Behind the Stick
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Larry Suggs Chases the Dream with All Purpose Bar
Larry Suggs had to call it quits on one endeavor to make his true dream a reality with another. The renowned local mixologist (he prefers bartender) built his name in Charlotte in his roles at establishments like The Punch Room, Zeppelin, The Stanley, The Royal Tot and a slew of…
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The Bitter Taste of Jeppson’s Malört Takes Root in Charlotte
“A burnt used condom.” “A grapefruit that’s been fermented in a diaper.” “Pencil shavings and regret.” “Licking a street.” “Licking an ashtray.” “Poison.” These are just a few of the descriptors used by people who have taken a shot of Jeppson’s Malört, a liqueur with a flavor profile that sounds…
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Colleen Hughes Cements Her Spot as One of Charlotte’s Top Mixologists
For a split second after walking into Leluia Hall in Dilworth on a recent Thursday I got the briefest glimpse of what it might be like to work for Colleen Hughes, one of Charlotte’s most renowned mixologists and beverage director for the distinguished Tonidandel-Brown Restaurant Group. When I arrived, Hughes…
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Master Distiller Mena Killough Pratt Talks Herbalism and Absinthe
When two friends on separate occasions suggested to Mena Killough Pratt that she apply to compete on Moonshiners: Master Distiller, a competition reality show on Discovery Channel, she brushed them off. She had only been distilling spirits since April, after all, so why step into the ring with folks who…
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Mike McSherry Went West and Settled at Station
In the town of Belmont, just one county over and about eight minutes west from the edge of the city on I-85, a quaint Main Street is lined with businesses, restaurants and a park with a fountain. Named one of the “Coolest Suburbs in America” by Apartment Therapy last summer,…
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Mike Clayton Bounces from Crafts to Comet Grill
Just outside Dilworth’s residential neighborhood, where million-dollar homes line perfectly manicured streets, lies a shopping plaza symptomatic of Charlotte’s current expansion. On one side sits a two-story brick building just a few years old, housing an artisan pizza restaurant, craft coffee and cocktail bar, juice bar and yoga studio. On…
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Dustin Lail Keeps Tradition Alive at Crepe Cellar
For over a decade, the cozy Crepe Cellar has remained a neighborhood fixture with a reputation for quality and a dining experience not found anywhere else in NoDa. Colleen Hughes, one of Charlotte’s best-known mixologists, helped put Crepe Cellar’s cocktail list on the map, herself becoming synonymous with the bar…
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Yoshi Mejia Spills About her Experience as a Charlotte Bartender
After circling the block on foot, showing my complete ineptitude in navigating Charlotte’s Uptown, I finally began following my gut as opposed to my GPS and landed at the obtrusive wooden doors of Loft & Cellar. Sitting at the end of a long bar lined with a uniform row of…
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