Cincinnati musicians and mixologists MayaLou Banatwala and Kristen Kreft are releasing their collaborative book project, Rocktails: An Amped Up Spin on Mixology, this Saturday at Urban Artifact with a “cocktail hour meet and greet” and book signing at 8:30 p.m. The event is a unique dual “release party” event — phenomenal Cincinnati Post Punk/Indie Rock duo Lung is celebrating the release of their second album, All the King’s Horses, which drops this Friday on Northern Kentucky’s Sofa Burn Records (read more here). Fellow Cincy band Carriers and Wisconsin’s Proud Parents also perform Saturday. (Check back soon for more on the new Lung LP.)
Kreft and Banatwala have been prominent members of the Cincinnati music community for the past several years, showcasing two of the best voices in the scene with their bands The Perfect Children and Heavy Hinges, respectively. They’ve also crossed paths behind the bar, working locally as bartenders for more than half a decade.
Rocktails grew out of a monthly event hosted by the twosome at Northside’s The Listing Loon. For the “pop up parties,” Banatwala and Kreft would transform the space to fit their “Rocktails Experience,” while also booking various bands or DJs to perform. Tying everything together was the drink menu, which features handcrafted cocktails inspired by and in tribute to a variety of musical acts.
For example, there’s the homage to Siouxsie Sioux of Goth-y AltRock pioneers Siouxsie and the Banshees,
which combines “the grit of pear juice with the sexy notes of round dark rum, bitter Campari, grape soda and a black licorice garnish,” while the Doobie Brothers get a breezy, Yacht Rock-friendly sangria drink.
The duo’s local-music roots show in other recipes. Their “Dirty Blues” cocktail was inspired by Northern Kentucky’s All Seeing Eyes and it’s incredibly imaginative, described as “Absinthe soaked, flamed candy cigarettes affixed into gummy orange slices as garnishes, atop a smokey Laphroig rinsed whiskey and beer cocktail spiked with Watershed’s Noccino Black Walnut Liqueur.”
“Peace of Mine,” dedicated to Saturday performers Carriers, is a ginger-beer cocktail that will be available at the release event, as will “Bottom of the Barrel,” a tribute to the night’s headliners, Lung, featuring bourbon barrel gin, lemonade and more.
The first edition of the Rocktails book available Saturday will be followed by a planned updated version with recipes inspired solely by artists with Cincinnati connections.
This article appears in Aug 29 – Sep 5, 2018.