LUPEC Denver

Prom Redux in Westword!

italianstinger — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 05:21:30 +0000

Westword interviewed us for our upcoming event! Check it out:
LUPEC Denver’s Prom Redux

February Meeting: LUPEC Denver Gets Naughty

italianstinger — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 04:35:44 +0000

In celebration of 7th anniversary, Spy Girl and I decided to host a joint LUPEC Denver meeting. We split into two chapters about four years ago, in order to accommodate our growing number of awesome ladies. We realized that more than 12-14 members in a chapter makes for a challenging group dynamic as well as incredibly expensive meetings, so two chapters is an ideal solution. We haven’t had a major joint meeting in a while and it was so much fun to have 90% of LUPEC Denver together in my living room!

Also, Spy Girl and I really wanted to force our fellow members to drink raunchy drinks.

No, seriously. We’re terrible people. But we throw one hell of a meeting, so hopefully all is forgiven!

After a hilarious conversation about abominations such as the blowjob shot, we started researching cocktails with naughty names and discovered that our forebroads thought raunchy drinks were pretty awesome, too. Naturally. Taking inspiration from our Denver Six Shooter experience, we paired classic naughtiness with modern raunchiness.

Round 1: Hop, Skip, and Go Naked Punch vs. Slow Comfortable Screw

The punch was a run away hit, combining a lemon-limeade base with light rum and peach schnapps and conveniently self-serve as ladies arrived and we scrambled to get everything ready. We modified the original Slow Comfortable Screw, replacing the Southern Comfort with Leopold Bros. Peach Whiskey. The combination of the delicious whiskey with sloe gin and orange juice was delightfully drinkable, if disturbingly creamy pink in color.

Round 2: Angel’s Tit vs. Witch’s Tit

The Angel’s Tit is a Prohibition era after dinner drink of creme de cacao topped with whipped cream and a well placed maraschino cherry. The Witch’s Tit is a more contemporary version, featuring Kahlua instead. Both drinks received mixed reviews, but the Angel’s Tit won over more ladies with its smooth chocolate finish.

Round 3: Between the Sheets vs. Tie Me to the Bedpost

Between the Sheets is a post-Prohibition variation of a Rum Sidecar, aka Boston Sidecar, combining rum, brandy, and Cointreau with lemon juice. The result was a strong cocktail that stood in contrast to the preceeding sweeter, smoother drinks. Tie Me to the Bedpost was an interesting combination of Midori, Malibu, citrus vodka, and Rose’s lime juice. The bright green result was the least popular of the afternoon, but Grasshopper pointed out it would make an amazing frozen summer cocktail. We’ll be sure to try that out as soon as the snow stops and we can start having patio meetings again!

Overall, we were pleasantly surprised by the success of our naughty choices. Our theme may have been silly, but I think uncovering classic naughtiness and humor in cocktails was a timely reminder not to take ourselves too seriously. Our forebroads loved a good double entendre with their cocktails, too!

LUPEC Denver’s 7th Anniversary!

italianstinger — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 06:26:40 +0000

This month marks the 7th anniversary of LUPEC Denver. It’s crazy to realize what an amazing organization has grown from that first meeting, with a half dozen unsure girls packed into my apartment. I had invited every awesome lady I could think of and sort of hoped for the best, never imagining what the future held. We have now grown into two chapters and 26 members, working together to raise money and awareness for charities, as well as having a fabulous cocktail party once a month!

I spent almost four years away from LUPEC Denver, living in Philadelphia (hello, LUPEC Philly!) and while there were many benefits to moving home, LUPEC is always at the top of my list. I am inspired by my fellow members, with their passion, humor, wit, and creativity. The atmosphere at a meeting is infectiously joyful, whether we’re planning an event, rating some truly lovely (or awful) cocktails, or just catching up on each other’s lives.

So here’s a toast to us, ladies of LUPEC Denver and our amazing adventures together! I can’t wait to see what the next seven years hold for us!

LUPEC Denver presents Prom Redux on March 6th!

lupec — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 04:54:56 +0000

Join LUPEC Denver and Jonsey’s Eat Bar as we collect gently used formal wear and accessories for the Adams 12 Prom Shop!

LUPEC Denver 2: 3rd Annual SafeHouse Denver Benefit

italianstinger — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 23:55:11 +0000

LUPEC Denver 2 SafeHouse Benefit

LUPEC Denver at PechaKucha

lupec — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 23:27:15 +0000

Members from LUPEC Denver have been given the opportunity to make a presentation at PechaKucha Denver tomorrow night.

What is PechaKucha?

PechaKucha Night was devised by Klein Dytham architecture as a place for architects, designers and artists to share their creative work easily, informally and succinctly. Each presenter shows 20 images timed for 20 seconds each, adding up to 6 minutes and 40 seconds of fame before the next person takes the stage.

The first PechaKucha Night was held in 2003 at the Tokyo nightclub SuperDeluxe. The phenomenon of PechaKucha, which is Japanese for the sound of conversation, has since spread virally to over 200 cities around the world. In 2008 it found its way to Denver and the conversation is going strong.

LUPEC Denver will be attempting to present the history of cocktails and make 3 classic cocktails for 200 people in 6 minutes and 40 seconds! Should be entertaining!

For more information about PechaKucha Denver, visit www.pkndenver.com or follow them on Twitter @PechaKucha_DEN

Crush Party No. 5

lupec — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 18:10:26 +0000

Whiskey “on the Rockies”

lupec — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 00:02:59 +0000

Photo by Eric J. Hessler

The members of LUPEC Denver were approached with a unique opportunity that we quickly decided to take advantage of. We were invited to spend the day at the Stranahans distillery located in Denver and take part in their whiskey bottling process.

Stranahans Colorado Whiskey is the first Colorado-born whiskey that uses hand-crafted distilling techniques and Colorado ingredients.

Photo by Eric J. Hessler

We thought it would be a fun leisurely day at the distillery – filled with taking a tour, putting a few bottles together and of course, sampling the product. We were wrong. The folks at Stranahans put us to work! We spent the day bottling Batch #46 and did everything including filling out labels (they handwrite each one!), corking bottles, putting on labels, caps and tags and filling boxes. We ended up bottling over 3,000 bottles of whiskey!

Photo by Eric J. Hessler

At the end of the day, in addition to getting to sample whiskey and take a tour, we were each given a bottle to take home with us for all of our hard work.

We want to thank Jake and the incredible staff at Stranahans for the great experience! You can visit their web site for more information about taking a tour of the distillery and where to purchase Stranahans.

If you are looking to buy some great Colorado make whiskey – look for Batch #46, lovingly bottled by the ladies from LUPEC Denver!

The folks at Stranahans also challenged us to come up with a cocktail using their recipe – so stay tuned!

Where to find Stranahans Colorado Whiskey
Information about Stranahans distillery tours

Photo by Eric J. Hessler

Cupcakes for a Cause

lupec — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 23:17:39 +0000

In honor of our upcoming 5th Annual Breakfast for Boobs event on April 26, LUPEC Denver has teamed up with the wonderful folks at Big Fat Cupcake!

LUPEC's Pink Hooter Cupcake created by Big Fat Cupcake

Big Fat Cupcake created the LUPEC Pink Hooter, based on the Pink Lady cocktail. It’s a vanilla cupcake filled with pomegranate cream and topped with pink buttercream frosting and a cherry. It’s only $3.95, available Mon-Fri throughout April. It’s yummy! 10% of proceeds from the shop will go towards helping people with cancer who aren’t able to pay
their rent or mortgages.

Go get your cupcake!

129 Adams St
Denver, CO 80206
(303) 322-2253

Tequila, our forgotten friend

lupec — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 02:57:24 +0000

I love some tequila, but noticed that it doesn’t make it into our classic cocktails very often. Research was needed! I delved into the great wide world of tequila cocktail recipes on the web and came back a bit defeated. Where were all the great recipes? Some, like the margarita, just can’t really be classified as “endangered,” while others just weren’t quite vintage enough for what I’d had in mind. Finally, after some creative googling, I found my three recipes. One of them, Paloma, Mi Amante, was really two recipes in one: an infused tequila that is then used to make another drink. Good thing I got reasearching early because the tequila had to sit for three weeks! This was truly an amazing drink–hands-down everyone’s favorite of the meeting. It’s not often you get such a fresh strawberry flavor in a cocktail, much less a tequila one. It tasted like the essence of summer. I might just have to keep some tequila mi amante around at all times…

Also delicious and refreshing, the El Diablo was a sleeper hit. Another perfect concoction for the warm weather.

The drink I was most curious about was called the Armillito Chico. With its exotic ingredients of pomegranate and orange blossom water, I thought it sounded delicious. I first found the recipe cached on a GQ site, referencing the original printed recipe. I happened to copy it down and it’s a good thing I did, because when I went back to find it right before the meeting, it had vanished! The only references I can even find on the web are to a couple bars that still make the drink. This might be one we really did save from extinction. The orange blossom has a perfumey taste that takes a little getting used to, but overall this was a lovely drink as well.