The big day is finally here! Have you picked out your dress? Do you have a date? We hope to see you TONIGHT at Silvertone. Come early as the event is first come, first served and sure to sell out. And dress to impress!

THE SNOW BALL will be LUPEC’s first winter prom, a party and clothing drive designed to cure the winter doldrums while collecting items for the women served by On the Rise, a day program for women who are homeless and living in crisis.

We’ll be serving spiked punch and cocktails made with products provided by our amazing partners sponsors Pernod-Ricard, Becherovka, Absolut, Absolut Citron, Pernod Absinthe, Plymouth, Beefeater, Fernet Branca, Carpano, FAIR Spirits, Bols Genever, Galliano L’Authentico, Wiliam Grant & Sons, St-Germain, Skyy Spirits, El Dorado, Bitterman’s, Burke Distributing, Four Roses, Cordoniu and Anchor Distilling!  

And UBER will be offering $15 off chauffeured rides to/from the prom for all new customers. Click HERE to sign up! 

As with all LUPEC events, dressing up is encouraged. Guests are invited to come in creative formal prom attire, and to dress to impress.

THE SNOW BALL: A LUPEC Boston Winter Prom

Monday, January 30th, 7-11 p.m.

Silvertone, 69 Bromfield St, Boston, MA (617) 338-7887

• $10 cover, first come, first served
• Drink tickets allotted for clothing & other donation items***
• Spiked punch and cocktails $5-7 each
• Guest bartending by Josh Childs and Beau Sturm
• Musical stylings by TJ Connelly
• Creative prom attire encouraged – dress to impress!
• All proceeds from THE SNOW BALL will benefit On the Rise

***Items acceptable for donation include:

• Thermal undergarments in all sizes
• Backpacks
• Flashlights
• Whistles for emergencies
• Charlie Cards in denominations of $5
• Durable winter boots and winter shoes
• Multi-packs of undergarments like sports socks, sports bras, and underwear in all sizes

***PLEASE NOTE: On the Rise has a surplus of hats, scarves, coats, etc. so bringing the items on the list above would be ideal.***

We hope to see you there! 

1. Guest bartending by Boston legends Beau Sturm & Josh Childs

2. Rock ballads, ’90s throwback hits, the Electric Slide and more by TJ the locally famous DJ for the Boston Red Sox 

3. $15 off a personal chauffeur to/from the prom via Uber! Sign up here to redeem. AND a chance to WIN a free ride – tweet your most embarrassing prom photos to @Uber_Bos to win!

4. Mixology! Spiked punch & cocktails like The Chaperone’s Coffee, The Class of 2012, and The Going Dutch Punch made with products provided by our amazing partner sponsors*  

6. Professional Prom Photography to immortalize one of the best nights of your life

7. Complimentary Corsages!** Baby’s breath & carnations for all!

8. Balloon arches. Enough said.

9. Take-home goodies like your very own LUPEC Boston flask!** 

10. Free drinks if you bring donation items!*** And proceeds from every beverage or raffle ticket you purchase benefits On the Rise.

*Our amazing partner sponsors include: Pernod-Ricard, Becherovka,  Absolut, Absolut Citron, Pernod Absinthe, Plymouth, Beefeater, Fernet Branca, Carpano, FAIR Spirits, Bols Genever, Galliano L’Authentico, Wiliam Grant & Sons, St-Germain, Skyy Spirits, El Dorado, Bitterman’s, Burke Distributing, Four Roses, Cordoniu and Anchor Distilling!

**All take-home goodies are first come, first served! As is entrance, so come early!

***Items acceptable for donation include:

• Thermal undergarments in all sizes
• Backpacks
• Flashlights
• Whistles for emergencies
• Charlie Cards in denominations of $5
• Durable winter boots and winter shoes
• Multi-packs of undergarments like sports socks, sports bras, and underwear in all sizes

***PLEASE NOTE: On the Rise has a surplus of hats, scarves, coats, etc. so bringing the items on the list above would be ideal.***

THE SNOW BALL: A LUPEC Boston Winter Prom

Monday, January 30th, 7-11 p.m.

Silvertone, 69 Bromfield St, Boston, MA (617) 338-7887

• $10 cover, first come, first served
• Drink tickets allotted for clothing & other donation items***
• Spiked punch and cocktails $5-7 each
• Guest bartending by Josh Childs and Beau Sturm
• Musical stylings by TJ Connelly
• Creative prom attire encouraged – dress to impress!
• All proceeds from THE SNOW BALL will benefit On the Rise

We hope to see you there!

y

by Pink Lady

Scotch. Chocolate. Both delight on their own, but can make for an even more exciting evening when paired. This week, you can learn more about both from Glenlivet’s own kilted brand ambassador, Sir Jeremy Bell, while raising money to fight Lou Gehrig’s Disease.

This Thursday, the ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis) Association will host the Inaugural Scotch and Chocolate Event at The Commandant’s House in Charlestown, MA. Dressed in full highland kilt with bagpipes blaring, Sir Jeremy Bell will enlighten guests about the fascinating facts of Scotch, port and Champagne.  He’ll offer advice on winning combinations of chocolate and fruit for each spirit and wine, and will also teach guests how to saber a bottle of Champagne. For those who successfully chop the top off a bottle of bubbly with a Napoleonic saber, induction into the Confrerie du Sabre Dor (the brotherhood of the golden saber) awaits.
Cigar Masters will have an expert on-site to hand-roll cigars, adding to the old rich guy charm of the evening. The event will also feature hors d’oeuvres, a chocolate fountain with exotic fruits, piano playing, and live and silent auctions that include a shirt signed by Josh Beckett, a one-week Cape house rental in July, spa packages and a Scotch and cigar tasting for four at Cigar Masters.

This luxurious shindig is designed to benefit The ALS Association Massachusetts Chapter, the only ALS-related organization in Massachusetts fighting ALS (more commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease) on all fronts. Tickets cost $100 and are available online at http://web.alsa.org/ScotchAndChocolate, or by phone at 1-888-CURE-ALS.

Now what to wear while sabering a bottle of Champagne? Hmmm…mix up one of these as you ponder.

Speak Easy

Recipe by Oscar Quagliarini, Italy

Ice an old fashioned glass with cracked ice and Pernod, then pour it out.

In a mixing glass put:

1 sugar cube

3 drops The Bitter Truth Aromatic Bitters

3 drops Chocolate Bitters

Crush the sugar cube.

Add to mixing glass:

Ice cubes

2.25 Glenlivet Single Malt Scotch (10 year old)

1 barspoon Galliano L’autentico

Stir & strain into the Pernod-rinsed Old Fashioned glass.

Flamed orange zest for garnish.

Cin-cin!

We love to raise a glass for a good cause. That’s why we’re psyched about the ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis) Association’ Inaugural Scotch and Chocolate Event scheduled for next Thursday, February 10 at The Commandant’s House in Charlestown, MA. Dressed in full highland kilt with bagpipes blaring, Glenlivet brand ambassador Sir Jeremy Bell will enlighten guests about the fascinating facts of Scotch, port and Champagne.  He will also teach guests how to saber a bottle of Champagne – it wouldn’t be a party if kilted Scot wasn’t whacking the top off a Champagne bottle with a sword, would it?

This event benefits a great cause, The ALS Association Massachusetts Chapter. ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. More commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease, ALS causes patients to lose the ability to speak, move, swallow and breathe. An estimated 30,000 Americans are living with ALS, and patients typically die within two to five years of diagnosis. There is no known cause, cure or effective treatment – yet.

The only ALS-related organization in Massachusetts fighting ALS on all fronts, The ALS Association Massachusetts Chapter provides care today while supporting hope for tomorrow by providing direct patient services in addition to funding research and advocating for patients. Hundreds of ALS patients statewide receive free services including individualized case management, a respite care grant program, an equipment loan program, support groups and more. The ALS Association Massachusetts Chapter dedicates thousands of dollars to cutting-edge ALS research, advocacy and public awareness campaigns in the ongoing fight against Lou Gehrig’s Disease.

Tickets to Scotch & Chocolate cost $100 and are available online at http://web.alsa.org/ScotchAndChocolate, or by phone at 1-888-CURE-ALS.

Happy sabering!

Cin-cin!

In addition to the usual mixing, mingling, and drinking that our events offer, we’ll also be holding a clothing drive for the ladies served by On the Rise. An article of women’s clothing gets you a free drink ticket.

We’re seeking casual winter women’s clothing such as: winter coats, hats, gloves, and scarves as well as bras and undergarments of all sizes as there’s always a need for items like these. Proceeds from drink sales will also be donated to On the Rise, so you can still make a difference if all you have are pockets full of cash.

***Starlite will be accepting clothing donations all weekend long! You can drop items off Friday, December 17th – Monday, December 20th after 4pm.***

LUPEC Holiday Punch Party
Monday, December 20, 6 – 11 p.m.
Trina’s Starlite Lounge – Parlor Bar
3 Beacon St., Somerville, MA
Punch, snacks, and specialty cocktails will be served thanks to Bols Genever, St-Germain, Pierre Ferrand, Plantation Rum, Beefeater 24, Absolut, Chartreuse and more!

Holiday attire is encouraged and can be interpreted however you like: Santa Suit, ugly Christmas sweater, Three Wise Men beard, or little black cocktail dress.

We hope to see you there!

Cin-cin!

Enjoy some festive seasonal (and complimentary!) cocktails like Hot Toddies and Single Malt Sangaree as you search for the perfect present from Grand’s huge selection of contemporary furnishings, apparel, and gifts.

And if they didn’t have the coolest collection of merchandise already, Grand has teamed up with The Boston Shaker founder Adam Lantheaume, to offer one stop shopping to the cocktail and barware enthusiast. From hard to find bitters and syrups, to shakers, jiggers, glassware and vintage cocktail book reproductions. We haven’t seen this complete a collection of all the things we love, since……..well…….ever!

We’ll also be selling copies of our Little Black Book of Cocktails, of course, and have a special holiday offer! Purchase one book for $15, two for $25 or 3 books for $30!  And it wouldn’t be a LUPEC event if there weren’t some sort of charitable element, so for every Little Black Book of Cocktails sold, LUPEC will donate a canned good to those in need.

Grand will also offer a 20% discount on all merchandise to all attendees who bring a canned good with them!

We hope to see you there!

I

Enjoy free passed appetizers and holiday-themed cocktails curated by LUPEC Boston president Misty Kalkofen of Drink as you mingle. Local artists, merchants, and charity organizations will host holiday themed tables, and LUPEC Boston will be on hand hawking copies of the Little Black Book of Cocktails and other swag.

We hope to see you there!

Handsomely designed by LUPEC Boston’s own Pinky Gonzales, this smart little book contains recipes for the “namesake cocktails” of the founding members of LUPEC Boston, plus recipes for some of our favorite classics and vintage-inspired originals. The updated second edition also includes the namesake & favorites of our newest member, Saucy Sureau, as well as new recipes and updates to the original.

The book costs $15 and all proceeds from book sales benefit the New England Shelter for Homeless Veterans’ Women’s Unit, the chosen beneficiary for our fall fundraising efforts, including the This Ones for the Ladies Promotion and The LUPEC Boston USO Show.

LUPEC partnered with Cambridge-based photographer Matt Demers in 2007 to participate in his “Women in Pearls” series. Modeled after a striking black and white photograph of 1920s It-girl Louise Brooks (right), the “Pearls” project is Demers‘ study on body image and beauty for modern women. In the artists’ own words,

“Thanks to the photographic magic of Eugene Robert Richee the starlet [Brooks] was stripped of culturally-defined trappings. No make-up, high-fashion or salon treatments. Black on black, her physical body shape disappeared into the abyss. Over-exposed skin tones erased any skin flaws. The authentic Louise Brooks emerged, bold and exquisite.”

In Demers‘ mind, LUPEC + Pearls = a match made in heaven: “Passionate about their craft, bucking stereotypes with gusto, champions for social causes: the LUPEC ladies were a natural fit for my evolving project. Channeling the spirit of the Pandora’s Box muse, the ladies stepped in front of the camera with fearless zest to become the cornerstone of the series.”

And his images, in turn, became the cornerstone of The Little Black Book of Cocktails by LUPEC Boston.

We hope you’ll join us this Tuesday for punch, snacks, and celebration of the latest edition of LUPEC’s Little Black Book!

Whenever LUPEC throws a party I find myself gleefully overwhelmed: So many cocktails on offer, so little time…however will I sample all of the delicious drinks on this list in one evening? Perhaps I’d try if I were a guest, but since I’m there representing a ladies club devoted to sophisticated and responsible imbibing, I abstain, lest I end up dancing on a table with a lampshade on my head.

But what about all those cocktails I missed out on?

Now, thanks the the recently available Little Black Book of Cocktails by LUPEC Boston, many of those drinks can be made in the comfort of your own home. Handsomely designed by LUPEC Boston’s own Pinky Gonzales, this smart little book contains recipes for all ten of the “namesake cocktails” of the ladies of LUPEC Boston, plus recipes for some of our favorite classics and vintage-inspired originals — approximately 40 favorites in all. We’ve designed it with readers like you in mind, so you may enjoy these fine drinks at home, on your own time — lampshade chapeau-ed dance optional.

The book costs $15 and all proceeds from book sales benefit the Friends Boutique at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, which provides wigs, prosthetics, scarves and services for people dealing with the appearance side effects of cancer treatment.

LUPEC partnered with Cambridge-based photographer Matt Demers last fall to participate in his “Women in Pearls” series. Modeled after a striking black and white photograph of 1920s It-girl Louise Brooks (right), the “Pearls” project is Demers‘ study on body image and beauty for modern women. In the artists’ own words,

“Thanks to the photographic magic of Eugene Robert Richee the starlet [Brooks] was stripped of culturally-defined trappings. No make-up, high-fashion or salon treatments. Black on black, her physical body shape disappeared into the abyss. Over-exposed skin tones erased any skin flaws. The authentic Louise Brooks emerged, bold and exquisite.”

In Demers‘ mind, LUPEC + Pearls = a match made in heaven: “Passionate about their craft, bucking stereotypes with gusto, champions for social causes: the LUPEC ladies were a natural fit for my evolving project. Channeling the spirit of the Pandora’s Box muse, the ladies stepped in front of the camera with fearless zest to become the cornerstone of the series.”

And his images, in turn, became the cornerstone of The Little Black Book of Cocktails by LUPEC Boston.

To order a copy of The Little Black Book of Cocktails email us at lupecboston@gmail.com. You can also pick up a copy at Magpie (617-623-3330) in Davis Square, Somerville, or Buckaroo’s Mercantile (617-492-4792) in Central Square, Cambridge.

And let us know what you think of the drinks by dropping us a note in the comments section. The first reader to respond letting us know they’ve tried all ten cocktails just might receive a special prize at our next event!

A sante!

The ladies of LUPEC Boston have focused their charitable energies on local women’s causes. But there are a lot of ways to give back, and here is one that helps women in developing countries.

Water For People (WFP), a non-profit organization, is a champion for people in developing countries – helping them help themselves by implementing simple, affordable water and sanitation solutions to meet the needs of their community.

Why is this a women’s issue? According to research cited by WFP:

–The average distance that women in developing countries walk to collect water per day is 6 kilometers (4 miles) and the average weight that women carry on their heads is approximately 20 kilograms (44 pounds), the same weight as airport luggage allowance. (WSSCC, 2004)

–Almost 70% of the world’s citizens living in poverty are women. (World Water Day, 2001)

Water For People projects impact entire communities—hundreds of people. Safe drinking water and adequate sanitation can change the economic climate because people are able to work and build businesses. Children are less likely to be ill and can attend school. Women are free from tedious water collection and are free to take care of their families and generate income. Entrepreneurs sprout up around the water project, finding creative ways to begin new businesses related to this new community asset.

So — in the spirit of LUPEC Boston’s belief that having fun and making the world a better place are not contradictory – check out the Water For People Gala Celebration!

This event features:

–High-scoring dining
–Pre-Gala tours of Fenway Park
–Live jazz entertainment
–Live auction of Red Sox memorabilia
–Special MC – WCVB’s Karen Holmes Ward

Proceeds from this event will go directly to WFP, so your contribution will have a significant impact on the lives of impoverished people worldwide.

Sponsorship opportunities and tickets are available now!

And if you can’t make it to the event, we suggest raising a Croton Cocktail in one hand (as you make out a generous donation check with the other) in honor of this great cause.

A salut!