Launching today with Charles Munat at its helm, Angels Share is a collaborative, multi-media project that will document the opening of a cocktail bar in Buenos Aires. The goal is to raise $33,000 in 31 days, starting today and ending during Tales of the Cocktail in New Orleans next month.
So how does one go about documenting every aspect of building a cocktail bar? Munat is using interactive social media forums like Twitter, Flickr, Facebook and videos to provide an open, collaborative dialogue between those building the bar and those who want to learn the ins and outs of building a bar. From construction blueprints to ice programs to menu design, the Angels Share will cover all corners of getting a bar off the ground and will serve as an open forum for people across the globe to participate in the bar-building conversation. When all is said and done, the plan is produce a hardback book—half no-holds-barred narrative, half specific how-to with graphs, charts and a dvd—with a free digital version accessible to all.
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| Photo: Damian Matsumoto |
But talks of opening a cocktail bar led to another idea—launching a Museum of the Latin American Cocktail. Currently hundreds of items are being catalogued for a museum (which will be housed in a private room at the bar), with hopes to eventually trade exhibits with the Museum of the American Cocktail in New Orleans. And a Latin American Craft Bartenders Guild is also in the works where bartenders will have the opportunity to apprentice under a mentor and really hone their craft.
And Angels Share is the umbrella project that links all these things together. The angels are bartenders, architects, writers and historians, among others who are sharing their time and knowledge to get the bar, museum and guild off the ground. And the Angels Share is how they’re going to get the word out to the rest of the world. So what does the $33k buy? Six months of producing videos, running web servers, legal fees to set up their non-profit status, and the tools and equipment to get it all done right. And if all goes as planned, build-out for the cocktail bar should start late next month with a soft opening planned for December 21.
Celebrating today’s big fundraising kickoff, Rob Roy in Seattle and Korova in Buenos Aires will host simultaneous launch parties with an anticipated live online feed between the two.
For more on the Angels Share project, and to make a contribution, click here.