Vol. 10, No. 7 | Welcome to the Shebeen
Hey Ya’ll!
I mentioned briefly in my last newsletter that I had something brewing. I ended up on a whole different tangent with Jamaica, but I wanted to make sure I really gave Shebeen justice.
A few months ago, I was in Paris and I was feeling really creatively stuck. In one of my crazier moments, I even thought about opening another bar. Like, I really thought about it. A lot of it was because I had the perfect concept: Shebeen.
When I was in Johannesburg, I stopped by Drum Archive Shop at 44 Stanley (the same complex where I met Sanza…see how full circle this is?). The store sells reprints of magazine covers from Drum Magazine, a revolutionary publication during apartheid South Africa. As soon as I walked in, the cover that captured me was one with a woman creating a cocktail with a back bar full of vermouths (if you’re not drinking vermouths, you’re missing out). The subtitle said “Let The People Drink!”. It was from the March 1956 edition. I had to have it. And that was before I even knew the story behind it.
The shop owner asked me if I was familiar with the South African shebeens. I wasn’t. She went on to explain that they were underground bars run often run by women. Speakeasies run by women?! How on earth have I never heard of this?
They had a book on shebeens that was a compilation from the articles in Drum magazine and I snatched up. Reading through it, I became obsessed. Ok, not really obsessed because I put it down and let it slink to the back of my mind. But I was enamored. I didn’t think much about it for a few months. (I know you’re thinking how is this possible when I have the poster…well I haven’t framed the poster. There. `Sigh…I need to do this).
Then, in a little coffeshop in Paris, the thought flooded out of nowhere: a bar named Shebeen would be dope. I wonder if Thandi wants to start a bar with me.
I texted Thandi at some silly hour and when I told her about it she said, Oh my goodness, I’ve always wanted to be a Shebeen queen.” (Or something like that. She’ll correct me later.) Thandi is from South Africa, so she already knew the story.
Weeks went by and I knew I didn’t want to open a bar…pah! But there was still something about Shebeen that I couldn’t let go of. When I started sifting through what Holy Sip is it came back to me and now I have an even better answer for what Shebeen is.
You might not remember how Holy Sip started. It began as an omakase-style cocktail bar in Castleberry Hill. Shebeen takes us back to that concept. Thandi will create four cocktails and tell her stories about them. Chef India will create some shared bites to go with them. It’s a shebeen our way.
Our first Shebeen is October 18. Tickets are here.
Shannon