What is there left to say?
I blew my Christmas load last week, and this will probably be the last newsletter of the year, so why don’t we do an extremely run-of-the-mill 2021 recap?? (I’d like to think of myself as one of those people who will spend the winter break crafting a newsletter, but I’m not.)
My work life is divided, somewhat neatly, into three buckets: Proteau, Restaurant Workers’ Community Foundation, and “JdB LLC” (not a real LLC lol).
Proteau
Proteau has had a pretty interesting year, to say the least. It was our first “full” year being in the market and we started off with an amazing January, thanks in part to the fact that it is “Dry January” AND we got a writeup in The New York Times’s Wirecutter, listing Ludlow Red and Rivington Spritz as some of the best zero-proof drinks on the market. Seriously, there were a few desperate weeks where I was frantically scrambling to make sure our shipping warehouse was adequately stocked and I got really, really good at replying to customers asking why it’s taken over a week to received their order. (“We’re a small team.” Is a euphemism for: “We’re not amazon, please chill” and you know what, it works.)
My first Covid-era travel was to our bottler in Missouri to oversee another bottling run. I find sometimes people are surprised to hear that we’re not continuously making Proteau in a little factory in NYC. Producing in large batches allows us to make a far more consistent product. I think another misconception about the beverage industry is the people expect all of these fun, pretty, and delicious drinks to come out of some Willy Wonka-esque facility when the reality is much more drab and mundane. Although cerain equipment like tunnel pasteurizers can be thrilling in their own right.
And I buried the lede here, and you’ll probably be hearing more about this in the upcoming months, but we’re in the process of launching an equity crowdfunding campaign with Republic.co. We’re still in the pre-launch phase, so all I can do is encourage you to take a look at our campaign page (and see terms and conditions at republic.co), and let me know what you think!
Restaurant Workers’ Community Foundation
Restaurant Workers’ Community Foundation also had a pretty amazing year as well. 2021 was nothing like the grueling pace of 2020, where we raised over $6M and launched one of the biggest and longest-running Covid relief funds, but it was transformational nonetheless. Most significantly, we hired our first full-time staff, Executive Director Kiki Louya. Her tenure began in April 2021 and she really hit the ground running, executing a spectacular fundraiser at the end of September. We also recently brought on Cheryl Williams to be our Director of Finance and Operations last month. In 2021 we were able to grant out over $1M to organizations that are working to support and transform the restaurant industry, and we are about to announce another $0.5M in year-end systems-change grants.
As we head in to 2022, it looks like Covid is going to be ravaging the industry for a long time to come. If you’re able, please consider donating to Restaurant Workers’ Community Foundation’s general fund, our Covid Relief Fund, or our Racial Justice Fund, which we also launched this year with the goal of uprooting anti-blackness and dismantling white supremacy in the restaurant industry.
JdB LLC
JdB LLC had a great year as well, thanks in large part to my partnership withFood52 as their resident drinks expert. In August, we launched the Drink What You Want video series on Youtube and it has been so much fun sharing my expertise with everyone as well as offending people who can’t wrap their minds around a dude wearing lipstick (#Annette). You can watch all of those videos HERE, and read all my recipes HERE.
I also kept my freelance writing gigs going and rather than list them all here, as this newsletter is already getting kind of long, I’ve freshly-updated my website so all of my writing I’ve ever done can be found HERE, and you can check out all the media I’ve appeared in HERE.
And my book, Drink What You Want: The Subjective Guide to Making Objectively Delicious Cocktails continues to do well(-ish) and feel relevant. June 2020 was not exactly the ideal time for a frivolous cocktail book to come out, but fortunately, the subject matter is evergreen. It’s the gift that keeps on giving! If you already have a copy a.) thank you! And b.) even though Amazon is the devil, it really helps book sales to have reviews on the site as often times smaller retailers use amazon ratings when making buying decisions. If you have a spare moment, please leave a (glowing) review. And if you hated the book but somehow made it here, 600 words into my seventh newsletter…I don’t even know what to say…congrats?
Odds and Ends To Finish Out The Year
I absolutely love that in 2021 I got to monetize my love of Drag, and Alaska is the most famous Drag performer I’ve interviewed to date. Read it HERE.
And here’s a little bonus recipe I did for a Mulled Martinez that you can make a big batch of in advance and just pour as you need. It’s also, I think, the first drink I did that can be served either hot or cold. Check it out HERE
Thanks for reading! Happy Holidays, Happy New Year, and all that.
Love,
-JdB
