 I'm Shannon Mustapher, an award-winning mixologist, educator, and author. Like a confession booth, the bar is a place for all walks of life to come in and share their stories. So today, I'll be sitting down with innovative creators to turn their journeys in the classic Grand Marnier cocktails with a unique twist on a tradition. Yo, Otis, what's good, man? Shannon, how are you? What's up? It's been a minute. Good to see you. Good to see you. What's about your music and, you know, what brought you here? Yeah, well, I'm Otis Cain. I am a writer, producer, artist, play instruments, a mix. I do the whole thing. I've been doing this for a very, very long time. Now, tell me a little bit about your background and your heritage. My dad's side of the family, full Mexican. My mom's side is Jamaican. I'm very shaped by American culture, but I do have, you know, that blood running through my veins. How would you describe your style, your flavor? Like, what kind of music do you do? I would say that my music is very funk, soul, pop, R&B. Obviously, one of my biggest influences, Stevie, Sam Cooke, you know, those guys. Love songs are a big part of the R&B genres. How do you draw inspiration from that to create like a new twist on it for the listener today? Love songs are very important to me and making love songs in today's world is pushing the culture forward because black artists aren't usually shown in that light. You know, the music that is promoted the most heavily isn't promoting black love and I think what's really important about what I'm doing is being the voice for that. I'm curious. Is there like a particular moment or a story when you had that light bulb moment? You're like, it's time to start building Otis. I was kind of burnt out on creating careers for artists when I knew I wanted to create one for myself. You know, I've always wanted to use my voice. It was August 2020 when I released my first song and I wasn't doing sessions with other artists. So I had already made the decision to not produce but now there was no turning back. You got started in your own direction. When did you start to see it as paying off? Like when did you start to see signs that you were succeeding in making it as an artist? One thing that made me feel like this is going where it needs to go is I started to get a lot of playlists on different streaming platforms and that is kind of the first step for an independent artist because that's the hardest thing to achieve in this industry. From a kind of big picture point of view, what does success look like for Otis Kane? As long as I'm happy doing what I'm doing, that's success. The message is about this resonant with me. I sent this to my ex. I sent this to my wife. I played this at my wedding. I love this song. I love the message. So all these things are reinforcement that what I'm doing is touching people and bringing light to people. Now onto the drink and what you're into. My style, as you know, is rooted in classic cocktails with a little bit of a Caribbean and a tropical flair. I'm an old school Southern girl, but I like to explore global flavors as well. I think I have something in mind for you. Okay. So just sit tight. Okay. I'm going to put it together for you and then we'll see what you think. Amazing. I'm excited. Before we go into the drink, I want to sample you on the star. This is Grand Marnier, a blend of cognac and orange liqueur. Wonderful way to elevate any classic cocktail. Have a taste. Now the thing I find really wonderful about this. Oh, you're saying it all. So I definitely taste the vanilla. I taste the hint of orange. I know it's orange liqueur, but just it's hidden in there. It's not overwhelming. I love it. It's basically going to amplify all the other flavors that I want to add to this spin on the Margarita that I'm calling the floor to have makeup. Let me stop talking and start pouring here. So I'm going to make one for myself as well. I'm going to start off with fresh lime juice. Now next, I made a custom syrup for you based on the dried hibiscus. I'm going to add some tequila. Tequila, yeah. Yeah, I'm using a Blanco. It's not really light, clean, just like the classic. Now next we got the star, Grand Marnier. I'm going to get a little more citrus here and I would say this is kind of the thing that's going to pump up the volume on all the other elements here. So this might love song to you. Oh. And to the Margarita. Yes. For the Jamaica. I hope that this drink is like a fitting way to celebrate your transition into making your own path as an artist. Let's try it. Cheers. Cheers. Wow. That is excellent. Can we call it the Grand Otis Cane? I like Grand Otis Cane. I know this cane. Grand Otis Cane. It has a musical ring to it. All right. You came to the right place. Thank you, Shannon. Cheers. Cheers.