Newly-opened Lake Libations will bring craft cocktails to you

MEREDITH — Carrie Quagliaroli and Mark Lamper have teamed up in a new endeavor: Lake Libations. The pair work out of a horse-trailer-turned New Orleans speakeasy-themed mobile bar, and served up a taste of their creations during a grand opening reception on Thursday. The event, held out of the trailer parked in front of Quagliaroli’s house, drew a crowd of 50 family and friends.

Cocktails offered at the opening included Gatsby’s Garden, with bourbon, basil syrup, lemon, cucumber, bitters; Secret Stash Smash, with tequila, with watermelon syrup, hibiscus, lime and rhubarb bitters; and Minted Mischief, with vodka, blueberry syrup, mint syrup, mint bitters, lemon and honey. Corina Locke, interim executive director of the Meredith Area Chamber of Commerce, enjoyed the Secret Stash Smash.

“I'm a one-hit wonder, so this is probably the only one. But if I was not driving, I would probably have five of these,” Locke said. “These are really, really good.”

Jackie Rivetts saw the grand opening advertised on Instagram.

“This is better than what I've seen. It's nice. It's elegant,” she said.

Quagliaroli said many parts of the cocktails are homemade, and incorporate herbs she grows in her garden.

“The syrups are homemade, the purees are homemade. And I'll go with the flavor profiles and then what's in season.”

The couple, partners in life as well as business, both work full-time jobs. Quagliaroli is as a civil engineer who sold her geothermal company to a firm she now currently works with, and owns her own apparel company. Lamper is a lawyer in and resident of Meredith. Quagliaroli also has cocktail experience.

“I started catering as well, working for another friend. I bartended for years. I make all the drinks for all the parties, so it just was a natural step,” she said. “I wanted to get out of engineering and get into something more fun. I’m 55 And looking for the next thing to do in life.”

While Lamper does not have the same experience, he supported Quagliaroli's passion and recognized her talent.

“She's always been a craft cocktail maker,” he said. “And we wanted to think of a way to take that skill and do something together and have fun and make some money.”

Lamper emphasized that due to the pair's combined business ownership experience, they can stand out from a crowd of mobile bars, which are trending throughout the country.

“This is an emerging thing. More and more folks are trying to do the mobile bartending services,” he said. “We're not young folks starting out. We've got a lifetime of experience. We've had successful businesses, and we’ve put our minds together for this. We could make something pretty special.”

The couple started the mobile bar in a horse trailer Quagliaroli used when she had many animals roaming her property. Four years ago, when her husband died, she began shrinking her livestock.

“I had many horses, many cows, sheep. And when my husband passed four years ago, I started downsizing and the sheep are the last to go in February,” she said.

Lake Libations was already booked for an event on Friday, and the couple is hoping they can carry the momentum throughout the year, with an indoor mobile bar during the winter. They are interested in smaller events, consisting of ideally 50 to 75 people. The couple works with the host's interests and preferences to make the drinks special for the occasion.

“We want to make it boutique, and we want to make it personal,” Lamper said. "Not make generic drinks, but for the masses.”

The New Hampshire Liquor Commission does not permit the business to provide alcohol for bar service on private or residential property. In those instances, the host must buy the alcohol, and Lake Libations will work to provide their idea of a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Locke said Lake Libations is perfect for this area.

“There's such an influx of people that have moved here since COVID, and I think our community is looking for more diversity in businesses,” Locke said. “I know a lot of people that have private events like get togethers, like that's the whole point of living up here, is the work life balance.”

Lakes Libations will bring their trailer within 30 miles of Meredith at no extra cost, and will discuss inquiries outside of this area. Submit inquiries at lakelibationsnh.com.

“We’re looking forward to our new adventure. It's basically the next phase in life and we’re going to see where it takes us,” Quagliaroli said.