Event
Book Talk with Stephanie Burt, South Carolina Cocktails
A special evening with celebrated author Stephanie Burt.
Event Date
Thurs., Apr. 16, 2026 | 6 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
Enjoy an evening with celebrated author Stephanie Burt and South Carolina-inspired and crafted cocktails.
On April 16, the South Carolina State Museum will host a special conversation with Stephanie Burt, author of "South Carolina Cocktails: An Elegant Collection of Over 100 Recipes" and Will Green, bartender, co-owner of the Hoot, and hospitality consultant. Following a discussion steeped in the culture of SC craft cocktails and the history of alcohol in our state, guests will taste cocktails from bartenders featured in Burt's book.
"South Carolina Cocktails: An Elegant Collection of Over 100 Recipes Inspired by the Palmetto State" features over 100 cocktail recipes, all of which are inspired by the Palmetto State.
An accomplished writer and audio producer, Burt's work has appeared in numerous publications, including The Washington Post, CNN's "Parts Unknown," and The Bitter Southerner.
In addition to the conversation and cocktail tasting, guests will enjoy light bites and a curated display of South Carolina–related cocktail artifacts from the museum’s collection.
Tickets
*** This event is SOLD OUT ***
Ticket includes cocktail tasting, light bites, and access to a curated display of South Carolina-related cocktail artifacts. For an additional $10, you can purchase the featured book with your ticket!
Note: this event is for ages 21 +
About Stephanie Burt
Stephanie Burt is a writer, audio producer, and sometimes cook based in Charleston, South Carolina. Her work has appeared in numerous publications, including Saveur, The Washington Post, CNN's Parts Unknown, Conde Nast Traveler, and The Bitter Southerner, and she is the host and executive producer of “The Southern Fork” podcast.
About Will Green
Will Green is a Columbia native. A nearly two-decade veteran of the bar industry, he is part owner in two Columbia institutions: WECO Bottle and Biergarten and The Hoot. He also works as a bar/restaurant consultant.
About DJ Cutty Smoke
Chris Nungesser is a DJ and music nerd from Charleston, South Carolina. He believes that, just as food is more than sustenance for our bodies, music does more than fill the silent moments. It links to emotion, memory, culture, and community. Chris loves connecting with people through songs. He feels grateful to be able to share music with others.
About David Adedokun
David Adedokun has been shaking, stirring and concocting drinks at beloved bars and eateries in Columbia since the mid-2000s. His passion for craft cocktails has grown alongside the city's desire for unique hospitality experiences. Currently, he continues to lead the beverage program he began at the popular local restaurant, Dragon Room, in 2023.
About Jeni Blyth
A Greenville native, Jeni has been part of the local food and beverage scene since 1999. Her career behind the bar began at Chicora Alley before she joined Vault & Vator in 2017. She later designed the bar and beverage program for Luna Rosa, and has traveled to study cocktail cultures around the world, including bartending in Berlin.
Jeni holds multiple certifications, including Executive Bourbon Whiskey Steward and Professionalism in Tequila Culture, and her work has been featured in Condé Nast Traveler, Town Magazine, Greenville Journal, The Washington Post, and the South Carolina Cocktails book.
About Alan Free
Alan is a Florence Native and has been in the industry for over 20 years and been creating craft cocktails for the latter part of that journey. He helped create a more nuanced bar program at Victors, elevating the menu with relevant flavors. He's now at Elliott's BBQ Lounge where you can find a similar cocktail experience in a more casual environment.
South Carolina Cocktails
LOWCOUNTRY
Cocktail: Ambiguous Bird
Bar: The Archer, Charleston
Creator: James Chmielewski & Damien Eden
This cocktail is a prime example of cocktail classics -- the Tiki trend in this case -- interpreted through a Lowcountry lens. First, while it doesn’t shy away from its classic Jungle Bird cocktail inspiration, it does illustrate two important things: one, that a knowledge of the cocktail canon allows for creative riffs, and two, forced carbonation makes most cocktails more delicious in the high humidity of the region’s summers. The Archer’s specific riff of infused Campari softens the bitter edges of the red amaro and invites a broader range of palates, proving that approachability doesn’t have to sacrifice craftsmanship.
GRAND STRAND & PEE DEE
Cocktail: Pig in the City*
Bar: Victor’s, Florence
Creator: Alan Free
In many ways, the still overwhelmingly rural Pee Dee region is defined by pigs and corn, two heritage crops for the area. Florence native Alan Free builds upon this legacy with a variation of Old Fashioned, the state’s most beloved cocktail. He uses fat washing, one of the hottest current cocktail crafting techniques in the state (crossing the boundaries between kitchen and back bar) to create a distinctive cured pork flavor and silky mouthfeel without losing the Old Fashioned style. This chemistry-centered process involves using a fat to infuse the bourbon, then freezing it to remove the solids from the spirit. It’s time and labor intensive but illustrates that high craft cocktail creativity exists statewide.
*not vegetarian
UPSTATE
Cocktail: Summer Lovin
Bar: The O7, Greenville
Creator: Jeni Blyth
Industry veteran Jeni Blyth is a creative force in the Upstate, both in cocktail competitions and behind the bar serving customers on a weeknight. Summer Lovin is a fine example of a floral-forward cocktail that is not cloying. The base is a butterfly pea flower, cucumber and honeysuckle-infused gin, but her own housemade lime cordial keeps it from skewing too sweet. The 07 is a neighborhood spot, but with this cocktail, Jeni proves that local and familiar can still push the boundaries a bit, and it doesn’t hurt that it uses one of Greenville’s favorite current cocktail ingredients -- gin.
MIDLANDS
Cocktail: Dragon Mother
Bar: Dragon Room, Columbia
Creator: David Adedokun
Japanese food is trending, especially the casual izakaya approach to food and cocktails, and Columbia’s Dragon Room capitalizes on this and adds its own Columbia vibe. Longtime local fixture David Adedokun takes inspiration from the Old Fashioned -- yes, it’s our favorite! -- as the beginning point of this cocktail, not the end of the story. He switches out bourbon for classic Suntory Whisky Toki as the base spirit, then creates a one-of-a-kind signature syrup that provides a distinctive Christmas orange flavor to the cocktail, which, when served at the bar, even involves a little flame flair at the end.
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