The blonde booze cruisers are back with another episode packed with valuable information for anyone planning a cruise. Since Episode 013, the girls have added a combined four cruises to their resume! For the best overall cruise-planning and packing tips, be sure to listen to Booze Cruise Vol. 1, but if you’re an old pro like the Boozy Blondes, Booze Cruise Vol. 2 dives deeper into holiday cruising, European cruising and transatlantic cruising!
The DOE for this episode is a Lemon Gin Fizz. Served over ice, this summertime libation was crafted with Barrhill Gin, fresh lemon juice, rosemary simple syrup and splash of soda, garnished with a rosemary sprig.
The girls spent Thanksgiving 2022 on board Royal Caribbean’s Wonder of the Seas. At the time, it was the largest ship in the world. Holiday cruising comes with its list of pros and cons as the girls discuss, but there is no question how much fun they had on the Wonder. From amazing specialty dining restaurants (faves are Hooked Seafood, Wonderland and The Mason Jar) to themed parties to Boardwalks and Central Park, listen in as the girls take you through their Thanksgiving adventure at sea – and spoiler alert – landed a bonus day! The cruise stopped at St. Thomas and St. Kitts – listen to Episode 045 to hear all about the adventures the girls had in the islands!
During the 2023 Independence Day holiday weekend, the Boozy Blondes cruised on Royal Caribbean’s Independence of the Seas (fitting, right?) with friends and family to celebrate Chrissy’s birthday. When the ship stopped at Nassua, the girls introduced their dirty dozen to one of their most favorite places – Rip Ty’d Brewing! You can listen to their interview with owner Christine Albury in Episode 019! This was a down and dirty 3-night party cruise and the group definitely got the most of the short voyage celebrating Chrissy with an 80s-themed night and onesie party!
Chrissy took one for the team and cruised on MSC’s Sinfonia out of Venice, Italy, to the Greek Islands. It’s an older, if not oldest, ship in the fleet, and although certainly not in style, it did take Chrissy to her ultimate bucket-list place, Santorini. English was not the first language on this ship, so none of the trivia hosts, comedians, etc spoke English during their performances. However the beer selection on Sinfonia was second to none!
Lucky for Chrissy she sailed on Sinfonia before boarding onto a world of luxury on Virgin Voyages’ Valiant Lady. She sailed on this transatlantic cruise from Miami to Barcelona and gushes about the amazing food, mezcal tasting, free Champagne parties and kid-free sailing. She reminds listeners drink packages are not offered on Virgin Voyages, so this is one big difference booze travelers need to remember when booking a Virgin cruise.
The girls break down these three cruise lines and decide they are each best for the following:
Royal Caribbean = drinks, parties, families
MSC = beer selection, European travling, commuting
Virgin Voyages = foodies, adventure seekers, adults only
Tune in for more details like all there is to explore on Wonder of the Seas and a breakdown of the Splash of Romance package on Virgin Voyages – you’re granted permission to board!
Napa South Wine Bar in Clayton, Georgia, merges two wine worlds for the vino lovers – Napa Valley, California wines meet southern wines. The Boozy Blondes love their wine, and Chrissy found her home away from home when we stumbled upon this new bar in the heart of downtown Clayton. She ventured here three times during her visit to the north Georgia mountains!
It’s no surprise Chrissy is sipping on wine as the DOE. She enjoys a glass of Dark Horse Red Blend while she chats with Tracey about Napa South and how her dream of opening a wine bar became a reality just a few months before this interview – Napa South opened its doors September 2022!
Tracey and her husband moved to Clayton, Georgia, from northern California during the pandemic in 2020. Having a great deal of love, knowledge and experience with Napa Valley wines, Tracey wanted to bring these varieties to Georgia while also showcasing southern wines. Every two months she shakes up the offerings with four new Napa Valley wines and four new southern wines, which guests can enjoy by the glass, by the bottle or in a flight!
Napa South is open every day of the week (except Wednesdays) so locals and visitors have a place to go on the traditionally quieter days of the week, like Mondays and Tuesdays. In addition to wine, they offer beer, sparking cocktails and small plates with an ever-evolving menu. Both Chrissy and Tracey chose the Napa Nachos as their favorite menu item.
There is no shortage of events at Napa South like Hometown Tuesdays and The Sunday Sip! Be sure to follow Napa South on Instagram and Facebook for all the latest news and releases.
Future plans for Napa South include building an outdoor deck area. And the best part is, there are three lofts available for rent right above Napa South – what could be better than visiting Clayton with a wine bar just below your room? The Boozy Blondes can definitely get behind that kind of wine cellar!
The Boozy Blondes are thrilled to interview a pair of their boozy idols, Adrian and AJ of Hard Cider Guys! The Hard Cider Guys have supported the Boozy Blondes from their inception, and the girls appreciate the love and positivity so much! They learned a lot in this interview – the Hard Cider Guys have so much knowledge about the cider industry, listeners are guaranteed to learn a lot and maybe even have a new appreciation for cider – the blondes sure do.
Get to know Adrian and AJ and how their shared love of jujitsu and cider turned into a life-long friendship and blew up online! During the pandemic they guys started vlogging, reviewing ciders. Then they began to visit cideries and offered owners free promotion on social media. After a while, asking to be invited turned into cideries inviting them.
If you have ever wanted to build a strong brand and online presence, listen to this episode. The guys’ dedication to consistently create content is incredibly admirable. When it comes to The Boozy Blondes and Hard Cider Guys, all agree the time spent together is invaluable, but keeping up with your brand is demanding – but fun!
Many preconceived notions about ciders are that they are sweet. Which appeals to some, but not to others (like the Boozy Blondes). The guys explain many mass-produced ciders you find on shelves is of the sweeter variety, but if you’re looking for something more on the dry side, find a craft cidery and try their product. For example, it took AJ five tries before he warmed up to ciders!
For cider lovers, the annual event CiderCon is for you! Adrian was fortunate to attend the 2022 CiderCon through a scholarship he won – Cider Scholarship for BIPOC Beverage Professionals! This annual event brings beverage professionals together to enjoy workshops, classes, parties, networking.
While the Hard Cider Guys have quite the portfolio of cideries, Angry Orchard and Keel & Curley Farms rank high on the bucket list. (Listen to Boozy Blondes Episode 009Keel & Curley Farm to learn more about this winery, brewery and restaurant!)
Future plans for this duo is to sometime open a bar dedicated to all the cideries the guys visited over the years. The girls definitely approve of these future plans! Follow the guys and all their adventures on Instagram and YouTube
If you’ve been listening to the Boozy Blondes podcast, chances are you’ve heard the girls talk about their drinker in the field, Tanya Nash! Tanya is constantly out and about, exploring new breweries and fun bars, and she always reports back to the blondes. Tanya’s professional bio even states, Her bucket list includes “traveling around the world to find that perfect craft beer.”
In this episode Molly interviews Tanya while out in the field (aka Tanya’s field drinker workspace). They are actually enjoying drinks before their flight at the Dallas/Fort Worth airport. The DOE is a double Captain and ginger beer for Molly and Sierra Nevada’s Hazy Little Thing (6.7% IPA) for Tanya.
Listen in and learn more about Tanya and the important qualities it takes to be a good field drinker. This short but sweet episode is a rapid Fast Five with this boozy brunette.
The Boozy Blondes interview their boozy doppelgängers in this episode of the Boozy Blondes Podcast! Cameron Teske and Jonathan Eckelberg are the creators and hosts of Pour Another Round podcast, and they like beer! Pour Another Round is a podcast by beer lovers, for beer lovers with beer creators. At the time of release, these boozy bros have interviewed over 100 boozy creators all over the world!
Fun Fact – the beers the guys drank were both created in honor of Pour Another Round’s one year anniversary! #BoozyBlondesGoals
Listen to this episode to learn about Cameron (former contributor to Alcoholmanac Magazine and boozy book author) and Jonathan (retired stock car racer turned director of WI High School Racing Association) and how Pour Another Round was created! The guys share their podcast wins, challenges and offer advice to anyone out there wanting to create a podcast.
Future goals at time of recording for these boozy bros is to host their own beer festival – and spoiler alert – they did just that earlier this year! The inaugural Outdoor Winter Beer Festival highlighted people and stories behind local breweries – and also highlighted the dedicated attendees who chose to drink beer outside in the frigid March weather of Green Bay, Wisconsin!
Be sure to listen to Pour Another Round if you like beer, like breweries and like some bad jokes and great puns! Follow them on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to see which breweries on are tap and keep up with this bromance. We hope you enjoy this episode and all the boozy banter between this 4-pack. Cheers!
Join the Boozy Blondes as they visit Cuba’s oldest brewery, yet one of Miami’s youngest! If you’ve been listening to the Boozy Blondes podcast, this will be the third time you’ll hear about Cerveceria la Tropical in the Wynwood neighborhood of Miami, Florida. (Episode 20 and Episode 37)
Chrissy met Harold Perez Mendoza, Cerveceria la Tropical brewer, in the Keys at Hemingway’s Rum Co. Distillery in 2022, and she gushed about the brewery. She invited Harold to be on the podcast and the girls met up with him at the beginning of 2023.
The DOE is la Original Reserva, an amber lager, one of Cerveceria la Tropical’s core beers. Harold poured it straight from the tank. This is the original Cuban recipe from 1888! When you listen to this episode, It’s safe to say this was not the girls’ first drink of the day – Harold is a great Boozy guide!
Harold is from Venezuela and started with Cerveceria la Tropical from the beginning. Prior to here, Harold worked for a few other breweries (including Veza Sur, another Boozy Blondes favorite featured in Episode 20) and owned his own brewery in Venezuela.
So a brief history for you (read the full story here), Cerveceria la Tropical started in Cuba in 1888 but was nationalized when Castro’s government took over in 60s. So the Cerveceria la Tropical founders and family moved to Miami and forgot about the beer business. Fast forward to more modern day and the founder’s grandson partnered with Heineken to bring Cerveceria la Tropical brewery back!
In Cuba Cerveceria la Tropical was located in a beautiful tropical garden in Havana. It was the center of entertainment! In Miami Cerveceria la Tropical replicates much of what it was in Havana – the giant birdcage, pictures of the original brewery adorning the walls, the gates at the entrance, the stage, the garden! It’s truly beautiful here. And caters to everyone – beer drinkers, wine drinkers, liquor drinkers, mocktail drinkers, foodies, kids, pets – everyone can find something they love here.
Harold mentions it’s important to produce beers favorable to the masses but also get creative. Cerveceria la Tropical is starting to make more creative and unique beers. They are growing organically but quickly! Their goal is to release two to three new beers in the taproom each month. In addition to beer they are developing ready to drink (RTD) beer based options. In the taproom you can try numerous beer-based cocktails and plans include canning these for distribution.
There is always something going on at the taproom and you can rent out the space for your special events too! Be sure to follow Cerveceria la Tropical on Facebook and Instagram and visit the website to see beers on tap, upcoming entertainment, food menus, tour info and so much more!
Did you know there is a way to get the benefits of tea while also catching a buzz? Let the Boozy Blondes introduce you to Owl’s Brew Boozy Tea! Owl’s Brew Boozy Tea is made with REAL ingredients and is REALLY delicious! Fresh-brewed tea + real fruit juice + 4.8% ABV = Boozy Blondes dream drink! The girls were so excited to interview their boozy idol, Maria Littlefield, co-founder with Jennie Ripps of Owl’s Brew.
So obviously, you can guess what the DOE is for this episode – different flavors of Boozy Tea! It’s hard for all the girls to pick a favorite – these drinks are seriously good – not overly sweet or synthetic tasting. Full disclosure, Molly was very hesitant to try Owl’s Brew when Chrissy shared one with her. Chrissy tends to lean towards the fun, boozy alternatives that don’t always fit Molly’s palate. BUT! Molly loved this product as much as Chrissy! The Boozy Blondes are now Owl’s Brew pushers – they share them with everyone!
Maria shares her background with the blondes and how she and Jennie connected and developed Boozy Tea based on their own wants for drinking. They met at a marketing firm in NYC, and Jennie was really taking a deep dive into the benefits of tea at that time. Maria teamed up with her to develop tea concoctions for co-workers, and the concept evolved from here. Welcome to the market – Owl’s Brew!
Boozy Tea officially launched in 2020 embracing the idea of “drink wise,” the Owl’s Brew slogan, which means knowing what you’re putting into your body, confident your drink of choice uses real ingredients and does actually taste great!
Learn the difference between real ingredients versus natural ingredients versus artificial ingredients! You may be surprised to learn that natural ingredients mean anything from the earth – so by anything, that can be beaver anal glands, as an example. (*insert puke face emoji here*) So actually, there may be no nutritional difference between a natural ingredient and an artificial ingredient.
With that being said, listen to this episode to hear about the struggles finding a partner to mass distribute your home-kitchened product. What Maria and Jennie were brewing in their kitchens (or hotel bathrooms; you just gotta listen) needed to be packaged in an independent can – millions of times over! If you’ve ever thought about mass-producing you’re greatest invention (hello, Shark Tank), Maria touches on all aspects of the venture. Including hilarious behind the scene stories of glamorous events and run ins with TSA!
Getting deeper into this episode, all the girls chat about another love – books! What’s better than reading a good book? Having a great drink to pair with that book. Owl’s Brew hosts a boozy book club! They highlight all female authors, and it’s a new book every month! Join the club for great books and fun giveaways!
Make sure to follow Owl’s Brew on Instagram and Facebook to keep up with all things boozy including funny reels! Speaking of social, right now (May 2023) Owl’s Brew is donating $1 to Women’s Voices for the Earth for every post with the hashtag #teafortransparency. This effort, the book club and so much more supports Owl’s Brew Wise Women Collective of women supporting women – “At Owl’s Brew we use the term Wise Women to signify who we are, the community we support, and the love and care with which we craft our products.”
To find Owl’s Brew by you, visit the store finder on the Owl’s Brew website.
The girls extend a huge THANK-YOU to Maria and the Owl’s Brew team for making this interview possible. Drink wise, lushes!
Get an inside look at the great brews and events happening at Azalea City Brewing Company in Palatka, Florida, as the Boozy Blondes share drinks with brewery owner, Andrea Conover. Andrea always said “someone should open a brewery here in Palatka.” Turns out, she became that person, and Azalea City opened on Thanksgiving Day 2020! Now, over two years later Azalea City has become a community gathering place, hosting numerous events and serving delicious and creative craft brews!
The girls chat in Azalea’s courtyard enjoying the Coffee Cream Ale, a 5% cream ale with a powerful roasted coffee scent, Ravine Red, a 4.3% Irish Red Ale and the seasonal 5.5% Peppermint Stout. Andrea shares that she had no prior brewing experience before opening Azalea, but she wanted to bring something revitalizing to Palatka. She did her research, traveling around the state to check out other breweries (sounds familiar, doesn’t it – she could totally be a Boozy Blonde!) as the old Coca Cola bottling plant transformed into Azalea City Brewing Company.
Before they officially opened head brewer Eli would brew ten gallons at a time, and the team would share these beers at local festivals and events to promote the new brewery. You can still find them at these events today in Jacksonville, St. Augustine, Gainesville, Palatka and Deland.
Azalea City hosts 20 taps of its own beers and hard seltzers and also offers wine. While they don’t have a kitchen (yet), there is always a food truck out back serving up something delicious to complement all the beers!
Be sure to follow Azalea City on Facebook and Instagram and sign up for their weekly newsletter to keep up with all the events they are hosting and attending, music and food truck schedules and new beer releases!
Tune in as the blondes recap their visit to historic downtown Sanford, Florida, a hidden gem of bars and breweries located just northeast of downtown Orlando. At the time of this recording, there are over 20 boozy destinations within a few walkable blocks. This episode covers fifteen of them, so settle in with your favorite libation, and take notes – there is a lot to see (hear) here!
The first stop on the boozy tour was Dees Brothers Brewery. Dees Brothers believe there’s a beer our there for everyone, and they brew them. Molly had a flight with Radler, a 4% lager, Centennial Blonde, a 4.5% blonde ale, Beans & Brew, a 5.2% English ale with coffee and vanilla, and Cotswold Ale, a Dees Brothers core beer, an English Amber Ale at 4.2%. Chrissy had the Wild Tonic Hard Kombucha, raspberry and goji rose flavor at 5.6%.
This was a great place to start because they have a full kitchen and offer vegan cheese, so the blondes split a grilled cheese and mac and cheese. The food is fantastic here!
After Dees Brother, the girls headed towards Suffering Bastard inside of Tuffy’s Bottle Shop & Lounge, but got distracted by Loggerhead Distillery which they passed on the route. John, who was working, welcomed the group in and they sampled all Loggerhead has to offer – vodka, gin, moonshine, rum, bourbon, etc, etc. Chrissy’s favorite was the Apple Pie Moonshine and Molly’s favorite was the Key Lime gin, bottles of both of which left the distillery with the girls.
After tasting all that Loggerhead had to offer, it was time to eat again, and thankfully, Suffering Bastard offers food along with its amazing selection of craft cocktails. The blondes had a reservation here because this speakeasy is small and very popular. Chrissy ordered the State Puff Painkiller (this drink had been on her radar for years!) and Molly ordered the beginner level Mai Tai (beginner level was not by choice). These drinks were accompanied by the potstickers, pork sliders and dragon fruit sliders.
The pub crawl continued from here. Next stop was The Sullivan Public House, a great Irish gastropub with live music and snug where the group got to sit. Molly drank a Guinness and Chrissy had Jameson and ginger.
Moving on towards home, there was one more stop on the tour – the Wild Wild West End Honky-Tonk Saloon. Unfortunately the night gets a little fuzzy here for the blondes – they put a lot of drinking time in up to this point! This bar is a Sanford live music pillar and it recently added a courtyard, which had a food truck parked here, so Chrissy ordered chips and guac while Molly ordered shots.
This concluded night one in Sanford, and day two was just as busy/boozy! The girls met up with Florida Hop Mama, Ashley at Celery City Craft. Armed with Brew-Hoos (Yoohoo, Irish whiskey and espresso vodka) and a flight, the blondes chatted with fellow blonde boozer Ashley outside in the beautiful courtyard. Celery City offers over 50 beers on tap and has a full bar. Sushi & Seoul provides the food on site, and though the girls didn’t eat here, the plates look delicious!
While the blondes were at Celery City, their husbands enjoyed some time across the street at The Station. This sports bar has a firehouse theme and even an Air B&B upstairs! If your favorite team is playing while in town, this is where you want to catch the game.
For lunch, the blondes made reservations for the The Old Jailhouse. Formerly a jail, the building still has the original prison cell block door and prisoner ledger! The craft cocktails were delicious – Chrissy had a rum and ginger and Molly had the fall specialty drink, Witches Trial – gin, lime juice, Cardamaro, Cherry Heering, Peychaud’s Bitters, House Serrano Chile & Fennel Seed Syrup.
After lunch the girls headed home for a break before the evening stops which started at Deviant Wolfe Brewing. Four friends started this brewery who was to promote balance in an active lifestyle, community involvement, accepting environmental responsibility and socializing with friends and family all while enjoying craft beer. The girls split a flight and really enjoyed the Sourmanjaro. It’s a 5.1% kettle soured blonde ale conditioned on African coffee beans – such a unique flavor! They also loved the Besitos de Coco, a 5.9% toasted coconut and vanilla bean brown ale.
From here, the girls made a pit stop at Henry’s Depot Food Hall & Cocktail Bar. They were looking for espressos, but the coffee shop was closed. This is a great place for a group with different culinary preferences because everyone can order from different restaurants, but sit together either inside or outside.
After checking out Henry’s, they made their way to Tuffy’s – host to Suffering Bastard where they went the night before. Tuffy’s is huge, and to the girls’ delight, they had espresso martinis on tap (Chrissy) and Lavender Tom Collins on tap (Molly)! The girls were in heaven! Tuffy’s offers a fall bar, fire pits, live music, creative seating (an airstream, pontoon boat, etc) and plenty of games like bocce and cornhole.
To end the night, the girls visited Hollerbach’s Willow Tree, a long-standing Sanford staple. What started in 2001 with 7 employees has expanded to add a rooftop beer garden with 70 employees! Hollerbach’s offers an authentic German experience with German bands, German food and German boot-drinking challenges! Here they ate dinner and enjoyed old fashioneds (Chrissy) and mules (Molly). Next time the girls will attempt the das boot challenge!
Molly left town the next morning, but Chrissy kept the boozy tour going! She started with the Food Truck Wars taking place that morning and moved to Community Brew House. If you are a home brewer, this is the place for you – from supplies to classes, you can get all you need to take your brew game to the next level. This brewery offers small, artisan batches to foster new ingredients and new ideas. Chrissy enjoyed a pumpkin sour here. While they don’t have a kitchen, you can bring outside food here.
From here was Wops Hops, Sanford’s first micro-brewery. Chrissy enjoyed a flight here to include Cloudy Jen (named after her beertender!), a 6.8 New England Hazy IPA, Pope’s Poison, 5.9% spiced/herbed beer, Cyn City, a 4.4% strawberry kiwi sour and Moles & Assets, a 4.5% nitro stout with molasses.
The grand finale on this Sanford Trip was the city’s namesake, Sanford Brewing Company. In the heart of historic downtown Sanford, this brewery has over 100 seats offering craft beer, meads, ciders and specialty sodas. Chrissy had the Resting Beri Face Sour and loved it – until it made her sick later because it contains lactose, which she didn’t know when she ordered it. The brewery has a kitchen and live music.
Lushes, if you enjoy great drinks, creative brews and delicious food, make Sanford a must-visit destination on your list. The girls insist, this town will not disappoint their fellow booze travelers. Cheers!
Patti Southard and Wayne Lake opened Casa de Vino 57 about five years ago. From day one, their goal was to make everyone who visited the cozy wine bar tucked away on Treasury Street in St. Augustine feel like friends and family. The Boozy Blondes can attest – they felt so welcome and comfortable chatting with Patti and Wayne, they hung out for three hours after the interview, only dragging themselves away when their husbands said it was getting late and they were coming to pick them up!
While Wayne stuck to water during the interview, Patti enjoyed a glass of sparkling pinot noir rose, and the blondes shared a wine flight, which looked more like a wine tower! They loved the presentation of the flight and were told to drink from the bottom to the top (lighter wines are on the bottom of the flight and the wines get bolder as they go up).
Patti and Wayne got together years ago over their love of wine and dreamed of opening a wine bar. Wayne had years of experience working with wine, and Patti had years of experience drinking wine! Perfect! They found the property at 57 Treasury Street which included a beautiful courtyard and apartment above the downstairs bar. The original structure was the Joaneda House and built in 1806. It is one of the ten oldest structures in St. Augustine on the narrowest street in all of America!
In addition to its boutique wine selections, Casa de Vino 57 also offers beer and wine-based cocktails as well as amazing charcuterie boards with vegan cheese options! They host monthly wine walks and Full Moon Tastings as well as live music Thursdays – Sundays! You can join the Wine Club and schedule private wine tastings.
Be sure to follow Casa de Vino 57 on Facebook and Instagram and keep up with their website to stay in the know for all the fun events!
Boozy Blondes 