The Cocktail Bandits don’t just make cocktail recipes and influence the social scenes of Charleston, they create the experience.
Watch as Johnny Caldwell and Taneka Reaves explain how two women of color took over the social & events scene of Charleston’s deep Food & Bev community one cocktail, one experience at a time. Video by: Jay Wayne Productions
About the speaker
The Cocktail Bandits, named two of Charleston's 50 Most Progressive in 2016, Johnny Caldwell and Taneka Reaves are the dynamic duo known around the globe as the curly-haired Cocktail Bandits. The full-time Charleston Ambassadors met at the College of Charleston, and now, with their booming hospitality business and self-titled Cocktail Bandits blog, promote female empowerment through advocacy for the food and beverage community from a feminine, urban perspective.
The curly ladies, who talk cocktails daily, educate and entertain their growing blog audience through their own original cocktail recipes, promoting the craftsmanship of other bar professionals and sharing their experiences at foodie events all around the Holy City and beyond. Johnny and Taneka have hosted sold-out events at Charleston Food & Wine Festival, Atlanta Food & Wine Festival and Euphoria Greenville Food, Wine & Music Festival. The duo have also been featured on Sirius XM Radio online, NBC BLK online, Metro UK online, Style Me Pretty Online, Cuisine Noir Magazine, National PBS ‘Moveable Feast with Fine Cooking TV’, ESSENCE Magazine and several other regional publications.
cocktailbandits.com
Favorite quotes from this talk See all
Be what you want to see because you never know who's watching and wants to be that with you.
Life doesn't get any easier—you get better.
We wanted to create a setting to be able to tell our point of view and our story. There was no voice for the black female drinker in mainstream media or social media.
We had to be more than just party girls, more than just bloggers or mixologists. We had to be more. We realized how important our voice was in the community so dedicated to only share positive press, never posting images for clickbait or for payment.
Never underestimate the power of social media. It allows us to get our context and perspectives out, our voice.
Photos from this talk See all
Hosted by
Charleston Distilling Co.
501 King St
Charleston, South Carolina United States 29403
Date
Partners
Counter Culture Coffee
Welkin Coffee
Jameson Law
Duncan Parnell
Charleston Distilling Co.
Lumos
