Fat Harold's Beach Club

Inside the World of Shag and Shots in North Myrtle Beach | Eater Carolinas

"This North Myrtle Beach institution was in full swing during the Society of Stranders [SOS] Spring Safari (April 23–May 4), an annual week-long shag dance party that fills Ocean Drive bars; as one of the host bars it stocked the makings for thousands of shooter cocktails. Its jukebox-style façade is an architectural icon; inside neon-lit rooms ramble from a front grill turning out hot dogs and fried bologna sandwiches with speed, to a main room with a dance floor, bandstand, and elevated bar that gives an easy line of sight to the action, plus a back room with more seating and another bar. Walls are covered with memorabilia and commemorative photos of the DJs Hall of Fame, making the low‑ceilinged spaces a meandering shrine to the golden era of shag. The Carolina Shag—the “swing dance of the South” that originated in North Myrtle Beach in the 1960s—still centers here, with hundreds of mostly-retiree dancers mixing, mingling, and twirling to classic beach‑music hits while a live band jams. Shooter culture dominates SOS gatherings: the venue sold hoards of multi-ingredient shots, and the bartender Derek Goodwin knows 160 recipes, from Alabama Slammer to Sex with an Alligator; to prepare mega orders he lined up mini plastic cups on cafeteria trays, free-counted ingredients in a cocktail tin, and then served batches at a time. Historian David Wondrich notes that shooters first appeared in the 1970s when bartenders combined liquors with sweet syrups and cordials and sold them under cheeky names; as Goodwin explains, “The dancers can have a drink, something quick that is sweet and lower alcohol than a traditional cocktail, and keep on dancing.” Groups ordered Kamikazes, Raspberry Lemon Drops, Redheaded Sluts, Liquid Marijuana, and plenty of Paydays. “My favorite shooter is a Payday,” said Amy Bolen of Madison, North Carolina. She added, “It tastes just like a Payday candy bar. I had it for the first time right here at [this bar] eight years ago, and it’s been my favorite ever since.” Bolen also said, “It’s just a great group of people here. Everyone knows how to have fun. And we love to have shooters every now and then. Yeah, love it.” The Payday recipe provided: 2 ounces Frangelico, 2 ounces butterscotch schnapps; add the ingredients to a cocktail shaker filled with ice and shake until chilled, strain into cups with a salted rim and serve immediately. Makes 4 shooters." - Stephanie Burt