Garden to Glass launches in Washougal

One day, a few years ago, Baiylie Bancroft had a revelation while making drinks for a get-together at her Washougal home.

“I was like, ‘Why does a cocktail or mocktail have to be so boring? Let’s add stuff into it,’” she said.

The Washougal resident began experimenting by putting different ingredients into drinks, which were well received by her family members and friends.

Bancroft thought the idea could turn into something special. Flash forward a few years and Bancroft has turned that idea into a business. Her new venture, Garden to Glass, which offers a dry-hire mobile bar, launched on Sept. 21, and offers locally sourced herbal cocktails and mocktails for parties and other events.

A dry-hire mobile bar is a service that brings a physical bar, bartenders, mixers and garnishes — but not booze — to parties and other events for a fee.

“The host has to buy the alcohol,” Bancroft said. “We provide everything else.”

Bancroft previously worked at a holistic pediatric dental office in Portland, which “sparked (her) knowledge for living a more holistic life.”

“I was tired of garnishes and mixers being filled with sugar and junk,” said Bancroft, who works for Ripple Wellness in Washougal and as a self-employed health coach.

“You can go to a place that has high-end cocktails, but you’re going to be paying a significant amount for it, and that doesn’t necessarily have to be the case. And why are we using all these mixers with red dye No. 40 and all these sugars and random stuff? We don’t know what’s in them or if they’re good for our bodies.”

Bancroft, who had no bartending experience, has learned on the job, assisted by her mother-in-law, Peggy Foxworthy.

“This has been two years in the works, to be totally honest,” she said. (Recently, I decided), ‘It’s either now or never,’ so I just went for it. It’s super fun. I love making connections with people. It’s not really even about making the drinks. Yeah, that’s fine, that’s great, but talking with people while they’re enjoying their drink (is the best part).”

Bancroft aims to purchase all of the ingredients she uses for her mixers and garnishes from local farms and vendors. She’s talked to Steve and Lindsay Inzalaco, the owners of Camas’ Shady Grove Farm, about their produce, and Avery Colby, a doctor at Petal and Thorn, a naturopathic wellness center and apothecary in Camas, about producing an adaptogen tincture for her drinks.

“I’m just trying to network, get myself out there, and start collaborating with people,” Bancroft said. “I want to support local businesses and the farmers that we have here. I’m all about community based stuff. I’ve lived in Washougal literally my entire life, and I think we need to be more community (focused).”

Bancroft doesn’t have a set menu. Rather, she works with the hosts to create original drinks tailored to the “vibe” of the event.

“Before their party, I (talk) with (the host) via email, Zoom, or whatever, and … ask them if they have a theme, because I can make the drinks off that,” she said. “If it’s an alcohol-free event, we can do mocktails. Yes, I want their guests to be happy, but I want the host to love it and feel like it’s personalized to them.

“That’s why I feel like our (business) is different, because we collaborate with the host. It’s a creative flow back-and-forth. I feel like it’s important to cater to the host and not just have a certain menu.”.”

Bancroft made a creamy pumpkin spice martini, an apple cider margarita, and an adaptogen-infused mocktail for her launch party, held Sept. 21.

“We already booked a wedding and signed up for a bridal expo in 2025, so I feel like things are off to a good start,” Bancroft said. “I know the winter season seems to be slower, but we just launched a mini-package, which is birthday parties, bachelorette parties, girls-night-out, friends-giving, things like that.”

To book an event or find more information about Garden to Glass, email gar dentoglassbar@gmail.com.