PARTNER INTERVIEW: Talmadge Lowe of Pharmacie
We spoke with Talmadge Lowe, the man behind the fantastic Pharmacie cocktail bar at the Echo Park Craft Fair.
Talmadge started his cocktail career in New York behind the bar at the venerable Orso restaurant. In 2008, he created an invitation-only speakeasy event that featured curated cocktails prepared in an intimate setting. Those gatherings eventually morphed into the full service cocktail catering and consultation company, Pharmacie. The Pharmacie team is available to the discerning public for weddings, cocktail parties, shindigs, soirees, happenings, and any other social gatherings that require excellent beverages (and don’t they all?)
You can also find Talmadge giving cocktail advice at his new modern bodega concept: Hi-Lo Liquor Market in Culver City.
The Pharmacie Bar is located between Stage 1 and Stage 1 at the Holiday Fair. Drink tickets can be purchased at the door or near the bar.
Do you have any objects you like to keep around you as inspiration? What are they?
I’ve always been drawn to the tactile sensations of books and records, as well as their content of course. Old cocktail books are rife with inspiration, but music is always playing in my head. Songs connect me with a time and a place and the perfect cocktail for that moment.
Do you think community is important to creativity? If so, how?
Support and sympathy. We all need people in our circle who know exactly what we’re going through.
Did you have any artists or creative people in your family? If so, how did they influence you?
I didn’t. I was writing poetry and acting in plays when I was 8 or 9 years old. I loved it. The rest of my family was supportive if a bit baffled. I think that’s what led me to find a creative path. It defined me both inside and outside of my family.
What is so special about making art NOW, in our hectic digital age?
For me the cocktail is the anodyne to the overwhelming amount of information and communication coming at us daily. The moment of catching your breath, sipping a well-made cocktail and being truly present with your friends and family…that may not be art, but it’s an absolute necessity.
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