Tag: Tequila

Alcohol Lamps Now Available in Tipsy Decor Collection on Doc’s Castle Online Art Store

I briefly covered some of this in What’s Up Doc: Where Have I Been and Hair Diary Vlog. I gave you the basics of the past, present, and what to expect in the future for Doc’s Castle Media. One of those things is the introduction to the Doc’s Castle Tipsy Decor & Art Store. Doc’s Castle, LLC now sells alcohol lamps as part of my Tipsy Decor Collection and Tequila Tasting Art Experience.

I’m highlighting myself today, duh!

I was not lying when I said you will see more of ME on Doc’s Castle Media. I’ve spent the last year revamping and rebranding the website to share more of what I’ve been up to offline – not just sharing current events or talking about what’s happening around me. 

In my absence from blogging in 2018, I submerged myself in rediscovering an old passion of mine. Painting, drawing, and many other forms of art became my calling during the depression. DCM Readers from 2018 could probably see a shift in topics covered at that time from being the majority about underground hip-hop in Baltimore swiftly changing to highlighting art exhibitions and museums. This was slightly before the craziness of my website crashing. 

A list of mentionable posts while Doc’s Castle, LLC was transitioning:

Not only did I start writing about the visual arts, but I also started an art blog via Instagram named @DocsCastlePix where I shared personal pieces to get away from the stresses of writer’s block and depression. I began sharing some of my old graphics and flyers. I didn’t tell people I created an art blog because I only used it as a virtual gallery of what I like to see of my own work. But we all know what Instagram and Facebook do. The power rests in algorithms and friend suggestions. My family and friends started following my page when they discovered I was posting art. Now I have over 220 followers watching me post creations from my art lab. 

Tipsy Decor by Doc’s Castle, LLC

Busy Doing Nothing Podcast is my biggest motivator for the Tipsy Decor Collection. I spent many Saturday nights drinking while recording for the BDN podcast numerous brands of wines and spirits. Many of those times I was caught admiring the appeal of the bottles featured on the show. Eventually, I thought to take a bottle home with me to make into a vase for my new home.

Once this was just a personal interior design project for my new home, later it turned into a plethora of bottles to showcase and share with friends I like to drink with. Decorative vases, stress bottles, lamps, and keychains are just to name a few things I’ve stumbled across creating all this alcoholic art during the Covid-19 pandemic. It is so much it’s to the point I don’t know how to share them all. I often try to find ways to get rid of them. Hosting my first tequila tasting was a start to a brand new awakening for Doc’s Castle, LLC. My next goal was to create an Art store to keep everything.

[Visit the Doc’s Castle, LLC Art Store]

Tequila Tastings

In early 2021 I invested in obtaining a bartender’s servers certificate. Though it’s not required in the state of Maryland, I am now certified under the TiPS Alcohol Certification program to serve at any bar in Maryland. But I probably won’t serve at just any bar here. I have reservations to serve the majority of different variations of tequila; a tequila bar exactly. I’m taking an interest in the alcohol industry but in my own little way.

Merging Tequila Tastings and Tipsy Decor, Doc’s Castle, LLC hopes to bring people that enjoy art and tequila together in celebration of a good time. I created a new art extravaganza giveaway experience and paired it with a cocktail class. I’m your catador serving you tequila while you win custom-made alcoholic decor, and because you’re having fun, I can guarantee you’ll walk away with a memory that’s one of a kind and possibly a new appreciation for this rich spirit.

Juneteenth Doc’s Castle Tipsy Decor & Art Store Appearance

Doc’s Castle, LLC’s official online art store is now open. We offer a mod podge of things Doc loves. Signature party drinks for small gatherings, magnets, keychains, lamps, and more. We’re now ready to take your orders. It’s not a grand opening as I expected. There were a lot of delays and setbacks. Instead of opening in Spring 2021, I tried my best to open before the summer. But still, it’s not a grand opening. Hopefully, I can do Doc’s Castle, LLC that justice later. We’ll do what we can at the moment.

For now, Doc’s Castle, LLC will pop up at the 5th Annual Juneteenth Dovecote Cafe Art Bazaar. This is the second vending event for Doc’s Castle, our first was over 8 years ago at the 2011 Body and Soul Salon & Spa Annual Back to School Drive. This time around, along with 80+ other art vendors, we’ll have a table that showcases custom decor and visual art created by us. I’ll promote Doc’s Castle Media and give everyone who stops by the booth a piece of what’s new that I have to offer. This will be the first of many to come participating in art festivals and pop-up shops.

There’s a lot to look forward to coming from Doc’s Castle Media. We’re evolving into more than just talking about the dope people around town. Doc also has a talent to share. I hope to merge everything that I’m learning about the alcohol industry with everything that I’ve grown to love about Baltimore’s art culture. I hope to use these to create even more opportunities for this art culture in the city.

Are you looking to sponsor vending events or collaborations with Doc’s Castle, LLC? Visit our contact page and send your pitch!

There’s a Catador in Town. Doc Hosts 1st Ever Tequila Tasting in Baltimore 

Wine and beer festivals and tastings scattered  all around this country. A person could probably find over 25+ festivals in the DMV alone. When it comes to heavier liquor and spirits tastings, one would need to pay for the excursion on an exclusive vacation to attend one that’s worth experiencing. It’d simply be a waste of time, money, and gas to go to any local liquor store for a tasting. I know this so I decided to throw a tasting many of my friends would enjoy in a safe and comfortable environment.

Few people know that they can find tastings at their local liquor stores. They tend to be lackluster events. A tasting hosted in the average neighborhood spirits store would usually host a 2 hour tasting of a bottle sold in their store. They invite customers to taste small swigs of drinks housed on the shelves of their store as they shop. So most times these tastings aren’t formal or advertise for the public to attend. This could be due to Maryland liquor laws that prohibit many businesses from serving based on the type and class of a business.

Three stores you can visit for weekly tastings in Baltimore, MD: 

  • HoneyGo Wine and Spirits located in Perry Hall, MD, has weekly tastings in their tasting room on Friday’s from 4pm to 7pm.
  • Quarry Wine and Spirits, located in Baltimore, MD, often hosts wine tastings in their liquor store on Fridays from 3pm to 6pm. 
  • Wine Loft in Pikesville, MD does tastings if their wine collections on Saturdays from 1pm to 6pm.
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These tastings are slim in their pickings of alcohol as they make the choice of beverage for you per the tasting. But if you are someone looking to buy a drink for later, such satisfaction is suitable in attending a tasting as such. But wouldn’t you want to really experience your drink? How will you know you really like it from just a sip? Why wait for later? Honestly the taste isn’t something great in any alcoholic drink, either. A spirits or wine tasting should let the drinker know what they’re getting themselves into.

That’s how it was for me at least. Wine tastings are best when you have them on cruise ships like how I’ve experienced when cruising to Mexico over the summer.

Doc and her dad in the Blue Agave fields in Mexico.

During my vacation cruising to Mexico, I did three tastings of my favorite drink, tequila. All the tastings educated its attendees about how tequilas are made, how many different types there are, and how to tell what brands are authentic tequila brands. I visited a field of Blue Agave Cactuses with my family and enjoyed exploring tequilas distilled into many different delicious flavors such as mango, coffee, and cream.

http://www.instagram.com/p/Bz4RO5ChdtX/?igshid=1ow7ydk4wbgsd

This experience was so fun to have I wondered if there were any tasting for Tequila in Maryland. It wasn’t a surprise to find the kind of tasting I would come across is the usual Wine and Spirit Store sample tasting. Really, where are the tequila tastings?! Not in Baltimore. The closest someone might find a tequila tasting is in a restaurant in Washington, DC. 

So I threw my own tequila tasting during the holidays and I had a blast!

I spent hours and days prepping to grant my friends and family an experience worth sharing with others. I wanted this tasting to be talked about for weeks, or maybe even months. I wanted people to experience something they’ve never done before. So I studied, studied, and studied long to really educate my guests on what they’d be consuming. I became Catadora, someone who specializes in tasting tequila, for the night pairing my holiday chocolates with a kick of tequila. Bien de salud (in sound health, of course.)

Simply having people taste tiny sips of tequila wasn’t enough. I needed to know that my guests were gaining knowledge from me lecturing them about my favorite drink. So I threw a pop-quiz using a spinning wheel that ultimately turned my tasting into the most exciting Tequila trivia game known to man.

The night was so lit, I slightly beat myself for not preparing to have people in my house until 4 am. But no worries, I enjoyed the company and knowing everyone was safe. They had fun learning about Tequila and I loved being the teacher. I’ll definitely throw more tastings in the future.

What’s your favorite drink? Have you gone to a wine or spirits tasting for your favorite beverage? Share your experience in the comments below.

The Music Highlight: Jose (Liquor Talkin) by Alissa Fere

Parental Advisory Apply!

Alright, everyone is a rapper. I know, I know. I guess you’ll throw me into the mix after you finish hearing my track that was released Friday evening May 30, 2014 (My Birthday).

When it comes to expressing myself, I sometimes need to find new ways of  releasing how I feel about something. I have to let things be known creatively. I’ve always experimented with different techniques. While growing up, it can be said that I could be caught journaling, drawing, dancing, writing poetry, writing songs, creating clubs, or joining clubs. I’ve always had to stay active. As you know now, I’ve made a bucket list of tasks to complete.

These past two weeks, I’ve been dabbling in writing a song because it was a task on my bucket list. I’ve always wanted to write my own song, as if I was making a  soundtrack for my life. I watch music videos on television sometimes and think that I have the skills to create something like it. So I made a song so that I could make a music video, too. Yay!

Jose (Liquor Talkin) is a page out of the diary of Taylor Walker, a song about an event in my life that I wanted to creatively express my thoughts about. There was no biting my tongue when it came to writing it. It was exactly how I felt about something I believed to be inhuman. It was my first time recording a song and I discovered talents about myself I didn’t know I had.

I have bars! That was surprising.

I may be writing more songs. I have a lot of things that I want to get off my chest that blogging won’t be able to fulfill. So, I guess, I’m making music until I find something new to experiment with. It’s fun.

One thing off of my bucket list is complete. Time to move on to the next!

Check out the last Music Highlight. Read the interview with The Mighty Third Eye on Doc’s Castle Media.