The drinks were flowing and the smiles were glowing when Ashaunti Martin Smith, owner of the luxury bartending service Couture Cocktails (
@couturecocktails206 ), joined Besa Gordon (
@besagordon ) and Curtis Delgardo ll, aka Cuddy (
@cuddythasensei ), on Almost the Weekend for a special edition of Community Corner. As a Black woman-owned business, Couture Cocktails stand out for Ashaunti’s masterful mixology, dedication to Black hospitality, and classy cocktails, like the Sidecars she brought to the Black Media Matters Studio.
After originally pursuing fashion design, Ashaunti transitioned from creating custom couture clothing to crafting custom couture cocktails, a through line that fuels her creativity in designing aesthetically pleasing drinks using flowers, dry ice, glitter, and garnishes. Through Covid, she hosted popular in-person cocktail classes, which made much-needed space for social interaction and powered her own passion for creating spaces made for Black people by Black people.
With high hopes for the future of Couture Cocktails, Ashaunti is pursuing bar consulting while finding new ways to elevate other businesses and bartenders by sharing her expertise. Her dream is to own an urban lounge in Seattle with live music, food, a dress code, and a Black-owned bartending school, rooted in her desire to create a sophisticated space for adults in their mid-thirties and older. The bartending school is a crucial part of her vision, aiming to educate aspiring bartenders and give back to the community that helped make her dreams a reality.
Tune in Thursday at 9 p.m. on Converge Media for the full interview hosted by Besa Gordon (
@besagordon ) and Curtis Delgardo II (
@cuddythasensei )!
📸: Erik Kalligraphy (
@kalligraphy45 )
#AlmostTheWeekend #CoutureCocktails #BlackHospitality #Bartending #SupportBlackBusiness
