Charleston City Paper: Swig Bar Guide, Fall 2021

— CHARLESTON’S BAR GUIDE—

A Charleston City Paper publication

Fall 2021 // F ree

FOR THE LOVEOF

BURGERS BEERS & BOURBON

843.225.1817 1531 Folly Road. Charleston, South Carolina

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PUBLISHER Andy Brack

EDITORIAL EDITOR:

Sam Spence

CONTRIBUTING ARTS EDITOR:

Michael Smallwood

CONTRIBUTING MUSIC EDITOR:

Chelsea Grinstead

CONTRIBUTING CUISINE EDITOR:

Michael Pham

SPECIAL PROJECTS EDITOR:

Herb Frazier

Skyler Baldwin Barney Blakeney, Elise DeVoe, Vincent Harris, Chloe Hogan, Parker Milner, Kevin Wilson, Vanessa Wolf, Kevin Young WEB EDITOR: Samantha Connors STAFF WRITER:

CONTRIBUTORS:

10 ON TAP

Draft cocktails offer a win-winon both sides of the bar

FROM THE EDITOR It’s probably safe to say we’ve all tried a few new drinks over the past couple years. From new cocktails at your home bar — maybe with a little Jack Rudy tonic? — to every kind of seltzer, to local kombucha or a simple spirit-free concoction: Yep, we’ve tried them all.

The great news is, things are looking up for a funfilled return to your favorite cozy bar (if you haven’t ventured back already).

And as we learned in our talks for this year’s new Swig bar guide, your favorite bartenders are ready for you. So get some ideas for your next night (or afternoon!) out and enjoy. You need it, and so do they. —Sam Spence

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These 4 Charleston establishments are putting nuance back into the espresso martini

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HOUSE MADE

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HOLD THE SPIRITS

58 Rūta Smith

10 years in, Jack Rudyhas become a preeminent name in the bar biz

Mocktails are making the rounds at these Charleston establishments

PRICEY KEGS AND PLENTY OF KIDS

Hobcaw Brewing Co. co-owners only know business in the pandemic

THE COVER

The negroni from Stems & Skins.

Photo by Rūta Smith.

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

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BoldBoozy and

These 4 Charleston establishments are putting nuance back into the espresso martini

By Parker Milner

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G

Vintage Lounge’s espresso martini is an off-menu favorite

Rūta Smith

one are the days when espresso martinis were simply a boozy pick-me-up — at least at Babas on Cannon, Vintage Lounge, High Cotton and forthcoming Bodega.

At Babas, owner Edward Crouse and his team are whipping up an espresso martini that takes 12 hours to make, while Vintage Lounge owner Nathan Wheeler says high quality espresso and Sicilian amaro are the key to his joint’s off-menu martini. In fact, the two owners did an espresso martini competition last year to see whose reigned supreme.

And then there’s Bodega and High Cotton — the former is testing its recipe at Uptown Social before Bodega opens on Ann Street later this year, while the latter hasn’t changed its espresso martini in at least 22 years, when it earned praise in publications like Food & Wine Magazine.

Babas’ espresso martini is made using five ingredients — Cathead vodka, Kahlua, Montenegro, chocolate milk and citric acid — but that’s where the simplicity ends.

“At a very base level, we put just as much energy into the coffee program as we do the bar program, and what is a perfect combination of the two? It’s the espresso martini,” Crouse said.

The drink’s three spirits are combined and strained into the chocolate milk before Crouse adds citric acid. This breaks the milk into curds, and after whisking and letting the concoction

sit overnight, the curds are strained through a coffee filter, a process called milk-washing.

“Keep reusing the coffee filters that already have curds in them, as this will help straining, but don’t use them once they get too full or it’ll take forever — it’s a dance,” Crouse quipped in a written description of the drink to the City Paper. “We’re playing jazz here. We’re getting jazzy with it. We’re like Jazze Pha, and the guest is Ciara, and everybody’s about to one, two step.”

Thanks to the milk-washing technique, the 12-hour process results in a dairy-free espresso martini that’s bright, balanced, bold and boozy.

“I think the recipe is just stunning because it really does deliver the mouth feel you want from adding dairy, but there is no dairy in it,” said Crouse, who serves the martini in a frozen cortado glass. “It is the hardest cocktail to make for us by far, and it’s the hardest to get spot-on. It’s such a complicated drink, but it’s so delicious.”

Espresso martinis have long been popular in big cities, including New York City, the hometown of Uptown Social’s ownership group. According to co-owner Keith Benjamin, the espresso martini fit best with the company’s breakfast pop-up Bodega, which will open in its own brick-and-mortar space later this year., but it remains a hit among Uptown Social patrons.

Titled, “The Soon to Be Famous Continued on page 8

From LATTES to fresh ESPRESSO MARTINIS... we’ve got you covered for EVERYTHING COFFEE USING LOCAL SPRINGBOK COFFEE ROASTERS BEANS

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Bodega is planning an espresso martini happy hour when it opens

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Espresso Martini,” Bodega’s — which is available at Uptown Social in the meantime — is made using Dead Eye Vodka, Counter Culture coffee, butterscotch and a dash of sea salt.

“At Uptown Social, it didn’t seem to fit the vibe as much as we wanted to, but when we launched Bodega it seemed like a perfect item for it,” Benjamin said, adding that Bodega will have an espresso martini happy hour once it opens. “[Talk Coffee to Me owner Briana Berry] created our secret recipe that we’re really proud of.”

According to High Cotton general manager Ryan Groeschel, bar manager Kristen Wenzinger is the gatekeeper for the restaurant’s 22-year-old espresso martini recipe.

“It’s definitely in everyone’s training,” Groeschel said. “She’s been the one here protecting the recipe and making sure it stays consistent.”

Prior to High Cotton’s November 1999 opening, Marianne Martin developed the espresso martini recipe, Groeschel said.

“At the time, the chocolate martini was all the rage, so she wanted to be a little different,” he said. “King Bean [Coffee] was just getting started, and High Cotton opened using their product and still uses their product to this day.”

High Cotton whips up a classic rendition with vodka, KahlÚa and freshbrewed King Bean espresso. The drink gets a heavy shake and chocolate powder rim before it’s delivered to more than 1,000 customers each month.

Vintage Lounge keeps its espresso martini off-menu, but that’s not stopping the King Street wine bar from selling an average of 1,200 per month, co-owner Nathan Wheeler said.

“Austin Berry, a VL team member who has been with us since day one, pointed out that the espresso martini is her genera-

tion’s vodka Red Bull,” Wheeler said. “Once we noticed the trend, we started to take it seriously. The bartending team began to workshop a recipe, playing around with different amaros and vermouths.”

Wheeler credits former employee Nickie Douglas with coming up with the final combination, a mix of espresso, amaro and vodka.

“The trick is to keep it simple,” he said.

“High-quality espresso beans from our local roastery Second State, which we grind in-house and pull fresh. The amaro we use is Averna, [which is a] delicious Sicilian amaro with an amazing herbal quality. Tito’s vodka and garnished with espresso beans.”

Photos by Rūta Smith

High Cotton’s long-running espresso martini has changed little in 22 years

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On Tap Draft cocktails offer a win-win on both sides of the bar

By Elise DeVoe

K

eeping pre-mixed cocktails available on draft can help a bar increase efficiency and manage consistency so well that it’s become somewhat of a nationwide trend.

And some Charleston restaurants are following suit.

But before a cocktail makes it to the tap, there is a mix of art and science behind the scenes to dial in the ratios and make sure the final product is balanced. Maya, Stems & Skins and Laurel have implemented systems for serving cocktails on tap, and gave City Paper the inside scoop on how it all comes together behind the bar.

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MAYA

There’s plenty of prep behind Maya’s draft cocktails

Newly opened downtown, Maya is kicking off its cocktails-ontap program with two classic Mexican cocktails — the margarita and paloma — that will keep up with its high-volume dining room and, hopefully, elevate guests’ experiences.

“We can focus more on the presentation of the cocktail and making it look nice,” said beverage director Matthew Van Xanten. “The time we would have spent pouring, shaking and serving the ingredients behind the bar is done scientifically and mathematically in the kitchen as part of our prep work – very similar to a chef making their chicken stock.”

When it comes time to prep, though, it’s not as simple as taking the ratios and scaling them up.

“We have a steward or porter shift, like a kitchen-prep Photos by Rūta Smith shift. Their job is to cut and juice citrus and make the pre-batches,” he said. “Everyone has to do one of those shifts a week because the bartender needs to know what’s in that cocktail, even if they are just pulling a tap handle.”

The offerings also create an opportunity for collaboration between the kitchen and bar staff.

“If the kitchen is making some kind of bone broth, there’s Continued on page 12

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ON TAP continued from page 10

no reason why we can’t infuse that bone broth into a gin,” Van Xanten said. “We can recycle and reuse what the kitchen is using and marry those flavors together – we save the rinds of our citrus and we’re making a Mexican mixed citrus limoncello, if you will, with grapefruit, orange, lemon, lime.”

“The goal with the cocktails-on-tap program, as of right now, is to bring all or almost all of our eight house cocktails into [it] at the end of the holiday season, going into 2022.”

But even in a three-ingredient cocktail, there’s room to improve on the original.

“Another component of a negroni that gets missed in a lot of places is quality vermouth,” he added. “We use a Spanish vermouth from Rioja. The high-quality vermouth adds to the complexity.”

“

STEMS & SKINS

The negroni has been having a big moment, and Stems & Skins in Park Circle mixes it up by offering it on tap with a slight variation on the Florentine classic.

The cocktail is traditionally made with equal parts gin, Campari and vermouth — a simple, but complex-tasting drink.

Stems & Skins changes one component to stand out from the rest.

“The unique part about [our] negroni is that we use Cappelletti, which is a red bitter from Northern Italy,” co-owner Matt Tunstall said. “It’s the same family as Campari but it’s wine-based instead of distillate-based. It’s a little less bitter and more floral [and] also less viscous.

“It’s lighter on its feet, which is why I enjoy it, especially in a hot climate like ours.”

The drink is built for an appetite-stimulating, mouth-watering predinner vibe, but they’re delicious on any hot day in Charleston, for sure.”

The negroni is especially popular during Stems’ weekday 4-6 p.m. aperitivo hour, when guests can enjoy it for $6 instead of $10.

“The drink is built for an appetitestimulating, mouth-watering pre-dinner vibe, but they’re delicious on any hot day in Charleston, for sure.”

In addition to the negroni, Stems & Skins offers its “Hardwired” shot on tap — a blend of Cynar (artichoke liqueur) and fernet amaro from Contrado, an Continued on page 16

Stems & Skins’ draft negroni is slightly nontraditional, bringing bright, floral flavors

Rūta Smith

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ON TAP continued from page 12

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According to Tunstall, fernet amaro is a less medicinal, much sweeter liqueur compared to the more popular fernet branca regularly tossed back at Charleston bars.

“You have the depth of the artichoke [and] the residual sugar from the liqueur and the fernet, [giving] a bittersweet play that’s a refreshing digestif.”

The bar actually planned to alternate availability of new creations with

the shootable Hardwired and the go-to negroni, but both have become so popular among patrons that both remain on tap.

Stems & Skins also looks out for something casual drinkers might not be aware of: water dilution. From shaking, stirring or just sitting on the rocks, water is the unsung component for tasty cocktails.

“We actually [dilute] slightly in the keg, so the first sip is as similar to the last sip as possible. When they come out, they’re ready to taste how they are – you don’t have to wait for the ice to water it down.”

On-draft cocktails are a win-win, as far as Tunstall is concerned. They ensure a more consistent product, reduce waste and are faster to pour when the bar gets busy.

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Stems & Skins keeps its negroni and Hardwired shooter on draft

At Laurel downtown, the on-tap offerings are inspired by owner/head chef Trae Wilson’s travels to Spain.

“It was 100 degrees outside in Barcelona and they had sangria on tap.

I’ve never really been into sangria, but when you drink it and it’s 100 degrees, you realize why it’s so popular,” said Wilson.

After purchasing Laurel’s Josper charcoal oven in Barcelona, the seller also passed on a sangria recipe. With a small alteration from Wilson — swapping sugar with with local honey – it’s the recipe now used at Laurel.

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Made using Spanish garnacha and blended with honey, liquors and freshsqueezed oranges, the sangria is left to sit for 24-48 hours.

Because it’s served on tap, the fruit you might usually see in sangria is strained out. Instead, bartenders finish it off with a simple citrus garnish.

“I don’t think the chunks of fruit is a Spanish thing, from what I saw, it was mainly orange slices,” Wilson added.

Along with red and white sangria on tap, Laurel’s draft Laurel also sells locally sangria was produced Sweatman’s All inspired by the Natural sodas on tap to owner’s travels add variety to the cocktail in Spain menu. The sodas’ complexities help make the cocktail-building process as easy as combining two ingredients, like the “Pear & Bourbon,” a combination of bourbon and Sweatman’s pear cardamom soda.

And look for more coming to the bar at Laurel soon. Wilson said he’s planning a negroni fino and a Spanish play on the venerable Manhattan.

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A 6,000 bottle wine collection built on 25 years of dedication and exploration to find the finest wines in the world

10 years in,

JACK RUDY

is a preeminent name in the home-bar biz

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By Parker Milner

Jack Rudy Cocktail Co. co-owner and restaurateur Brooks Reitz remembers the early days of his small-batch bar goods company, which turned 10 in October.

“I would go home from the restaurant at midnight and pack boxes until 3 a.m., so it was a real grind for several years,” Reitz said. “Here we are 10 years later, [and] we’re still hustling.”

That hustle has paid off during the last decade, when creating craft cocktails at home exploded in popularity. Jack Rudy, named after the Kentucky native’s great grandfather, has responded by expanding its bar accessory product line from one to over 30 since debuting the company in 2011. Customers can now order anything from lavender bitters and elderflower tonic to maple syrup, vermouth-brined olives, bar spoons and even “golf ball” ice trays.

For the first few years, Reitz provided enthusiasts with classic cocktail complements like bitters and his famed tonic syrup, a frequently asked for customer favorite during his time at FIG, but a turning point came when his cousin, Taylor Huber, entered the fold, Reitz said.

A certified CPA, Huber helped scale the company by securing a production facility and establishing distribution partners.

“The big difference that really took us to the next level is my cousin. As you can imagine as a CPA, his business acumen is very strong. The last six, seven, eight years have been consistent growth every year,” said Reitz, adding that Jack Rudy distributes in 43 states, Canada and the United Kingdom.

Even more impressive than the growth is the fact that Reitz and Huber own 100% of the company — that’s right, no investors, bank loans or debt.

“Our approach has always been let’s grow it thoughtfully, and we hopefully one day may be able to sell our company,” explained Reitz, who says that selling isn’t necessarily the goal but could be an option in the future. “These days, so many new internet based direct-to-consumer businesses grow in a really sloppy way. The difference is when we sell it, we’ll own 100%.”

Jack Rudy has significantly grown its product line and revenue, but the company still has just

three employees. Production, fulfillment and shipping work is completed by contracted workers and facilities, allowing Reitz to focus on product development, and his four local restaurants: Leon’s Oyster Shop, Little Jack’s Tavern, Melfi’s and Monza Pizza Bar. “We had the chance to either own the production facility ourselves, and we would of course get better margins on our products. But I didn’t want the headache of managing the equipment that it takes to produce our products. I’m a huge advocate of finding other people who do that well,” said Reitz, adding that 60% of Jack Rudy’s products, like the mixers and tonics, are made in Charleston, while Jack Rudy’s olive oil, cocktail cherries and other niche products are produced elsewhere in the United States.

As Jack Rudy has grown, so has the at-home bar business, Reitz said.

Brooks Reitz's great grandfather was the namesake for Jack Rudy Cocktail Co.

“The renaissance of course started in New York and L.A., and it kind of bled to the rest of the country. There was a while there where it got a little insufferable,” said Reitz, adding that the cocktail culture became snobby and exclusive.

“I think we then came through that and now," he said, citing bartenders like Joey Goetz, whose following led him to recently open Last Saint downtown. "So in that process, consumers became very intelligent about drinks. They’ve been drinking homemade cocktails in restaurants, and they want to have that same experience at home.

That’s benefited our business big time because that’s what we want to do.”

It’s this renaissance and the pandemic that led Reitz and Huber to add eight new products in the last year, including a Bloody Mary mix, orange flower honey aged in bourbon barrels and extra virgin olive oil.

Reitz calls Jack Rudy “trend-averse,” meaning he aims to sell products that pair with timeless cocktails, like the old fashioned or gin and tonic.

“A lot of it’s stuff that I’m interested in using in my own home, so that’s the big reason we’ve expanded to the Jack Rudy Kitchen Line,” said Reitz, pointing to accessories like the “ultimate bar tool kit,” a package that comes with weighted cocktail shaking tins, a strainer, jigger, barspoon and ice tray. “A lot of it’s just feedback from my own life.

Cocktails, drinks and the world around that make it approachable for the amateur users.”

Jack Rudy recently added two new bitter trios: the “light and bright” for use with vodka, gin and tequila, and the “dark and rich,” which pair with bourbon or Scotch. Expect more new products in the coming months and years from Jack Rudy, a company that still has room to grow, Reitz said.

“I’m just excited that the business continues to be strong, and I’m hoping, 10 years from now, we’ll still be around and we might even be able to create a business that succeeds for generations.”

Jack Rudy has grown from tonic and mixers to bar tools and cocktail ingredients

SWIG // Fall 2021 19

Photos courtesy Jack Rudy

Mocktails are making the rounds at these Charleston establishments

Hold

the Spirits

By Parker Milner and Michael Pham

T

he perfect cocktail can be a great complement to a meal or mood, but if you want something with a little less edge, or just don't drink the hard stuff, alcoholfree mocktails are the way to go. Lucky for us, in Charleston, plenty of bartenders are experimenting with a culinary approach to craft cocktails

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— with and without alcohol.

The mocktails at Frannie and the Fox are an inclusive alternative to traditional drinks Rūta Smith

Some restaurants have made specific mocktail menus to create a more inclusive environment, while others believe mocktails allow the drink’s components to shine through. We know, it might seem odd ordering a mocktail at first — these Charleston-area establishments will change your mind in no time.

Continued on page 22

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of 14] and we can craft something without using any spirits as well.”

Gin Joint just switched to its fall “It’s also great, too, because [the list] seasonal menu, offering three mocktails does change with each season,” Bolt for the changing season — Flor del Norte, added. “It just depends on all of our syrPassion Potion and A Wise Man. ups that we make in-house, based on the The Flor del Norte, a play on a marcocktails that are on the list.” garita, uses Gnista's floral wormwood, Handcrafted draft sodas like tura non-alcoholic spirit that mimics the taste meric ginger beer and cucumber tonic of gin’s botanical flavor profile, complecourtesy of local maker Sweatman’s All mented by lime and agave for a tart drink.

Natural rule the spirit-free selection at The Passion Potion is made Neon Tiger, while Chasing with homemade hibiscus Sage offers avocado limesyrup, burnt sugar, lime acid ade and peach soda to pair and topped with ginger beer. with its veg-forward menu.

The lime acid is a concoction And over at Frannie and the with a similar flavor of lime Fox, located in the Emeline juice, but is easier to keep hotel, the bar staff is putting a behind the bar than fresh booze-less spin on a classijuice, according to Gin Joint cally booze-heavy beverage. owner James Bolt.

Made to taste like a ginfilled negroni, Frannie and A riff on a Fitzgerald, Gin the Fox’s “No’groni” is made Joint's A Wise Man replicates —Amanda Phelps by combining Gnista's wormthe herbal notes of gin using wood, gin-flavored simple seasonal herbs like sage and syrup and orange bitters. thyme, replaces the lemon juice with “From incorporating seasonal ingrelime juice and lemon oil and is topped dients to showcasing local offerings, our with tonic water. mocktail selection is curated with the And visitors can always use Gin Joint's tried-and-true "Bartender's Choice" option same thoughtful approach that goes into every cocktail found on our menu,” said to describe a mocktail to suit their moods.

Frannie and the Fox beverage operations “Anyone that wants to come in and do our ‘Bartender’s Choice’ section is always welcome to choose two words [from a list Continued on page 24 MOCKTAILS continued from page 20

“The mocktail culture should always be, foremost, fun.”

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Park & Grove mocktails are designed with excitement and fun in mind, general manager Samson Kohanski says

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MOCKTAILS continued from page 22

specialist Amanda Phelps, who also offers a grapefruit, citrus, rosemary and Topo Chico “Rosemary’s Bambina.”

“We pride ourselves on crafting the absolute best, stand-out drinks for our guests to enjoy, with or without alcohol.”

Over at recently revamped Rutledge Avenue restaurant Park & Grove, general manager Samson Kohanski serves three mocktails: the cherry bomb, pineapple crush and gin-gin mule.

“The mocktail culture should always be, foremost, fun. You should want to drink it with the same excitement as you

would when running down a cocktail list,” Kohanski said. “Ingredients should be fresh, seasonal and approachable.”

To make the gin-gin mule, a drink based on a cocktail that utilizes fresh mint and London dry gin, Kohanski combines fresh coriander, “which takes the aromatics of gin,” with mint, ginger, lime and soda water.

“The drinks should meld with the menu and not contradict it,” he said.

“Each cocktail has a balance to it: sweet and sour, savory and spicy, tropical and citrus. Pair [the gin-gin mule] with the insalata di mare on the menu, and it is an instant explosion of flavor."

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Chris Mottram owns Hobcaw Brewing Co. with his wife, Tiffany, and brewer Chris Percello

PRICEY KEGS AND PLENTY OF KIDS Hobcaw Brewing Co. co-owners only know business in the pandemic

By Sam Spence

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The founders of Hobcaw Brewing Co. in Mount Pleasant don’t know what it’s like to run a brewery outside of the biggest economic crisis in a generation. Fresh off celebrating their first year in business, we sat down with Hobcaw co-owners Chris Mottram — whose wife, Tiffany, is also an owner — and Chris Percello at the Long Point Road taproom to talk about growing a brewery when fewer people were going to breweries.

City Paper: It’s been a year. What’s the experience been like?

Chris Mottram: The biggest surprise to me is that we’re still dealing with this pandemic. We opened during COVID. We’ve only been open during COVID. So, we have no idea how much COVID has done to our business.

I wouldn’t complain about how business has been during the first year, but if there wasn’t a pandemic, would we be doing X-percent better? I have no idea.

COVID is the reality, so it’s not even really important.

beer. You won’t find us in a restaurant or somewhere you’re going for food mainly. We signed with a smaller distributer — Holy City Distribution. They’re super flexible and willing to work with us. If we signed with a bigger one, we’d just get lost.

We’ve been open a year, but obviously there’s plenty of people that don’t know we exist.

CP: I’m sure at some point there was a list of nextup items for after you get open — if there wasn’t a pandemic. Where are you on that list?

Chris Percello: Nowhere. [laughs] Well, we’re going into distribution.

Mottram: That’ll be soon. We’ve already signed on with a distributor. We’re getting 20 kegs tomorrow. Kegs are a problem right now — they’re super expensive. We were able to find 20, used, locally and I’m trying to find some more online.

It’ll be light distribution to start. Distribution is kind of a marketing thing until you get to a huge scale. We want to pick places where people are going for craft

CP: So do you have the capacity to produce enough for the taproom and for distribution right now?

Percello: Coming into the holiday, with football and holiday times, we do have a bit of extra capacity. But when spring ramps up and we’re crazy-busy, there might be a week or two where we’re like [to the distributor], “Sorry, we can’t get you anything.” And they’re cool with that.

Mottram: The tough thing for us is that the IPAs are always our bestsellers. So, how much of that do we want to put into distribution? But, we also want that distribution because that’s a significant thing for us. The IPAs we can

Rūta Smith

absolutely sell through in four or five weeks — all in the taproom — and make maximum profit. Or we can put a keg into distribution and get pennies to what we’d make here.

CP: What’s surprised you so far?

Percello: For me, not being from here, something that I think was easier that I thought was going to be harder was us being well-attended from the get-go. The amount of support we got as soon as we opened, how that’s kind of just continued over the past year, has been awesome.

Mottram: It’s good to see the vision we had for it embraced. We are in Mount Pleasant, the vision was to be family-friendly, dog-friendly. I know there’s probably people that would be turned off by it, to see kids running around. But I think we would do far worse if we were not family-friendly, given our location.

Percello: If that’s the biggest problem, I’ll take it.

Hobcaw Brewing Co. is located at 496 Long Point Road in Mount Pleasant.

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