In 2015, Keavy Landreth and Allison Kave made a decision—they had outgrown the street market scene. The Brooklyn-based bakers, who spent previous years serving mini cupcakes and "first prized" pies to the Smorgasburg masses separately, decided to join forces for a brick-and-mortar in Crown Heights. But neither was interested in opening a run-of-the-mill sweets shop. And so, over a few rounds of sangria, they dreamt up something better: a bakery-bar hybrid where birthday cake and booze are served with a side of feminism.
Later that year, Butter & Scotch was born. But the shop's "Fuck Trump" cake designs and "Smash The Patriarchy" cocktails, which have now become so integral to the brand, actually came about later.
"[Feminism] wasn't at the forefront in the beginning," Landreth tells Delish. "We were really focusing on just the business model...but Allison and I have both, throughout our lives, been very politically active. We're feminists on our own. So it was underlying."
By November 2016, Donald Trump was elected president. And as the political climate shifted, so did the Butter & Scotch mission. "When Trump was elected, we were like fuck everything," she continues. "Let's push this cause and make our voices heard." It was their way—as bakers, bartenders, and business owners—of sparking change. Or, as Landreth puts it, "doing something when everything else felt shitty."
Kave and Landreth, aka the @DrunkBakers, are doing much more than just icing cakes with cheeky political musings, though. They're putting their money where their mouth is, releasing limited-edition cocktails that are not only inspired by great women but give back to them, as well.
They debuted their inaugural "Winter of Women" menu in January 2016. Their "Pussy Grabs Back" rum sippers and "Michelle 2020" Aperol concoctions quickly became hits. Since, they've introduced eight more themed rotations, including "Love is Love," "A League Of Our Own," and their latest, "Cocktails and Dreamers," which celebrates inspiring immigrant women. $1 from each drink is then donated, with Planned Parenthood receiving a bulk of those proceeds.
"When things are really shitty and hard, which they are right now, you need a place where you can go, let loose, have fun, take a breathe, drink a cocktail and eat cake," Kave says. "It helps when you know that drink that you're having has a dollar going to a cause that you care about."
It's obvious the bar has a dedicated female and LGBTQ following. A "Make America Gay Again" flag hangs from the front window, and inside, the dimly lit space is splashed with color and touches of retro design. These details, as well as other mainstays (namely, the mixers full of pink frosting and their "bitches love sprinkles" motto), are a part of that identity.
"We are very unapologetically and unabashedly femme here," Kave continues. "It doesn't mean you have to be a femme to work here or come here by any means, but we celebrate the things that have been traditionally considered girly, maybe silly, and trivialized. By being like, 'no, we're badass business owners who created this space and culture, and we're also going to have fun and throw sprinkles everywhere,' it's a way of reclaiming that."
But it's not, by any means, exclusive to these demographics. In fact, Landreth and Kave have cultivated the opposite; an inclusive environment where Brooklyn locals, loud and proud feminists, and everyone in between can gather, fill up on s'mores pie, and get a little tipsy off "Jell-ooh" shots.
"I think it's important to have spaces where communities can come together, have fun, relax, and feel comfortable and safe," she continues.
One-time Butter & Scotch regular and current bartender, Danielle Hengge agrees. People are showing up. Some for the cause and others for the city's "best birthday cake," but that doesn't matter. They're coming back.
"It's not that we're shoving some agenda down your throat at all times. Whoever you are, whatever you believe, it doesn't matter," she insists. "We just want our space to be somewhere that anybody can come and check everything at the door."
And that's exactly what customers have found.
