Downtown Macon restaurants and bars have partnered to host Spirit Forward, a downtown Macon cocktail collaboration designed to highlight downtown’s talented bartenders and mixologists and to promote locally distilled Georgia spirits.

Chelsea Hughes, owner and president of Kinjo Kitchen + Cocktails, developed the concept for Spirit Forward as a creative solution for promoting downtown restaurants and bars that have been particularly hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. Rather than hosting a cocktail crawl that takes place one evening during a set time, Spirit Forward spreads out the opportunity to support participating venues over the course of the entire month of March to ensure COVID-19 safety guidelines can be successfully observed. 

“Although it’s exciting to see the prospect of some normality on the horizon, downtown restaurants need support now just as much as we did at the beginning of the pandemic,” said Chelsea Hughes. “My hope is that Spirit Forward will get people excited to try new things and venture into new places again, while still feeling safe and comfortable in light of the social distancing measures we are all required to honor. I intended for this to also be an event that would encourage downtown restaurants and bars to show one another love and promote a message of community support and cross promotion that will last well beyond the end of COVID-19.”

Every week in March, bartenders from participating venues will be tasked with reimagining classic cocktails with an unexpected spirit. Venues have been assigned spirits to use each week from ASW Distillery, Old Fourth Distillery, Swamp Fox Distilling Co., and Thirteenth Colony Distilleries. Every Monday, NewTown Macon will announce the cocktail all venues must create using their pre-assigned spirits. This means that a venue may be tasked with creating an old fashioned using vodka or a gimlet using bourbon.

Bartenders have just two days to develop their original interpretation of the cocktail. Cocktail specials can be purchased from participating bars every Wednesday in March, beginning March 3. Participating venues are A Brooke Haven Lounge, Dovetail, JBA, Lazy Susan Tapas Bar, Kinjo Kitchen + Cocktails, Kudzu Seafood Company, Reboot Retrocade & Bar, and the Rookery.

 “We are thrilled to partner with Kinjo Kitchen + Cocktails and the other participating venues to host this event that showcases the creativity and the talent of downtown bartenders in a responsible way,” said Emily Hopkins, Director of Place at NewTown Macon. “We’ve witnessed an increase in collaboration amongst downtown businesses throughout the pandemic and Spirit Forward is testament of that collaborative spirit.”

All participants are encouraged to enjoy responsibly and adhere to all COVID-19 safety guidelines. More information about the event can be found at newtownmacon.com/spirit-forward.