueberry kiwi shrub, blackberry basil soda OAK STEAKHOUSE • Mocktail: watermelon extract, lemonade, fresh lime juice, sparkling water Maggie Braucher

ALONE continued from page 36

Watermelon Spritz

RAPPAHANNOCK OYSTER BAR • Sherry Temple: lemon juice, grenadine, sherry vinegar, soda • Rozata: grapefruit juice, lemon juice, orgeat, barrel-aged bitters, soda • Chili Bee: fresno, burnt honey, mint,citrus, soda SPANGLISH COCINA + BAR • Turnover Chain: coconut milk, allspice, lime, pina THE GIN JOINT • Bartender’s choice mocktail

THE MACINTOSH • Slow and Steady: cucumber, lemon, peach bitters, sparkling water • Oui, Chef No. 2: cherry, lime, pomegranate, jalapeño, ginger beer • Lemon Berry Spritz: seasonal berries, lemon, mint, soda THE ORDINARY • Probation Before Judgement: pecan orgeat, grapefruit, grenadine, strawberry • Ginger Beard: ginger beer, orange, lemon, honey • Garden Gnome: Seedlip Garden 108, dill, lemon • Beau Thai Light: tomato, carrot, red curry, lime • Seedlip NA Distillates (with soda or tonic): Spice 94, Garden 108, & Grove 42 • Wölffer Estate Sparkling Non-Alcholic Rosé: “Petite Rosé Verjus” VINTAGE LOUNGE “None on the menu, but they’re really cool about making a mocktail for you,” notes Saunders.

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SWIG // Fall 2019

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The

Bar Crawl

Continued from page 32

Shem Creek Bar and Grill

508 Mill St. (843) 884-8102 shemcreekbarandgrill.com GO FOR:

Patio • Full menu Cheap beer • Full bar

Sesame Burgers & Beer

675 Johnnie Dodds Blvd.

(843) 884-5553 Sesameburgersandbeer.com GO FOR:

Full menu • Craft beer Full bar

SOL Southwest Kitchen & Tequila Bar

1101 Stockdale Lane (843) 388-4302 solsouthwestkitchen.com GO FOR:

Full bar • Patio Full menu • Watch sports Late night eats

AMENITIES:

Multiple TVs

Tavern & Table

Wood & Grain

100 Church St. (843) 352-9510 tavernandtable.com

778 South Shelmore Blvd. 102 (843) 971-6070 Owensdininggroup.com

GO FOR:

Patio • Full menu Watch sports • Full bar Craft beer

GO FOR:

Full menu • Full bar Craft beer • Wine list

AMENITIES:

Live music • Multiple TVs

Sullivan’s Island

Tru Blue’s House of Wings

There was a time when Sullivan’s had just a few bars but those days are done. Now you can have a great meal and a great drink after soaking up some rays.

1039 Johnnie Dodds Blvd.

(843) 881-1858 GO FOR:

Full menu • Watch sports Cheap beer • Full bar

AMENITIES:

Live music • Karaoke Multiple TVs

Tsunami

1909 US 17. (843) 881-7061 tsunamimountpleasant.com GO FOR:

Full bar • Full menu

Vickery’s Bar and Grill

1313 Shrimp Boat Lane (843) 884-4440 vickerysmtp.com GO FOR:

Jonathan Boncek file photo

Get your rimmed cocktail fix at The Windjammer

Water’s Edge

Wild Wing Cafe

GO FOR:

GO FOR:

1407 Shrimp Boat Lane (843) 884-4074 waters-edge-restaurant.com

Full menu • Patio Full bar • Wine list

Cheap beer • Full menu Late night eats • Patio Full bar • Craft beer

1181 Oakland Market Road (843) 849-8646 wildwingcafe.com

Full menu • Cheap beer Watch sports • Patio Full bar • Late night eats

AMENITIES:

Live music • Multiple TVs

Dunleavy’s Pub

2213-A Middle St. (843) 883-9646 dunleavysonsullivans.com GO FOR:

Cheap beer • Full menu Patio • Full bar Late night eats

Fiery Ron’s Home Team BBQ

2209 Middle St. (843) 225-RIBS hometeambbq.com GO FOR:

Craft beer • Patio Full menu AMENITIES:

Trivia • Live music Multiple TVs

High Thyme Cuisine

2213 Middle St. C (843) 883-3536 highthymecuisine.com GO FOR:

Full bar • Craft beer Full menu • Wine list

Mex 1 Coastal Cantina

2205 Middle St. (843) 882-8172 mex1coastalcantina.com GO FOR:

Full bar • Dogs allowed Patio • Full menu

AMENITIES:

Trivia • Live music Multiple TVs

The Obstinate Daughter

2063 Middle St. (843) 416-5020 theobstinatedaughter.com GO FOR:

Wine list • Full bar Full menu • Craft beer

Watch sports • Full bar

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charlestoncitypaper.com/SWIG

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302 Coleman Boulevard • Mt. Pleasant 843.881.3333 • PagesOkraGrill.com

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We work on your repairs and injuries Call (843) 884-0000 when you need help.

Berlinsky and Ling Law Firm

2971 W. Montague • N. Charleston, SC www.charlestonattorneygaryaling.com

POWERED BY menu • Wine list

GO FOR:

Full bar • Full menu Patio • Craft beer

Poe’s Tavern

2210 Middle St. (843) 883-0083 poestavern.com GO FOR:

Craft beer • Full bar Full menu • Patio Late night eats

AMENITIES:

Live music • Multiple TVs

IOP

Acme Lowcountry Kitchen

31 J C Long Blvd. (843) 886-3474 acmelowcountrykitchen.com

The Boathouse at Breach Inlet

Craft beer • Patio Full bar • Full menu Rooftop view

Papi’s Taqueria

1012 Ocean Blvd. (843) 926-7274 papisiop.com

Coconut Joe’s Beach Grill & Bar

GO FOR:

Full bar • Patio Full menu • Rooftop view

AMENITIES:

The Dinghy

8 J C Long Blvd. (843) 242-8310 dinghyiop.com GO FOR:

Cheap beer • Full menu Full bar • Late night eats

GO FOR:

O W N E D

Since 1993

Two Blokes Brewing

547 Long Point Road (843) 654-4564 twoblokesbrewing.com

Craft beer • Dogs allowed Watch sports AMENITIES:

Trivia • Live music Karaoke

Westbrook Brewing Co.

AMENITIES:

510 Ridge Road (843) 654-9114 westbrookbrewing.com

Trivia • Live music Billiard tables Dart boards

House of Brews

Live music • Multiple TVs Trivia

Craft beer • Patio Dogs allowed

1537-C Ben Sawyer Blvd.

(843) 416-8094 houseofbrewsmtp.com

GO FOR:

Craft beer • Dogs allowed Patio

GO FOR:

Craft beer • Patio Dogs allowed

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41

A F F O R D A B L E

SWIG // Fall 2019

2 TACOS + HOUSE DRAFT or SODA

&

Craft beer • Patio Dogs allowed

AMENITIES:

Make the trek to Daniel Island for the wine, the beer, and the best spots to pre-game a Volvo Car Stadium show.

Live music

GO FOR:

Craft beer • Full menu Full bar • Dogs allowed Patio • Watch sports

2079 Wambaw Creek Unit #1 (843) 867-6015 indigoreefbrewing.com

GO FOR:

522 Wando Lane (843) 352-3462 ghostmonkeybrewery.com

GO FOR:

Live music • Multiple TVs

GO FOR:

Ghost Monkey Brewery

880 Island Park Drive (843) 471-1130 dockerysdi.com

AMENITIES:

GO FOR:

East Breweries & Distilleries

Dockery’s

Daniel Island

AMENITIES:

259 Seven Farms Drive (843) 377-8750 dighospitality.com

Live music

Cheap beer • Games Full bar • Full menu Late night eats

Live music

Daniel Island Grille

AMENITIES:

1008 Ocean Blvd.

(843) 886-8596 the-windjammer.com

Indigo Reef Brewing Co.

Craft beer • Full menu Lounge around Wine list

Craft beer • Full menu Full bar • Dogs allowed Patio • Late night eats

The Windjammer

Laura Alberts Tasteful Options 891 Island Park Drive, (843) 881-4711 lauraalberts.com

GO FOR:

Full bar • Full menu Patio • Craft beer

1120 Ocean Blvd.

(843) 886-0046 coconutjoes.biz

20 Fairchild St. (843) 377-8181 bin526.com

Craft beer • Full bar Full menu • Wine list

Live music • Multiple TVs

GO FOR:

Full bar • Craft beer • Full

7

GO FOR:

AMENITIES:

GO FOR:

$

GO FOR:

Full menu • Patio Full bar • Rooftop view

101 Palm Blvd.

(843) 886-8000 boathouserestaurants.com

L O C A L L Y

Bin 526

80 41st Ave. (843) 886-8980 morgancreekgrill.com

GO FOR:

You can’t go to the beach and not follow it up with a spiked libation. Fortunately IOP knows this and has something for both tourists and locals to choose from.

Morgan Creek Grill

4-7PM

2213 Middle St. (843) 637-3060 pier22si.com

MON-FRI

Pier 22

Mixin’ it Up Fat washing, milk punch, and feta cheese gin — what’s new in cocktails

O

By Enid Brenize

42

charlestoncitypaper.com/SWIG

ne can only imagine what Jerry Thomas, “the father of American mixology,” would think of the drinks from his old Charleston stomping grounds now.

Past summers’ frosé waves have waned and Four Loko’s spiked seltzer is threatening a takeover. Upstairs at the Cocktail Club, there’s dandelion-infused gin and fresh watermelon juice; on street level there are bachelorette parties double-fisting Booze Pops and Jell-O shots. What a world.

Talking to some of Charleston’s most inventive cocktail-makers today, it sounds like they’re taking a page from Thomas’ seminal Bar-Tender’s Guide (1862) and concocting new inventions to rival tried-and-true classics.

For Thomas, who grew up in the age of punches, toddies, and slings, the Manhattan, martini, and Martinez were a brave new world. In Charleston, is fat washing the new hotness?

For last year’s SWIG guide, I grilled some of the top bartenders in town about where and what they drink on days off. Spoiler: beer and a shot. This year, we wanted to know what they’re slinging instead.

If you’re looking to take your palate for a boozy adventure, we recommend trying that bacon fat bourbon, a milk punch, or salad-inspired cocktail. Could be the next classic ... or gone before Christmas.

TYLER ROTHENBERG

Handcraft Kitchen & Cocktails Rothenberg was on a working holiday of sorts when we talked in August. As a counselor at Camp Runamok, the annual summer camp for bartenders, he was whiskey-tasting and distillery-hopping with cocktail aficionados from all over the country. What’s really on his mind, though, is the everyday patron.

“One of my biggest passions right now is the drink being secondary to the environment. We’re starting to shift focus away from these crazy complex cocktails because more and more bars can do that, so it’s not as groundbreaking as it was 10 years ago,” says Rothenberg. “I think that there’s this huge shift to simplicity, approachability, and certainly hospitality.”

At Handcraft in Mt. Pleasant, Rothenberg oversees a cocktail proAt Handcraft Kitchen & Cocktails, gram (that’s what they call Tyler Rothenberg (top) makes a a menu) that’s separated Melon Ball; James Bolt (below) into four parts: classics, at Gin Joint shakes things up the 20th century, highballs, and “the future.”

As Rothenberg puts it, a bar should be a “comfortable safe space,

Photos by Ruta Smith

where you’re not pushed outside your comfort zone but you have that opportunity if you want ...

If you are a renowned cocktail critic you can sit down and find something that excites you, but you can also sit down and have a Miller pony or a vodka soda and not get judged for that.”

The classics and highballs are straightforward. The 20th century section is for your melon balls, cosmos, and tequila sunrises. “Drinks that people know and love and enjoy but sometimes are embarrassed to ask for because a bartender will kind of scoff at it.”

“The Future” is a cocktail nerd’s playground.

That’s where you’ll find Rothenberg playing with techniques like using edible essential oils, pairing flavors in unexpected ways, and fat washing — peanut butter-washed rum, coconut oil-washed cachaca in a daiquiri with pineapple syrup and fresh lime juice, coconut oil-washed Jagermeister, and even an avocado fat washed tequila.

Fat washing, which is making waves in Charleston now but was popularized back in 2007 in New York at a bar called Please Don’t Tell, is basically just taking a soluble fat, melting and mixing it with a spirit, and then freezing it. A decade ago it was groundbreaking, a trick inspired by baking techniques and involving the molecular structure of alcohol. Now it’s making the rounds in Charleston, a city awash in fried okra, fried chicken, and pimento cheese grits. When it comes to fat-washed spirits, you’re not actually getting anything more than the flavor and (scoff now) a change in mouthfeel.

Don’t worry about white lumps on the surface of your drink — in that freezing process, the fats turn back into a solid but the spirit doesn’t freeze. You separate the solid fat, but through that process some of its oils, textures, flavors, and colors stay with the spirit.

Take Rothenberg’s “b.a.n.a.n.a.s.” cocktail: peanut butter fat-washed rum, house-made chocolate cordial, and coconut rum. Fat washing the rum gives the subtle flavor of peanut butter, like your taste buds’ memory of a peanut butter sandwich, but in a way that’s much less pretentious — or greasy — than it sounds.

“We want something for everybody. One of the most amazing things is someone walking in and drinking something like a vodka soda and then a month later drinking something from our future menu. It’s not because they felt pressured, just something that happened naturally.”

And as an aside for anyone who doesn’t get the b.a.n.a.n.a.s. reference, Rothenberg assured me: “We’re starting to see not just millenials getting excited about these.”

JAMES BOLT

“After five days or so we have this clarified cocktail that I joke is like a skinny piña colada,” laughs Deschaine. “I’m a sucker for those beach drinks; I love things that are bad for you, like, my ‘desert island’ drink is probably a Miami vice. I love that [the milk punch] is fruity and playful and still sophisticated, too.” What’s next? A cinnamon toast milk punch, maybe paired with tequila and lime.

While Deschaine likes to “get super geeky with it,” she also points out, “We’re situated between Sticky Fingers and Hyman’s — and I am a seventh

MEGAN DESCHAINE

grade boy, so that makes me giggle — and we sometimes get people who aren’t very comfortable with us doing a foie gras rye or putting arugula in a cocktail.”

That’s not to say you won’t find foie gras and spring onion in her Manhattan, but Deschaine is also happy to pour you the best cosmo you’ve ever tasted.

“The era of the snobby bartender is dead, I hope.

It was a really dark time when people cared more about their martini bill than service.”

Megan Deschaine says she’s currently loving milk punch, originally created by British spy Aphra Behn in the 1600s

43

Doar Bros.

“It’s a labor of love.” When asked about what cool new thing she’s crushing on, Megan Deschaine — of the new-ish cocktail and small plates bar Doar Bros. — took it way back.

“I’m loving milk punch. It was started by a woman in the 1600s (woman power!) and she was creating it in a time where refrigeration didn’t really exist, so it was a matter of preservation,” says Deschaine. That punchy lady was in fact Aphra Behn, a British spy and the first female to make a living by writing, who pioneered the milk punch recipe that would later be lauded by Benjamin Franklin and published in Thomas’ Guide.

Deschaine has been experimenting with a piña colada milk punch, using three types of rum seasoned with pineapple chunks, whole limes, and unsweetened coconut flakes.

SWIG // Fall 2019

Gin Joint You could guess that James Bolt was a cook before opening Gin Joint just by the taste of some of his cocktails.

“A lot of people are doing fat-washed liquors.

We took that idea to a different level and started doing cheese-washed cocktails,” says Bolt.

“Last year we had cream cheese-washed gin and made kind of a play on an everything bagel — everything bagel syrup, cream cheese gin, and some dill. This year we have a feta cheesewashed gin, green bell pepper syrup, kalamata

olives, and a few other liquors that create a play on a summer Greek salad.”

With a degree from the Culinary Institute of America, Bolt likes to weave fresh vegetables into his drinks not unlike the process of making an inspired salad. You know, salt, fat, acid, and heat — or in this case, gin.

When asked what inspires his cocktail inventions: “Trying to figure out how to put crazy ingredients into drinks that work very well,” says Bolt. “Having people scratching their heads saying that shouldn’t go together but it tastes amazing.”

Turns out that Greek salad with feta gin is actually a hit. One of Gin Joint’s top three cocktails of the moment, it’s up there alongside their palo santo riff on an old fashioned and the French 75. With a rotating menu of 20 new cocktails each season, fans might be disappointed come autumn.

“We always ask people how it reads versus how it tastes. They love how it tastes, but you read the description and aren’t sure about cheese in a cocktail ...Three years ago we had a duck fat-washed cocktail that was met with some hesitation. Even though it was a very light, springtime cocktail, people might have this idea in their head that it’s a very fatty cocktail.”

Come fall you’ll likely see heirloom pumpkins and fresh fall veggies incorporated on the menu, perhaps recalling crisping leaves and family dinners.

“We always talk about the ‘Ratatouille moment,’” says Bolt.

“Transporting someone back to a moment from their childhood or that they’re really fond of. We’ve created drinks where people come in and say, ‘This tastes like a cake my grandmother made.’”

The

Bar Crawl

West WEST ASHLEY

Games • Watch sports

One word: Avondale. If you’re looking for a cold one West of the Ashley, this neighborhood should be your first stop.

3 Matadors Tequileria

2447 Ashley River Road, (843) 414-7894 3matadors.com GO FOR:

Full menu • Patio • Full bar Cheap beer • Craft beer Watch sports

AMENITIES:

Live music • Multiple TVs

Al Di La

25 Magnolia Road (843) 571-2321 aldilarestaurant.com GO FOR:

Full menu • Full bar Wine list • Patio

Avondale Wine & Cheese

813 Savannah Hwy. #B, (843) 769-5444 GO FOR:

Wine list • Craft beer

Back 9 Pub

2457 Ashley River Road, (843) 852-0650 GO FOR:

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Cheap beer • Full menu Watch sports • Late night eats

AMENITIES:

Karaoke • Billiard tables Multiple TVs

Black Wood Smokehouse

90 Folly Road (843) 789-3722 blackwoodsmokehouse.com GO FOR:

Full menu • Full bar Craft beer • Wine list

AMENITIES:

Live music

Charleston Sports Pub

1124 Sam Rittenberg Blvd.

(843) 203-3329 charlestonsportspub.com GO FOR:

Patio • Full menu Watch sports • Full bar Craft beer • Cheap beer Play games

AMENITIES:

Trivia • Multiple TVs

D.D. Pecker’s Wing Shack

1660 Savannah Hwy. (843) 402-4567 ddpeckerswingshack.com GO FOR:

Full menu • Patio • Late night eats • Watch sports Full bar • Cheap beer Dogs allowed

AMENITIES:

Trivia • Live music Multiple TVs

Fiery Ron’s Home Team BBQ 1205 Ashley River Road (843) 225-RIBS hometeambbq.com GO FOR:

Watch sports • Full bar Craft beer • Patio Full menu

AMENITIES:

Trivia • Billiard tables Dart boards • Multiple TVs

The Glass Onion 1219 Savannah Hwy. (843) 225-1717 ilovetheglassonion.com GO FOR:

Full menu • Wine list Craft beer • Full bar

Kickin’ Chicken

1179 Sam Rittenberg Blvd.

(843) 766-5292 kickinchicken.com GO FOR:

Late night eats • Full menu Full bar • Watch sports Cheap beer • Patio

AMENITIES:

Live music • Multiple TVs

Los Reyes

1119 Wappoo Road Unit Q (843) 763-0699 losreyesmexican.com GO FOR:

Full bar • Full menu Cheap Beer

Mellow Mushroom 19 Magnolia Road (843) 747-4992 mellowmushroom.com GO FOR:

Full bar • Craft beer Full menu • Wine list Watch sports

AMENITIES:

Trivia • Multiple TVs

AMENITIES:

Trivia • Live music Multiple TVs

Gene’s Haufbrau 817 Savannah Hwy. (843) 225-4363 genes.beer

Grab a craft beer and a bite at Black Wood Smokehouse

GO FOR:

Late night eats • Full bar Cheap beer • Craft beer Full menu • Patio

Continued on page 46

Jonathan Boncek file photo

SWIG // Fall 2019

45

The

Bar Crawl

Continued from page 44

Mex 1 Coastal Cantina

817 St. Andrews Blvd.

(843) 751-4001 mex1coastalcantina.com GO FOR:

Full bar • Cheap beer Craft beer • Full menu Watch sports

AMENITIES:

Live music • Multiple TVs Trivia

Ms. Rose’s Fine Food & Cocktails

PROUD SPONSOR OF GOOD TIMES PROUD SPONSOR OF GOOD TIMES!

CBD • KRATOM • LOOSE LEAF TOBACCO • HOOKAH SUPPLIES SMOKING ACCESSORIES • EDIBLES • PET SUPPLIES HEMP CLOTHING • UNIQUE JEWELRY • CANDLES & OILS GIFTS • CIGARS • HUMIDOR & MUCH MORE!

1090 Sam Rittenberg Blvd.

(843) 766-0223 msroses.com GO FOR:

Full bar • Craft beer Patio • Full menu

AMENITIES:

Trivia • Live music

Oak Barrel Tavern 825 Savannah Hwy. (843) 901-7251 GO FOR:

Craft beer • Wine list

Pearlz

9 Magnolia Road (843) 573-2277 pearlzoysterbar.com GO FOR:

Late night eats Craft beer • Full bar Full menu • Watch sports Patio

AMENITIES:

Multiple TVs

R Pub

1836 Ashley River Road.

(843) 556-1975 GO FOR:

Cheap beer • Patio Full bar • Watch sports

AMENITIES:

BEER GARDEN WITH 24 TAPS

WINE • FIREPIT • CORNHOLE • POOL TABLES

TVS FOR COLLEGE & NFL FOOTBALL

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FOLLOW US FOR LIVE MUSIC & FOOD TRUCK UPDATES

Live music • Karaoke Billiard tables Multiple TVs

Red Orchids Bistro 1401 Sam Rittenburg Blvd.

(843) 573-8787 redorchids.com GO FOR:

Full bar • Wine list Full menu

The Roost Bar N’ Grille

825 Savannah Hwy. (843) 718-2285 theroostavondale.com GO FOR:

Cheap beer Watch sports • Craft beer Full menu • Full bar

815 FOLLY RD • JAMES ISLAND ACROSS FROM MONEY MAN SMOKENBREW.COM

AMENITIES:

Trivia • Live music Multiple TVs

POWERED BY

Sesame Burgers & Beer

2070 Sam Rittenburg Blvd.

(843) 766-7770 sesameburgersandbeer.com GO FOR:

Full menu • Craft beer Full bar

Swig & Swine

1217 Savannah Hwy. (843) 225-3805 swigandswinebbq.com GO FOR:

Full menu • Craft beer Watch sports • Full bar Patio

Folly Beach

The laid-back hippie vibe is real on this spit of sand and that carries over to its bar scene.

This is a great sip beer and chill environment.

Blu Restaurant and Bar

1 Center St. (843) 588-6658 lufollybeach.com GO FOR:

Full menu • Full bar Craft beer • Patio Wine list

AMENITIES:

AMENITIES:

The Taco Spot

Chico Feo

Multiple TVs

1301 Ashley River Road Ste B (843) 225-7426 thetacospot.com GO FOR:

Full bar • Full menu Cheap beer • Craft beer

The Tin Roof

1117 Magnolia Road (843) 571-0775 charlestontinroof.com GO FOR:

Cheap beer • Craft beer Play games • Full menu Full bar • Late night eats

AMENITIES:

Trivia • Live music

Trayce’s Too

2578 Ashley River Road (843) 556-2378 traycestoo.com GO FOR:

Cheap beer • Full menu Watch sports • Full bar

Live music

122 E Ashley Ave. (843) 906-2710 chicofeos.com GO FOR:

Craft beer • Patio Full menu • Cheap beer Late night eats

AMENITIES:

Live music

Drop In Deli

32 Center St. #B, (843) 633-0234 dropindeli.com GO FOR:

Full menu • Craft beer Cheap beer • Full bar Late night eats Watch sports

AMENITIES:

Trivia • Live music Multiple TVs

Folly Beach Crabshack

26 Center St. (843) 588-3080 crabshacks.com

AMENITIES:

GO FOR:

Triangle Char and Bar

AMENITIES:

Trivia • Live music • Billiard tables • Multiple TVs

828 Savannah Hwy. (843) 377-1300 trianglecharandbar.com GO FOR:

Patio • Full menu Craft beer • Cheap beer Full bar • Watch sports Late night eats

AMENITIES:

Multiple TVs

Voodoo Tiki Bar and Lounge 15 Magnolia Road (843) 769-0228 voodootikibar.com GO FOR:

Full menu • Craft beer Cheap beer • Full bar Late night eats Games • Patio

Full menu • Full bar • Late night eats • Cheap beer Patio Live music

Jack of Cups Saloon

34 Center St. (843) 633-0042 jackofcupssaloon.com GO FOR:

Full menu • Craft beer Patio

AMENITIES:

Live music

Loggerhead’s 123 West Ashley Ave. (843) 588-2365 Loggerheadsbg.com GO FOR:

Full menu • Craft beer Patio • Late night eats

AMENITIES:

Live music

AMENITIES:

Live music • Dancefloor

Continued on page 48

DROP IN, Chill out drop in,

Chill out

CHARLESTON’S charleston’s & BEST MARGARITA

best mexican restaurant best margarita - 2018 charleston city paper -CHARLESTON CITY PAPER READERS baja bowls

infused margaritas

quesadillas

cervezas

tacos

premium tequilas

mex1coastalcantina.com

@mex1coastalcantina 817 st andrews blvd | west ashley

2205 middle street | Sullivan’s Island

47

1109 park west blvd | mount pleasant

SWIG // Fall 2019

We’re social!

follow us on Facebook or Instagram

The

DUI? Been Bad? Call Good.

Law Offices of Joe Good III Low monthly payments.

Bar Crawl

Continued from page 46

Lowlife Bar

106 E Hudson Ave. (843) 633-0460 lowlifebar.com GO FOR:

Full menu • Full bar • Patio Late night eats

Pier 101

101 E Arctic Ave. (843) 633-0246 pier101folly.com GO FOR:

Full menu • Full bar Craft beer • Patio

AMENITIES:

Live music

Planet Follywood

32 Center St. (843) 588-7380 planetfollywood.com GO FOR:

Joe Good, III DUI • Criminal Defense • Personal Injury joe@joegoodlaw.com • www.joegoodlaw.com 409 Coleman Blvd • (843) 412-1401

Full menu • Craft beer Cheap beer • Full bar Watch sports • Patio Late night eats Dogs allowed

AMENITIES:

Live music • Karaoke

Rita’s Seaside Grille 2 Center St. (843) 588-2525 ritasseasidegrille.com GO FOR:

Full menu • Full bar Dogs allowed Watch sports • Craft beer Wine list

WE KNOW YOUR TYPE

AMENITIES:

Live music • Multiple TVs

Sand Dollar Social Club

7 Center St. (843) 588-9498 GO FOR:

Cheap beer Full bar • Patio

AMENITIES:

Live music • Billiard tables Dancefloor

Snapper Jack’s Seafood and Raw Bar

10 Center St. (843) 633-0174 snapperjacks.net

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GO FOR:

Full menu • Craft beer Patio • Full bar • Watch sports • Rooftop views Late night eats

AMENITIES:

Live music • Multiple TVs

843-723-7233 www.nelsonprint.com

St. James Gate

11 Center St. (843) 588-0002 stjamesgatesc.com GO FOR:

Patio • Full menu Dogs allowed • Craft beer Watch sports • Full bar Cheap beer

AMENITIES:

Live music • Multiple TVs

POWERED BY

Surf Bar

Bohemian Bull

GO FOR:

GO FOR:

103 W. Cooper Ave. (843) 588-2009 surfbarfollybeach.com

Watch sports • Full bar Craft beer • Games Dogs allowed • Patio Full menu

AMENITIES:

Live music • Multiple TVs

Taco Boy

15 Center St. (843) 588-9761 tacoboy.net GO FOR:

Full menu • Patio Full bar • Dogs allowed Cheap beer

The Washout

41 Center St. (843) 633-0143 follywashout.com

1531 Folly Road (843) 225-1817 bohemianbull.com

Full menu • Patio Craft beer • Full bar Dogs allowed • Games

AMENITIES:

Live music • Trivia

The Break 778 Folly Road (843) 641-0504 GO FOR:

Full menu • Games Watch sports Cheap beer • Full bar

AMENITIES:

Trivia • Billiard tables Multiple TVs

GO FOR:

Crust Wood Fired Pizza

AMENITIES:

GO FOR:

Full menu • Watch sports Patio • Craft beer • Cheap beer • Full bar

Live music • Multiple TVs

Wiki Wiki Sandbar

106 E Ashley Ave. (843) 588-WIKI wikiwikisandbar.com GO FOR:

Full menu • Patio Craft beer • Rooftop views Full bar

AMENITIES:

Live music

Woody’s Pizza

39 Center St. (843) 588-0088 dowoodyspizza.com GO FOR:

Full menu • Cheap beer Patio • Full bar

1956 Maybank Hwy. Suite B (843) 762-5500 crustwoodfiredpizza.com

Craft beer • Full bar Wine list • Dogs allowed Patio • Full menu

Edison James Island

1014 Fort Johnson Road (843) 872-5500 edisonjamesisland.com GO FOR:

Full menu • Craft beer Wine list

Fam’s Brewing Co. 1291 Folly Road (843) 225-4646 famspizza.com

AMENITIES:

GO FOR:

JAMES ISLAND

AMENITIES:

Live music

From Maybank Highway to Folly Road, some of the most relaxed watering holes can be found on JI.

Athens Restaurant & Grill 1939 Maybank Hwy. (843) 795-0957 athensofcharleston.com GO FOR:

Full menu • Patio Wine list • Full bar

Full menu • Craft beer Cheap beer • Full bar Watch sports Trivia • Live music Multiple TVs

Garage 75

1175 Folly Road Suite G (843) 225-4030 garage75.com GO FOR:

Full menu • Late night eats Watch sports • Games Craft beer • Cheap beer Full bar • Patio

AMENITIES:

Trivia • Live music Billiard tables • Multiple TVs

The Barrel

1859 Folly Road (843) 732-2337 thebarrelcharleston.com GO FOR:

Craft beer • Patio Dogs allowed • Games

AMENITIES:

Live music

Continued on page 50

In the ❤ of Avondale • 8 l 7 Savannah Hwy • 843.225.GENE • Genes.Beer

www.lowlifebar.com 106 E Hudson Ave. Folly Beach

POPSICLES FOR GROWN UPS! EVENT & DELIVERY SERVICE 843-200-8422 BoozePop.com

SWIG // Fall 2019

Monday Wing Night Wednesday Taco Night Saturday Ribs & Reggae Monthly Blue Crab Fest

49

The

Bar Crawl

Continued from page 48

Kickin’ Chicken 1175 Folly Road (843) 225-6996 kickinchicken.com

ALCOHOL

GO FOR:

Watch sports Cheap beer • Full menu Late night eats • Full bar

AMENITIES:

IS THE #1 DRUG USED IN DRUG-FACILITATED

SEXUAL

Multiple TVs

Kwei Fei

1977 Maybank Hwy. (843) 225-0094 kweifei.com

ASSAULTS

GO FOR:

Patio • Full bar • Full menu Dogs allowed

The Lowdown Oven & Bar

967 Folly Road (843) 795-7569 whatsthelowdown.com GO FOR:

Show your patrons and the community that your establishment is committed to preventing sexual harassment, violence, and drug-facilitated sexual assault

UPSTANDER TRAINING for the Food & Beverage Industry 100% Provided by People Against Rape FREE Only an Hour, and We Come to You

Patio • Cheap beer Full bar • Late night eats Full menu • Watch sports Dogs allowed • Games

AMENITIES:

Live music • Multiple TVs

Martin’s Bar-B-Que Joint 1622 Highland Ave. (843) 790-0838 martinsbbqjoint.com GO FOR:

Patio • Craft beer Full bar • Full menu Watch sports • Games

AMENITIES:

Multiple TVs

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TRAINING COVERS Overview of sexual assault and consent How to handle workplace sexual harassment SC laws and reporting options Learn to match drugs to their side effects Open discussion of your establishment’s policy on how to handle specific situations Bystander intervention scenarios and discussion

PAR PROVIDES

Bathroom signs with PAR cards 11x17 poster PAR swag for staff and/or patrons Raising the Bar buttons Certificate of Training Follow up If you would like to learn more about the UPstander Training, email Prevention@ PeopleAgainstRape.org

Maybank Public House

1970 Maybank Hwy. (843) 203-6461 maybankpublichouse.com GO FOR:

Full menu • Patio Craft beer • Late night eats • Dogs allowed Full bar • Watch sports

AMENITIES:

Multiple TVs

Mondo’s Italian Restaurant 915 Folly Road (843) 795-8400 eatatmondos.com GO FOR:

Full menu • Patio Wine list • Full bar

O’Brion’s Pub & Grille 520 Folly Road (843) 795-0309 obrionspub.com GO FOR:

Watch sports • Patio Full menu • Cheap beer Late night eats • Full bar Dogs allowed

1956A Maybank Hwy. (843) 406-8877 ziataco.com/chs GO FOR:

Full menu • Cheap beer Craft beer • Full bar Patio • Late night eats

AMENITIES:

Live music

AMENITIES:

Trivia • Live music Multiple TVs

Paddock & Whisky 1962 Maybank Hwy. (843) 225-5877 paddockandwhisky.com GO FOR:

Patio • Full bar Craft beer • Full menu

The Pour House

1977 Maybank Hwy. (843) 571-4343 charlestonpourhouse.com GO FOR:

Dogs allowed • Patio Full bar • Cheap beer Craft beer • Late night eats

Johns Island

It’s a hike, but there are some great spots to chill on Johns Island.

Whether you’re after a sophisticated cocktail with a plate of some of the Lowcountry’s best Italian food or a solid craft beer, the trip over the Stono River is worth it.

Fat Hen

3140 Maybank Hwy. (843) 559-9090 thefathen.com

AMENITIES:

GO FOR:

Smoke ‘N’ Brew

AMENITIES:

Live music • Dancefloor

815 Folly Road. (843) 501-7979 smokenbrew.com GO FOR:

Craft beer • Games Watch sports • Patio Wine list

Full menu • Wine list Full bar • Craft beer Patio • Dogs allowed Live music

KinFolk

4430 Betsy Kerrison Pkwy.

(843) 768-0006

AMENITIES:

GO FOR:

Smoky Oak Taproom

Krazy Owls

Billiard tables Multiple TVs

1234 Camp Road (843) 762-6268 smokyoak.com GO FOR:

Dogs allowed • Craft beer Full bar • Watch sports Patio • Games Cheap beer • Full menu Late night eats

AMENITIES:

Trivia • Multiple TVs

Tattooed Senorita Cantina

Full menu • Craft beer Wine list

3157 A Maybank Hwy. (843) 640-3844 krazyowls.com GO FOR:

Watch sports • Full menu Patio • Dogs allowed Cheap beer • Full bar

AMENITIES:

Trivia • Live music Multiple TVs

The Royal Tern 3005 Maybank Hwy. (843) 718-3434 theroyaltern.com

1846 Old Folly Road (854) 444-3439 tattooedsenorita.net

GO FOR:

GO FOR:

Seanachai Whiskey & Cocktail Bar

Patio • Full bar Craft beer • Late night eats • Cheap beer Dogs allowed Watch sports • Full menu

AMENITIES:

Multiple TVs

PeopleAgainstRape.org 24/7 Hotline: 843-745-0144

Zia Taqueria

Full bar • Craft beer • Patio Full menu • Wine list

3157B Maybank Hwy. (843) 737-4221 seanachaiwhiskey andcocktailbar.com GO FOR:

Full bar • Craft beer Full menu • Patio

AMENITIES:

Live music

POWERED BY

The Southern General

3157 Maybank Hwy. (843) 640-3778 thesoutherngeneral.com GO FOR:

Full menu • Late night eats Craft beer • Watch sports Patio

AMENITIES:

Multiple TVs

Tattooed Moose 3328 Maybank Hwy. (843) 952-7591 tattooedmoose.com GO FOR:

Full menu • Late night eats Craft beer • Patio Watch sports Dogs allowed

AMENITIES:

Live music • Multiple TVs

Wild Olive

2867 Maybank Hwy. (843) 737-4177 wildoliverestaurant.com GO FOR:

Wine list • Full bar Full menu

West Breweries & Distilleries Cannon Distillery 813 A Savannah Hwy. (843) 996-4110 cannondistillery.net GO FOR:

Tastings

Charles Towne Fermentory 809 Savannah Hwy. (843) 641-0431 chsfermentory.com GO FOR:

Craft beer • Full menu

AMENITIES:

Trivia

Firefly Distillery 6775 Bears Bluff Road (843) 557-1405 fireflydistillery.com GO FOR:

Tastings • Patio

Frothy Beard

1401 Sam Rittenberg Blvd.

(843) 872-4201 frothybeard.com GO FOR:

Watch sports • Craft beer Games • Dogs allowed Patio • Full menu

AMENITIES:

AMENITIES:

Deep Water Vineyard

Low Tide Brewing

Trivia

6775 Bears Bluff Road (843) 559-6867 deepwatervineyard.com GO FOR:

Patio • Tastings

Fat Pig Brewing Co.

3690 State Road. (843) 640-3256 fatpigbrewing.com

charleston E AT DRINK CLEANSE C O M E V I S I T O U R T H R E E LO C AT I O N S

Trivia • Live music Multiple TVs

2863 Maybank Hwy. (843) 501-7570 lowtidebrewing.com GO FOR:

Craft beer • Patio • Games Dogs allowed

AMENITIES:

Trivia

C L E A N J U I C E M O U N T P L E A SA N T 6 9 5 J o h n n i e D o d d s B o u l eva r d # 1 0 1 Mount Pleasant, SC 29464 C L E A N J U I C E W E ST A S H L E Y 9 75 S ava n n a h H i g hway # 1 0 9 C h a r l e s to n , S C 2 9 4 07 CLEAN JUICE CALHOUN 1 6 8 C a l h o u n S t re e t C h a r l e s to n , S C 2 9 4 0 1

GO FOR:

Craft beer • Patio

J U I C E S • S MO OT H I E S • AÇ A Í B OW L S • C L E A N S E S • W E L L N E SS S H OTS • WA R M B I T E S

MUSEUM OF LIVING ARTS

Fine Body Jewelry & Piercing CharlestonPiercing.com

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#CuratedEar

SWIG // Fall 2019

47 Spring Street 1595 Sam Rittenberg 843-937-5300 843-225-7127

100 Proof

Firefly eyes December 2019 opening of 20,000-square-foot distillery near Park Circle Provided

By Mary Scott Hardaway

Visiting a construction site mid-August off of South Rhett Avenue in North Charleston is about is sticky as it sounds. But it’s cool inside the rickhouse.

Barrels are stacked three high in the racks, or ricks, aging Firefly Distillery bourbon. “Eventually it’s going to be filled with barrels,” says Firefly GM Jay MacMurphy. Off to the side, there are discarded barrels and pieces of tin that will be broken down and used for facades and wall coverings in the new tasting room. “This tin came from our Wadmalaw roof when we replaced it,” notes MacMurphy.

For the last 12 years, Firefly has called Wadmalaw Island home. A long dirt road gets you there, and a property that marries a winery (Deep Water Vineyard) and distillery keeps you there. Founded by Jim Irvin — the “scientist” — and Scott Newitt — the “visionary” — Firefly led the S.C. liquor industry out of the dark ages in 2007-2008. They hired lobbyists and lawyers to get a bill passed into state law that made it affordable and legal

52

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Firefly owners Scott Newitt (left) and Jim Irvin in front of their new North Charleston facility

Ruta Smith

to “distill, sample, and purchase bottled spirits” at a S.C. distillery.

“We wrote the laws because there was no precedent,” says MacMurphy.

Jim and wife Anne sold the Irvin House Vineyard to Jesse and Andrea Freiwald in 2015 — once Firefly fully transitions to their new North Charleston home, the Freiwalds will maintain the only property at the end of Bears Bluff Road.

While there’s certainly something romantic about taking a trek out to a tasting room surrounded by Spanish moss and a “whole mess of gators,” the new Firefly location is much more practical, businesswise. “For reference this is about 20,000 square feet,” says MacMurphy. “We now work in about 4,000.”

We exit the rickhouse, and as our eyes adjust to the afternoon light, we look upon the 18 acres Firefly purchased from the city, property that was previously used as a dumping ground, or laydown yard. They bought the lot in 2017, but as things tend to go — especially when you have to clear out asbestos from the ground — they weren’t able to start construction until this past May. They’re making progress though, and MacMurphy says, “I will be here running equipment in December, at least, that’s the deadline that has been given to me.”

We hop over a couple of mud puddles and walk toward the entrance of the stillhouse,

MICHAEL DUPREE LAW

Provided

Firefly distributes their products — from sweet tea vodka to Sea Island Rum — nationally talks of potentially running shuttles from the distillery to the Coliseum so Firefly can throw pre-parties, it’s easy to forget why we’re here in the first place. “First and foremost, we’re a distillery,” says MacMurphy.

Will they offer Park Circle residents a weekly oyster roast, perhaps a seasonal farmers market, a concert every weekend?

Sure. But they’re also excited to do what they do best — distill the hard stuff.

“So on the tour you’ll see the stills — this tank will be stainless steel, mostly holding tanks here, and this, this will be the blending room,” says MacMurphy. “So we’ll blend all the batches here and when we make sweet tea vodka — we pull vodka from this big holding tank and put it in the blending tank, and that batch then gets toted in a forklift right here, and this will be our bottling hall.”

The only way to access the site now is down a bumpy unpaved side street, but MacMurphy points across the way to Spruill Ave., currently obscured by trees and overgrown vegetation. “That will be our entrance.”

No more delivery trucks getting stuck in the mud on Wadmalaw — Firefly distributes their goods nationwide, and this new and improved gateway will only expedite that process.

Don’t expect Firefly to rest on their liquor laurels in this new space. When asked if there are any new spirits in the works, MacMurphy grins. “Oh yes. Gin is on the horizon quickly after we move in.” They’re hoping for that holiday season December opening, which lines up perfectly with MacMurphy’s new passion project. “There are two types of gin drinkers — one is like, ‘Oh, ugh. This tastes like a Christmas tree’ and the other is ‘Oh. This tastes like a Christmas tree, this is terrific!’”

BA RS

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FREE CASE REVIEW 147 WAPPOO CREEK DR, SUITE 101 843-571-1893 MICHAELDUPREELAW.COM

53

Stay up to date with the distillery’s opening date by following them on Instagram @fireflydistillery.

NOT THE KIND OF

SWIG // Fall 2019

with a sharply pointed triangular roof matching the design of their Wadmalaw building, “it’s our logo, it’s basically the same building,” says MacMurphy. Except bigger. Way bigger.

To the left of the entrance is what will be the 800-space parking lot. Around the side is 3 acres of green lawn space that MacMurphy says can “comfortably hold more than 2,000 people,” facing the building’s huge side stage that could fit a full band, or two.

Inside, there’s retail space, a tasting room, a gift shop, event space, a conference room. Once they open, MacMurphy says a greeter will meet guests at the door, and they’ll lead tours every 15 minutes.

The tour will start with a walk-through of a mini museum of sorts, outlining the history of Firefly, and of distilling in the state.

It’s appropriate that Irvin and Newitt would find a space for history — after the two made a name for themselves with sweet tea vodka, they were quick to tackle Sea Island Rum, a distillate dating back to the Lowcountry’s early drinking days.

As CP food writer Robert Moss wrote in 2011, “Forget bourbon. Its historical ties to Charleston are nearly nonexistent. If you’re looking for a drink that has meaning, look to rum. Back in the 18th century, it was the main swill of South Carolina drinkers, a product of international commerce that came from Jamaica and Barbados … By all accounts, the rum drunk in the American colonies — even the old Jamaican product — was a hot, rough spirit, palatable only when well-tempered with water, sugar, and citrus. There were no connoisseurs sipping it straight.

So, a high-quality, locally made rum is a curious thing, a throwback to a time that never existed. But Jim Irvin and Scott Newitt at Firefly Distillery are dedicated to crafting a small-batch, high-quality rum that is eminently drinkable.”

Between the city-sized parking lot, capacious event space, catering kitchen, and

The

Bar Crawl

North North Charleston /Summerville

With its affordable housing and ease of access to the city, Park Circle has lead a bar boom. And don’t forget about charming Summerville. There’s plenty of good booze there, too.

Accent on Wine

1056 E Montague Ave. (843) 203-4536 132 S. Main St. (843) 832-1212 accentwine.com GO FOR:

Wine list • Craft beer

Carolina Ale House 191 Sigma Drive (843) 471-1970 carolinaalehouse.com GO FOR:

Watch sports • Craft beer Cheap beer • Patio Full menu • Late night eats Full bar

AMENITIES:

Multiple TVs

Dashi

1262 Remount Road (843) 284-6804 dashichs.com GO FOR:

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Patio • Full menu • Full bar

EVO Pizzeria

1075 E Montague Ave. (843) 225-1796 evopizza.com GO FOR:

Full menu • Wine list Craft beer • Patio

Fuji Steakhouse 2150 Northwoods Blvd.

(843) 863-8615 fujicharleston.com GO FOR:

Full bar • Full menu • Patio

G Club

7240 Peppermill Pkwy.

(843) 552-6677 GO FOR:

Adult entertainment

Halls Chophouse 300 Nexton Pkwy.

(843) 900-6000 hallschophouse.com GO FOR:

Craft beer • Full menu Wine list • Full bar • Patio

The Icehouse Restaurant

104 E Doty Ave. (843) 261-0360 theicehousesc.com GO FOR:

Craft beer • Full menu Patio • Watch sports Full bar

AMENITIES:

Multiple TVs

K.C. Mulligan’s

8410 Rivers Ave. (843) 718-3832 GO FOR:

Full menu • Cheap beer Full bar

AMENITIES:

Live music

Kickin’ Chicken

800 N Main St. (843) 875-6998 kickinchicken.com GO FOR:

Full menu • Cheap beer Craft beer • Full bar

Locals Park Circle 4399 McCarthy St. GO FOR:

Full menu • Full bar Cheap beer • Late night eats

Los Reyes

1119 Wappoo Road Unit Q (843) 763-0699 7620 Rivers Ave. (843) 824-6422 5117 Ashley Phosphate Road (843) 767-9696 losreyesmexican.com GO FOR:

Full bar • Full menu

Madra Rua

1034 E Montague Ave. (843) 554-2522 2066 N Main St. (843) 821-9434 madraruapub.com GO FOR:

Full bar • Cheap beer Watch sports • Patio Full menu

AMENITIES:

Multiple TVs

Mellow Mushroom

4855 Tanger Outlet Blvd.

(843) 790-9000 1306 N Main St. (843) 873-2253 mellowmushroom.com GO FOR:

Watch sports • Craft beer Full menu • Full bar

AMENITIES:

Trivia • Multiple TVs

The Mill

1026 E Montague Ave. (843) 225-2650 GO FOR:

Full menu • Patio Cheap beer • Late night eats • Craft beer • Full bar

AMENITIES:

Live music • Billiard tables Continued on page 56

Holy City Brewing has been pouring pints in North Charleston since 2011

Jonathan Boncek file photo

Let’s

RUM

AWAY TOGETHER! A U T H E N T I C F O O D & C O C K TA I L S F R O M T H E C A R I B B E A N Happiest Hours SERVED: TUES-FRI | 4-7

CHARLESTON'S ONLY RUM BAR

90+ RUMS

w w w. E AT D R I N K C A N E . C O M |

@CANECHS

251 EAST BAY ST. | CHARLESTON, SC 29401

SWIG // Fall 2019 55

The

Bar Crawl

Continued from page 54

Ship’s Wheel

1033 E. Montague Ave. shipswheelhardcider.com GO FOR:

Full menu • Tastings • Patio • Dogs allowed

Sesame Burgers & Beer

4726 Spruill Ave. (843) 554-4903 Sesameburgersandbeer.com GO FOR:

Full menu • Craft beer Full bar

SOL Southwest Kitchen

1651 N. Main St. (843) 875-7090 solsouthwestkitchen.com GO FOR:

Craft beer • Full bar Full menu

The Southern Belle / Goodfellas 2028 Pittsburgh Ave. (843) 737-5648 GO FOR:

Adult entertainment

AMENITIES:

Multiple TVs

POWERED BY

The Sparrow

1078 E. Montague Ave. (843) 744-7753 GO FOR:

Late night eats Cheap beer • Craft beer Full bar

AMENITIES:

Live music • Billiard tables

Stems and Skins 1070 East Montague Ave. (843) 805-4809 stemsandskins.com GO FOR:

Wine list • Full bar Full menu • Craft beer

Taco Boy

106 Front St. (843) 851-8226 tacoboy.net

Two Keys Public House

205 Grandview Drive (843) 225-3594 2keyspublichouse.com GO FOR:

Full bar • Craft beer Watch sports • Games Patio

AMENITIES:

Billiard tables • Multiple TVs

Wild Wing Cafe

7618 Rivers Ave. (843) 818-9464 wildwingcafe.com

TBonz Gill & Grill 1668 Old Towne Road (843) 556-2478 tbonzgillandgrill.com GO FOR:

Watch sports • Full bar Craft beer • Full menu Patio

AMENITIES:

Multiple TVs

4831 O’Hear Ave. commonhousealeworks.com GO FOR:

Craft beer • Full menu Patio • Dogs allowed Games

AMENITIES:

Live music

Freehouse Brewery 2895 Pringle St. B freehousebeer.com

GO FOR:

GO FOR:

AMENITIES:

AMENITIES:

Full menu • Late night eats Watch sports • Cheap beer

Trivia • Live music Karaoke • Multiple TVs

GO FOR:

Full bar • Full menu Craft beer • Patio

Commonhouse Aleworks

Northern Breweries & Distilleries COAST Brewing Co. 1250 2nd St. (843) 343-4727 coastbrewing.com GO FOR:

Craft beer • Patio

AMENITIES:

Craft beer • Patio Dogs allowed Live music

Holy City Brewing 4155 Dorchester Road (843) 225-5623 holycitybrewing.com GO FOR:

Craft beer • Full menu Patio • Watch sports

AMENITIES:

Trivia • Multiple TVs

Nippitaty Distillery 4208 Pace St. (843) 518-7583 nippitatydistillery.com GO FOR:

Tastings

Oak Road Brewery 108 E. 3rd North Street Ste. C (843) 695-9886 oakroadbrewery.com GO FOR:

Craft beer • Dogs allowed Play games

AMENITIES:

Trivia

Snafu Brewing Company

3280 Industry Drive (843) 767-4121 snafubrewingcompany.com GO FOR:

Craft beer • Dogs allowed

AMENITIES:

Live music

Striped Pig Distillery

2225-A Old School Drive (843) 276-3201 stripedpigdistillery.com

Pawleys Island Brewing Co.

GO FOR:

GO FOR:

1907 Varner St. (843) 608-8597 wideawakebrewing.com

2668 Industrial Ave. pawleysislandbrewing.com

Craft beer

Rusty Bull Brewing Co.

3005 W Montague Ave. (843) 225-8600 rustybullbrewing.com

Tastings

Wide Awake Brewing Co.

GO FOR:

Craft beer • Watch sports Games

AMENITIES:

Multiple TVs

GO FOR:

Craft beer • Full menu Games

AMENITIES:

Live music • Trivia

Live music

January 26, 2020

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57

ESSAY

Lindsay Collins in her home studio with her dog, Ada

LIQUID COURAGE Whether you’re behind the screen or in front of the mic — it’s OK to drink on the job

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By Lindsay Collins, as told to Swig Drinking on a podcast is a necessary thing for a lot of people.

Years ago when EffinB Radio started, we drank a lot on the show. It feels appropriate to have a cocktail and keep it very conversational. But then it started getting — it can go too far. One time we lost an episode because I didn’t save it I just closed my computer!

I produce around seven different shows now and every single time when people are in the studio for the first time they ask, “Do you have any wine?” I keep the studio stocked with something bubbly, something cold, even just a bottle of tequila — whatever is on my bar. I’m happy to offer them something if they need a little liquid courage because it’s a weird format. Suddenly the mic is in your face. People don’t do this in their life, probably ever. So it’s kind of unexpected.

When you’re a public speaker talking to groups or classes, you can kind of lose the crowd but the mic is such a physical thing that’s right in front of you — there’s no reaction gauge. Is this good? Is anyone liking this? There are no people smiling or yawning.

I was on Pocket Liquor [podcast with Jacye McConnell and Brandon Plyler] last night and when I got there they said ‘Oh it’s so good to have you back. We really miss having a third party.’ They now do their show on their own but I started their show with them and produced the first five episodes.

And the other dynamic is, if you have multiple hosts and one wants to take it in different a direction they can ask the producer ‘well whose idea is better?’ so it kind of helps them gauge whether or not to keep going. So it’s more than just pushing record. And they especially, well, it’s in the name — there’s so much liquor.

I had to request a dump bucket yesterday cause guys, this is so much booze.

At my home stuido I think it’s cool to always have something on hand — I like to have “craft services,” even non-alcoholic stuff. I’ll always have a bottle of cold sparkling to pop if someone is you know, having a Monday or just in general that’s a pretty universal crowd pleaser you can always pour bubbles and they’re like ‘cool, I can do this.’

Right now, I’m producing shows all day. For a while it was a side hustle when I was doing restaurants, so it was pretty restricted to evenings when I was off or days before I went into work. EffinB Radio always recorded on Saturdays and now I’m just in my closet whenever I have time. Those Saturday mornings it would monopolize your whole day, you would get boozy, it was like a little brunch — without the food, like “I did put a raspberry in it and it’s technically a salad.”

“

… you would get boozy, it was like a little brunch — without the food, like ‘I did put a raspberry in it and it’s technically a salad.’ ”

With my equpiment, it really lends itself to be this traveling studio. When I’m not in my home studio where I have booze around, my guests/hosts have sort of adopted that. I always like to take the opportunity to have a nip of something, but it’s not every time now.

As far as guests go, hospitality people always bring something, and wellness people, well, they’ll just bring their own bottle of water or, they have a personal kombucha. I like food and bev guests, they

Ruta Smith

usually bring something that’s a wild card.

For instance, I think we were having a mezcal producer on and it was something we couldn’t actually buy here and we couldn’t find it so they ended up bringing it which was great and that made it really easy cause they want you to taste their product.

Last time when we did Pocket Liquor, we were talking about sherry because that’s what I really like and I brought a bottle of Manzania and I don’t even know how they did this — they had each picked out a bottle and we didn’t duplicate any it was amazing.

We had the whole range of sherry! I was like ‘guys we accidentally orchestrated this really well.’ People in the service industry just really get it. We had the whole rainbow of styles, it was really fun.

When I’m editing, often late at night, I’m all about an amaro spritz, a cynar and soda.

It’s easy and low proof so I’m not blacking out because it gets to be kind of monotonous, editing. You’re listening over and over but it doesn’t have to be totally mind numbing and cynar and soda especially in the summer is something I really love.

Now that I’m not in food and bev you don’t get to try stuff and I really took that for granted, I always had an idea of what was cool and new, you get to taste stuff maybe before it’s on a list and now it’s not happening as much so I’ll go to Monarch and Graft and say “I want to try this.”

It’s so cliche, but I’m very into natural wine, so I’ll keep whatever bottle seems interesting — I’ll have a weird small blend that I’ll open when I’m doing a full day’s edit and I’ll just kind of sip on that because it’s light and easy. The wine world changes so fast, so drinking this while editing, it’s like research and therapy while I’m getting work done. And that’s the coolest part about working from home, that that’s not frowned upon while I’m sitting at my desk.

Sometimes my most productive hours are 11 p.m.-1 a.m., that’s often when I get a burst of energy or creativity or idea, when I have the quiet of the night. I was on a night schedule since I was 17. I’m a low-powered robot in the morning, just getting through my basic functions. At night is when I do a lot of editing now, I prefer to burn that midnight oil, and that feels way more appropriate for having a cocktail. I’m just acheiving balance, little by little, all the time.

Lindsay Collins is the host and creator of Effin B Radio. Her first job in restaurants was at the age of 15 and she has gone on to work in three Michelin star kitchens and dining rooms and spent four years as a server at FIG. In 2019, she launched a podcast production company called LMC Soundsystem and has recurring restaurant dreams about being ‘in the weeds’ to this very day.

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