This week I chatted with Kevin Thompson, the man behind The Bitter Gay. I wanted him to tell me about the brand, and how he came to run a company that sells cocktail bitters.
Back in 2018, Kevin was running a small bar in Tennessee. When Covid struck and the restaurant industry changed, Kevin was unable to source many of the ingredients he needed for his cocktail program. “I couldn’t get anything, so I started making everything,” he explains, reporting that liquor and food sales doubled. His Old Fashioned was famous, and Kevin believed it was due to the bitters that he was making from scratch. Like all great entrepreneurs, he realized that he should work for himself, instead of someone else. “I learned a lot about flavor profiles, and how bitters work,” he explains, while also acknowledging that bitters is not, historically, something people often put a lot of thought into. “The first couple of years were slow as I tried to get my footing,” Kevin explains. He was competing against brands that consumers were often buying without consciously considering the product. When following a cocktail recipe, he tells me, most of us will grab Angostura Bitters, not because it’s our favorite, but because that’s what we’re familiar with.
When I ask him about the company’s name, he tells me a story about a previous boss from Tennessee, who was conservative and “set in her ways.” She hated the name The Bitter Gay, and told him it wouldn’t be successful. Kevin, however, wants to be open about who he is, and he wants to represent himself and his community more than he wants to commit to “some basic company name.” He tells me that now more than ever, it’s important to promote yourself and your identity along with what you are selling. “People can relate to that better than anything off the shelf.”
When Kevin and his husband relocated to Columbus, Ohio, they discovered a vibrant and supportive community, and Kevin has plans to open a coffee shop and cocktail bar in the area, with a Cuban-American fusion.
His favorite bitters from The Bitter Gay collection? Currently, it’s the Sass & Sizzle, which you can purchase right here, right now. “It does really well, no matter what you put it in,” Kevin tells me. “It’s on the sweeter side, and the background flavor is nice and in depth- even on its own.” For those of us who need some guidance, here’s how Kevin’s been enjoying the Sass & Sizzle lately:
Sass & Sizzle Cocktail
Shake it up. Serve it in a low ball glass with ice. Finish it with dusted cinnamon.
Cheers Queers!
Hey there. Laura Leigh here. I’m a wife, writer, mama, small business owner, podcast host, and the Head of Content here at Pink Robin.
I love supporting the queer community and bringing shared experiences to life.
If you have a story to tell, I’m here for it.
la********@pi***********.com
I remember when my wife and I first became moms, I knew that our ability to “pass” was behind us. I was never going to pretend that my wife and family were something other than exactly who they were. It was freeing to know that I had to live my queer life out loud, that I would forever be myself in every space, all the time.
In a 2023 CNN article Daniel Korschun, associate professor of marketing at Drexel University explained that when it comes to supporting the LGBTQ+ community, executives “are becoming much more skittish about taking these stands and making strong statements.
According to a 2022 Pew Research Poll, roughly eight-in-ten U.S. adults say there is at least some discrimination against transgender people in our society. Because trans rights have become such a contentious issue across the country, companies that used to view supporting pride as “low stakes” have become less likely to support the LGBTQ+ community as a whole. “The pendulum is swinging a bit back … toward a more conservative approach, where they’ll be less vocal,” says Korschun. According to a recent NBC News article, Target stores will only sell pride merchandise in select locations this year. The retailer will not have Pride collections in about half of their locations. Additionally, they will only sell pride merchandise for adults.
An argument that Target has made in the past and is now using again is that this decision protects their LGBTQ+ employees, but let’s be clear: Conditional allyship is not support. Pulling queer merchandise from their shelves and essentially pretending that we don’t exist–and ignoring those of us who have children that want to celebrate pride with us–is detrimental to our community. Erasure threatens our safety. This weekend my mom told me that she’s done with Target. Like her, I can’t say I feel good about spending my money in a place that doesn’t value my family. As of today, the ACLU is currently tracking 515 anti-LGBTQ bills in the U.S. We exist, and abandoning us only endangers us.
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