Wed 10/19 – 4-9:00 PM. Since we have now moved from warm to cold weather, we are switching our drink specials accordingly, and will be offering a straight pour of Clear Creek apple brandy or Korbel brandy for $5. A great warmer for these cooler evenings!
Wed 10/19 – 7-9:00 PM – An evening of original songs in the natural acoustics and listening room atmosphere of the historic Brandy Bar, featuring:
MR JIMMY is the solo project of guitarist/vocalist Jim “Ang” Anderson. Mr. Jimmy received his musical education on Chicago’s infamous South Side. He has released 10 albums of original music with the Chicago Kingsnakes, and is pleased to announce the debut of his new solo release, “All Alone With the Blues.” He was recently voted one of the Best Blues Performers by the readers of Asheville’s Mountain Xpress newspaper in the Best of WNC 2022 Awards. Mare Carmody is Virginia-born and raised, but has lived and made music in Memphis, Little Rock, and Western NC over the years. She believes a well-tuned ear and willingness to listen can make the best songs. North Carolina native Brian Hilligoss was singing on the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville by the time he was twenty-one years old with Roy Acuff, Porter Wagoner, and performing stand-up comedy with Minnie Pearl. A storyteller at heart, Brian looks forward to sharing his original songs with the Songwriter Sessions audience! For more information WNCsongwritersessions@gmail.com
Thurs 10/20 – 4-9:00 PM – Dog tails from The Brandy Bar: The best part of The Brandy Bar is its members & their stories. We have selected 3 dog stories & to protect the innocent we may have changed their names. (1) T & B are from South Africa where they were childhood sweethearts, marrying & raising their family before they found their way to America & retirement in Hendersonville and also where they found happiness in gardening & volunteering. Sadly, B died rather suddenly last year, & T had to take some personal time to cope with a death that is never expected & never resolved. Coming in from a trip to visit relatives & friends to share & commensurate, T arrived late to the house from the airport. Lugging her baggage up the steps, she took keys & opened the door & thought she saw something out of the corner of her eye. Putting the cargo down she felt something brush up again her leg & looking down she saw a very sad looking small four-legged creature looking up at her with pleading eyes. He was dirty, shaking, emaciated, & in desperate need of medical attention & food. T looked into the soulful eyes of the small beagle & knew that B had returned to keep T company & be a new companion. T named the beagle after B & will love & cherish him forever believe me!
(2) A wonderful couple (L & J) shared the story of their encounter on a well-traveled Hwy 25 as they returned to Greenville late one night. Frozen & shivering in their blinding headlights appeared an animal covered in cuts, blood, infected chest wounds, & unwilling to get out of the way. They stopped the car (a very nice convertible!) & got out to inspect the poor guy who appeared to be shell shocked. As they opened the car door the bloody mess jumped in, clamped jaws onto the seat belt, & with pleading defiant eyes told them he was staying with them! The smell was overwhelming as they headed south with windows wide open & wondering what to do with their injured guest. Arriving too late to find a vet, they bathed the poor guy, who was the perfect obedient pet, leaving bath towels stained with blood & yellow pus on the floor, they offered a warm bed for the night. The couple went to social media to find the parents, describing what appeared to be a very expensive English bulldog but had an odd purple paint mark on its side. They left contact info begging for someone to come forward. Next morning before they had a chance to take the dog to the emergency clinic, they received a phone call from a woman asking if that was a purple paint mark on the dog’s side & they said yes it was. The caller told them it was a “bait dog.” They asked what was that, to which the answer was a dog that is marked so it can be used as bait in a dog fight with an audience betting on which dog will make the kill for the bait. Shocked the couple immediately took all info off the social media & took the dog to the emergency clinic where he received great medical care, & the rescuers were able to treat him until he had properly healed. They then found a friend who really wanted a dog & fell in love with “purple paint.” The adoptee friend now has a new best friend who she will love & protect him from anything like this happening again!
(3) M was returning home late one light & something jumped in front of the car & M struck it hard. An animal lover, M was horrified & immediately jumped from the car & seeing what appeared to be a large German Shepherd lying in the road, she raced to her trunk & found a large blanket. She wrapped the blanket around the conscious animal, & gently placed it in the trunk of her car. She sped to the local emergency clinic & raced into the lobby, crying, shouting that she had struck a German Shepherd & they needed to get it from the trunk & save it at her expense because she had harmed it. They ran to the car, took the animal out & in shock, told M that the dog was in fact a coyote. Coyotes are not native to NC, never appearing east of the Mississippi River, until recently. The NC variety has been inter-breeding with the wolves & domestic dogs & does not look like its counterpart in the mid-west, & indeed looks more like a dog then your image of a coyote…beware.
Some of our best friends, the dog, cocktails: Bloodhound – Douglas Fir brandy, sweet vermouth, dry vermouth; Dirty Dog – Hennessy cognac, CB Frost brandy, orange juice, cranberry juice; Greyhound – CB Frost brandy, Campari, grapefruit juice; Regal Beagle – Camus cognac, peach brandy, sour mix; Salty Dog – CB Frost, grapefruit juice, salt; Worldly Brandy Flight – ½ price