Heavy-Handed Pour Contest
Heavy’s Team Cocktail Competition:
Three Restaurants. Twelve Cocktails. Three Winners.
We’ve got some pretty talented people behind our bars at Heavy’s Barburger. For such nice people, they make a pretty mean cocktail. Plus, they love getting to know our guests and have a pretty good feel for what makes a cocktail worth ordering again.
So when it came time to refresh our cocktail menu, we figured, why not ask them to create a few? And better yet–why not make it a competition!
That’s how our first Heavy-Handed Pour Contest got started.
We invited our bartenders from The O.G. Downtown Charleston, Daniel Island, and Isle of Palms stores to come up with an original cocktail worthy of a spot on our 2026 Fall & Winter menu.
The assignment was pretty simple: Make something delicious, give it a great name, and tell us the story behind it. We encouraged bartenders, servers, kitchen crew, whoever had a good idea to get involved. The final cocktail needed to come from one of our bartenders, but we wanted the whole restaurant to have some fun with it.
And we didn’t just want a recipe. We wanted to know what inspired the drink, where the flavors came from, and why it deserved a spot behind a Heavy’s bar. Good drinks. Good stories. A little personality. Very Heavy’s.
We ended up with 12 submissions from our three restaurants and after tasting our way through the entries, we picked three winners.
Without further ado…
Downtown Charleston Winner: THE SHADY LADY
Created By Justine P.
This one has a little history behind it.
When Justine was growing up, her mom worked as a bartender at an old dive and biker bar called The Shady Lady. As a little girl, Justine would hang out in the corner with her coloring books while her mom worked. Pool tables, bikers, regulars, loud conversations, and all the characters you’d expect to find in a good old neighborhood dive bar.
Sounds like a pretty interesting place to grow up.
Her Shady Lady cocktail brings together bourbon, apple, lemon, and ginger for a drink that’s a little sweet, a little spicy, and just right for cooler weather.
We love the drink, but we might love the story even more.
A childhood memory, a neighborhood bar, and a little family history. Now it all has a place on our menu.
Isle Of Palms Winner: THE HEAVY’S 75
Created By Maggie F.
Maggie took a different approach. She started with a classic.
The French 75 has been around for more than a hundred years. It’s bright, refreshing, a little fancy, and a pretty darn good cocktail. Maggie decided to give it a Heavy’s spin.
Her Heavy’s 75 keeps what makes the original so good but brings a little more of our personality to the glass. Something you can raise for a celebration, enjoy sitting at the bar with friends, or order alongside a burger.
We like taking something familiar and making it our own. Maggie did exactly that.
A classic cocktail with a little Heavy’s attitude.
Daniel Island Winner: DOWN BY HALFTIME
Created By Lily M.
If you follow South Carolina football, you probably already understand the name.
Lily wanted to create a cocktail for football season, inspired by the highs, lows, and occasional heartbreak that come with being a Gamecock fan. (You know how it goes.)
Kickoff rolls around. Everybody’s excited. The food’s on the table, the drinks are cold, and somebody says, “I think we’ve got a real shot today.” Then comes halftime.
Well, there’s always next week.
Lily’s Down by Halftime is her Southern take on a Paloma, featuring tequila, grapefruit, citrus, and a little Southern amaro. Bright, refreshing, and a pretty good companion for a Saturday afternoon watching football.
Win or lose, at least you’ve got a good drink.
And we think Lily nailed the name.
MORE THAN JUST THREE GOOD DRINKS
What we really enjoyed about this contest was watching our people get into it. Twelve cocktails came out of three bars, each with its own flavors, ideas, and personality. Some were inspired by memories. Some by classic cocktails. And at least one by the emotional roller coaster of college football. But what made it truly fun is that they all came from our crew.
At Heavy’s, we talk a lot about our people being what makes us different. We encourage them to share ideas, try things, contribute, and take pride in what we’re building together. And we think it all came together in this Heavy-Handed Pour Contest.
And while Justine, Maggie, and Lily each made a cocktail that earned a spot on our Fall & Winter menu, there were plenty of other good drinks submitted. We haven’t forgotten about those. You might just see a few of them show up down the road. In the meantime, come see us, grab a seat at the bar, and give one of our winning cocktails a try.
So come on by any of our Heavy’s locations and give one of these new cocktails a try! And if you happen to see Justine, Maggie, or Lily behind the bar, tell them what you think.