Charlotte’s cocktail scene just got national press (again). Here’s what’s trending.
A Charlotte restaurant known for getting national attention has once again hit the spotlight in Punch, an online sister publication to Eater that covers drinking culture and other aspects of nightlife.
Supperland was featured in a February article announcing a boom in cocktail tasting menus — a notable development in an era where wine sales are dropping and non-alcoholic alternatives packed with adaptogens and botanicals are on the rise.
The trends are converging with a time when eating out isn’t just a way to find dinner for the night — it’s an entertainment experience, too.
That’s where cocktail tasting menus come in, and that’s exactly where you’ll find the focus of Colleen Hughes, the beverage director for the Tonidandel-Brown Restaurant Group in Charlotte.
She was recently nominated for a newly created James Beard Award category for Outstanding Professional in Cocktail Service. And Hughes’ work at Supperland, where she’s most often behind the bar on Saturday nights, is highlighted in the trend piece in Punch headlined: “We’re in the Midst of a Cocktail Tasting Menu Mini Boom.”
Although you can find food-focused tasting menus in a growing number of restaurants around the nation and in Charlotte — including Counter-, L’Ostrica and Omakase Experience by Prime Fish — cocktail tasting menus are rare.
Supperland Speakeasy offers a unique experience in Charlotte that’s often found only in larger cities such as Chicago and Atlanta, where exclusive cocktail selections come in courses with small bites that are crafted as a complement to the drinks. There’s an entertainment and information component, too — somewhat like eating at a chef’s table, with showy beverages instead.
“At Supperland in Charlotte, North Carolina, where cocktail dinners at the Speakeasy run around $200 per head, the drinks involve even more mad molecular science than the food: The restaurant uses “vegan foaming hydrocolloids” and liquid nitrogen to create a cocktail that releases a huge plume of steam, inspired by the Griswold family’s Christmas tree from National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. (The drink apparently evokes a smoldering fir tree.),” the Punch article said.
Supperland Speakeasy reservations — limited to 10 people at a time — are required in advance. Themes switch up every eight weeks or so, and prices vary. Its current World of Whiskey theme examines a variety of takes on the spirit from around the world and is $175 per person.
Supperland
Location: 1212 The Plaza, Charlotte, NC 28205
Cuisine: Steakhouse
Instagram: @supper.land
