Pop-ups, in general, are great. In most cities, now, you can find a pop-up for just about everything—the newest food from a star chef, the latest styles from the top designers, the newest cocktails, anything you could ever want.
The only bad thing about pop-ups is that they go away. Poof, gone. The amazing food and drink that was so euphoria-inducing one day, gone the next. Well, one intrepid group, Wine and Whiskey, has found a way to solve that problem. By creating a pop-up membership club, now while an individual pop-up may go away, you’re assured that just a few days or weeks later, another one will take its place, offering adventurous drinkers a chance to try something else new and unique.
Wine and Whiskey was started by Owen Meyer, creator of Liquor Lab Chicago (named one of the coolest new companies on 2015 by Business Insider), in an effort to bring unique cocktail and wine-centered events to adventurous drinkers on a consistent basis to the New York City area. Events will include everything “tours” of wine regions to themed cocktail nights.
Membership costs $175 for a year, but this gives members a slew of benefits, including:
- Reduced cost for pop-up events.
- A free round of a signature cocktail at a specified cocktail bar, which rotates monthly.
- Access to free or discounted events with partner companies.
- Boozy rewards at events, from mini oak barrels for aging to bar tools and more.
You don’t need to be a member to go to the pop-up events, but being a member reduces the price and gives you access to all of the great perks mentioned above (read: become a member, you won’t regret it).
With membership, events usually cost between $65 and $75, but that includes tax, gratuity, small plates, and four to six full-sized beer, wine, or cocktails. Think about that: four cocktails will usually cost you that much alone, not including gratuity.
In addition to the Wine and Whiskey events, Meyer said there are plans to open a Liquor Lab—where you can make all of your mixology dreams come true by learning from the experts in a boozy good atmosphere—in New York in mid-2017 as well, opening up even more ideas for guys’ nights (or date nights).
As a Manual reader, you can sign up for a membership here. If you sign up now, you’ll receive 2 free event tickets as well as 2 complementary passes to the Liquor Lab Friends and Family opening party.