A party at Bolsa next week is timed to commemorate the end of Prohibition, but the event will also celebrate the start of the Oak Cliff restaurant's new cocktail program.
"As people know, Jason Kosmas has come over," Eddie "Lucky" Campbell says of his partner behind the bar, who recently defected from Neighborhood Services. "We're taking this program to a whole new level, where you can now get New York-level cocktails here in Dallas. Indisputably. Let there be no question that the guy from Employees Only is here."
Campbell stresses Bolsa's not abandoning its focus on market-fresh, seasonal cocktails, but hopes to showcase its renewed commitment to pre-Prohibition craftsmanship at next Wednesday's party. The festivities are scheduled for 5 p.m.-8 p.m., although Campbell adds: "It's going to be happy hour all night long."
The drinks menu will include a range of speakeasy-inspired concoctions made with aged rum, rye and gin of the non-bathtub variety. Invitations urge guests to wear their Jazz Age best, and a local band's been tapped to provide the soundtrack.
As the invitation explains, there are at least two good excuses to dress up, drink and dance: "It's been 77 years this December since the U.S. ended prohibition, and it's only been a matter of weeks since Oak Cliff finally ended prohibition as well."
The Repeal party's a warm-up for Bolsa's new weekly happy hour, which officially starts the following Wednesday. Various premium liquor companies will host the three-hour program that's bound to include deeply discounted drinks and complimentary tastings. But for cocktail geeks, the real fun starts when the promoters pack up.
"It will end up being cocktail night," Campbell promises. "J and I are going to go off menu and geek out."
