Alys Beach Crafted Oct 21-22

Alys Beach Crafted was created to celebrate the collaboration of talents that come together to enrich the experience of life along the Scenic 30A stretch of Florida’s Emerald Coast.

The two-day event will tell the stories of crafted beverages, culinary experiences, artistry, and workmanship - a gathering of renowned craftspeople from around the country sharing the process, the inspiration, and the product of their craft. Features include the Makers Market, Firkin Fête, Spirited Seminars, and the Spirited Soirée. Alys Beach Crafted is pleased to announce that all proceeds will benefit one of Walton County’s local non-profits, Food for Thought Outreach.

Crafted aims to bring us together in appreciation for the excellence and authenticity of the creative process, allowing us to pick up tricks-of-the-trade, add a new brew to our repertoire and add elegant, meticulously crafted goods to our collections. Refined and beautifully curated, our Alys Beach team is actively engaging these artisans, distillers, brewers, chefs, and mixologists to create an experience like no other – a sharing of the stories that craft tells.

Firkin Fête
Join us for our 2nd Annual Firkin Fête on October 21st, 2022. Firkin Fête features a unique tasting experience as we tap firkins of beer created by local and regional breweries. The firkins, each an 11-gallon keg, are unique in that no one, including the brewers themselves, can know what the final product will taste like until the firkins are tapped for the event. Firkin Fête will also feature live music performances and the culinary creations of chefs from throughout the southeast. This festive evening is not to be missed!

Spirited Seminars
The Spirited Seminars feature four opportunities to learn from some of the best Mixologists in the industry. The seminars will explore the art of the cocktail from the elements of tasting like a pro to special tips for crafting the perfect drink for seamless, gracious entertaining. Preparations, pairings, new craft ingredients and products – these renowned Mixologists invite you behind the bar for a glimpse into the craft of creating beautiful cocktails.

Taste like a Pro - We all know how to sip and swirl, but dive deeper with the experts as they uncover their secrets for tasting spirits and wine like a pro. Ease into the seminar with a welcome cocktail as you prepare to experience three spirits and three wines with gurus Christina Veira from Toronto’s Bar Mordecai and Sarah Pierre of Atlanta’s 3 Parks Wine Shop. You’ll complete this Spirited Seminar with an expanded knowledge of the components of tasting – with great tastes and a little splash of fun in the mix.

Garden to Glass - Join the creative ladies behind Sip of Paradise, a non-profit community garden for bartenders of the greater Atlanta area, as they teach you how to make the freshest cocktails using craft spirits from St. George Spirits paired with seasonal ingredients that can be harvested from your own garden.

Whoa! Low & No - Sit back and relax into the tropical setting of this cocktail seminar as hosts McLain Hedges of Denver’s Yacht Club Bar, Roy Clark of Mobile’s The Haberdasher, and Whitney Hobbs and Rob Crabtree of St. Augustine’s Boat Drinks bar. Mixing with spirits from our friends at Haus Alpenz and Spiribam, you will enjoy sampling tiki drinks as these connoisseurs share their trade secrets to help you create specialty cocktails with different ABV (alcohol by volume) levels, allowing you to cater to your guests’ cocktail preferences with thoughtful accommodations that exemplify Southern hospitality. The mixologists will showcase the prep and process of mixing cocktails with “Whoa,” Low and No ABV – a skill that will take your entertaining prowess to the next level.

Fords Gin Seminar - Martim Smith-Mattsson of Fords Gin teams up with Miles Macquarrie, co-owner and beverage director of Decatur’s Kimball House and recipe developer for Tip Top Proper Cocktails, and Neal Bodenheimer, founding partner of James Beard Award Winning New Orleans craft bar, Cure, to showcase their products from the experts’ point of view. Discover why (and how) mixologists and bartenders love to work with Fords Gin, a precise and thoughtful blend of nine botanicals including juniper, coriander seed, citrus, florals, and spices. We’ll journey through the cocktail ages to explore the history of gin cocktails. From the gin punch of the early days to the current golden days of the craft cocktail, the rich course of gin timelessly intertwines with that of the classic cocktail in a story that we look forward to sharing and sampling.

Spirited Soirée
Saturday, 22nd’s Spirited Soirée features craft cocktails from hand-selected mixologists from all over the country. These mixologists have been paired with craft distilleries, to create the perfect cocktail. Guests will have the opportunity taste the spirits both neat and in the crafted cocktail and will hear from the distillers and mixologists on the inspiration and process behind each unique pairing. Enjoy bites from the best culinary teams in the Southeast alongside handcrafted cocktails and spirits, and take home some of the new concepts and trends currently setting the beverage world a-buzz.

Makers Market
Join us in the Alys Beach Amphitheatre on Friday, October 21st from 3-6PM and on Saturday, October 22nd from 12-4PM for the Alys Beach Crafted Makers Market. These thoughtfully chosen artisans will present their works, showcase their craft, their inspiration, and their stories.  These products, representing the best in regional workmanship, as well as a selection of treats and refreshments, will be available for purchase while live music adds to the browsing experience. This event is free and open to the public.

Be the Maker workshops
Be the Maker with Loft & Leaf - Join Kendra, owner of Loft & Leaf, for a “Be the Maker” workshop event as part of Alys Beach Crafted. During this workshop, Kendra will guide you through the creation of a beautiful succulent arrangement. With her creative and practical insights, learn tricks and tips for the care of this new arrangement and how to best introduce living design into your living space. Kendra’s gracious appreciation for these natural elements of design is sure to inspire and, with her trade secrets, your creation is sure to add life to your home.

Be the Maker with Sydni Gause Silks - Join Sydni, owner of Sydni Gause Silks and professor of art, for a “Be the Maker” workshop event as part of Alys Beach Crafted. During this dye workshop, Sydni will take you through the process of creating your own naturally dyed silk scarf. From the scouring and mordanting preparation of the silk fiber to the wash and care basics, Sydni will share each step in the process, along with insights into the plants used for variety of color and pattern, plants grown in her own large-scale, North Florida dye garden. Sydni attributes her study of the natural dyeing process with connecting her to the land, the plant, the history of dyeing textiles naturally, and with teaching her to approach her work in a way that is slow and thoughtful. Through shared story and process, hands-on instruction and demonstration, Sydni will guide you through the journey of creating a hand-dyed silk work-of-art.

Pre-Crafted Pop-ups:

Fired Up: Café Brûlot X Raw & Juicy
Author of “The Café Brûlot,” Sue Strachan, and Michael Sichel, executive chef of Destin’s Soleil Restaurant, team up at Raw & Juicy to fan the flames of the fiery Café Brûlot coffee cocktail, kicking off Alys Beach Crafted on Thursday, October 20th.
Café Brûlot is a cocktail that exemplifies New Orleans’ love of a dramatic beverage experience, an experience where theatrical presentation is as important as the libation itself. This concoction of coffee, brandy, sugar, cinnamon, lemon, oranges, cloves and sometimes with an orange liqueur, is served in a special Brûlot cup and set aflame, a highly ceremonial preparation that requires its own specialty tools and expertise. Born of legend and enduring through the centuries, the old-line restaurants of New Orleans — Antoine’s, Arnaud’s, Brennan’s, Broussard’s, Commander’s Palace and Galatoire’s — continue the tradition of this “devilishly incendiary coffee,” also known as Café Brûlot Diabolique.
Sichel, who previously served as executive chef of the iconic New Orleans fine-dining establishment, Galatoire’s, will showcase his own presentation of the drink, while Strachan will share the story of Café Brûlot through her own expert insights. Within the intimate courtyard of Alys Beach mainstay, Raw & Juicy, this is sure to be a spectacle to behold and a memorable part of the overall Crafted experience.

This event is open to the public with opportunities to purchase the cocktail after the demonstration. Strahan’s book on Café Brûlot will be available for sale, with a book signing from 5-6PM.

Brown-Forman X NEAT Takeover
Also on Thursday, October 20th, stop into NEAT for a Brown-Forman takeover experience. Since its founding in 1870, Brown-Forman has represented a portfolio of brands that define fine quality spirits and beverages, representing brands across more than 170 countries. NEAT will exclusively showcase Brown-Forman spirits-based drinks and cocktails featuring Old Forester Bourbon Whiskey, Benriach Scotch, and Fords Gin. From 6-8PM, the Brown-Forman team will be onsite to share insights into these spirits, answer questions, and fuel the takeover.
 
Neal Bodenheimer will also join the takeover with his new book, “CURE: New Orleans Drinks and How to Mix ‘Em,” signing copies and sharing his passion for the craft behind the cocktail. As the creative force behind the James Beard award-winning New Orleans bar CURE, and more recently taking the helm of New Orleans’ annual cocktail conference, Tales of the Cocktail, Bodenheimer has long been a key player in the New Orleans cocktail scene and has solidified his influence in the wide world of mixology.
 
This event is open to the public with opportunities for purchasing cocktails, spirits, and other offerings. Bodenheimer’s book will be available for sale, with a book from 6-8PM.

For more information on Alys Beach Crafted, please visit www.alysbeachcrafted.com. Tickets for the Crafted events are on sale now. You may also email events@alysbeach.com or call 850-231-5500.

Update 10/14/22

Friday, October 21, 2022 - FIRKIN FÊTE | 6:30 pm to 9 pm | TICKETS AVAILABLE

Firkin Fête offers a unique tasting experience as we tap firkins, or small kegs, of craft beer created by local and regional breweries. This festive event will also feature live music performances and the culinary creations of chefs from throughout the Southeast.

RESTAURANTS | George’s at Alys Beach, The Citizen, Black Bear Bread Co., Shades of 30A, Nigel’s, The Perfect Pig, Cookie Fix and Alys Beach Food & Beverage.

BREWERIES | Grayton Beer Company, Idyll Hounds Brewing Company, Tin Roof Brewing Co. (Baton Rouge, LA), Red Clay Brewing Company (Opelika, AL), Props Craft Brewery (Niceville, FL), Odd Pelican Beer Company (Freeport, FL), Back Forty Beer Company (Birmingham, AL), Beach Camp Brewing Co., with Castle & Key Distillery (Frankfort, KY).

Saturday, October 22, 2022 - SPIRITED SOIRÉE | 3 pm to 6 pm | TICKETS AVAILABLE

Spirited Soirée showcases the craft cocktail creations of hand-selected mixologists from across North America alongside craft distilleries, whose spirits are featured neat, shaken, and stirred. With live music and bites from the best culinary teams in the Southeast, the talented creators behind the cocktails and the spirits will be on-hand to share the inspiration behind their pairings along with the current concepts and trends setting the beverage world a-buzz.

RESTAURANTS | Buttermilk Sky Pie (Panama City Beach, FL), Marrow Private Chefs, Edward’s Fine Food and Wine, Roux 30A, Swiftly Catered, Pelican Oyster Co. (Oyster Bay, FL), Alys Beach Food & Beverage, Chocolatà Chocolate (Birmingham, AL), and The Citizen.

DISTILLERIES | Fords Gin, Campesino Rum, Distillery 98, Herradura Tequila, Woodford Reserve, Spiribam, Haus Alpenz, St. George Spirits, Piscologia, Back Bar Project, Nelson’s Green Brier Distillery, and Casa Noble.

MIXOLOGISTS | Keyatta Mincey-Parker & Stephanie Saputo of A Sip of Paradise (Atlanta, GA), McLain Hedges of Yacht Club Bar (Denver, CO), Christina Veira of Bar Mordecai (Toronto, ON), Sarah Pierre of 3 Parks Wine Shop (Atlanta, GA), Miles Macquarrie of Kimball House (Atlanta, GA), Roy Clark of The Haberdasher (Mobile, AL), Whitney Hobbs & Robb Crabtree of Boat Drinks Bar (St. Augustine, FL), Neal Bodenheimer of CURE (New Orleans, LA), Eric Bennett of Continental Drift (Birmingham, AL), Tara Grier of Distillery 98 (Santa Rosa Beach, FL), Mike Jones of Craft Bar (Santa Rosa Beach, FL), José Medina Camacho of Adios (Birmingham, AL) and Tyler Faust of The Citizen (Alys Beach).

As we prepare for the festive events of our premier Alys Beach Crafted festival weekend, we want to share a breakdown of the kickoff pop-ups, takeovers, and Spirited Seminars with you, along with a full schedule of events. Please note that tickets are currently available for each of the Spirited Seminars, and the several pop-ups, takeovers and retail opportunities are open to the public, no tickets required. Please be sure to follow the story of Crafted on Instagram or Facebook and visit the Alys Beach Crafted website for more details on each event.

Thursday, October 20, 2022

Brown-Forman X NEAT Takeover, 12 Noon – 8 pm | Free and Open to the Public
NEAT’s drinks and cocktails will exclusively feature Brown-Forman spirits from Old Forester Bourbon Whiskey, Benriach Scotch, Herradura Tequila, and Fords Gin brand offerings throughout the day.

6 pm - 8 pm
The Brown-Forman team is onsite to share insights, answer questions, and pump up the takeover.

6 pm - 8 pm
Neal Bodenheimer of New Orleans’ bar, CURE, and Tales of the Cocktail joins the takeover with a signing of his new book, “CURE: New Orleans Drinks and How to Mix ‘Em.”

Fired Up: Café Brûlot X Raw & Juicy
5 pm – 7 pm
Free and Open to the Public

From 5 pm to 6 pm, Sue Strachan, New Orleans journalist and author of “The Café Brûlot” will kick off the evening with a book signing, sharing stories of the magic behind the legendary New Orleans cocktail.

From 6 pm to 7 pm, Soleil Restaurant’s executive chef, Michael Sichel will perform the spectacular preparation of the dramatic, “devilishly incendiary coffee” cocktail, Café Brûlot. Following the spectacle, the cocktail will be available to purchase.

Sunset Yoga: Tequila Herradura X ZUMA, 5:30 pm - 6:30 pm
$20/person, Alys Beach Property Owners and Vacation Rental Guests Only

Rebecca Simmons leads a yoga series as the sun sets, followed by a Tequila Herradura cocktail gathering with conversation and fun take-aways. Please contact ZUMA to register.

Saturday, October 22, 2022 - SPIRITED SEMINARS | 11AM – 1PM | Tickets Now Available

Fords Gin | Papilio Park
Join Miles Macquarrie of Kimball House, Neal Bodenheimer of Cure, and Martim Smith-Mattsson of Fords Gin on a journey through the cocktail ages. During this seminar, we will sample the cocktails and drinks as we learn the story of gin from the early days of gin punch to the current Golden Age of the Cocktail.

Whoa, Low & No | Gulf Green
Mixologists McLain Hedges of Denver’s Yacht Club Bar, Roy Clark of Mobile’s The Haberdasher, and Whitney Hobbs and Rob Crabtree of St. Augustine’s Boat Drinks bar will showcase the prep and process of mixing cocktails with “Whoa,” Low and No ABV – a skill that will take your entertaining prowess to the next level. Mixing with spirits from our friends at Haus Alpenz and Spiribam, you will enjoy sampling tiki drinks as these connoisseurs share their trade secrets to help you create specialty cocktails with different ABV (alcohol by volume) levels.

Taste Like a Pro | Arboleda Park
We all know how to sip and swirl, but we’ll dive deeper with the experts as they uncover their secrets for tasting spirits and wine like a pro. Ease into the seminar with a welcome cocktail as you prepare to experience three spirits and three wines with tasting gurus, Christina Veira from Bar Mordecai and Sarah Pierre of 3 Parks Wine Shop.

Garden to Glass | ZUMA Green
Join the creative ladies behind Sip of Paradise, a non-profit community garden for bartenders of the greater Atlanta area, as they teach you how to make the freshest cocktails using ingredients from your own garden paired with interesting craft spirits from St. George Spirits. Keyatta Mincey-Parker and Stephanie Saputo will be snipping herbs and shaking cocktails with participants in this hands-on seminar.

Merchants of Alys Beach Trunk Shows

KREWE + BENE X Alys Shoppe
10 am -12 pm and 2 pm - 5 pm | Friday + Saturday, Oct. 21-22
Luxury New Orleans-based KREWE Sunglasses and Eyewear + BENE Italian leather accessories

Wendy Mignot X Raw & Juicy
10 am to 2 pm | Saturday, Oct. 22
Fine Pearls + Leather Jewelry by internationally renowned and locally-based designer, Wendy Mignot