The First ‘Community Cocktail Party’

Erskine Care Home (28/11/2014)

On 28^th November 2014, Social and Cocktail Events launched a new initiative called Community Cocktails at Erskine Care Home in Bishopton. The project was devised to bring a genuine, premium cocktail bar experience to care homes and charitable organisations throughout Glasgow and the surrounding areas. Community Cocktails was launched as a way to give something back to the Glasgow community, where Social and Cocktail Events is based. The main goal of the project is to give elderly and disadvantaged people a chance to experience the increasingly popular phenomenon that is cocktail culture.

Kicking off the project at the Erskine Care Home on Friday evening 29^th November, Social and Cocktail Events provided a state-of-the art mobile cocktail bar, 2 professional cocktail bartenders, snacks, cocktail glassware, decorations and a mixture of alcoholic and non-alcoholic cocktails, including the classic Brandy Alexander and the alcohol-free Shirley Temple cocktail.

To help create a more authentic experience for the residents, Social and Cocktail Events attempted to create a prohibition era style theme, by putting up cut-outs representing speak-easys, jazz musicians and other elements of that era. The company also played a range of music from the era, including Jazz, Swing and Rag-Time, which all the residents thoroughly enjoyed. One of the cocktail bartenders also played his harmonica as one of the residents, Bob, played some jazzy tunes on the piano.

Over 50 residents attended the event and thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience. They were delighted to taste a range of mixed drinks which they never had before. The raspberry daiquiri was a big hit with the ladies while the men honoured their love for whiskey with the Old-Fashioned cocktail proving a huge success. The residents loved the 1920s theme of the evening, which was an era that many of them held dearly. Some of the residents also brought out their inner mixologist as they came up beside the bar and the bartenders taught them step-by-step how to make some popular cocktails.

Recreation assistant Christine Furphy was delighted with the event: “The residents have thoroughly enjoyed their cocktail experience and loved the 1920s theme and the wide range of cocktails. The bartenders were fantastic, chatting to all the residents and telling them about how the cocktails were made and their history. What was great about this event was that it was something completely unique that many of our residents have never experienced before. I am delighted that so many residents were so excited about cocktails and would love if the guys would come back again in the future.”