There is no exquisite beauty… without cocktails and literature.
Agua Caliente Casino Palm Springs is hosting an Edgar Allan Poe Speakeasy at 6, 8 and 10 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 14, in its Cascade Lounge.
The 90-minute show brings four of Poe’s most famous stories off the page and onto the stage, with an immersive, intimate telling that is dinner theater meets cocktail hour. Stories featured at the event include “The Tell-Tale Heart,” “The Raven,” “The Black Cat,” and “The Masque of the Red Death.”
William Draven, an actor and magician with the company Midnight Creative, which takes the speakeasy show on the road and others like it, will serve as one of the orators guiding guests through one of Poe’s stories, each paired with a specialty-themed cocktail.
“Edgar is a brilliant author,” Draven said in a phone interview. “He’s a master of words, and is able to take you on an emotional roller coaster through the pits of insanity all the way down into the very barrel bottom of grief and then through sobriety and intolerance and just the very brink of madness. We want you to feel that.”
Themed cocktails inspired by the gothic stories include the Pale Blue Eye, a light blue cocktail made with blueberry vodka, fresh lemon juice, rose syrup and topped with La Croix; Edgar’s Twisted Brandy Milk Punch, equal parts Kentucky Bourbon and French Brandy mixed with vanilla cream, milk syrup, half and half and topped with star anise; The Nevermore, a black and gold cocktail fueled by orange peach blossom vodka, lime juice, and secret spices; and The Cocktail of Red Death, a bright vibrant cocktail made with 100-proof vodka, cherry herring, benedictine liquor, lime juice, pineapple juice, and bitters.
“We like to close out toasting the night with The Cocktail of Red Death as a little nod to some additional lore,” Draven said. “There is a famous incident that followed Poe’s death where somebody left three roses and a half bottle of cognac on his grave every year. That happened for over 60 years, and to this day we still don’t know who that person is or was, and it is just one of the mysteries that surround Edgar Allan Poe.”
Tickets for the 21-and-older shows are $65 at aguacalientecasinos.com.