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Wed 11/15 – 7-9 PM WNC Songwriters & Thurs 11/16 – 4-9 PM 1940s Cocktails

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Wed 11/15 – 7-9 PM – WNC Songwriter Sessions returns featuring Peter Berglund, Mare Carmody, and Nikki Talley. Hailing from Colorado, Peter Berglund decided to take the plunge last year and trade one set of mountains for another. His style of Folk Americana is replete with tales of longing, regret, and lost love – not without a healthy shot of wry wit. Mare Carmody is a voice of southern songwriting, having lived in Virginia, Tennessee, Arkansas and North Carolina.  Playing music has always been a way of life throughout her travels. Mare is currently part of the trio Carver Carmody & McIntire. Nikki Talley is an accomplished singer-songwriter, accompanying herself on guitar and clawhammer banjo. She and her husband, guitarist Jason Sharp, spent a number of years traveling the country performing, and are now based out of Brevard. With hosts Mare Carmody and Charlie Wilkinson. Any questions contact: WNCSongwriterSessions@gmail.com
Thurs 11/16 – 4-9 PM – 1940s Cocktails – The 1940s in North Carolina, like the rest of the US, is the era when change on an international scale strikes, and when our domestic peace is shattered by World War II. But in the early 1940s, NC remained a collection of farms and small towns even though a faraway war in Europe is acknowledged. That is until the stunning attack on Pearl Harbor and the declaration of war, which brought anxiety, separation, uncertainty, and loss. (source: Our State Magazine, Decade Series).  NC becomes the forefront of the war efforts. Fort Bragg (old field-artillery training ground slated for decommissioning) opens its gates to an influx of 100,000 soldiers (including all 5 Army airborne divisions. A new Marine Corps base, Camp Lejeune, hosts 42,000 marines. By 1942, NC with more than 100 military installations, is home to more soldiers, sailors, Coast Guardsmen, and Marines than any other state. More than 10 percent of the state’s population, 362,500 men and women, serve in the armed forces, and more than 9,000 never return home. With their heroic stoicism they became known as “the greatest generation.” In Wilmington, a new fleet of cargo ships sprouts on the east bank of the Cape Fear River where the Liberty ships are manufactured at the rate of one per week for more than 4 years. By the end of the 1940s, in Chapel Hill, Raleigh and other cities, returning veterans headed to campuses to take advantage of the G.I. Bill of Rights. New state colleges open in Wilmington and Charlotte. Black Mountain College, offering a progressive curriculum integrating academics, arts, and practical skills, remains strong.

       Natural disasters, fights for workers’ rights, and disease take their toll on North Carolina throughout the decade. In August 1940, 5 days of torrential rain in WNC counties causes a great flood and 2,000 massive landslides on mountainsides clear-cut by timber companies. Entire communities at Grandfather Mountain, Deep Gap, and Mortimer are swept away. The railroad to Boone is washed out, never to run again. NC Highway 411 to Wilkesboro is cut. The French Broad wipes out the bridge at Marshall, and the Tuckasegee rampages. That same month, more than 21 inches of rain turned downtown Boone into a muddy lake. At least 16 people are killed. Hundreds of miles to the east, the coast is slammed by the Great Atlantic Hurricane of 1944, which damages or destroys almost 800 homes. Tobacco was king in the 40s as the greatest wealth generator in the state. The fall tobacco market at Wilson is the largest in the world. Automobiles are sleek and fast like the 1940 Ford Deluxe V-8 coupe favored by NC moonshiners with promises of speed and status. The gasoline they guzzle costs 18 cents per gallon in NC. Polio, the same scourge that attacked President Franklin Roosevelt in his prime, strikes NC in two waves: In 1944 epidemic engulfs Hickory, and, four years later, Greensboro. The twin ordeals lead NC to become the first state to require that all children receive Jonas Salk’s new vaccine.

    The 1940s is also the heyday of Hollywood movie stars like Ingrid Bergman, Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, Katharine Hepburn, and Clark Gable. Ava Gardner, a farmer’s daughter from Grabtown, NC joins the list. Traveling big bands play hotel ballrooms in the cities and small local auditoriums in the heartland, and the radio reaches into newly electrified farmsteads, an invisible network of voices and music: speeches, comedies, variety shows, swing bands, and the border music of high lonesome tenors and twangy guitars and fiddles. One of those radio stations broadcasting the music is WBT in Charlotte: the first fully licensed commercial radio station south of Washington, D.C. Beginning in 1922 as an amateur station broadcasting at four hours a day at 100 watts became by 1944 the only station in the Southeast on the air 24 hours a day. Big band swing, hot jazz, mountain music, country blues, and bluegrass form the soundtrack of this decade of restless movement, striving, and optimism. The music of the decade has deep roots in North Carolina: Rocky Mount gave the world the composer and jazz great Thelonious Monk, as well as famed bandleader and 1940s radio personality Kay Kyser.

1940 Big Band cocktails: Glenn Miller Moonlight Cocktail – CB Frost, gin, Cointreau, lime & lemon juice; Thelonious Monk – C & K Brandy, lime juice, bitters, topped with ginger beer; Count Basie – Lairds Applejack, fresh mint, simple syrup, topped with club soda; Duke Ellington – CB Frost, gin, lemon juice, honey syrup; Benny Goodman – Martel, Cointreau, sour mix;  1/2 price – Armagnac/Calvados flight    

Wed – 11/8 – 7-9 PM NC Writers Network & Thurs – 11/9 – 7-9 Ghostly Cocktails

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Wed 11/8 – 7-9 PM – We are co-hosting with the NC Writers Network to present Meagan Lucas as our next author in our ongoing series, “In the Company of Writers.” The program offers a series of personal and conversational dialogues featuring guest writers/poets followed by an open mic forum. These inspirational gatherings will elucidate and entertain those attending. The guest author speaks from 7-8 PM with an open mic from 8 -9 PM. The Chicago blues music of “Hollywood Johnny Cosgrove” welcomes you, continues during intermission, and closes the evening. Sign-ups for the open mic visit: https://thebrandybar.com/writers-open-mic   Author of the award-winning novel, Songbirds and Stray Dogs and the collection, Here in the Dark, Meagan Lucas is also Editor-in-Chief of Reckon Review. Her short stories are Pushcart, Best of the Net, Derringer, and Canadian Crime Writers’ Award of Excellence nominated, and she won the 2017 Scythe Prize for Fiction. Her short story “The MonstMeer Beneath” was noted as Distinguished in 2023 Best American Mystery and Suspense. Songbirds and Stray Dogs was North Carolina’s selection for the Library of Congress Center for the Book’s 2022 Route 1 Reads program. Meagan teaches Creative Writing at Robert Morris University and in the Great Smokies Writing Program at UNC-A. Born and raised on a small island in Northern Ontario, she now lives in Flat Rock, NC.

Thurs 11/9 – 4-9 PM – Ghostly Cocktails – Halloween is over, Day of the Dead, All Saints Day – all over for this year but how did this madness get started?  Casper the Friendly Ghost, Danny Phantom, and Scooby-Doo, Ghost Whisperer, Medium Supernatural, The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, Ghostbusters, A Haunting, Ghost Adventures, Ghost Hunters, Ghost Hunters International, Ghost Lab, and Ghost Haunter – to name a few. Ghosts have fascinated us for centuries. From ghost tours to paranormal investigations, people always seek a way to encounter the supernatural. Even in early texts, excerpts about apparitions and spirits can be found. But throughout all the reports of ghosts, one thing remains the same: for most adults, there is an inability to see them with the naked eye (except perhaps for mediums and children). The first ghost story account was written in the First Century A. D. by the Roman author Pliny the Younger, who wrote his story after experiencing a horrifying haunting wherein an elderly man with a long beard, with chains hanging from his arms and ankles, haunted his home, Hundreds of years later, in 856 A.D. a report in Germany detailed the first known poltergeist activity that took place in a farmhouse where a family experienced torment at the hand of an unseen force that threw rocks, started fires and caused endless chaos – is the earliest account of a violent spirit. While ghost stories are explicitly meant to be scary, they have been written to serve all sorts of purposes from comedy to morality tales. Ghosts often appear in the narrative as sentinels or prophets of things to come. Belief in ghosts is found in all cultures around the world, thus ghost stories may be passed down orally or in written form.  In the Christian faith (and in the Western World and although the belief that the dead could return to earth on All Soul’s Day persisted), it changed as the Christian vision of the afterlife became increasingly popular and ghosts came to be linked with demons and the devil. Ghosts are mentioned in the Bible in passages of Matthew 14:25-27, Mark 6:48-50, and Luke 24:37-39. Among the most famous passages referring to a ghost is 1 Samuel 28:7-20 in which King Saul goes to the Witch of Endor and asks her to conjure the ghost of Samuel, his former advisor, and a prophet of God. Saul is afterward cut off from God’s favor for choosing to consult a spirit about what he should do instead of trusting in God for his future.

Ghostly cocktails – Meuknow vanilla cognac, cream, Mozart white chocolate; Graveyard Ghost – Courvoisier, Kahlua, Ice cream; White Cosmopolitan Ghost – CB Frost, Cointreau, white cranberry juice, lime juice; 1/2 price on Fruit/infused flight;

Reminder Songwriter Sessions returns Nov 11/15 – 7-9 PM with Peter Berglund, Mare Carmody, and Nikki Talley.

Wed 11/1 – 4-9 PM $5 brandy pour & Thurs 11/2 – 4-9 PM Presidential Cocktails

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Wed. 11/1/23 – 4-9 PM – Choose your flavor for $5: Ginger, Mango, Peach, Pineapple, or Honey. Winter is a’coming and we need to warm up!

Thurs. 11/2 – 4-9 PM – Presidential Cocktails:   Founding Father or one-term Presidents, or Democrat or Republican, almost every American President has shared something in common. They all drank.

TEDDY ROOSEVELT –       Mint Julep – our Brandy Smash. Brandy, mulled fresh mint with simple syrup, topped with club soda.

ANDREW JACKSON – New Orleans drinks were his liquor of choice so we have chosen the Vieux Carre’ using an Italian Vermouth to create some cultural diversity. Brandy rye whiskey, sweet vermouth, Benedictine, bitters.

FRANKLIN PIERCE – Since he drank a lot of everything and died of cirrhosis of the liver, we have chosen one of our popular cocktails – the Jack Rose using Laird’s Applejack (oldest distillery in the US), fresh squeezed lime juice, and our own grenadine.

 

WILLIAM McKINLEY – He drank McKinley’s Delight named after him and popularized during his election campaign. Cherry brandy, rye whiskey, sweet vermouth and absinthe (similar to a Manhattan)

1/2 price on US Flight                                                                                             

 

Wed 10/25 – Closed – Thurs 10/26 – 4-9 PM Underappreciated Cocktails

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Thurs – 10/26 – 4-9 PM – Underappreciated cocktails – The word “under-appreciated” reminds us of David Zweig’s book Invisibles: The Power of Anonymous Work in an Age of Relentless Self-Promotion. So, to offer our take on the word we are offering our under-appreciated cocktails. Your under-appreciated job may not be as thankless as you think it is. All have one thing in common: no one usually notices them u until something goes wrong. According to Zweig the most successful people with these careers share three common traits: “ambivalence toward recognition,” “meticulousness,” and “savoring of responsibility.” In other words, people who do these jobs well don’t care that you don’t know their names because they take pride in their work being done well. WOW What a concept! Heare are five that we feel are under-appreciated: 1) Wayfinders – ever taken note of the impressive signage at an airport? Probably not because when “wayfinders” do their job well, you are able to arrive at the baggage claim or arrivals terminal seamlessly thanks to their system of signs, which are each designed with a specific color, font, or shape in mind to help you arrive at your designation. 2) Cinematographers – The Academy Awars gives out an Oscar for outstanding cinematography, but you probably used that part of the show as your snack break. Cinematographers are in charge of lighting the sets of movies and television series. The precision needed to do it well requires a meticulous and intelligent mind –if it belongs to a person who doesn’t mind staying out of the director’s spotlight. 3) Structural Engineers – most people have never heard of Dennis Poon, who has designed the structures for 10 of the 20 tallest buildings in the world. As a structural engineer his meticulous work allows a building to stand. While most of the credit for a building’s structure goes to the architect. 4) Anesthesiologists – While more people have heard of anesthesiologists, in Zweig’s “Invisibles” …. They are not usually the ones receiving the “fruit baskets” when a surgery goes particularly well but…”In an emergency surgeons are often the ones freaking out, looking to anesthesiologists for assurance,”…. To excel in this field, one must epitomize ambivalence toward recognition. 5) Understudies – The role of the understudy got somewhat of a bad rap from the 1950 movie All about Eve, in which Eve Harrington schemes her way from understudy to lead actress. Zweig shows how understudies can take pride in being a part of a production, regardless of whether they ever step in front of the audience. 

Brandy Daisy – Martel cognac, Chartreuse, lemon juice, simple syrup, club soda; Caipirinha – Leblon, muddled lime, sugar cubes; Jill Rose – Laird’s applejack, gin, grenadine, lemon; Peach Cadiz – Peach brandy, dry sherry, Cointreau, heavy cream; Southern Star – Applejack, Southern Star Bourbon Crème Coffee, add ice if desired; 1/2 price Worldly flight

Wed 10/18 – 7-9 Songwriters Sessions & Thurs. 10/19 – 4-9 Riffs on the Sidecar cocktail

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Wed 10/18 – 7-9 PM –  White sangria and the Songwriter Sessions returns with original songs performed by musicians: Jeff Benedict, David Hintz and Millie Palmer.  Jeff Benedict is a multi-instrumentalist and award-winning songwriter who has laughed, cried, worried, shared, fought, hurt, and loved his way through a lifetime, inspiring him to write songs that look deeply into the experience of being human. Jeff performs regularly with the Americana band My New Favorites. David Hintz is a guitar playing singer-songwriter currently residing in Hendersonville, N.C. His music is thought-provoking and comes straight from the heart. A founding member of the Americana Community Music Association, he has performed as the headliner or the opening act many times at venues nationwide. Millie Palmer was born and raised in Asheville. She began singing and playing piano and guitar at a young age, and began playing professionally in her early teenage years. Since then, she has made a name for herself in Asheville and the surrounding areas as an expressive and distinctive vocalist, and an accomplished songwriter. Hosts are Mare Carmody and Charlie Wilkinson. For more info contact: WNCSongwriterSessions@gmail.com 

Thurs 10/19  – 4-9 PM – Riffs on the Sidecar Cocktail – That classic and classy drink – the Sidecar – is a crowd pleaser that needs more exploration; like a great recipe everyone wants credit for, but nobody really knows where it came from.  There are at least 3 conspiracy theories floating around this delightful drink as to who invented it and where it came from. (1) The Ritz Bar in Paris has always claimed it was created there when a soldier from World War I would always arrive early at the bar riding in the sidecar of a motorcycle. The soldier would ask for a nice glass of brandy, but it was frowned upon to drink it straight up at such an early hour. But the head bartender Frank Meier mixed it with curacao and lemon, served it with ice and from there on it was history. A sidecar purchased at the Ritz today will run around $1,500.00.  (2) The recipe appeared in a book called The ABC’s of Mixing Cocktails by Harry MacElhone in 1922. Harry was an American bartender who ran for the hills after the 18th Amendment (Prohibition) was passed and was desperate to continue to hone his craft. He saw an opportunity at the confusingly named New York bar in Paris. It’s said that he claimed the ‘regular-in-a-sidecar’ story as well. (3) The Sidecar also appeared in another book called Cocktails and How to Mix Them by Robert Vermeier…also published in 1922. He also mentions something about a patron in a sidecar. (Sound familiar?).  Both authors claim to have been the first to discover this recipe yet had both of their respective books published simultaneously. The recipes listed in the book were identical, with them both saying the recipe calls for equal amounts of cognac, lemon juice, and orange liqueur. All in all this was a marvelous combination of mixers with several variations appearing using similar ingredients. One of those riffs was the substitution of tequila for brandy and re-named “margarita.” Although tequila was first introduced at the Chicago World’s Fair in 1893 it suffered a setback during prohibition but when prohibition was lifted during the 1930s, bartenders found tequila a perfect fit using the sidecar’s recipe with its sweet-sour combination. Sidecar Riffs:Brandy Bar Sidecar – Cognac, Cointreau, lemon-lime sour mix;  Biggles Sidecar – Cognac, ginger brandy, lemon juice, simple syrup; Gennaro’s Sidecar – Cognac, limoncello, lemon juice, bitters; Lady’s Sidecar – Cognac, lemon juice, orange juice, simple syrup; Biblical Sidecar – Cognac, muddled clove, Cointreau, ginger brandy, orange juice;  1/2 price Fruit/infused brandy flight  

Wed, 10/11 – 7-9 PM – NC Writers Network & Thurs 10/12 – 4-9 PM Monarch Butterfly Cocktails

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Wed 10/11 – 7-9 PM – NC Writers Network and The Brandy Bar + Cocktails present Alyse Bensen as the next in their series “In the Company of Writers.”The program offers a series of personal and conversational dialogues featuring guest writers/poets followed by an open mic forum. These inspirational gatherings will elucidate and entertain those attending. The guest author speaks from 7-8 PM with an open mic from 8 -9 PM. The Chicago blues music of “Hollywood Johnny Cosgrove” welcomes you, continues during intermission, and closes the evening. Sign-ups for the open mic visit: https://thebrandybar.com/writers-open-mic/      Alyse Bensel is the author of “Rare Wondrous Things: A Poetic Biography of Maria Sibylla Merian” (Green Writers Press, 2020), and three chapbooks. Her poems, essays, and book reviews have appeared in AGNI, Cream City Review, South Dakota Review, and West Branch. She serves as Poetry Editor for Cherry Tree and teaches at Brevard College, where she directs the Looking Glass Rock Writers’ Conference (LGRWC).  Looking Glass Rock Writers’ Conference is a creative experience for selected writers who aspire to foster reading, writing, and creativity. Exploring the theme “A Sense of Place,” conference attendees are guided by notable writers in various genres. Founded in 2016 as a partnership between the Transylvania County Library and Brevard College, the conference includes free public readings by workshop leaders. The 2024 conference faculty are Linda Hogan, poetry; Pam Houston, non-fiction; and Jason Mott, fiction. For more info visit: https://www.lgrwc.org/

Thurs 10/12 – 4-9 PM Monarch Butterfly Cocktails – With their striking orange, black and white patterned wings fluttering across Carolina blue skies, monarch butterflies put on quite the magical show. We North Carolinians are lucky to have a front-row seat to this kaleidoscope of natural beauty as this extraordinary species emerge usually starting the first week in May. But sadly, the Monarchs are returning for winter vacation, like some of our members. The time for the annual migration of the Monarch Butterfly is winding down, with only a few stragglers left. The annual migration of North America’s monarch butterfly is a unique and amazing phenomenon. The monarch is the only butterfly known to make a two-way migration as birds do. Unlike other butterflies that can overwinter as larvae, pupae, or even as adults in some species, monarchs cannot survive the cold winters of northern climates. Using environmental cues, the monarchs know when it is time to travel south for the winter. Monarchs use a combination of air currents and thermals to travel long distances. Some fly as far as 3,000 miles to reach their winter home!

     North Carolina’s Monarchs make a second home in the Sierra Madre Mountains of Mexico while the Monarchs in Western North America (west of Rocky Mountain range) overwinter from October to late March along the Pacific coast near Santa Cruz and San Diego in California.   Monarchs roost for the winter in oyamel fir forests at an elevation of 2,400 to 3,600 meters (nearly 2 miles above sea level) where the humidity assures the temperature is high enough so they will not need to use their far reserves. Monarchs cluster together to stay warm. Tens of thousands of Monarchs can cluster on a single tree.

     Monarchs can travel between 50-100 miles a day; it can take up to two months to complete their journey. The farthest-ranging monarch butterfly recorded traveled 265 miles in one day.  So, get out there and plant more milkweed so we can continue to enjoy this gift of nature!

MONARCH COCKTAILS – Float Like A Butterfly – Clear Creek Fir Brandy, honey syrup, lemon juice, chamomile bitters, Champagne topper;  Electric Blue Butterfly – CB Frost, curacao, lemonade, Sprite; Hookah Butterfly – Cherry brandy, rum, curacao, Sprite; Violet Butterfly – CB Frost, lemon juice, hyacinth syrup, cucumber; Cognac flight – 1/2 price

Wed 10/4 – $5 brandy pour and Thurs 10/5 – 4-9 PM Football cocktails

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Wed 10/4 – 4-9 PM – $5 single Brandy pours: Plum brandy from Oregon – Viewed as the gold standard for Slivovitz (plum brandy) in the world. The eau-de-vie is pure and transparent with the ripe fruit and ends with a slightly bitter orange taste and Christian Brothers Honey brandy – Strong honey flavor, but also citrus flavor on the front. Smooth without much bite. Long citrus aftertaste, almost like orange juice. Great drinks for these cooler evenings

Thurs 10/5 – 4-9 PM – Football Cocktails – What do you call 20 Vikings’ fans in a basement? A whine cellar. Why do ducks fly over Ford Field upside down? There’s nothing worth crapping on. That’s all I know about football, my apologies. But who invented football, that iconoclastic macho game that glues over 100 million Americans to their TV screens each year?  When/where did the game of football begin? Several versions of ballgames similar to football evolved with versions appearing as early as 1400 BC by the pre-Columbian people of Ancient Mesoamerica; and in Ancient Greek with painting references as early as 400-375 BC. A Song dynasty painting in 1130-1160 BC depicts Chinese children playing a form of football and Australian football can be traced back to 1858 in Yara Park, Melbourne. But the very first football game with rules goes to the English football club from Sheffield, South Yorkshire, founded in 1857.  It is the oldest existing club now playing football in the world and still continuing to compete. However, the first American football match was played on November 6, 1869, between two college teams, Rutgers and Princeton, using rules based on the rules of soccer at the time. A set of rule changes drawn up from 1880 onward by Walter Camp, the “Father of American Football,” that established the snap, the line of scrimmage,  eleven-player teams, and the concept of downs. Later rule changes legalized the forward pass, created the neutral zone and specified the size and shape of the football. The sport is closely related to Canadian football, which evolved in parallel with and at the same time as the American game (although their rules were developed independently from that of Camp’s). Most of the features that distinguish American football from rugby and soccer are also present in Canadian football. The two sports are considered the primary variants of gridiron football. Red Zone – Brandy, Peach brandy, cranberry juice & sour mix ; Sideline Sipper – Brandy, sour apple brandy, & Sprite; Black and Gold – Hennessey Black, peach brandy, sour mix, & ginger ale; Touchdown – Brandy, lemonade, unsweetened iced tea;  Incomplete Pass – Brandy, pineapple juice (with or without ice) Fruit/infused flight ½ price                                                                                   

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Wed 9/27 – 4-9 PM – A bit of fall is in the air so how about something fruity but not too heavy, an ode to the melancholy of late summer’s harvest time. Harvest any of our fruit brandy pours for $6.

Thurs 9/28 – 4-9 PM – Time to try one of those New Orleans drinks you have been wanting but coward to try.             

 1) ABSINTHE FRAPPE – absinthe, simple syrup, fresh mint, anisette & club soda. It was invented in 1874 by Cayetano Ferrer, head bartender of Aleix Coffee House & later became the owner. He renamed it “The Absinthe Room,” now known as the “Old Absinthe House.” A show tune was written about it in the 1905 Broadway musical “It Happened in Nordland & one of the verses goes like this: “It will free you first from the burning thirst that is born of a night of the bowl, like a sun ‘twill rise through the inky skies that so heavily hang o’er your soul. At the first cool sip on your fevered lip, you determine to live through the day, life’s again worthwhile as with a dawning smile you imbibe your Absinthe frappe’!”

2) There’s not much history on the CRUX (croo). Its 1st appearance is in Jones’ Complete Bar Guide (1977), now out of print. Stan Jones was a lifelong bartender who worked the bar route in Southern California and collected 4,000 recipes, many of which may have been forgotten, such as the Crux. In equal parts Crux, you get lemon juice, plus the orange notes of Cointreau, and both Cognac and Dubonnet provide a touch of the grape. Clearly, there’s some kind of wizardry involved because the blend of Courvoisier, Dubonnet, Cointreau, and lemon juice result in a delightfully balanced & not remotely sweet cocktail. Or, to put it another way, some folks say: “Damned if it doesn’t taste like Hawaiian Punch” all grown up, holding down some hi-tech job and living in a pricey single’s’ loft.

3) The DEAUVILLE is believed to be named after the French horse race, “Grand Prix de Deauville,” first established in 1866.  In 1872 it was opened to foreign horses. Dating back to the 1930s in New Orleans, it is a well-balanced appley twist on the classic sidecar but not too sweet. The main flavors are apple from the Calvados and citrus with the Remy Martin 1738 Cognac rounding out the whiskey flavor. This is not a very fruity drink and the taste of the 2 brandies comes through strongly.

4) SAZERAC is the official lowball cocktail of New Orleans! Here’s a boozy classic cocktail that’s one of the greats! If you love spirit-forward drinks like the Old Fashioned, this one’s for you. The exact history is murky, but it is believed to have been invented in the mid-1800s by apothecary Antoine Peychaud. The name comes from the type of Cognac it was originally made with, Sazerac-de-Forge et Fils. Made with cognac, rye, sugar cube with Peychaud bitters & absinthe that gives the black licorice finish to each sip.

5) The VIEUZ CARRE’ (voh care-eh) is a classic cocktail straight from 1930s New Orleans. It is a complex & fascinating drink that is as popular today as it was when it was first created. Not one, but two bitters are used and there is a hint of a classic herbal liqueur to give it even more dimension. If you are looking for a truly great cocktail, this is it and it is one of the signature drinks of New Orleans. It is a short, slow sipper that begins with equal parts of Cognac, rye, Benedictine, sweet vermouth, and bitters.

1/2 price special on US Flight

https://thebrandybar.com/2297-2/

Wed 9/20 – 7-9 Songwriter Sessions & Thurs 9/21 – Homage to American Chestnut Cocktails

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Wed 9/20 – 4-9 PM White Sangrias and 7-9 PM Songwriters sessions return! Featuring John Longbottom, Lillie Syracuse, & Chris Wilhelm.  John Longbottom knows that a song is a story, an emotion, a moment in time. Sing me yours, I’ll sing you mine. Ars longa, vita brevis.  In velvet streams of joy, grief, and love, Lillie Syracuse’s voice and music fill the golden spaces of the in-between, exploring the stunning complexities and heart-scapes of the human experience. Her song-craft fosters shifts towards deeper self-love, acceptance, and magic. Chris Wilhelm plays Americana, folk rock that is infectious and insightful, and that brings positive vibes and an uplifting message to his audience. Based in the beautiful mountains of Asheville, NC, Chris appears solo or with a rotating cast of musicians. With hosts Mare Carmody and Charlie Wilkinson. Contact info:WNCsongwritersessions@gmail.com 

Thurs 9/21 – 4-9 PM –  Homage to the American Chestnut Cocktails – The corridor through Howard Gap leading from Spartanburg into Henderson County, in the 1780s and 1790s, was steep and narrow and lined with massive virgin timber of white oak, chestnut, red and black oak, five feet plus in diameter; mountain magnolia soaring 100 feet with leaves 2 to 3 feet in length (what the locals dubbed the “cucumber tree” because of its clean pungent fragrance). But what would have captured the early colonists’ wonderment as they hiked up the Green River Gorge would be the American Chestnut tree, which grew more than 150 feet tall and 10 feet plus in diameter. The American Chestnut comprised almost 25% of the total number of trees growing in the forest at that time. This glorious giant sadly would be eradicated by an Asian bark fungus that swept the country in the early 1900s. Although sprouts may still appear at the base of the former parent, they never reach more than 20 feet in height before dying out. The termite resistant wood became the best building material for housing, and the settlers fancied the nut for its sweetness and used it extensively in holiday festivities; its fruit also provided much of the fall mast for the white-tailed deer, wild turkey, the Passenger Pigeon (extinct 1890) and bears fattening up for winter. Occasionally forest trekkers may still find a chestnut carcass lying on the forest floor, and its massive size will fill them with awe and a deep sadness and regret for this native’s death. Several trees have been found in Northern Michigan where the weaker strains of the pathogen are less.  There are individuals and groups who gather to hunt for what they hope is a lone survivor hiding out in some remote hollow in the Blue Ridge Mountains and we wish them “good hunting.”  The chestnuts we roast “by the open fire” at Christmas are the Chinese Chestnuts, whose species evolved with the blight and developed a strong resistance. The American Chestnut and the “Allegheny Chinquapin” have little resistance. There is nothing sweeter than the small round nut of the chinquapin which grows in my back yard; although you are in competition with the squirrels to get to the nut first.

Chocolate Chestnut – Keeper Apple, Tia Maria, Chocolate syrup, heavy cream; Chestnut Old Fashion -Keeper Apple, Frangelico, bitters; Chestnut Cup – CB Frost, Gin, lemon juice, Campari, simple syrup; Chestnut Coffee –Brandy, Tia Maria, chocolate liqueur, Amaro; 1/2 price Fruit/infused flight

Wed 9/13 – 4-9 PM – NC Writers Network & Sangrias & Thurs 9/14 – 4-9 PM- World Trade honor cocktails

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Wed 9/13 – 4-9 PM Red sangrias and from 7-9 PM – NC Writers Network as a part of the “In the Company of Writers” program presents guest authors Greg Lobas and Karen Luke Jackson. The program offers a series of personal and conversational dialogues featuring guest writers/poets followed by an open mic forum. These inspirational gatherings will elucidate and entertain those attending.  The guest author speaks from 7-8 PM with an open mic from 8 -9 PM. The Chicago blues music of “Mr. Jimmy” welcomes you, continues during intermission, and closes the evening. Sign-ups for the open mic visit: https://thebrandybar.com/writers-open-mic/

Karen Luke Jackson, winner of the Rash Poetry Award and the Sidney Lanier Poetry Contest, draws upon family lore, contemplative practices, and nature for inspiration. Her poems have appeared in Atlanta Review, One, Susurrus, Salvation South, and Friends Journal, among others. Karen has also authored three poetry collections: GRIT, chronicling her sister’s adventures as an award-winning clown; The View Ever Changing, exploring the lifelong pull of one’s homeplace and family ties; and If You Choose To Come, paying homage to the healing beauty of the Blue Ridge Mountains. http://www.karenlukejackson.com/

Greg Lobas has been published as both an outdoor writer and a poet. His book of poems, Left of Center, won the 2022 Dogfish Head Poetry Prize and placed second in the Delaware State Press Association Awards. The Poetry Society of South Carolina and the South Carolina Writers’ Association have also recognized his work as award-winning. His poems have been published in numerous journals, including Tar River Poetry, Cimarron Review, Vox Populi and Kakalak. He lives with his wife Meg in the foothills of North Carolina, where he cuts a lot of wood and drives his dog Sophie around in her pickup truck.

Thurs 9/14 – 7-9 PM – Honoring 9/11 Heros:  ARE YOU GUYS READY? LET’S ROLL!  The battle cry was yelled by Todd Beamer as he and Thomas Burnett, Jr. charged the terrorists aboard United Airlines Flight 93, followed by all the other passengers, who had made the heroic decision to fight back against the terrorists.  This was the 4th and last plane to be attacked on September 11, 2001. Worried that the passengers would break through the cockpit, the hijackers rolled the plane and crashed in a field at 580 mph in Shanksville, PA. The target is still unknown. The first plane, America Airlines Flight 11 was hijacked at 7:59 a.m. Hijacker Mohammed Atta makes an accidental transmission to ground control thinking he was communicating with the plane’s cabin thereby alerting control of the takeover.  At 8:46 a.m. the plane crashes into Floors 93-99 of the North Tower of the World Trade Center. The 2nd plane, United Airlines Flight 175, took off at 8:14 a.m. and at 9:03 a.m. crashed into floors 75-85 of the WTC’s South Tower. The 3rd plane, American Airlines Flight 77, took off at 8:20 a.m. (it had been scheduled to leave at the same time as 1 and 2 but was delayed). At 9:37 a.m. Flight 77 crashed the plane into the western façade of the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. Flight crews and passengers in all planes totaling 265 were killed and 3,000 people on the ground lost their lives in these crashes. An unforgettable day in United States history and one to be memorialized each year. We will offer our 5 most popular drinks at a special price to our members who wish to join us to share in these significant honorariums:

9/11 Cocktail specials: Old fashioned – Brandy, mulled orange & cherries, sugar cube or no; Brandy Alexander – Brandy, crème de cocoa, heavy cream or substitute ice cream; Cosmopolitan – Brandy, organic cranberry juice, freshly  squeezed lime juice;  Pit Stop – Cherry brandy, Amaretto, freshly squeezed lemon juice; Brandy Martini – Brandy, a splash of gin, vermouth  – and a $5 pour from your choice: Ginger, coffee, or peach

REMINDER Songwriter Sessions comes 9/20 – 7-9:00 PM featuring John Longbottom, Lillie Syracuse, & Chris Wilhelm.