Kevin Danilo, Managing Member of Batch Gastropub and Batch New Southern Kitchen & Tap, came from humble beginnings. At 13 years old, he was washing dishes and making pizzas in Connecticut. He then paid his way through college as a bartender earning a finance degree, and ended up in Miami after flipping a coin to decide where to go next.
Starting as a dishwasher, he made his way up to opening Batch Gastropub in Brickell in 2013, which soon expanded to Delray Beach, West Palm Beach, and Fort Lauderdale under the restaurants Batch New Southern Kitchen & Tap.
In 2018, Batch decided to elevate its whiskey program and started selling private barrels and rare whiskey bottles embracing its whiskey-forward concept. Danilo, however, never expected that program to become a lifeline for his employees during the pandemic.
"When lockdown started, our staff was furloughed," Danilo recalls. "They were struggling. I mean, everybody was struggling, but they were kind of stuck with our decisions. We were trying to figure out a way to help raise some money for them, so we decided to release some of our special release whiskeys and rare products, raise some money, and give 100 percent of the profit back to our team."
At its Brickell location, Danilo held the first charitable whiskey event. More than 200 people lined up, standing six feet apart, and they quickly sold out the bottles. "The staff was so appreciative and happy that we cared. It was just such a tough time — everybody was struggling and just trying to get by. So, to know that somebody cared about them meant a lot to them."
Batch Fort Lauderdale was the host of the second event benefitting staff. Nowadays, once it's time for a barrel change, it hosts a whiskey sampler event for a few lucky raffle winners who get to pick the next addition to the menu.
Batch Hospitality photo
A Singular Event Has Turned Into a Mission to Support South Florida
The charity event was supposed to end once the pandemic ended, but to Danilo's surprise, Batch regulars started inquiring about the next event."The intention was never for it to become more than something we did for our staff," Danilo tells New Times. "But we reopened, and a lot of the guests who bought the bottles wanted more. When that demand happened, we noticed there was a viable platform here for people who want to do good in the community. They want to help out, and this is such an awesome way to do it because we have access to stuff that the normal person probably doesn't."
That is when the Batch team saw the opportunity to give back to the community they'd been a part of for more than a decade now.
Having always been tied to local charities through events like the annual "Shots for Tots" toy drive benefitting Patches PPEC, a Miami-based organization that aims to help medically complex children and their families, Danilo decided to start a charitable whiskey program of his own.
The program is simple: a whiskey retail program with private barrel bottles with 100 percent of the proceeds going towards charities around South Florida.
Retail offerings are available in all four locations, and different barrels represent different charities mentioned right below the bottle on the menu. So far, charities include the Best Foot Forward Foundation, Broward Vetworking, Gatorclub, Saving Grace Dog Rescue, Love IV Lawrence, and Patches.
"We started expanding our barrel selection and introducing new charities," Danilo says. "We did one barrel for mental-health awareness, one for veterans and first responders. We did a dog rescue barrel so all the money goes to help dogs at a small, local rescue that doesn't have a ton of access to capital. We're doing one right now for foster children in Palm Beach County, the Fire Department in Hollywood. We did a Florida Gator Barrel to help kids pay for college that can't afford it. Just a lot of different foundations that are really near and dear to us and the community."
Now, the Community Can Get Involved in the Whiskey Program
The appeal of the program is that people get to buy certain labels for a cheaper price than a regular liquor store while also contributing to local causes. Current prices range between $37.50 to $99, but the menu is subject to change depending on which barrels are available. Some of the latest offerings include 1792 Full Proof, WhistlePig 10 Year Rye, Angel's Envy, and Coppercraft Straight.A special selection of rare findings is available at a discounted price as long as there's a purchase of one of the charity bottles, such as the J. Magnus Cigar Blend for $200 with the purchase of two Coppercraft charity bottles.
"Now we're trying to get that awareness up," Danilo tells New Times. "The retail menu is only about six months old, and there was a lot more word of mouth previously. What's really cool is, as with anything in life, the more that you sell of something, the more that you get. So, we're getting access to more rare things and other bottles and barrels that people are looking for and we're able to raise more money."
Danilo says he is happy to see the restaurant managers get excited about the retail sales. Although there are zero bonus implications and zero profitability for them personally, and for Batch, they are proud of how much money they raise.
"It's really important that in our team there are like-minded people trying to do some good in the community," he says. "Now we look forward to more people coming in and kind of treating us like a charity whiskey liquor store, saving a couple of bucks themselves, raising the money, and we're happy to keep setting up these events and bringing in more bottles and barrels and hopefully doing more good in the community."
