Conference Rooms Don't Close Deals. Conversations Do.
Your team is talented. But when the PowerPoint is off and the client is across the table at dinner, most professionals don't know what to do next. That's exactly what we fix — over bourbon and cigars.
The New Deal Room Has No Fairways
For decades, the golf course was where relationships deepened, clients were won, and careers were made. That terrain has shifted. Today's highest-value professionals — attorneys, wealth managers, investment bankers, consultants — are building their most important relationships somewhere new: the whiskey bar and cigar lounge.
These aren't just bars. They are premium "third spaces" — private, relaxed, and purpose-built for the kind of real conversation that formal meetings never produce.
$2.7M
Opportunities Generated
Business opportunities generated by one client in a single membership lounge in a single year.
47%
Engagement Increase
Average increase in session engagement scores at Christy's events.
1.5 hrs
Conversation Depth
Average whiskey and cigar conversation depth — far beyond any formal meeting.
100%
Fully Inclusive
Non-drinkers equally engaged, always. Every guest feels genuinely valued.
The Problems We Actually Solve
For Client-Facing Professionals
Attorneys, Advisors, Consultants, Bankers, etc.
These are the professionals whose revenue is built entirely on trust and relationship. The challenge is rarely competence. It's connection.
- Associates who don't know how to entertain clients — and it's costing the firm business
- Business development training nobody actually applies on Monday morning
- High-net-worth prospect events that feel generic and forgettable
- AUM conversations that start somewhere other than a cold conference room
- ERG and affinity group events that feel obligatory rather than genuinely connective
- Cross-practice relationship-building that never happens organically
For Internal Teams and Leaders
Who Need Culture, Connection, & Collaboration
The challenge is rarely talent — it's that the tools for building real cohesion, developing leaders, and making decisions together have never been as engaging as the problems they're meant to solve.
- Onboarding that actually sticks
- Culture-building that people actually want to attend
- Leadership development participants will use — and talk about — for months
- Collaboration and decision-making training that is immediately actionable
- Producer team culture that's more than a leaderboard
Why This Works When Everything Else Doesn't
"People remember 5% of what they hear in a lecture. They remember up to 75% of what they experience firsthand." — National Training Laboratories, Learning Pyramid
The most powerful professional development doesn't happen in conference rooms. It happens when people are genuinely enjoying themselves — when guards come down, curiosity goes up, and the learning feels like the best part of their week. Research in organizational behavior consistently shows that experiential, emotionally engaged learning drives behavior change that lasts. Christy engineered every session around that principle. The professional outcomes are built in. The fun is not optional.
Traditional Training
- Conference room lectures
- 5% information retention
- Passive, disengaged participants
- Forgotten by Monday morning
- Obligatory attendance
The Whiskey & Cigar Experience
- Premium third-space immersion
- Up to 75% experiential retention
- Genuinely curious, engaged participants
- Talked about for months
- People actually want to attend
Your Host: Christy Pruitt-Haynes
Credentials in Both Rooms — the Boardroom and the Bourbon Bar
Christy Pruitt-Haynes spent 25+ years as a Fortune 500 HR executive before becoming one of Nashville's most recognized voices at the intersection of professional development and premium spirits. She has advised Starbucks, Capital One, Nike, and Mastercard. She is a TEDx speaker. And she is a certified spirits and cigar professional with credentials most bartenders don't have.
She is not a motivational speaker who also likes bourbon. She is a credentialed expert in both worlds — and that combination is genuinely rare.
Executive Bourbon Steward
Stave & Thief Society
Certified Bourbon Professional
Council of Whiskey Masters
Certified Cigar Sommelier Tobacconist
Tobacconist University
TEDx Speaker
Women Succeeding in the Workplace and in Life
Featured In
Forbes, CNN Business, Harvard Business Review, Fast Company
25+ Years Fortune 500
HR Leadership & Consultation
What Industry Leaders Are Saying
The whiskey lounge as a professional development and deal-making venue isn't a trend — it's a recognized shift in how elite professionals build relationships.
"A cigar is just a prop to get people to talk to each other. It is amazing how deep people will go in conversations about life issues when it takes an hour and a half to get through a cigar."
— InvestmentNews
"The mindset people are in when they're in a smoking circle is unlike any other. It's great networking, and a great culture."
— Cigar Aficionado
"Whiskey lounges are becoming hubs for executives, investors, and decision-makers with control over budgets — ideal for client prospecting and closing deals."
— Whiskey Workspace
"It's their utopia — a place where their armor is down, because they're in a comfortable, relaxed space."
— Industry Observer
"Christy not only understands bourbon and whiskey — she is great at connecting with people. A lot of people are great at one of those things. She has mastered both."
— Corporate Client
"The way Christy captivated and engaged hundreds of people and answered every question with a level of expertise and relatability — even to new drinkers — was remarkable."
— Michael B.
What Your Team Walks Away With
Six skills built in the most memorable professional development experience your team has ever had.
Bourbon Confidence
Know how to order, taste, and talk whiskey fluently at any client dinner. Natural, informed conversation that signals sophistication.
The Art of Conversation
Whiskey creates shared discovery. Use it as the natural on-ramp to the client relationships that become your biggest accounts.
Reading the Room
Active listening, reading preferences, building consensus — the same skills that win negotiations and deepen trust over time.
Storytelling with Authority
The best business developers are the best storytellers. We use the craft and history of spirits to sharpen the narrative that closes deals.
Inclusive Client Hosting
Every guest — drinker or not, from any background — feels genuinely valued. That's the mark of a trusted advisor, not just a good host.
Strategic Patience
Bourbon and high-stakes deals share the same rhythm: deliberate, unhurried, attentive to nuance. Slow down enough to truly connect.
Who This Is Great For
Purpose-built for professionals whose most important work happens in relationship — not in a conference room including:
Attorneys & Law Firms
Business development, ERG events, associate development, and client entertainment. The whiskey bar is where the billable relationship begins.
Financial Advisors & Wealth Managers
Client prospecting, relationship deepening, and high-net-worth entertainment. The bourbon bar is where AUM conversations start.
Investment Bankers & Private Equity
Deal-making, team culture, LP entertainment, and portfolio company events.
Real Estate
Broker networking, investor relationships, and deal-closing entertainment.
Insurance & Risk Professionals
Client retention, new business development, and producer team building. Trust is the product.
Consultants & Fractional Executives
Business development, referral cultivation, and retainer-worthy first impressions.
Experience Formats
Every format is designed to deliver maximum impact — from intimate client dinners to keynote-scale events for thousands.
The Client Closer
Most Requested
8–50 Guests — For business development professionals. Intimate format, maximum impact. Full BD curriculum woven into the tasting. Custom pairings built around your client profile. Keynote-level insight on relationship strategy. Takeaway materials and follow-up playbook.
The Networking Flight
ERGs, Affinity Groups & Associations | 10–100 Guests — Curated 3–5 pour guided tasting. Bourbon basics: order, taste, and converse with ease. Structured conversation that feels organic. Cigar pairing option available. Non-drinker mocktail experience included.
The Keynote + Pour
Firm Retreats, Conferences & All-Hands | 50–1,000+ Guests — TEDx-quality keynote presentation with live tasting integrated into the themes. Topics: leadership, decision-making, inclusive branding, the business of bourbon. Scales to large groups. Modular across multi-day events.
⭐ Signature Offering: The Executive Experience — The only team-building that ends with your company's own whiskey. See below for full details.
★ The Executive Experience
The Only Team-Building That Ends With Your Company's Own Whiskey
High-stakes decisions rarely have an obvious right answer. Neither does picking a barrel of whiskey. That's exactly the point. In this immersive half-day session, leadership teams select a single barrel of whiskey for their organization while learning decision-making and collaboration frameworks that translate directly to everyday business.
Every step of the selection process — defining the goal, choosing a method, navigating disagreement, and determining final authority — mirrors the high-stakes decisions executives face daily. Teams leave with a signature whiskey perfect for client gifts and a framework they'll use long after the last pour.
Up to 20 Executives
Intimate leadership format for maximum impact and genuine engagement.
Half-Day Format
Fully immersive without consuming an entire day of your leadership calendar.
Fully Customized
Built around your team's goals, culture, and client profile.
Flexible Options
Available with or without the barrel component for larger groups.
Let's Build Something Your Team Won't Stop Talking About
Every experience is custom. Tell us your group, your goals, and your timeline — and we'll design something that delivers on all three. And yes — everyone will have a great time.
Get In Touch
📧 Christy@TheWhiskeyAndCigarChic.com
📞 615-212-5263
🌐 thewhiskeyandcigarchic.com
📍 Nashville, TN — Available Nationwide
Why Book Now?
Custom experiences fill quickly — especially around Q4 client entertainment season
Every session is tailored to your team, your goals, and your client profile
The conversation that closes your next deal could start at your next event