Creativity and change. Many, if not all, businesses have been forced to shift due to COVID-19. The restaurant and hospitality industry is taking a major hit, brick and mortar or not. Kim Hunter is one of the many affected. As a mobile mixologist, her business, Potent Pours, leans on workshops, events and menu consulting to stay afloat. Now, that’s all come to a halt.
“Everything was going fine,” Hunter says. “I was booking events, inquiries were coming in. We were still getting requests days before everything shut down.”
Hunter ― who started the business almost three years ago ― had a love for making cocktails in her home for family and friends. It was during this time that Hunter discovered two things: There was a need for mobile mixologists in the D-FW, and she simply didn’t want to be a traditional bartender.
“I’ve never worked in a bar, so I didn’t want to tend to a bar,” Hunter says. “I wanted to do something different, which is why I only do craft cocktails.”
Potent Pours has since gained a slew of fans, and the cocktails do indeed live up the company’s moniker. Now, to keep the momentum, Hunter is taking a page from her book of beginnings by making cocktails and hosting happy hours again ― virtually.
“I started doing the weekly virtual cocktail experience [every Thursday at noon] where we make a cocktail on Instagram Live,” Hunter says. “I show you how to make the cocktail, then post the recipe after.”
The down time also allowed Hunter to tap into a creative project she’d started but hadn’t come around to finishing ― a cocktail recipe book. Due to the current state of social distancing, Hunter opted to shorten it and make it an e-book.
“I’d been working on a cocktail book for quite some time,” Hunter says. “It was going to be a physical book, but I realized no one can get out to shoot photos for a book. I also didn’t want to put the public or myself in harms way. And in my opinion, right now isn’t the time to put out something expensive, so I decided to do something a little more cost friendly, and easily accessible.”
Mastering the Pour: Craft Cocktails For the Ultimate Connoisseur ($7) not only features cocktail recipes, but puree and syrup recipes, too. And the name of each drink is inspired by things we need, or are yearning for in our current quarantined state, like Come on Summer, Hunter’s take on a mojito, or the Pick Me Up, a twist on a classic espresso martini.
“My days and nights are mixed up,” Hunter says. “I go to bed late, I wake up kind of early because I have to. I have kids that are homeschooling now like everyone else. So a Pick Me Up is necessary. That’s where the name was inspired from.”
Hunter chose the book’s name because it’s a running hashtag she uses for her workshops and anything she does on social media, which for now, is her only way to stay connected.
“It’s really a way to bring people together through cocktails, whether they’ve met or not,” Hunter says. “Hopefully by summer it will be somewhat back to normal. Fingers crossed.”
Mango Margarita
Lime wedge, for rim
1/8 cup sea salt, for rim
1/8 cup chile powder, for rim
3-4 mango chunks
1/2 ounce lime juice
2 ounces reposado tequila
1 ounce orange liqueur
1/2 ounce agave syrup, optional
Mix the sea salt and chile powder in a shallow dish for the rimming salt, set aside. Prepare glass by moistening the rim with the lime wedge and run the moistened area of the glass in the rimming salt combination. Set aside.
Place the mango pieces in the shaker with the lime juice. Use a muddler to combine until the juices have been released from the mango. Add the tequila, orange liqueur, and agave (if you choose). Add ice to the shaker and shake vigorously for about 10 seconds.
Pour all contents, including ice, into your prepared glass. Add more ice so that cocktail fills the glass.
Garnish with something pretty. Cheers!
SOURCE: Kim Hunter of Potent Pours