Where to Drink in Charleston, South Carolina, USA

Can you imagine a state where in every bar all that was served were airplane mini-bottles of spirits? So you order an old-fashioned and they take the tiny bottle of JD off the shelf, unscrew it, add sugar and bitters and that’s it. Only order, unscrew, serve for every cocktail! Crazy talk...yet that was South Carolina until 2006 - yes 2006.

I’m Susan Schwartz, your drinking companion, and this is Lush Life Podcast, every week we are inspired to live life one cocktail at a time by the best in the industry.

My first trip to Charleston was long after 2006 and this town is on the top of everyone’s list to visit. Could it be because of all the great bars?. I was there as part of a group of Journalists, the British Guild of Travel Writers to be exact, invited to experience the city. The first thing I did was research all the bars that could not be missed and I put all I found in my Lush Guide to Charleston, which you can find on my blog, alushlifemanual.com.

I gathered together a few of the people who are making the bar scene so dynamic. One was Scott Blackwell from High Wire Distillery whom I had on the show a few weeks ago. Today I have Craig Nelson, whose bar Proof has been written up in all the magazines - for all the right reasons. Then we meet the bar managers of two of the most famous restaurants in the USA which just happen to be in Charleston - Justin Simko, Bar Manager of the Bar at Husk and Ashley Dodds, Bar Manager of FIG.

Our Cocktail of the Week is The Cheshire Cat - created by bartender Nikki Fairman for FIG.

Ingredients:

• 2 oz - Cucumber Tequila
• .75 oz - Lime Juice
• .75 oz - Nikolaihof Elderflower Syrup
• 2 droppers - Butterfly Pea Extract
• 6 drops - Orange Blossom Water

To Make the Cucumber Tequila:

Vacuum seal 1 liter of silver tequila and 400g of peeled, de-seeded, sliced cucumbers. Place in a 140-degree water bath for 2 hours. Shock in an ice bath for 20 minutes. Strain.

Method:

In a rocks glass, add the Butterfly Pea Extract, Orange Blossom Water and chilled Cucumber Tequila over one large ice cube. Give the contents a quick stir just to incorporate them.

Combine equal parts Lime and Elderflower Syrup (.75oz each) together in a "Pour Me" sidecar. To enjoy this whimsical tipple, just pour in the sidecar ingredients, give it a stir and watch the magic happen!

You’ll find the cocktail martini recipe and all the cocktails on ALushLifeManual.com, where you’ll also find all the ingredients in our shop.

Full Episode Details: http://bit.ly/2x4PEG4

Always remember the wise words of Oscar Wilde, “All things in moderation, including moderation,” and always drink responsibly!

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Until next time, BOTTOMS UP 🍸