A Cozy Holiday Nightcap: Chelsea Gregoire's Milk & Honey

The founder of Church Bar in Baltimore, Maryland, shares their story and a cocktail recipe

Chelsea Gregoire is the founder and hospitality director of Church, a cocktail bar that opened just over three months ago in my native Baltimore, Maryland. We first met at True Chesapeake Oyster Co. when I was doing research for Good Drinks in 2018, and long story short: Chelsea is super thoughtful about restaurant management and makes delicious alcohol-free (and alcoholic!) drinks. Below, find an edited and condensed version of a conversation we had just yesterday as well as the recipe for their Milk & Honey cocktail, which I feel lucky to be able to share with you all in advance of the upcoming holidays.

Speaking of which, I hope they’re warm and happy ones.

I loved visiting Church over Thanksgiving. Can you tell me its story?

Church has a lot of my personal story tied up in it, and this was part of the plan for a long time, even before I was consulting [for bars and restaurants] in earnest. I'm an ordained pastor, I have master's in theology, and when I came out, I got kicked out of the church. There was a moment when I had to decide what my definitions of community and care really were, and that was hospitality. There's so much overlap between ministry and the church as it should be and what we do in the hospitality industry.

I also wanted to create purpose from pain, and that's what Church is for me. A lot of my religious trauma is tied up in the design and how I think about Church as a concept, and I've heard from others that it's been healing, in a way. The religious system has been so harmful to so many people, and to engage with something called Church can be healing—but it's also benign. You're alluding to the church, but there's nothing smacking you in the face with religiosity.

It's a cocktail bar and restaurant, but you've also referred to it as a social experiment.

I have high standards for how staff should be treated. I founded my consulting firm Drinkable Genius in 2016, and all the while, I was thinking, "Some day, I'd like to open a bar called Church where I could rethink hospitality management." And then Covid happened and I thought, "Maybe it's time." And I didn't feel that I could call a bar Church without addressing systemic issues in the hospitality industry. What would it look like to model positive patterns of communication and leadership to all parties, to model self-care and self-awareness, and to create meaningful mentorship relationships?

Unfortunately, I didn't get to health care in time for open enrollment this year, so that's the plan for next year. I've been making connections at the state level, working to get private counseling sessions that are HIPAA-protected, so that staff members can talk about their health concerns and get help finding an affordable health care plan. I don't want them to be left at the mercy of the marketplace online.

Food insecurity part is something we're actively working on, too. Not only ways for us to get involved in addressing food insecurity in the larger Baltimore community, but also for my staff members themselves. With inflation, going to the grocery store is a different story. How can we help our staff make sure they're eating well and they're able to take care of their bodies? This is something we're thinking about constantly.

Switching course, did you know it was you who introduced me to Giffard's aperitif syrup, which makes for a great Campari stand-in, years ago?

Giffard is higher in sugar, but the viscosity of it matches what you need to approximate the mouthfeel of a spiritous drink. A lot of spirit-free options fall short in that arena.

Unfortunately, it's been a bit in and out of stock in Maryland. We're a tertiary market, so we're usually the last in line for allocations across the country. That's why we work with Lyre's. [Global Director of Education] Nick Crutchfield is always in our corner to make sure we have their products in stock.

What do you think of Lyre's overall?

I think they're doing a good job. As I said earlier, a lot of spirit-free products struggle with viscosity and mouthfeel, but Lyre's has had it dialed in from day one. I also appreciate that they're price point-friendly and there's such a variety of products. And I'm impressed with how quickly they're putting out new SKUs! The espresso martini got big again, and then there came Lyre's with a product. They do really well and they're also pushing themselves and I appreciate that.

Even I am surprised by the amount of alcohol-free products on the market these days.

I know we live in a capitalist society, but my sincere hope is that the increase in producers making spirit-free is really coming from a place of listening to what people want to experience drinking and allowing that to dictate what the market. It's the trend that I'm seeing and I know that nonalcoholic is here to stay; I actually don't like calling it a trend or movement because it's timeless and it's been needed for a long time. So, if we have to do this capitalism thing, this way, I think the variety of options is huge benefit of that. And the fact that they're reaching people who they have in the past alienated, I mean that's hospitality, right?

Alright, let’s move on to the Milk & Honey.

I started as a barista and was working with tea before I ever moved into alcohol, so this drink was meant to be a bridge of these parts of my career—and the flavors ended up marrying well!

There's an alcoholic version of this drink, which has Oaxacan rum, and Cloosterbitter, a bitter liqueur from the Netherlands.

Yes, I included how we do the epazote in the recipe I gave you because, for the alcohol-free version, that's really where those bitter and the herbaceous qualities come in.

The eventual goal is that every drink on the Church menu will have a nonalcoholic substitution; people who choose not to drink shouldn't feel othered. For this first menu, though, achieving four out of the eleven is something I feel really proud of.

Milk & Honey is especially easy because it's pretty low-proof to begin with. The quantity of spirit to nonalcoholic components is pretty low, even though it's a full-proof spirit. So, making the swap-out with Lyre’s White Cane Spirit is easy; you can get the same flavor profile.

What's the ideal drinking scenario?

It's both tropical in its use of coconut and a rum-like spirit, but also it has that creaminess that makes it appeal to colder weather. It really is a year-round drink.

I'm picturing a cozy sweater and a crackling fire...

I can totally see in that situation, when it's bringing the warmth in. Warm, fuzzy feelings!

Milk & Honey

Serves 1

2 ounces Lyre’s White Cane Spirit

1 ounce freshly squeezed lime juice

3/4 ounce unsweetened coconut milk

1/2 ounce Matcha-Honey Syrup (recipe below)

Epazote Dust, for garnish (optional; recipe below)

Combine the spirit, lime juice, coconut milk, and syrup in a cocktail shaker. Fill it with ice, seal the shaker, and shake vigorously for about 20 seconds, or until the shaker is ice cold. Double strain into a tea cup or a Nick and Nora glass and finish with a sprinkling of epazote dust. (If you don't have access to epazote, you can garnish with a matcha powder instead.)

Note: To serve a crowd, dial up the volume of each ingredient and combine them in a chilled punch bowl. Whisk to combine—in fact, whisk it every so often, as the coconut milk will separate as it sits—and serve over ice.

Matcha-Honey Syrup

Combine equal parts honey and water in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a simmer, stirring frequently. Imperfections in the honey will rise to the surface as the liquid warms; make sure to scoop off this foamy layer. Once the two parts are integrated, remove the syrup from the heat and add matcha powder, stirring to incorporate. Use the proportions as instructed on your favorite matcha, or, if you need additional guidance, 1 teaspoon of matcha powder per 8 ounces of the honey syrup works well. "A little goes a long way," says Chelsea. Once the syrup cools, it's ready to use.

Epazote Dust

Coat fresh epazote in room temperature simple syrup. Then, using a dehydrator, dry the leaves fully and pulse it into a dust using a food processor.

Some recent press coverage:

• Since the summer, I was featured in Vogue, Epicurious, America's Test Kitchen (twice), Salon, SevenFiftyDaily, and Consumer Reports, and Greta the car (R.I.P.) got her flowers in Subaru Drive magazine.

• I rather enjoyed being interviewed by Stella Stephanopoulos for her Everyday Endorphins podcast.

• I wrote this piece on how to work with tea in alcohol-free cocktails for The Washington Post.

And that’s it for now! Best of holidays to you and yours.