Behind the bar of the Palmetto Breeze there’s Blair Nottingham, whose story is as layered, complex and bold as the cocktails she crafts.
With roots in New Hampshire, Nottingham started bartending at the young age of 18 and quickly grew her love of hospitality and people. “My family was always entertaining,” she remembered. “I was helping out at events at my house with my parents before I was old enough to have a job!”
Prior to turning 19, Nottingham was serving drinks and taking orders in Dewey Beach, Delaware, before moving to Northern Virginia and Washington, D.C. She followed her heart and a group of soccer-playing roommates. One of these gentlemen would later become her husband.
Between the years of 2005 to 2017, Nottingham honed her craft in the bustling bar scenes of Irish pubs and cozy wine bars, a drastically different scene from the sun-kissed shores of Dewey Beach. When she started her family, the nightlife hours were replaced with new priorities. “I thought I’d be a stay-at-home mom when we moved to Charleston in 2017,” she said. “I quickly found that I need people and needed connections.”
Nottingham decided to move behind the bar, with a slow transition as she navigated motherhood. She started working at Basil, even while pregnant during the chaos of COVID-19. With uncertainty on the horizon in the wake of the coronavirus, the Charleston food and beverage community stepped up in ways that she will never forget. “There was this co-op, people helping people, and it just reminded me how much I loved this work,” she recalled. Nottingham quickly decided that she wanted to continue to be a part of this unique community.
Nottingham soon began working at Stack’s Evening Eats, a local spot off Ben Sawyer Boulevard where community and cuisine collided. This eatery was a place for the locals to gather and network. Through her connections and time behind the bar, she met the owners of the Palmetto Breeze, a sailing catamaran that hosts private and public cruises. That chance meeting changed everything. With a family at home, she was ready to move out of the late hours and time away from her kids. Nottingham was thrilled to have the opportunity to bartend by day on a boat that blends events, beautiful cruises and a truly Charleston experience.
Since April, Nottingham’s been at the helm of the bar on the Palmetto Breeze, turning the boat into more than just a sailing tour. She wants it to become a floating experience, so she’s introducing new ideas and creating beverage menus using fresh, local ingredients, drawing from her extensive experience in the hospitality industry.
Nottingham prides herself on being able to ask customers what they like and create something that they will adore. Her favorites? Curating something new and delicious that combines local flavors and fresh ingredients. From connections to cocktails, Nottingham is serving up something special to the Charleston community.
By Sarah Rose
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