Cullman gathers by candlelight for ‘An Evening with Poe’
CULLMAN, Ala. – The night came on, as November nights do, cold and early and quiet. Inside Jubilee Kitchen + Bar, the candles were already lit. Tall tapers flickered against dark walls. Deep crimson cloth pooled across the tables like spilled wine, and a single red rose waited beside each small glass vase. At the bar, beneath a chandelier glowing like a cluster of pale moons, cocktails with names borrowed from the grave were shaken and poured. And then, as the hour of six drew near, the room fell still, and the voice of Edgar Allan Poe returned to the living. Jubilee and the Cullman County Public Library joined forces Monday, Nov. 2, for “An Evening with Poe,” a night of cocktails and dramatic readings celebrating the 19th-century master of mystery and the macabre. Guests gathered for a cocktail hour at 5 p.m. before readings began at 6. Even the drinks were steeped in dread. Jubilee’s “An Evening with Poe” specials menu, marked with a perched raven, offered five cocktails inspired by the author’s darkest works: The Black Cat: vodka, chocolate liqueur, cherry and heavy cream The Raven: blanco tequila, Cointreau, blackberry and lime The Pale Blue Eye: gin, elderflower