Stand-up History: A mixologist and a historian walk into a Cincinnati cafe

Sharon Coolidge, Cincinnati Enquirer
Updated ·2 min read
Stand-up History at the Merchantile Library: From left Molly Wellman, Dean Regas, MC Michael Perrino, Greg Hand and Dann Woellert. The group tells stories about Cincinnati with a dash of humor. The next event is Jan. 17, 2023 at 7 p.m. at Muse Cafe in Westwood.
Stand-up History at the Merchantile Library: From left Molly Wellman, Dean Regas, MC Michael Perrino, Greg Hand and Dann Woellert. The group tells stories about Cincinnati with a dash of humor. The next event is Jan. 17, 2023 at 7 p.m. at Muse Cafe in Westwood.

You likely know Molly Wellman as Cincinnati's premier mixologist and creator of Cincinnati Gin, which is inspired by the botanicals of the Krohn Conservatory.

You likely know Greg Hand as the University of Cincinnati's longtime spokesperson, a job he's retired from. He's now the author of the popular blog, “Cincinnati Curiosities," whose mission is "to keep alive the weird soul of the Queen City."

The two, along with a handful of other history buffs with a sense of humor, have teamed up for Stand-up History, an event where they tell stories about the oddities of Cincinnati history.

The New Year's Eve party at Moerlein Lager House where Molly Wellmann shakes a signature cocktail, the Darlin Clementine.
The New Year's Eve party at Moerlein Lager House where Molly Wellmann shakes a signature cocktail, the Darlin Clementine.

Ahead of the next event at Muse Cafe in Westwood on Jan. 17, Wellmann and Hand joined The Enquirer's "That's So Cincinnati" podcast to talk about the event and share their favorite Cincinnati stories.

"I've always been someone who loves to know where things come from," Wellmann said. "I was that annoying child who was like, 'Why, mom? Why? Well, now I get to find out why. I've always been a true believer that you have to know the past to make better decisions in the present, to have a better future."

Hand said his University of Cincinnati job always had him looking up things on microfilm for work.

"So I started this file of weird things that I found about Cincinnati and when I retired I was fooling around and thought, "I'll start this blog and that will keep me busy for six months and then I'll do something else,'" Hand said. "It's been 10 years."

Listen to this week's episode to hear Wellmann talk about Cincinnati's the city's once-popular pleasure gardens in the 1920s and 1930s and Hand talks about the truck manufacturer who turned down a government contract that would have made him a very rich man because the trucks would have been carrying munitions, something he didn't want for his company.

Miss last week's episode? No problem. Listen here. Follow Cincinnati.com editor Beryl Love on X @beryllove and City Hall reporter Sharon Coolidge @SharonCoolidge.

If you go

  • What: Stand-up History.

  • When: 7 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 17.

  • Cost: None.

  • Where: Muse Cafe: 3018 Harrison Ave., Cincinnati.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Molly Wellman, Greg Hand talk Cincinnati history with humor