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Photo by Zach Bauman
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Photo by Zach Bauman
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Photo by Zach Bauman
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Photo by Aaron Lindberg
diamond dagger earrings,
Camping Out
STORY BY LARA HALE
PHOTOS BY ZACH BAUMAN
From The Majestic’s private Pendergast Club room to the dimly
lit subterranean speakeasy Manifesto, Kansas City has plenty of
secluded gathering spots that hearken back to the days of prohibition.
But one of the most exclusive cocktail bars in town isn’t found in
any guidebook. There isn’t even a small sign outside to discreetly
hint at its existence, let alone announce opening hours.
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The shed behind Cristin
Llewellyn and Christopher
Ciesiel’s midtown house is
home to The Campground,
the couple’s invite-only
cocktail club that combines
Llewellyn’s design prowess
with Ciesel’s passion for
mixing drinks. The project
has even led to a beverage
catering service.
In fact, the only way you’ll even discover the address of
defines the shed’s interior style was created with planks
The Campground is by receiving an invitation to one of its
salvaged from dumpsters near Llewellyn’s West Bottoms
hush-hush events.
workspace, and the couple also repurposed an old door
It isn’t snobbery or a hipper-than-thou attitude that keeps
from their house to make tables for the shed. Vintage
The Campground on the Q.T. though—its congenial founders
barware and décor and Owl + Mouse textiles round off The
clearly enjoy the opportunity to share their cozy space and
Campground’s old-school lodge look.
handcrafted cocktails with new acquaintances—it’s just that,
well, The Campground is located in their own backyard.
Meanwhile, the built-in bar inside the couple’s 1920s
bungalow spurred Ciesiel, whose previous passion was
When Cristin Llewellyn and Christopher Ciesiel bought
home-brewing beer, to raise his cocktail game. He started by
their home in midtown KC about four years ago, they
learning to mix the perfect Aviation—a classic Prohibition-
decided right away that the large shed in the backyard
era cocktail composed of gin, maraschino liqueur, crème de
had to be used for something cooler than lawnmower
violette, and lemon juice. “My old roommate used to make
and tool storage. “We knew it was destined for something
them, and it blew my mind that anything could taste that
great,” Ciesiel says.
good,” he says.
Not long after moving in, the pair set about transforming
From there, he expanded his repertoire, teaching himself
the shed’s interior to create a place for hanging out together
the craft of mixing drinks with the help of cocktail books
and with friends. As a Kansas City Art Institute grad and
and YouTube videos. Getting to know some of Kansas
co-founder of local textile studio Owl + Mouse, Llewellyn
City’s best bartenders also inspired him: he credits Justus
took the lead on the design, which she says is continuously
Drugstore’s Arturo Vera-Felicie, Julep’s Beau Williams and
changing as the couple is always discovering something to
The Majestic’s Shawn Moriarty (who previously worked
add to the mix. The weathered wood wall paneling that
Continued on next page >
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at the now-defunct R Bar, where Ciesiel and Llewellyn
Sportsman’s Club, one of his favorite cocktail bars in
met) as some of his tutors.
his native Chicago.
As the shed’s makeover and Ciesel’s cocktail skills took
The sporadic events have been wildly successful. Thanks
shape, they naturally came together and The Campground
to The Campground, the couple has met scores of new
was born. Friends came over for drinks, and they
people—not just from around Kansas City, but from all
documented the good times on Instagram, where the secret
over the country. At recent events, they’ve entertained
cocktail cabin quickly caught attention from friends of
guests from New York and California and have had as
friends—and beyond.
many as 14-16 people huddle together over cocktails in
“We started to get messages from total strangers who’d
the shed. And the buzz around the guerilla cocktail bar
seen the photos asking ‘Where is this place? How do we
has also led to a burgeoning beverage catering service.
get there?’” Llewellyn says.
Ciesiel has shaken and stirred at dozens of events around
Eventually, the couple began responding to such inquiries
Kansas City, including weddings, fashion shows, parties
with invitations to join them for events Ciesiel describes
for local businesses such as Asiatica and Hammerpress,
as “glorified keggers”— Llewellyn designs and prints a
not to mention the grand opening of the West Elm store
menu to announce Ciesiel’s concoctions for the evening,
at Country Club Plaza.
the carefully vetted guest list receives directions to The
The couple eventually hopes to be able to serve Campground
Campground shortly before the event time and chips in
cocktails to even more guests. “The ultimate goal is our own
a suggested donation for the evening. For Ciesiel, the
brick-and-mortar place,” Ciesiel says.
socializing is as much a part of The Campground
Until then, you can visit thecampgroundkc.com to
as the cocktails. “I really like the ‘drinking and
request an invitation or follow some of Ciesiel’s recipes
gathering’ aspect,” he says, co-opting the tagline of the
to shake up your cocktail hour at home. O
Cocktail
Academy
Manhattan Manhattan
2 oz. Rittenhouse 100
.25 oz. Pierre Ferrand Dry Curacao
1 oz. Bonal
2 dashes Angostura bitters
2 dashes Campground bitters
Aster Family Flip
1.5 oz. Cynar
Garnish: spiced cherry aged in Wood + Salt
Manhattan Wood blend
.75 oz. orgeat
1 oz. lemon juice
1 whole egg
Garnish: charred forest bitters (Angostura
plus a barrel-aged black currant/sage tincture)
No News Is Good News
1.5 oz. Campground Malort
.75 oz. Genepy des Alpes
.5 oz. thyme syrup
.5 oz. lemon juice
2 oz. Mexican Sprite
Garnish: fresh thyme sprigs
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