The Brandy Bar + Cocktails

Happenings

Thurs 8/11 – 4-9:00 PM – Animal Cocktails?

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Thurs 8/11 – 4-9:00 PM Animal cocktails

In the world of drinks, there have been some pretty weird and wacky names. Perhaps unremarkable is a drink named after a famous person or a popular place.  Then there are a lot of drinks with sexually explicit names, Sex on the Beach, etc. But we have chosen 5 named after our animal friends because some days it is a toss-up as to which we like more, our animal friends or our human friends.  But that’s another story. 

Some drinks, like the Barking Spider, bring a smile with the first sip; others, like the Moscow Mule are now classics and have become a part of the standard bar menu.  Some 70’s sippers include the Greyhound and its gin counterpart the Salty Dog.  The Horse’s Neck is a long drink that dates back to the colonial period (its signature comes from the long lemon curl that hangs over the lip of the glass).

So here goes, things may get a bit hairy as we take a boozy cocktail tour of the animal kingdom at The Brandy Bar + Cocktails.  We recommend that while sipping, you think of one of your favorite movies the drink might remind you of or inspire your selection.

Barking Spider – CB Frost, Cointreau, rum, sour mix, fresh squeezed orange juice; Bees Knees – Douglas Fir, honey, fresh squeezed lemon juice;  The Crow – Korbel Brandy, fresh squeezed lemon juice, grenadine; Grasshopper – CB Frost Brandy, Crème de menthe, white crème de cacao, light cream; Monkey Gland – CB Frost Brandy, gin, fresh orange juice, absinthe, grenadine, simple syrup; Fruit or infused flight 1/2 price

Wed 8/10 – 4-9:00 PM – $5 sangria specials and 7-9:00 PM – Guest Poet Kathy Ackerman

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Wed 8/10 – 4-9:00 PM -$5 sangria special –  Red – Cabernet Sauvignon, wild cherry brandy, raspberries, plums, fresh figs, fruit juices – the best fruity, lively sangria ever – Spain would be proud; and white – Pino gris, brandy, apricot, mango, peach, fruit juices, – a tropical paradise in a glass.  We strive to make our sangrias without simple syrup or sugar and substitute flavored brandies. 

AND 7-9:00 PM The Brandy Bar and North Carolina Writers’ Network co-host the next in the series “In the Company of Writers” with guest poet, KATHY ACKERMAN. This is a series of personal and conversational dialogues featuring guest writers/poets followed by an open mic forum. The Chicago blues music of “Mr. Jimmy,” welcomes you, continues during intermission and closes the evening. The next in the series features Kathy Ackerman, a published poet, and speaker. In-person sign-ups for open-mic are 6:30 – 7:00 pm and guest authors begin at 7:00 – 8:00 pm with open-mic readings from 8:15 – 9:00 pm.  These inspirational gatherings will elucidate and entertain those attending. If interested in reading your work, you may sign up at the door or online at https://thebrandybar.com/writers-open-mic/

Kathy Ackerman lives on a loblolly farm-in-progress at the true edge of Polk County. While waiting for trees to grow, she is an administrator and Writer-in-Residence at Isothermal Community College in Spindale, NC.  She has just published a new collection of poems entitled Repeat After Me. She considers it a joyful act of resistance. Her 2019 collection of poems, A Quarrel of Atoms, was a finalist in several contests and received the Lena Shull Book Award from the North Carolina Poetry Society. Her other books include Coal River Road, The Heart of Revolution, and three poetry chapbooks.

 

Wed 8/3 – 4-9 PM – $5 sangria special & Thurs 8/4 – 4-9 PM – Scotch/Irish cocktail special

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Wed 8/3 – 4-9 PM $5 sangria specials – Pino Gris, brandy, pineapple, coconut, fruit juices – a tropical blend that’s perfect for a late summer evening! 

Thurs 8/4 – 4-9 PM – Scotch-Irish Cocktail specials.  Ever wonder why there are so many descendants of the Scotch-Irish here in the mountains of WNC? Some reasons can be found in the book titled Carolina Cradle: Settlement of the Northwest Carolina Frontier 1747-1762. Some theories:  There was a great familiarity between the Scotch-Irish and the Native Americans that grew solid during the youthful colonial days.  Initially, in the 17th century the Scotch-Irish had established a tight relationship with the Native Americans that played an important role in trading with them. Similarities between the cultures and dress of the Indians and the Scots promoted and encouraged their assimilation and acceptance into the Indian tribes. The Native Americans were impressed with the Scotch-Irish’s wild dare devil behavior, their manly sports and fierce, even heroic, fighting skills. The Indians felt empathy with their clannish structured societies, similar to the Indians’ tribal ties and bonds of kinship. Additionally, the Scotch-Irish were more willing to live with and marry into Indian tribes than other groups, such as the English and French, who kept a distance from the “Savages. “Also, the Scotch-Irish traders usually avoided preaching Christianity; instead they attached themselves to the Indian culture, and worked to create a sense of trust and acceptance. This association worked so well that by the American Revolution several Indian chiefs, such as Alexander McGillivray, the leader of the Creeks, were of Scot and Irish descent.

Celtic Mix Cocktail – Calvados, Keeper Apple, bitters, sour mix; Green Dublin Martini – Calvados, sour apple schnapps, cranberry juice; The Massey – Calvados, gin, sweet vermouth Chartreuse, Campari; Scotch-Irish Julep – Calvados, muddled mint, lime & simple syrup, topped with apple cider; Zesty Irishman – Calvados, Drambuie, Cointreau, lemon juice, ginger ale; Cognac flight – 1/2 price special