Tag: wine

Behind the Booze - Interviews, Season 1

Episode 004 | Behind the Booze – Forgotten Tonic Interview with John Moore

The Boozy Blondes

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Wander off the beaten path and join the Boozy Blondes as they interview John Moore, the owner of Forgotten Tonic in St. Augustine, Florida.

Forgotten Tonic in St. Augustine, Florida

The DOE is a Chai Espresso Martini featured on Half Baked Harvest (vodka, kaluha, espresso, coconut milk, chai-honey syrup). The girls chose this drink in honor of all the tasty craft cocktails the team at Forgotten Tonic serves up.

Forgotten Tonic is a great locals bar and hidden gem for tourists on historic Aviles (pronounced Av-ah-lees) Street. John was in the process of rebranding this location when the pandemic hit, so when restrictions were lifted in June 2020, Forgotten Tonic celebrated its re-opening and has been a favorite for the blondes.

Chrissy meets John for donuts (and Boozy coffee) to learn more about John and his bar. Surprisingly, he wasn’t always in the food industry. He went to college for Electrical Engineering and when he started working after graduation, he soon realized he did not have a passion for it.

He went to work at PF Chang’s and loved it! He started as a busboy, moved to bartender, then national trainer and he opened new locations, and then went into management. After PF Chang’s John went to work with a former coworker who opened his own bbq restaurant in Jacksonville. Here he learned all about whisky and helped open more restaurants around Jacksonville. Soon after, he decided he wanted to open his own bar and restaurant and found the location on Aviles Street.

Before Forgotten Tonic was the trendy bar and restaurant featuring “modern twists on comfort food, an extensive wine list and craft cocktails,” it was a bicycle shop, sailboat sail material shop, art gallery, a few other restaurants and one of the first public schools in the country!

Miracle Christmas-themed Pop Up Bar Party

John talks about the reality of owning a bar. What the guests see is 1% of reality. In the interview, hear some of the other 99% of what happens and things John wished he knew before opening.

Forgotten Tonic was chosen as a Miracle Christmas-themed pop up bar again (2020 first year). This is a huge honor as only about 100 bars around the world are chosen (105-110 in 2020). Forgotten Tonic was referred by Annie of Death or Glory in Delray Beach. The Miracle bar is like National Lampoons house threw up inside Forgotten Tonic – so many fun decorations, themed drinks and glassware. All Miracle Pop Up bars donate a percentage of retail purchases to a specific charity, this year the James Beard Foundation, Open For Good Campaign. Forgotten Tonic donates 10% of Miracle retail sales to this cause.

Boozy Blondes with Their “Nice” Shots

The Wolfpack went before Christmas and got two SanTaRex drinks (blanco tequila, mezcal, melon liqueur, almond orgeat, lime, tiki bitters), Yippee Ki Yay Motherf****r (Barbados rum, rhum agricole, overproof rum, ube & coconut orgeat, acid-adjusted pineapple juice) and Elfin’ Around (prosecco, gin, mulled wine reduction, grapefruit shrub, aromatic bitters, orange bitters). Plus Nice shots. 🎅

You still have time to check it out this year! The Miracle bar is open November 20, 2021 – January 31, 2022. Please share your pictures with us if you go! Keep up with Forgotten Tonic through its Facebook and Instagram accounts. Reservations are accepted and recommended by booking through its website or calling directly.

Season 1, Travel - Where to Drink

Episode 003 | Pub Pedal: St. Augustine Craft Breweries: Bog, Dog Rose, Ancient City and Old Coast Ales

The Boozy Blondes

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The Boozy Blondes explore their hometown breweries in St. Augustine, Florida, in this episode. St. Augustine is home to four craft breweries and the girls pedaled their bikes to all four – the best local breweries in St. Augsutine!

Boozy Blondes Outside of Bog

The DOE is Dream Pop from Bog Brewing Company. Dream Pop is a Farmhouse Ale aged 8 months in oak and finished on organic pink rose petals.

Our partner for this episode is Winc! Click here for a discount off your first order!

This first stop on the St. Augustine Craft Brewery Pub Pedal was Bog. The blondes split three beers here: Blueberry Lemon sour (5.5%), Mixed Culture Saison (6.7%) and Automatic Midnight (19.6 Imperial Stout). They arrived around lunchtime, and lucky for them, Tacos My Blessings is a permanent food truck behind Bog.

Boozy Blondes Outside of Dog Rose Brewing

From Bog the girls rode to Dog Rose Brewing Company where they enjoyed victory on the shuffleboard table while sharing a flight. Rhapsody in Red (American amber – 5.2%), Helles in a Bucket (bock – 7.9%), Bertha Brown Ale (brown ale – 6.3%) and Lions Head Honey Sour (sour – 5.2%). They say the honey in this beer came from bees in the lions head. The girls think this is a lion’s head from the Bridge of Lions in downtown St. Augustine, and found this reference from 2020.

Here the girls met Disco Witch Brewing owners Jeff and Shelly. Disco Witch is scheduled to open Spring 2022 in Yule, Florida. A grand opening celebration is scheduled in May!

Dog Rose opened in October of 2017 and was named one of the Top 20 Best New Breweries in the US by USA Today in 2020!

Ancient City Brewing Beers

The next stop for the blondes was Ancient City Brewing on Cathedral Place right downtown. This is the location of Ancient City’s tap house. Its brewhouse is west of town on Agricultural Center Drive by the St. Augustine outlets.

The girls had one beer each here – Chrissy had Augustine’s Orange Amber Ale (5.3%) and Molly ordered Ponce’s Pale Ale (5.2%). Ancient opened in May 2015.

For the final stop the girls pedaled hard over the Bridge of Lions to Old Coast Ales. Fun fact (that the girls learned too late), if you ride your bike to Old Coast, you earn 10% off your beer! Here Molly ordered the No A’postrophe (amber ale – 7.2%) and Chrissy was ordered the Static Haze (New England IPA – 6.4%).

Boozy Blondes at Old Coast Ales

Old Coast opened in February 2017 and is neighbors to Osprey Tacos. Tacos were ordered and Molly owes an apology to the blondes’ friend Elias. She blamed him in the episode for dropping the guacamole, which exploded everywhere, when really it was Phil! The girls do a lot of research (ahem, drink a lot) so they always have the boys and/or other friends around to keep an eye on them and clear up minor details later. 😉

These 4 breweries join forces during the holiday season. St. Augustine is known for the Nights of Lights, and these breweries started the Nights of Pints. During the Nights of Lights (typically from the end of November through January), you can purchase the Nights of Pints package at one of the four breweries which includes a t-shirt and punch card. The punch card is good for one free beer at each brewery!

If you happen to be in St. Augustine and are visiting Bog, Dog Rose, Ancient City or Old Coast, let us know! Send us a message and let us know your favorite!

** Since we recorded this episode, Bog no longer allows pets inside. Please call the breweries before bringing Fido so you are aware of the most current rules.

Season 1, Travel - Where to Drink

Episode 002 | St. Pete Ale Trail: 3 Daughters Brewing, Green Bench and More!

The Boozy Blondes
Boozy Blondes & Crew in St. Pete

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Pack your bags (and at least 70% of your friends) and join the Boozy Blondes as they explore the St. Pete beer scene! Saint Petersburg, Florida, is in Pinellas County which is home to 47 breweries! 17 of these are in St. Pete, and during this trip Chrissy and Molly made it to 6. Check out all the stops on the “Gulp Coast!”

The Drink of the Episode (DOE) is Beach Blonde Ale from 3 Daughters Brewing in St. Pete – perfect for the Boozy Blondes. Beach Blonde Ale is a blonde ale, light and refreshing, 5% ABV.

Fun fact – Chrissy celebrates her birthday twice every year. August 3rd and December 3rd. December 3rd is her actual birthday, but growing up in NEPA, winter birthdays are no fun. It’s typically gross weather, cold, maybe snowy. So she switched her birthday to August so she could celebrate in the summer with pool parties! The tradition stuck, and now (decades later) the blondes still celebrate big in August. All this to say, the St. Pete trip was in celebration of Chrissy’s birthday.

Boozy Blondes at The Hollander Hotel

They booked rooms at the Hollander Hotel, a historic boutique hotel in downtown St. Pete. The hotel has a beautiful pool area complete with private cabanas perfect for an afternoon birthday celebration. The Tap Room Bar & Grill is on site offering 21 beers on tap and craft cocktails. And the food is delicious! The girls enjoyed both brunch and dinner at the Tap Room.

Following an afternoon at the pool the blondes walked the short distance to Sea Salt for Happy Hour. Sea Salt offers drink and appetizer specials from 3pm to 6pm daily.

Saturday was pub crawl day! The Boozy Blondes set out to tackle as many breweries as possible out of the 17 in Saint Petersburg. First stop Right Around the Corner.

The Boozy Blondes and Crew Halloween 2016

Right Around the Corner is the perfect place for nostalgia and competition. From N64 to PlayStation, you can relive your glory days tearing up the track in Mario Kart as Princess Peach (if you’re Molly) or Wario (if you’re Chrissy). Who is your go-to character?

*Side bar, one of the best Halloweens ever, the blondes rounded up a group of friends, tied balloons to their beach cruisers and raced to downtown St. Augustine as the cast of Mario Kart! The Boozy Blondes love Mario Kart. Has anyone played Beerio Kart?

Chrissy on the Skee Ball court

Anyway, there is Skee Ball and Air Hockey, pinball, vending machines full of surprises and a great selection of craft beer. Molly had the Just Like Old Times (Berliner Weisse with lactose, vanilla and orange) and Chrissy enjoyed the Palmer Arnold (sour).

The next stop on the tour was 3 Daughters Brewing. This is a large operation and offers multiple event spaces for your group. The day the girls visited, 3 Daughters released two beers:  a peanut butter marshmallow blonde and mango habanero IPA.

After a flight and hot dog bites the girls moved on to Pinellas Ale Works (PAW). This brewery offers an extensive beer list. It’s a very pet friendly brewery and during happy hour $1 from each beer sold is donated to a local shelter.

Next stop was Avid Brew Company for “Christinas” and regular sized hot dogs. Christinas are half light lager or pale ale and half kombucha. Avid is a smaller brewery with a cute outdoor space.

The final stop was Green Bench and Webb’s City Cellar. They share a beer garden and Webb’s offers Mead. The girls tried all four of the local mead options on tap. Webb’s was closing down for an evening event so they hung out in the beer garden for a while – the boys got beers from Green Bench. *video of naming meads* So technically, the girls hit 6 stops on the Gulp Coast Craft Beer Trail. Green Bench and Webb’s each count individually. As of November 2021, the passport is now offered digitally so you can keep track of your stamps on your phone!

Foundations, Finales and Fuddled, Season 1

Episode 001 | Introducing the Boozy Blondes Podcast

The Boozy Blondes

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Meet Molly and Chrissy – booze travelers on a quest to bring you all things boozy!

These northeasterners have been friends for over 20 years! After growing up in NEPA (that’s local slang for northeastern Pennsylvania), these two happened to end up in the same beautiful town; the greatest place in the whole country – St. Augustine, Florida!

The girls have spent the past 20 years cramming in as much fun as possible to their busy schedules and enjoy escaping for libation vacations as often as they can. They are both so lucky to be able to plan most of their traveling together, so they decided it’s time to document their boozy adventures – and share them with the world!

Resources & Ridiculousness

When traveling, the girls love to check out local brewers and unique bars. Their podcast introduces these hidden (and sometimes not so hidden!) gems to their listeners. In some episodes, they will take you to a new city and recommend the best places to grab a drink – whether it be because of ambiance, drink selection, bar history, extracurricular activities (they do love their beer pong!) or happy hour specials, they’ll dish it all.

In other episodes the girls will give you a glimpse into their 20-year friendship and invite listeners to share their own experiences too as they cover some of life’s most important debates and hacks! Are alcohol delivery services really worth it? How do you get ready for a game day tailgate? What’s the one drink that instantly gives you mouth sweats? Favorite drinking game? Best way to cure hiccups?

The Boozy Blondes invite you to join them weekly for a drink as they share recipes for fun, friendship and fantastic beverages. Plus, there’s a drinking game in every podcast! So dive into their world as they deliver the perfect cocktail of great boozy resources and ridiculousness to keep you entertained! 

Stay tuned for the release of our first podcast episode – we can’t wait to get started! Cheers!

Foundations, Finales and Fuddled, Season 1

Boozy Blondes Trailer Released!

The Boozy Blondes

We are getting closer to our official launch date! We can’t wait to start sharing all our boozy knowledge with you – and start learning from you too! We released our trailer so you can get a sneak peek (or more appropriately, sneak listen) of what to expect from our podcast! Follow us on Anchor, Spotify, iTunes or Stitcher so you have easy access to all things boozy!

In the meantime, be sure to follow us on Instagram to catch all our boozy adventures! You can find the link above, or search for us @boozy.blondes.

Cheers!