After Years of Unsanctioned Cookie-Inspired Cocktails, The Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas Finally Embraces the Booze — and Much More
The Latest Modern-Minded Move from the GSNETX
BY Caitlin Clark //
The Lemon Upper, a vanilla vodka treat inpsired by Lemon-Ups Girl Scout cookies. (Photo by TA Visuals)
Tagalong bourbon shakes, Samoa martinis, Thin Mint shooters… many have taken boozy inspiration from the longtime Girl Scout fundraiser, but few have done it with the blessing of the beloved American youth organization. Fortunately for Dallasites, the Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas didn’t balk at the idea of cookie-inspired cocktails—it embraced them. Starting January 13, Sweet Tooth Hotel, the interactive, Texas artist-fueled museum created by Dallas cool couple Cole and Jencey Keeton, became home to the first authorized Girl Scout Cookies + Cocktails menu.
“This is the embodiment of Girl Scouts — the entrepreneurship, the creativity, and the fun,” shared Jennifer Bartkowski, CEO of Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas, at the Sweet Tooth Hotel on the eve of the launch. “What we hope this does is tell people a different story about Girl Scouts. Girl Scouts today is different from your grandmother’s Girl Scouts — it’s an organization that is really focused on helping girls post-Covid.”
One of the more notable modern adjustments the Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas has made is a focus on mental health. In 2019, the Scouts partnered with community organizations such as the Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute and UT Southwestern Medical Center to form the Okay to Say mental health patch program, designed to improve mental health literacy in young women. In 2020, the program was launched statewide — thousands of Texas girls have since earned their mental health patch.
“We’re getting them ready with the courage, the confidence, and the character that they need to be successful and reach their full potential,” Bartkowski adds.
At the Sweet Tooth Hotel flagship in downtown Dallas, Girl Scouts of all ages (current and former) are invited to celebrate. On weekends, local troops are welcome to set up shop (and enjoy a mocktail). Those of legal drinking age can partake in the Girl Scout cookie-inspired cocktails: the Lemon-Upper, the Thicc Mint, the Tagalonging, the Trefoiled, and the espresso martini-style wonder that is Stannin Samoas (we highly recommend that last one).
