Issue #5: Hello, Charleston

This week, I ventured down to Charleston for my day job.

Aside from attending the panels and networking like a madman, I got out and saw some sights and ate and drank some mighty fine things. I also met a few new friends while saddled up at bars, including a fellow Grand Rapidian (small world) and my new BFFs Chris and Ciara (hi guys!).

But the journey also gave me a solid excuse to reach out to a good friend living in Greenville, South Carolina, Sam Slaughter. Beyond having an awesome name — and a great author photo you’ll find at the end of the email — he’s a former editor of mine and now the SC Brewers Guild association manager.

“We have a lot going on … and I’m not sure we know what to do with it,” Sam told me recently. And that’s tough because South Carolina is not a front-runner of states you think to visit.

The former New Yorker is also the author of “Are You Afraid of the Dark Rum,” a ’90s-themed cocktail book that is a riot to read … and taste. It’s worth a purchase right now at its current $12.99 price. (Plus this is the author’s photo).

So, read on for a quick travelogue about Charleston with some expert commentary from Sam sprinkled in.

Charleston welcomes Pat, delights his taste buds

I’ve long heard Charleston is a place to eat and drink. It’s also a place with a whole lot of history it is still trying to reckon with.

Take the the new International African American Museum, which I unfortunately did not get to since it is only open until 5, but I did have a chance to walk around its incredible gardens. It’s situated on Gadsden’s Wharf, where 40% of all American enslaved persons once crossed. (In 2018, the city apologized for its role in the slave trade.)

Beyond the social history, which is itself a separate issue, the food of South Carolina seemingly has always had it going on.

“Historically, there is a lot of great food in the South. If you’ve not spent anytime down here, you don’t know you can go to the corner store and buy the incredible shrimp and grits for for $9,” Sam said. “Over the last decade, you have people who left New York, San Francisco or Chicago and were looking for a place to plant their flag. Coming to the South was a good option.

“There was an opportunity. They could come here with their skills, say ‘I’m going to do this cocktail bar or restaurant and open up seven days a week and afford to pay for it.’”

The first day I took my lunch period to jump over to Xiao bao biscuit. Their pork dumplings and Som Tum Chicken were delicious and far too much for one person to finish.

Credit: Xiao bao biscuit

At night I ventured down to Leon’s Oyster Shop, which specializes in fried chicken and, well, oysters. While I love oysters, I’m weary of eating raw Southern oysters during the summer months, so I went with a fried chicken sandwich. They also had a frozen gin and tonic, which worked surprisingly well.

Sparing you all the details of my conference, the second day’s lunch took me to Edmund’s Oast Brewing Co. A delightful Cuban sandwich was devoured.

At night I ventured to The Darling Oyster Bar, which is where I met and spent nearly four hours with my new friends Chris and Ciara. There I had the shrimp cocktail and baked oysters while sampling several wonderful cocktail creations.

Credit: The Darling Oyster Bar

My last day took me and a source to Rodney Scott’s BBQ. And BBQ is a definite must on a visit to Charleston. I heard great things about Lewis Barbecue, but it was closed due to some apparent technical difficulties.

It was not a long trip, but I was able to pack in quite a bit for a town rich in history; it is home to the first museum in America, dating back to 1773, and Fort Sumter, where the first shots of the Civil War were fired. It was founded in 1670, after all. It’s not a big city by any means, but it sure does have a lot to see and do. (It’s also exploded in population, from approximately 80,000 people in 1980 to 96,000 in 2000 to 155,000 now.)

“We have grown so much and we want to accommodate that, and there are still some pains, but we have to figure out to accommodate all the people who are here and want to come here,” Sam said. “It comes down to what people are looking for in tourism. When you think of South Carolina, you’re thinking about some sort of history, you’re thinking of seafood. And you do not think beyond that or project beyond that.”

The craziest thing I learned, besides that South Carolina, a state I hardly think of beyond maybe a beach vacation, is that it is the largest producer of peaches in the U.S. … more than Georgia. That is crazy.

The craft beer craze (when it was still a craze and not just a fabric of life and somewhat starting to recede) did not include the Southeast. Now, that region of the U.S. is starting to come into its own as a locally made product. And the beers are good!

South Carolina is a fine example. But it’s hard for a state that has to compete with somewhere like Asheville, N.C., which (Grand Rapidians can gasp) claims it’s Beer City, USA. (Beer City is a joke, at this point we are back to the 1800s with beer being made everything and the quality everywhere can be amazing and… just drink local.)

“North Carolina has done the best job of being a beer representative of the South, and they have allowed us to form our own identity,” Sam said. “Being so close to a region that has beer-centric beer tourism, it can be hard, but we are ready and ready to show that we are making great beer down here.”

I was really only able see Downtown, or The Peninsula, one of six distinct districts in the city. And Sam had a lot of recommendations for the other five as well, so I guess I’ll have to go back.

A big takeaway, though, was the humidity. The summer might not be the ideal time to go.

“If you come down here, we’re going to show you a good time,” Sam said.

What’s Sam Drinking

“Honestly, not beer, but a locally-produced THC seltzer, Rebel Rabbit. It’s produced in Greenville and it produces a nice buzz that is non-alcohol related. They took over the space of one of the OG South Carolina breweries, and they are crushing it.”

PGA Championship x Scotch

The official cocktail of the 124th US Open Championship: The Lemon Wedge

• 1.5 oz of Dewar’s 12 Year Old

• 3 oz club soda

• 2 oz lemonade

Method: Combine all ingredients over ice in a highball glass and garnish with lemon wheel.

Alyssa’s Literary Libations

Hi! Alyssa here. I’m less than 100 pages into this week’s book — Honey by Isabel Banta — and I’m already very into it. I picked it up as my June Book of the Month pick… based mostly on the cover to be honest. The story takes place in the ‘90s and ‘00s with a coming-of-age tale about fictional pop star Amber Young. It’s giving Britney, bitch. And there’s a recently introduced male character who I expect to be reminiscent of JT. I LOVE IT. Millennials who grew up during the ‘90s and early ‘00s pop scene, dig out your jelly shoes and low-rise capris, this novel is for us.

For all the reasons I just mentioned, I knew I’d have to include a recipe from Sam Slaughter’s cocktail book for this Literary Libations feature. (Fun fact: Sam actually flew into Grand Rapids to bartend my ‘90s-themed 30th birthday party!). These thoughts occurred before I learned Pat was profiling Sam for this week’s issue. Call it osmosis, the same wavelength, meant-to-be, the universe speaking, brain coupling, mind meld, etc. Or, marriage. So, without further ado, the 90s cocktail of your dreams that also got my friends way too drunk at my birthday celebration!

Semi-Charmed Kind of Cocktail

(Named after Third Eye Blind’s smash hit Semi-Charmed Kind of Life)

• 5 mint leaves

• .25 ounce simple syrup

• 1.5 ounces white rum

• 1 ounce pomegranate juice

• .5 ounce lime juice

• powdered sugar, for garnish

Method: Muddle the mint leaves in the bottom of a cocktail shaker with simple syrup. Add the rum, pomegranate and lime juices, and ice. Shake well and double strain into a coupe glass. Garnish with a “bump” of powdered sugar. ;)

Weekend Reads

Building on the US Open drink, take a look at Axios’s take on the U.S. Golf Association’s growth at Pinehurst.

This week saw a sad day for the U.S. wine industry (NY Times obit), which owes Warren Winiarski a lot for his historic win at a 1976 Paris wine tasting. He died at 95. Crazy though, he and America likely would have had no idea, if not for Time reporter George M. Taber. Taber was in Paris and wrote in his article “Judgement of Paris,” “The unthinkable happened: California beat all of Gaul.”

This one choked me up from NY Times: “The Most Endangered Marine Mammal Still Exists.” This tiny little porpoise species is barely hanging on.

There’s been quite a bit about cricket in the U.S. in recent weeks, as the major global tournament is in New York — and the U.S. upset Pakistan and held its own against India. As a big fan of Louisville Slugger, this Business Insider video (about 14 minutes) about cricket bats was really neat. (And if you found that neat, here’s a documentary about Goose Island Beer Co.’s Bourbon County Stout that includes a chunk about the barrel production process.)

What’s Pat Drinking

Well, in Charleston as noted, I went to some cool spots.

The Darling has some incredible cocktails — including the Oyster Bar Negroni on tap and the Deebo, made with rye whiskey, honey, lemon, and Burlesque bitters with a lil’ side of honey-roasted peanuts.

At Xiao bao biscuit, they have super cool cocktails like the Sichuan Sting, which makes your lips go numb because of the Sichuan peppercorn featured.