Angel Shot designed to protect woman at bars

Order a shot at the bar and you might be hurting the next morning.

But if you’re a woman on a bad date, ordering the right kind of shot  at Iberian Rooster in downtown St. Petersburg could help you out of a dangerous situation. 

The restaurant and lounge, which features colonial Portuguese fare and craft cocktails, advertises one item only to women.  A sign in the ladies room lets women know they can order an Angel Shot. 

It’s not a cocktail, it’s code meant to help a woman out of a bad situation.   A woman can tell the Iberian Rooster staff she wants an Angel Shot one of three ways.

Neat, tells the employee she would like to be escorted to her car, on the rocks is code for “please order me a ride,” and with lime tells the employee she’d like them to call the cops. 

"I like the fact that something like that exists.  Because it's more common now where woman find themselves in a situation that they want to remove themselves from and they're not sure how to do it,” said Samantha Blyn. 

Russell Andrade got the idea for the Angel Shot from a bar in England and decided to make it part of his business when he opened the Iberian Rooster in late 2016. 

"I love the idea not because I think women need men to take care of them, but because sometimes it's good to have a helping hand just in case,” Andrade said. 

"I think that's a perfect way-- really an innovative, clever way-- for somebody to ask for help,” said Shelley Rodgers, a spokeswoman for Victim Service Center in Orlando.

According to Rodgers half of all sexual assaults involve drugs or alcohol, so Victims Services is working with bars in Orlando to train staff to spot situations that could lead to sexual assault.

Six bars have  participated so far and there are plans to expand the program before Spring Break. 

"I think creating a culture where we won't accept violence where we won't accept sexual assaults is important,” Rodgers said. 

Andrade said that is the point of the Angel Shot. 

"I like the idea of people knowing that they can reach out for help,” he said.

And, if a woman is just looking for an excuse to get out of a date that’s a dud, Andrade is OK with that, too. 

"Because to me helping one person who is going to be in a really bad space...I'm OK with some people getting out of bad dates,” he said. 

So far no one has ordered and Angel Shot at Iberian Rooster.