Guests hit the bar at a recent LUPEC party
If you’re looking for an outlet for those charitable impulses, sometimes it’s best to stick with what you know. That was the thinking behind DrinkOne, a group comprised of Boston restaurant industry members who came together in the wake of the Boston Marathon Bombings to throw a series of events to raise money for the victims. The culmination of their efforts takes place tonight at The Sinclair. As one of its organizers Kirsten Amann explains, “The Boston restaurant industry is small. That’s the one thing we know how to do: bartend, and make a good cocktail.”
“Drinking for a cause is LUPEC’s deal,” she says. LUPEC, the cocktail-focused group of which she’s also a member, regularly holds charitable events like this throughout the year. Joining them in organizing tonight’s DrinkOne event is United States Bartender Guild of Boston and OnTheBar, a bartender-focused app. Over the course of the last month many participating bars throughout the city have featured a DrinkOne cocktail on their menu, proceeds of which go to charity. The USBG, as a non-profit, is administering the funds, some of which will go specifically to industry members affected by the bombings.
So many bars were rushing to plan events after the tragedy, Amann explained, that “We thought, ‘Ok, this is great, but why not just do something all together instead of competing for the same money?’”
Tonight’s party, kicking off at 7 p.m., will feature five cocktails ($5 each), food donated from local food trucks, and burlesque performances by the Boston Babydolls. There will be both a $20 and a $40 option for entry, the latter of which grants access to a raffle for a chance to win various prizes. That money will benefit their charitable pursuits.
“None of us get to donate, like, ten thousand dollars,” Amann says. “But if we all work together we’re gong to be able to put together a pretty sizable donation.” And after this party, from the sound of it, a pretty sizable hangover to remember it all by.
If you go
The Sinclair
52 Church St., Cambridge
617-547-5200
eventbrite.com/event/6861602237
