Patrón Spirits Company brought its XO Cafe Noir party to Orlando Saturday night to spark interest in the tequila-based coffee liqueur among musicians and industry executives in town for the Orlando Calling music festival. Like the five other XO Cafe Noir events the company has held around the country, this one used an unconventional invitation strategy: Potential guests received an invitation instructing them to stop by a coffee truck parked on a downtown Orlando street 15 minutes before the start of the party. There they could exchange the invitation for two wristbands and a cup of coffee, which included the address of the party printed on the sleeve.
Nearly 300 people made their way around the corner from the truck and into the Church Street Exchange, where organizers transformed a bare, concrete-floored room into a dark, speakeasy-style lounge with burlesque dancers performing on a dimly lit stage. “XO Cafe is our most affordable brand and since it is coffee-based, it is a late night pick-me-up, so we are trying to appeal to a younger crowd,” said Patrón director of events Pam Dzierzanowski. Patrón has held similar events during other music festivals, such as South by Southwest in Austin and Pitchfork Music Festival in Chicago, in conjunction with its Patrón XO Cafe Music Project to support up-and-coming musicians.
