All hail the Mason jar

A toast to Georgie’s Thursday Night Long Island Iced Teas.

by Arielle Stevenson

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TEA PARTY: The powerful concoction Georgie’s Alibi is known for. - Shanna Gillette

Shanna Gillette
TEA PARTY: The powerful concoction Georgie’s Alibi is known for.

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With the pride parade around the corner, I started thinking about how the gay community has impacted my life. They are my family, friends, and neighbors. Some are also bartenders at Georgie’s Alibi in St. Petersburg, where the pour is always heavy.

As a college student/writer, money was always dangerously low. Going out to drink just wasn’t an option most of the time. That was until the discovery of Georgie’s Alibi. Located far away from downtown St. Petersburg’s nightlife douchebaggery, Georgie’s was an oasis of cheap drinks and no cover for all.

Inside a giant mason jar, we found our salvation for just $3.50 every Thursday night. The infamous Georgie’s Long Island Iced Tea became legend and routine all at once.

It ought to be called Danger in a Mason Jar. It’s not served in one of those normal-sized Mason jars that Grandma makes her marmalade in; the enormous glass requires two hands to hold. Equal parts vodka, tequila, rum and gin are combined with sour mix, triple sec and the lightest splash of Coca-Cola. The whole concoction is garnished with the smallest of lemon slices, wrapped in a napkin, and served with a bendy straw.

The first few sips are the most potent, when the ice has yet to melt and the liquor is strong. You can measure your inebriation by following the ticker marks along the side of the jar.

About halfway down, remixes of Beyoncé start to sound like Mozart. Even the snobbiest of music snobs start to embody Sasha Fierce with new fire. Male dancers gyrate on small stages around the dance floor, their waxed chests like mirrors for the dancing lights.

Sip. Dance. Sip. Dance.

With only a precious few sips to go, your body begins to move in new patterns. Disco balls lower from the ceiling, and you instinctively feel you have to touch them.

A Facebook call for Long Island Iced Tea memories (if that’s not a contradiction in terms) brought numerous fond recollections. “After one, everyone looks better and the music is actually tolerable,” Christopher reminisced. “After two, you feel the need to jump on stage and act like a rock star and make dance-love to everyone within 20 feet. After three, blackness…”

Indeed, dancing on stage in front of a giant video screen suddenly seems like the greatest idea you’ve ever had.

“They evoke a strong desire to dance on the tiny platform stage with your back leaning against the wall for sexy support,” Jasmin said. “Halfway through just one of them, your Mason jar starts to resemble rainbow moonshine.”

This is especially true for the single straight girl, who eventually loses all the junk in her trunk by the final swallow. When she awakens the next day, chances are she’ll have visible bruising from a final and unsuccessful crowd-surfing attempt. Or just a chance encounter with a shrubbery.

But this is all okay at Georgie’s, a safe place where everyone can just be. Going out to dance as a young woman generates certain expectations; dress slutty and pile on that makeup. But at Georgie’s it was good to know that no matter what I looked like when I showed up, I wouldn’t feel judged. On any given Thursday, Georgie’s plays host to everything from men in stilettos to girls in fuzzy slippers. Every walk of life comes to drink and be merry amongst one another.

The Thursday drink special is now $5. Sigh… inflation. But one jar is all it takes to hit the moon. In honor of St. Pete Pride and the community that rallies behind it, let’s raise a giant Mason jar in tribute to the Georgie’s Alibi Long Island Iced Tea, our formidable but lovable friend.

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Tags: Drinks, Georgie's Aibi, Arielle Stevenson, Long Island Iced Tea, Pride Issue 2012, Thursday Nights, Dancing, Nightlife, Food & Drink