For those who have never attended one of our People’s Cocktail events, the typical premise is this: four bartenders who craft four specialty cocktails, each cocktail having a partnering charity. Each cocktail ordered equals a vote cast for the aligned charity, and the people of the community decide who the winner of the evening by ordering drinks. Sounds great, right?
This coming Monday, May 20, we are hosting a very special edition of People's Cocktail! We welcome our dear friend and Durham's bearded sweetheart, Matt Kelly, to the foxhole to showcase a pop up menu of snacks from his incredible restaurant, Saint James. We’ll still be featuring four specialty cocktails, but there will be no “good hearted” rivalry involved. This month, all proceeds will go to one cause.
Saint James, along with several other businesses, has been closed since a deadly explosion blasted through downtown Durham last month. The repercussions of this tragedy are still being felt by the community, so all proceeds from Monday's event will go toward a recovery fund set up to provide aid to those impacted by the blast. Funds will be distributed to those who were injured, who are out of work based on closed places of business, and to those trying to rebuild.
Come out on Monday to try some incredible cocktails and snacks, but even more so, to help and support our fellow community members.
Although the season may be springing us ahead, at Poole’s Diner we’ve decided to go back in time. Regarding cocktails, that is. It’s always fun and exciting to craft new cocktails, but there’s something truly comforting in the classics… at least we think so.
Our new seasonal cocktail menu features drinks through the ages, from eras like the Prohibition Age, Disco Tec, and Tiki Age. There’s a story behind each cocktail, and we thought we’d give you a behind-the-scenes look at our selections:
Antibes, a town along the French Riviera between Cannes and Nice, was briefly the home of F. Scott Fitzgerald and the namesake of our first drink. This Prohibition Era drink with gin, Benedictine, and grapefruit juice, was said to be a drink that Fitzgerald served guests at this home, including Hemingway and Picasso.
The Vieux Carre was created by Walter Bergeron at the Hotel Monteleone in New Orleans. His hotel was often the venue for the city’s annual Tales Of The Cocktail festival. This classic drink’s name translates to “Old Square” and references the hotel’s location within the French Quarter of the historic city.
Created by London bartender Dick Bradsell in the 1980's, Russian Spring Punch was a cocktail he created while trying to save money for a party he was hosting. This Disco Era cocktail is made up of of vodka, lemon juice, simple syrup, creme de cassis, and sparkling wine; though Bradsell had his guests provide their own sparkling wine for the original version of the beverage.
The Americano, by Gaspare Campari, was originally named Milano-Torino to identify Campari and Sweet Vermouth and hails from the Pre-ProhibitionEra. This cocktail gained its new name after Primo Carnera, an Italian boxer, became the first non-American to win the US heavyweight boxing championship.
Pimm’s Cup, another Pre-Prohibition Era cocktail, has become the official drink every year at Wimbledon. The most basic version of the cocktail is Pimm’s, a slice of cucumber and lemon-lime soda, however many decide to spice up the cocktail by adding seasonal fruits and different mixers.
The Pina Colada, from the Tiki Age, has several different variations, and several different origins. The earliest mention of the cocktail salutes a 19th century Puerto Rican pirate as the creator; who gave the drink to his men to lift their spirits. The modern Pina Colada is said to be the creation of a bartender at Caribe Hilton’s Beachcomber, while the blended version of the drink was said to be the creation of Spanish bartender, working at Restaurant Barrachina in Buenos Aires.
Another Prohibition Era cocktail Horse’s Neck, was originally intended to be a non-alcoholic beverage, but became a classic cocktail when a heavy pour of bourbon was added to the glass. This drink gets its name from its garnish, an extra long lemon twist that acts as the “horse’s neck”.
Our last cocktail hails from the Modern Age. The Naked and Famous is a mezcal fueled,modern day variation of “The Last Word”, a cocktail created by bartender Joaquin Simo while working at Death & Co. in New York City.
Attention to all fans of the Foxhole, you’ll be happy to hear that we are officially making “People’s Cocktail” a monthly occurrence! That means that every month, you’ll get a chance to try featured “for one night only” cocktails, and have the chance to support a charity by doing so.
For those of you who haven’t attended one of our “People’s Cocktail” events yet, the premise is simple. One night a month, each of our bartenders makes a featured drink and picks a favorite charity. You, the people, come to drink, and we will donate the proceeds of the featured cocktails to the charity picked by the bartender with the most popular drink. That’s right, every drink you order equals one vote for that bartender’s charity.
We’ll be having this month’s event on Monday, April 15th, from 5-8 PM. Four drinks and four charities, but only one can win. But wait, there’s more! We’ve got some amazing snacks to go with our competitive cocktailing. Ashley and the team have been cooking up some delicious features for this event, and we are so excited for you to try a dish or two (it’s dinner, right?).
So, mark your calendars, bring your friends, and head to Fox for this night of fun and good-hearted rivalry.
Our dinner series, Stir the Pot, which benefits the Southern Foodways Alliance’s documentary initiative, returns this spring at Death & Taxes.
Join us on Sunday, April 7th for a five-course meal with wine pairing by chef Jeremiah Langhorne. Tickets are $150 and available here.
Jeremiah Langhorne is chef and co-owner of The Dabney, located in Washington, D.C. In 2018, he won the James Beard Award for Best Chef: Mid Atlantic, and The Dabney was awarded a Michelin star in 2016, 2017, and 2018. Langhorne worked all over the world, from Charleston to Copenhagen to the mountains of Colorado, before settling in D.C.
Needless to say, this is going to be a phenomenal night, and all in support of one of our most cherished organizations.
John T. Edge, director of the Southern Foodways Alliance and one of the most important voices in Southern food, is coming to Raleigh on May 30th to celebrate the release of his new book, The Potlikker Papers. He'll be joined in conversation with our very own Ashley Christensen! The event is free to attend; details are here.
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