Raise your Glass: Charity Cocktails to Try in the Neighborhood
As the season of giving approaches and you try to think of new ways to give back to the community and beyond, why don’t you start with buying a drink?
Southie’s Loco Taqueria & Oyster Bar and Fat Baby are two restaurant bars that feature a Charity Cocktail on their menu each month that when purchased, gives proceeds to different charities and organizations.
Loco
At Loco, it started almost five years ago. The restaurant takes pride in knowing its clientele well and wants to find a way to give back to both them and the community. “It’s a small way to support a great cause and give people something to look forward to each month,” Administrative Manager Megan Langdon said.
November’s Charity Cocktail is the Daylight Savings, a margarita with Patron silver, Pama, lemon, simple syrup and a rosemary garnish. A dollar from every drink will be going toward Good Shepherd Community Care.
As for how the charities get chosen each month, it is up to you! They are chosen on a first-come-first-serve basis from the submissions through their Instagram DMs or the charity donations page on their website.
Once the charity is chosen, the magicians behind the bar take it from there and make a delicious drink based on the season and occasional input from the person who submitted it. When creating the cocktails each month, they aim to make them as tasty and “crushable” as possible so they can sell plenty of them and get the chosen charity the most return. Langdon says that people come in specifically each month to try the different Charity Cocktails and believes that if restaurants or bars have the means to do something similar, they should.
If you want your charity to have a special drink at Loco, you can start submitting your requests for the new year, as the next few months of 2022 are fully booked.
Fat Baby
Fat Baby, the sushi and cocktail bar, also supports local Bostonians and their organizations while having a larger purpose behind why they do what they do. In early 2021 during the Stop Asian Hate awareness campaign, the crew at Fat Baby felt that they needed to do something. Although they are a young, hip bar located in South Boston, they are a sushi and Asian restaurant first.
“We wanted to give credit and appreciation to the culture our food is inspired by,” General Manager Kasie Chapin said. “We wanted to support AAPI charities that are making an impact in and around Boston.”
Since then, every month they have chosen a charity that has to do with Asian heritage here in Boston. Whether it specifically caters to students, children, women, the elderly or those looking for job placement, Fat Baby does what it can to help the local Asian community. Bar Manager Tom Garland does his best to create a cocktail that he knows will be a hit each
month, ensuring that money will be raised. This month their Charity Cocktail is a Fall Sangria with Titos, apple cider, orange, triple sec, and white wine. A dollar from each one sold will be donated to the Institute for Asian American Studies.
Additionally, Titos, who reached out to Fat Baby upon the start of their cocktail campaign, donates $500 to the chosen charity each month on top of matching the dollar amount that Fat Baby raises through sales.
So…who’s got the first round?
Megan Klein is a freelance writer and Boston University graduate who currently works for the Boston Celtics. She loves making small world connections when meeting new people, trying new restaurants and capturing the life of Boston locals through her writing.
Marcelino’s, Levantine Cocktails & Cuisine to Bring Elevated Cocktails to Seaport
New to the Neighborhood: Levain Bakery – Opening on Friday, November 22nd
Lone Pine Brewing and Lord Hobo Brewing are merging.