MIAMI, U.S. – CompanyToast, the virtual happy hour program launched by Overproof to create job opportunities for bartenders while offering remote-work companies a way to boost team morale, is partnering with Café La Trova – the Miami bar and restaurant that embraces cantinero cocktail culture using time-honored traditions – to create a one-of-a-kind virtual experience. Thanks to support from Santa Teresa 1796 rum, Bacardi and Shaker & Spoon, all sales will go to bartender relief efforts.
Owned by local legend and world-famous Maestro Cantinero Julio Cabrera and James Beard Award-winning Chef Michelle Bernstein, Café La Trova brings to life an authentic Cuban atmosphere offering Latin-styled and contemporary dishes. The Café La Trova team worked with Shaker & Spoon to create a special-edition mixology kit with the non-alcohol ingredients needed to make the bar’s La Trova Old Fashioned. CompanyToast joined the effort to create a virtual experience for consumers that adds the key element – a bottle of Santa Teresa 1796 rum – and will bring the art of cantinero-style bartending to consumer homes.
The Café La Trova Cocktail Kit:
The Cocktail Kits are highlighted by a 750 ml bottle of Santa Teresa 1796 rum, a super-premium spirit with a flavor palate more akin to scotch or whisky than the typical rum. They also include the Shaker & Spoon mixology kit with Cafecito syrup, Scrappy’s Chocolate Bitters, Orange Oil spray and Coffee beans, and premium bar tools including a Berry Wall Footed mixing glass, Japanese-style jigger, Teardrop bar spoon and Julep strainer.
The Experience:
Throughout June, South Florida residents who purchase a Cafe La Trova Cocktail Kit can participate in a virtual mixology class, led by Julio or one of his talented team members. The hour-long class will include remarks on the origin of the cocktail, the history and process of making Santa Teresa 1796 rum, the cocktail-making demonstration and time for Q&A. Valued at $200+, pricing for the Café La Trova Cocktail Kit & Cantinero Experience begins at $99 per person.
Companies across the U.S. that want to boost team morale and treat employees to a virtual happy hour can organize a private Café La Trova CompanyToast experience. With pricing beginning at $65 per person for groups of at least 25 participants, the CompanyToast purchase includes the cocktail kit and a virtual happy hour led by one of the program’s award-winning bartenders.
100 Percent Nonprofit Initiative:
Overproof is the first and only AI-driven business intelligence and strategic planning platform for the beverage alcohol industry. As a company that combines business and social goals and actively gives back to the communities it serves, when the COVID-19 pandemic began the team shifted focus to helping those affected by hospitality closures: primarily bartenders who had lost their jobs overnight. Overproof launched CompanyToast, a 100 percent nonprofit bartender reemployment initiative, to allow bartenders to earn income by sourcing, packaging and delivering cocktail kits and hosting virtual happy hours.
Thanks to support from Café La Trova, Santa Teresa 1796, Bacardi and Shaker & Spoon, 100 percent of all Café La Trova Experience sales will go to the Bartender Emergency Assistance Program (BEAP), which has led an impactful COVID-19 relief and response effort by providing grant awards to out-of-work bartenders.
To purchase an Experience Cocktail Kit, visit Cafe La Trova at 971 SW Eight St., Miami, Fla. The virtual mixology events will take place on Fridays in June at 6 p.m. and 8 p.m., and a special Father’s Day edition will take place Sunday, June 21, time TBA. To inquire about planning a CompanyToast for your team, contact companytoast@overproof.com or visit www.overproof.com/companytoast.
