NYC - Nightfall at the Distillery: Whiskey + Bizarre Babes - 10.20.15
Curtain call for all producers and performers: (from left to right) Dakota Kim of Bombshell Bakers; Wae Messed; Dangrrr Doll; Anne Wei President of Whisky Wisemen NYC Chapter; and Clara Coquette.
We kick-off of our first post with a bang: on Tuesday October 20, 2015, WWNYC -- along with Bombshell Bakers -- successfully produced a mesmerizing Whiskey and Burlesque pre-Halloween benefit party, “Nightfall at the Distillery: Whiskey + Bizarre Babes,” hosted by New York Distilling Company (NYDC), an esteemed craft distillery in NYC. Like with all WWNYC events, 10% of proceeds are donated to our charity-partner, Transfernation, who redistributes high-volume leftovers to hungry New Yorkers.
Indeed we host Whisky Wisemen’s flagship #thirdThursday #socialwhisky events every month, but we decided to throw something special to celebrate Halloween, because not only it is one of our favorite holidays, but also we wanted to curate an event that really highlights the teeming diversity and vibrancy that is the crux of the City That Never Sleeps. With help from our dear friends in the performance, nightlife, and spirits world, we decided to go for it.
Ghastly ghouls, beautiful bombshells, horrific hipsters, and everyone in between came out on the oddly warm school night for our benefit party, which was taking place literally in the NY Distilling Co.’s production floor. That’s right! We all -- and this includes the burlesque performers, who are some of NYC’s finest -- were boogying to groovy music and sipping on some fine libations among racks of barrels filled with booze, a giant copper still, and the whiff of freshly-made fine spirits lingering in the air. And special shout out to Bill Potter, head distiller of NYDC, for creating the perfect lighting ambience!
We were graced by the go-go dancing of Wae Messed and Dangrrr Doll, the latter an internationally recognized cos-player and burlesque performer, and heavily hypnotized by three tantalizing -- but creepy -- burlesque shows throughout the night:
Dangrrr Doll’s intensely bizarre bunny act
Wae Messed’s vicious vampire routine
- Clara Coquette’s spooky skeleton performance
In between the debauchery, we also had a guided distillery tour and tasting of the NYDC’s domestically made spirits by Founder, Mr. Allen Katz, himself. Stiff cocktails and the like were carefully crafted by bartenders Max and Steven of The Shanty, NY Distilling Co.’s in-house bar. And in the midst of all the shin-dig and flim-flam, ALBOE (ART)’s Ashley-Simone McKenzie painted her interpretation of the night’s action in the background.
Allen Katz, founder of NY Distilling Co. giving a distillery tour and tasting of his in-house made spirits.
Everyone had a blast and we couldn’t have been more thrilled! This was WWNYC first elaborate performanced-based production and we are so grateful for all the love we’ve received from our friends and partners. We will definitely be generating more amusing, eclectic, and -- of course -- educational, events in the future, so stay tune!
Our other purpose for the Whiskey+Burlesque event, and others in the future like it, is not just to have an amazing time and party until our toes hurt, but also to inform and remind all that we need to #dogood and #bebetter by giving back to our community, whether it be donating a small amount to a local charity to volunteering. We are also proud to say that this hard work is effective: there were direct donations and a spike in interest in WWNYC AND support our charity-partner just through our benefit party alone. So again, thank you ALL for the support.
Whether you’re a whisk(e)y sage, novice, or just plain curious and want to learn more about whisk(e)y while having a good time, meeting good people, and contributing to a good cause, we at WWNYC welcome all...as long as you’re 21 and over! If you are in NYC, like and follow us on our Facebook page (facebook.com/WhiskyWisemenNYC) for the best way to get the latest updates and news.
Slainte,
- Annie, NYC Chapter President