With bars and restaurants closed around the country, the feeling of plopping down in a seat at the bar after a long week of work is one many people are missing while living under COVID-19. A good drink is the foundation of many a Friday night, whether it’s a fun night out or a relaxing night in. But few people think about the hands making the drinks. Culture Shakers, a new short film by Storm Saulter aims to tell the little-known history of BIPOC in the cocktail industry by highlighting the Black and Latinx mixologists in Gentleman Jack’s Culture Shakers program.
“My goal was with each city to create a portrait of a mixologist and their city, and they try to embody that in a special cocktail,” Saulter says.
“I was in a room of badasses and everyone was a person of color,” he says. “It’s a rare feeling in this industry.”
“The world has a history of exploitation . . . and we have to actively change the narrative,” Saulter says. “This [film] felt more than just making something about a product. A cocktail can be infused with history, infused with agency, a story with taste and feeling.”
