Nick Meyer’s Typhoon Haiyan Relief Benefit Cocktail (Photo courtesy of Nick Meyer)
UPDATE: _There’s now a cocktails-only option! For $30, you get a drinks-only wristband that gets you unlimited #LALovesPI cocktails as well as the option to get a la carte dishes for an additional $5 each! _
When I wrote this LA Mag post on Filipino cocktails I was surprised by the attention it got. But that just goes to show there is a huge interest in this untapped style of drink. So if you’ve been jonesin’ for an ube libation ever since then now you don’t have to wait! This Sunday’s Typhoon Haiyan relief benefit #LALovesPI, which takes place at The Church Key on Sunset Boulevard and boasts big name chefs — Eric Greenspan (The Foundry), Kris Morningstar (Rays + Stark Bar), Ray Garcia (Fig) and more — will also feature stellar mixologists like mixologists Devon Espinosa (The Church Key), Ken Baranda (Hakkasan), Nick Meyer (Bestia, Sotto), and Joey Bernardo (Harvard & Stone)!
To get in the spirit of the Philippines they created Filipino-inspired cocktails using native ingredients like mango, calamansi and, of course, ube!
Here’s a peek at the event’s cocktails:
Nick Meyer’s Ube-Bee I Like It Raw: Aviation gin, Pierre Ferrand Dry Curacao, ube paste, lemon, egg white, black peppercorn tincture
Joey Bernardo’s Honey Cebu-Boo Child: Bacardi 1909, lime, honey syrup, Fee’s cherry bitters, Mango Calamansi foam (Photo courtesy of Joey Bernardo)
Ken Baranda’s Bicol Swizzle: Double Cross Vodka, banana infused Atlantico rum, lime, homemade lychee-orgeat syrup (made with Giffard lychee), Gata (coconut milk), ube paste, Angostura bitters, toasted banana garnish
Andrei Kissin’s Nonoy’s Last Drag: coconut simple, Vile Diki bitters, Angostura bitters, Westward Oregon Straight Whiskey, atomized Batvia Arrack (Photo courtesy of Andrei Kissin)
General Admission tickets are $100 and include an all-inclusive dinner, cocktail reception and silent auction from 6-9pm. VIP tickets are $150 and get you a private champagne reception from 5-6pm, exclusive dish tastings and a gift bag of treats courtesy of Sherry Yard (Helms Bakery) AND all the gen admission stuff.
HOLIDAY SPECIAL: Enter Code “RELIEF” at checkout for $50 off each GA or VIP ticket.
All the proceeds from #LALovesPI will be donated to Gawad Kalinga, a Philippine-based grassroots non-profit that’s on the ground at Typhoon Haiyan disaster sites. If you can’t make it to the party, you can donate directly to Gawad Kaling here.
EVENT: SUNDAY, DECEMBER 8 from 5 to 9pm
The Church Key
8730 Sunset Boulevard
West Hollywood, California 90069
Tickets: $100 general admission, $150 VIP