You ever have that random weeknight where you want to get out and try something interesting?  We decided to check out the Q drinks sponsored Highballr tour stop at Ink n Ivy last Tuesday night.  Good times!

Our favorite resident drink expert, Andrew Izrael at Bottle Cap (official title: Director of Beverage Creativity), hosted the event uptown at Ink n Ivy.  Guest bar professionals from across the country concocted creative drinks for us using Q Drinks mixers.  All you had to tell them was your preference in spirits, a hint of what you find interesting about a drink and they'd craft you some tasty treats.

I am going to admit I forgot what the ingredients where Andrew put together in my drink (I may have been distracted when it was served in a Tiki glass).  What I do remember was it was light, not too complex, but had great flavor.

We had a great time with other industry professionals who came to check it out.  We asked Andrew to give us a better understanding of what the Highballr tour is about.  Per Andrew:

The highballr tour put on by Q drinks is a multi-phase national tour across the U.S.  It started at Herbs and Rye in Las Vegas. Matt Graham who bar tends there was asked to invite four professionals from across the U.S. to come experience his city in the way an industry person does. So instead of the strip, we kayaked the Hoover damn. Then on the final night we got behind his bar and slung drinks with the Herbs team, all while using Q Drink products. The original four that were invited then got to host the same style of event in their home cities.

I (Andrew) was able to invite 4 Bar professionals (Katelin Rutter: Chattanooga ,Tn, Karina Martinez: Sacramento, CA, Michael Pando: Boston, MA, Andy Wright: Austin, TX) in to see Charlotte in a way that only industry people would know. Sunday night we went to the Dot Dot Dot for a welcome dinner followed up by a lively night of fun at Oak Room. The next day was my day to take them around the City. It was raining but we made the best of it and had a blast. We started at the Nascar Hall of Fame, grabbed some lunch at Ink n Ivy, hit the Victory indoor go cart track (to continue the race theme) and finally had my guests judge the Heaven Hill Bar Tender of the Year Competition that evening at the United States Bar Tenders Guild Meeting. After the competition they were able to continue out on the town with local bar professionals hitting different spots around the city. 

The next night (Tuesday) was our event. We held it at Ink n Ivy and the whole purpose was to connect my guests with our city and spread the love of hospitality in a genuine way. The platform is different then any other program I've been apart of in the beverage industry. It’s planned by bar tenders for bar tenders and then Q Drinks takes a back seat in facilitating the experience, which proved to make it more real for all parties involved.  We had a wonderful turn out considering all the rain and flash floods across charlotte that day. 

This tour is a lead up to Bar Convent Brooklyn in June where each of the original Highballrs from Vegas will meet again to conclude the tour being Q hosts during the convention week.

A few more deets on the Q Drinks Highballr initiative:  CLICK HERE