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March is Women's History Month, and tonight we are celebrating three women writers who refused to stay quiet, refused to stay small, and used words as weapons against every expectation the world placed on them. Zadie Smith writes about identity and belonging with the kind of precision that makes you see yourself differently. Angela Carter rewrote fairy tales and myths to expose the darkness underneath, showing us that the monsters were never who we thought they were. And Maya Angelou survived everything the world threw at her and then turned around and taught us all how to rise. These women did not just write books. They changed how we think, how we see power, and how we understand what it means to be human. Tonight, we are pairing their voices with cocktails that match their complexity, their boldness, and their refusal to be anything less than extraordinary.

~WHAT YOU'LL TASTE

Cocktail 1: The Zadie Smith (Tequila Paloma)
 🥃 Alcoholic: Blanco Tequila, Fresh Grapefruit Juice, Honey Syrup, Lime, Soda
 🌿 Non-Alcoholic: Ritual Tequila Alternative, Fresh Grapefruit Juice, Honey Syrup, Lime, Soda

Cocktail 2: Angela Carter's "A Bloody Good Mary"
 🥃 Alcoholic: Vodka, Tomato Juice, Lemon, Worcestershire, Hot Sauce, Celery Salt, Horseradish
 🌿 Non-Alcoholic: Lyre's Dry London Spirit, Tomato Juice, Lemon, Worcestershire, Hot Sauce, Celery Salt, Horseradish

Cocktail 3: Maya Angelou's "Still I Rise" (Rum Sunset)
 🥃 Alcoholic: Silver Rum, Fresh Pineapple Juice, Grenadine, Dry Sherry, Luxardo Cherry
 🌿 Non-Alcoholic: Lyre's White Cane Spirit, Fresh Pineapple Juice, Grenadine, NA Sherry Alternative, Luxardo Cherry

The Zadie Smith: Zadie Smith writes about London with all its messiness, all its contradictions, all the ways people from different worlds try to find common ground. This cocktail is bright and sharp like grapefruit, but the honey rounds it out, softens the edges. It is bittersweet, just like her characters who are trying to figure out where they belong in a world that keeps telling them they do not fit. The tequila gives it backbone, the same way Smith's prose never backs down from hard truths.

Angela Carter's "A Bloody Good Mary": Angela Carter took every fairy tale you thought you knew and turned it inside out. Little Red Riding Hood was not the victim. The wolf was not the villain. Everything was darker, stranger, more dangerous than the sanitized versions we grew up with. The Bloody Mary is the same way. It looks innocent enough, but then you taste it and realize there is heat, there is bite, there is complexity you did not expect. Carter wrote about blood and desire and power, and this drink does not apologize for any of it. This is not a polite cocktail. Neither was she.

Maya Angelou's "Still I Rise": Maya Angelou wrote, "You may write me down in history with your bitter, twisted lies, you may trod me in the very dirt, but still, like dust, I'll rise." This cocktail starts bright and tropical with pineapple and rum, the kind of drink that feels like sunshine. But then you get the grenadine sinking through, turning it into a sunset, and the sherry adds this depth, this complexity, this reminder that joy and resilience are not simple things. The cherry at the bottom is the final word, the sweetness that comes after surviving everything. Angelou lived through poverty, racism, trauma, and silencing, and she became one of the most celebrated voices of the twentieth century. This drink is a celebration of that rise.

📍 Location: 821 E. Washington Avenue, 3rd Floor, Madison, WI 53703
🕕 Time: 6:30 PM - 8:00 PM (75 minutes)
🎟️ Cost: FREE (limited to 30 guests)
📋 Registration: Required via Luma

Each event features three (3) cocktails presented with alcoholic, non-alcoholic, and ½ & ½ versions; you decide your preference. Professional photography will document the evening. Light bites may be provided. This is an intimate, educational experience designed for adults 21+ (or 18+ for NA-only attendees).

Reserve your seat now. These events sell out.