Designated Drinker Show

Get the featured cocktail recipe: Champagne Rickey Kelly has poured her heart and soul into developing the ALX Community and it shows. As a visitor, we were warmly welcomed by her team and members, alike, which speaks to her commitment in building a flexible workspace that feels like home. In her spare time (insert laugh track here), she focuses on giving back and leans on the strengths and willin...

Get the featured cocktail recipe: Cross Island Fruit As a strength coach at her own gym, the Blue Collar Barbell, Shawna’s dynamic result-driven philosophies help others become a healthier and a stronger version of themselves. For her, fitness is a way of life which is quite clear considering she can easily deadlift a compact car! On record, her best lifts to date are 700lb squat, 455lb bench pres...

Get the featured cocktail recipe: Dirty Gin Martini Cat Ramey. She’s an animal communicator. She’s a trained telepath. And she’s blowing Louise & Gina’s minds. They both had so many questions for Cat, from Gina’s, “Does my cat hate me?” to Louise’s, “Do animals tell you their owner’s dirty little secrets?” Which she asked a bit too late, considering days before this epi was recorded, she had a ses...

Get the featured cocktail recipe: Frozen Kamikaze It’s the dog days of summer, so who better to spend it with then the CEO/Founder of Canine Dominion, Jay Lewis? He’s spent his life honing his dog training skills—including 12 years in the US Air Force—which is a good thing because not only is he a Designated Drinker, he works with Louise to help train her dogs. According to Jay, the key to solid t...

Get the featured cocktail recipe: Ellen’s Trinity Taking a holistic approach to health, Meghan integrates her in-depth nursing background with her knowledge and experience in using food, nutritional and herbal supplements—along with a few suggestions about lifestyle—to help restore her client’s health and well-being. As the Center Director of Hullistic Health, she works hard to understand each cli...

Get the featured cocktail recipe: And All That Spritz If you look up the word “hustle” in the dictionary, you will find a portrait of Micheline with her daily to-do list in hand. She’s the mother of three and the Deputy CEO of Sunnyside Restaurant Group, where she oversees the development of all their restaurant concepts, from inception to opening day. On top of that, she manages the on-going marc...

Get the featured cocktail recipes: The Sunflower & Whisky Sour Scott was going through his self-proclaimed mid-life crisis. His career as an IT engineer, although very successful, was no longer fulfilling and left him wanting more from his professional life. What was the cure? Leaving it all behind and opening a distillery, of course. His first challenge would be convincing his wife. Thinking this...

Get the featured cocktail recipe: The Crushable Piña Colada Adam’s original concept for the Coconut Club was to deliver a fun-filled, beach-inspired party experience but with the pandemic, he was forced to rethink this approach. So, he and his team quickly pivoted their business model, thought beyond the negative and fortunately, Subbies was born. Along side Coconut Club’s island-style tasty meals...

Get the featured cocktail recipe: Perfect Rob Roy Gregor started out producing reality TV, but he later found a love for acting—let it be the stage,  television or an Indie film, his inner thespian needed an outlet. Although, life had more instore for him. After taking a side hustle job as a caregiver for 92 year-old Holocaust refugee, Maria Altmann, his life changed in ways he never thought possi...

Get the featured cocktail recipe: My Daiquiri Is Too Jellylicioius Of course, family business comes with complications but for Valerie, it’s a true blessing. Her professional life is fully entwined with her family life, and she couldn’t be happier. She focused her marketing smarts to strengthen the Nalls Produce brand, innovate their communications and extend their digital presence. Important for...

Get the featured cocktail recipe: The Squeeze Yes, Gardner is a master at shucking and serving up the best oysters, which is enough to fall in love with, but his openness and welcoming soul is what really gets you. So, if you want more Gardner—and who doesn’t—check out his podcast, Oyster Ninja or learn some shucking tips from this sensei of the bivalve on his YouTube channel. If you’re fortunate...

Get the featured cocktail recipe: My Cup Runneth Over If you look up bon vivant in the dictionary, you will simply find a photo of this Sultan of Swoon. Tad is definitely a man about town and has a true passion for ‘the good life.’ Before taking on his current role as the Ambassador to the Americas for Amaro Montenegro, he was a founding partner of The Tippler, a cavernous cocktail bar under Manha...

Get the featured cocktail recipe: A Hinny Lauren may not have originally set out to create her inspirational clothing line, T-Aware Apparel but sometimes life sends us on a journey we would have never imagine for ourselves. Although, Lauren does not describe herself as very outspoken, she definitely found a creative way for her voice to be heard and the world is better for it. Not to mention, bett...

Get the featured cocktail recipe: The Cantaloupe Tales Kathy Hollinger is the President & CEO of the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington, which represents over 1,000 restaurants and the food service industry in the DC area. And Francine Cohen is the Editor in Chief and Business Strategist of Inside F&B, which offers targeted editorial content and strategic business building guidance....

Get the featured cocktail recipe: Ain’t No Sunshine, When She’s Gone Poet is an influential multi-media personality, yes. But she is so much more. When she walks into a room, her energy fills the space and her lust for life is intoxicating. She is definitely someone who betters the world and the people she’s around. So, if she calls you friend, you should count yourself as one of the lucky ones. F...

Kris Moon is incredibly talented and now as the COO of JBF, he is focusing all his efforts on Open For Good, their campaign to “help independent restaurants survive this crisis, rebuild better, and thrive for the long term.” The program provides critical resources to help independent restaurants build the capacity to come back stronger, more equitable, more sustainable and more resilient. Now that...

Get the featured cocktail recipes: Preserving the Negroni ******************* Domenica grew up in an Italian family and spent much of her childhood summers romping about Italy, learning the culture and her family’s cooking traditions. These experiences are the foundation and inspiration behind her approach to cooking and are easily found on the pages of her many cookbooks and published articles. I...

********EPI NOTES******** From his home kitchen, Bryan joins Louise & Gina to have a few shots, make few cocktails and share how he’s managing as a restaurateur though the COVID shut down. Of course, they still find tons of reasons to laugh as he shares his story of becoming a celebrity chef, growing up in Fredrick, Maryland—where he still lives today, and what the hell an alicorn is. If you’re lo...

Get the featured cocktail recipe: GT&S ********EPI NOTES******** Even though these might be tough times, we still need to find reason to laugh, and definitely, reason to drink. So, get ready to make H’s unique twist on a gin tonic that is right up Louise’s alley and perfect for your socially-distancing at-home happy hours. Want to easily expand your cocktail options, check out Fresh Victor and see...

Get the featured cocktail recipe: Champagne “Strawberry Cobbler *******EPI NOTES******* In late 2014, Dani created Blonde in the District, after leaving a job that was stifling her creativity. Fortunately for the rest of us, blogging became her creative outlet. Through style and beauty, Dani gained new found confidence, which she then played forward. Her blog has become a place for more than just...

Get the featured cocktail recipes: Crushing On A Girl **************************** #CocktailingAloneTogether? We have the perfect recipes for any stuck at-home bartender in our library of libations. Don't forget to subscribe, download and review to share your thoughts about the show! Covid-19 may have changed the way we socialize, the way podcast, the way we live. But what it hasn’t changed is the...

Get the featured cocktail recipes: The Dark Lord ******* AFTER LISTENING TO THIS EPI>>>>>>>> ******* Want more inspiration? Then head over to our library of libations and find another recipe to make your own. Don't forget to subscribe, download and review to share your thoughts about the show!   Sherra Kurtz, the AGM of Columbia Room, is a truly a breath of fresh air. And as the leaves once again...

Get the featured cocktail recipes: Time for a Coffee Break We are definitely proud that Ryan Bos from Capital Pride Alliance joined us on this epi! He shares how the organization works hard to serve and celebrate the LGBTQ+ community and how important it is—especially in the current state of our union—to unite our voices, and the power of our vote, in order to defend the rights for ALL of us to fe...

Get the featured cocktail recipes: Milanese Sour & She’s Kaler-er Queen Pt. 2 Yes, there’s a bit of warmth in the air, the sweet melody of the songbird can be heard and our gardens are all abloom. So, you know what that must mean, it’s time for our Spring Fling Like You Mean It episodes! Amy Hosseinnian and Julien-Pierre Bourgon join us to stir-up their versions of Spring-in-a-glass, as guest bark...

Get the featured cocktail recipes: Classic Aperol Spritz & Sedate Your Hesitation Pt1. Yes, there’s a bit of warmth in the air, the sweet melody of the songbird can be heard and our gardens are all abloom. So you know what that must mean, it’s time for our Spring Fling Like You Mean It episodes! Amy Hosseinnian and Julien-Pierre Bourgon join us to stir-up their versions of Spring-in-a-glass, as gu...