What a whirlwind! I want to start by saying that I know it's been nearly a year since I updated the blog. For the five of you who might care, my apologies. I'll try to be better about it.
Tales of the Cocktail 2024 was last week, and, like last year, I was determined to make the most of it. Before we dive in, let's refresh ourselves on what Tales of the Cocktail is. Tales is much more than just parties. If you’re in the industry or just cocktail curious, there are tons of seminars to attend every day, cool competitions, sampling, happy hours, and various other ways to meet people in the industry. I stick to social events mainly because I’m a cocktail consumer (not a bartender or business owner), and socializing at these things is in my wheelhouse.
From the Tales PR team:
With hundreds of opportunities developed specifically for industry professionals, from bartenders to distillers, Tales of the Cocktail is the drinks industry’s annual meeting place for exchanging new ideas, products, and techniques featuring in-person education, tastings, networking, and awards programming.
Since 2002, the global spirits community has gathered in the heart of the French Quarter for Tales of the Cocktail. What started as an annual walking tour of historic New Orleans cocktail bars has now become the world’s leading cocktail conference.
Attendees can expect signature educational initiatives, seminars, and panels, Beyond the Bar activations, the Bev Talent Expo, Day of Service, Meet the Distillers, New Orleans Cocktail Tours, the annual Spirited Awards, the inaugural Catalyst Luncheon, and more.
This year's Tales was extra special to me because my book, The Absinthe Frappé, was a Top 10 Nominee in the "Best New Book on Drinks Culture, History, or Spirits" category! While I didn't make the final round of nominations, I was very proud, especially since a smaller press published my book. Yay! It was even for sale at the official Tales of the Cocktail Bookstore!
The full list of Spirited Award Winners is here!
On Sunday, Tales of the Cocktail 2024 kicked off with Speed Rack at Republic NOLA, and this event is always a great way to start the week, even if it's a little overwhelming. This was the 12th annual competition that highlights the skills of the best up-and-coming female bartenders, giving them a chance to showcase their talent in a fast-paced, action-packed bartending extravaganza, all in the name of raising money for breast cancer charities.
The Speed Rack crew had an exciting year and published A Quick Drink, a cocktail book full of recipes you'll want to try at home. This event is always a lot of fun and features two floors and tons of incredible sponsors. I sipped a lot of different cocktails (for research), and my personal favorite was the Old Forester Bourbon Cocktail. I'm not usually much of a "Bourbon person" but this one really did it for me.
Speed Rack always has a lot of amazing sponsors such as Hampton Water, Hendrick's Gin, Bushmills, and Byrrh. I had a fantastic time (over) sampling most of them!
At the end of the day, this is a bartending competition, and this year's winner was Tammy Bouma! 🎉
Tuesday was Galatoire's lunch with Altamura Distilleries! This was my favorite event last year, and I was so excited to be included again. Galatoire's is quickly becoming one of my favorite "fancy" spots and what could be better than spending an afternoon eating delicious food, drinking tasty cocktails, and rubbing elbows with the most elite in the drinks industry?
When I walked in, I was immediately dazzled by the presentation.
The menu was the same as last year's event, and that was fine by me. The difference was that this lunch also featured the teams from Maybe Sammy and Dean & Nancy on 22, lovely Australian hotel bars. I was so glad to meet these incredible folks.
I had never tasted Altamura before last year, and I quickly became a fan. The distillery was kind enough to send me a bottle last year, and I definitely enjoyed it when I was in the mood for something a little "upscale."
If you're interested in the distillery's history, here's some info from the company website:
When some Americans decide to……act on their lifelong dream of moving to Italy, it’s amazing what can happen. Our love of warm weather, beaches, and life led us to Puglia, a special region in the south of Italy. Our love of food led us to discover Pane di Altamura, a traditional bread from the Puglia region. And our love of all things distilled led us to realize that an amazing loaf of bread is just an amazing bottle of vodka, gin, or whiskey waiting to happen. We believe that our origin is in Puglia, and we are there to live our dream.
Owner Frank Grillo is such a great personality and his team is just the best. This lunch does a wonderful job of highlighting the brand.
The three martinis featured were Rainfall, Australian Martini, and Espress-Yo Passion. All of the drinks were amazing, but my favorite was the Australian Martini made with Altamura Vodka, Cochi Americano, Noilly Prat Dry, Lemon Myrtle Liqueur, and Orange Bitters. A nice bonus was a small bottle of the drink to take home at the end of the lunch!
I wish I had done a better job at taking drink pictures, but here's my fave
Of course, the food was delicious. Please forgive my questionable photography, but here's what we enjoyed:
After lunch, I Ubered over to the Historic Swoop-Duggins House for the Angel's Envy Bourbon & Bliss shindig. The event featured delightful cocktails made with Angel's Envy Bourbon and a fun jazz band—not bad for a Tuesday in July! I got there a few hours after the event started, so I was glad it wasn't crowded when I arrived.
These are the cocktails I enjoyed:
My favorite was the Sunshine Shandy because it was cool and refreshing, perfect for a hot afternoon. This was a great little gathering and a fun way to wind down after lunch. The organizers pulled out some bells and whistles and included a spa on the third floor, but I passed on that.
After the Angel's Envy event, I was going to head over to a happy hour at Peychaud's, but it filled up before I got there. There was also a Mr. Black event that I was planning on attending, but the Uber there was $15 (!), and I was feeling cheap, so I just stayed within walking distance of where I was. I later kicked myself for missing the Mr. Black event because I heard it was incredible, so I will definitely attend next year!
On Wednesday, I had actual day work to do, so I didn't wander out until the evening. The first stop was the Ilegal Mezcal party at Jolie. This was fantastic! They offered an incredible selection of cocktails, there were performances, and tattoo artists were doing flash tattoos on-site. Like... real tattoos.
While I'm not the biggest fan of mezcal, these cocktails were very good. I sampled an Ilegal Margarita and the Spicy Paloma, which were both excellent. The Spicy Paloma had a nice smoky taste that I really enjoyed. I love Jolie's vibe. It's a loungey kind of place with sofas and soft chairs, and it feels like you're in someone's living room more than a bar. The drinks tend to be a little on the pricier side, but for a nice evening out, it really can't be beat!
After I had gotten my fill of mezcal, I headed down the street to The Republic for the Ford’s Gin Industry Night. I’ll be honest—I was a little tired when I got to this party, and there was a lot going on. I had a couple of cocktails, but photos were lacking because it was crowded and dark, and I felt weird about being a little shutterbug while folks were trying to enjoy their evening. (This blog is free, so just roll with it.)
However, I did have fun, and I also enjoyed a collard melt courtesy of the always incredible Turkey and the Wolf. The venue was wonderfully decorated, and batch cocktails were served to the masses, so you can’t go wrong with that. Honestly, I enjoyed last year’s Ford’s Gin event a bit more because it was all martinis, but I had a great time, and it was a nice way to wrap up my third day of Tales.
By Thursday, it was time to mellow out a little with a nice Spirited Dinner at Maypop featuring Mozart Chocolate Liqueur!
This was the perfect event for this part of the week. Once again, I had limited day availability, so I was glad to relax and have a nice dinner. I had never heard of Mozart Chocolate Liqueur, and it was everything that I had hoped—boozy chocolate liqueur in a variety of flavors. Senior Brand Manager Carina Planeta walked us through four tastes: Mozart Chocolate Crème Liqueur, Mozart Dark Chocolate Liqueur, Mozart White Chocolate Liqueur, and Mozart Coconut Chocolate Liqueur.
Not only were the drinks made with the liqueur, but the meal was meant to perfectly complement the cocktails! My favorite cocktail was the Amadeus Apertif, which was a refreshing start to the meal. All of the cocktails were just fantastic, and the team did a great job pairing them with the food.
As for the food- it was excellent. I had been to Maypop before, but it had been years. I knew the chef was very capable of creating an incredible meal, and I wasn’t left disappointed. My favorite was the second course, the Roasted Gulf Fish, with mushrooms, tom kha broth, cocoa butter, and coconut sambal. Many of my (out-of-town) dining companions found the fish spicy, but I thought it was just perfect, and the coconut sambal did a good job of cutting the heat. The cocktail pairing for this course was the Yuzu Gimlet, a perfect little cocktail that was smooth and paired with the fish beautifully.
You would think that the inclusion of chocolate would mean everything would be sweet, but chef did such a wonderful job of incorporating the liqueur into the dishes without the actual chocolate taste being overwhelming. It was a really cool and fun experience and a testament to what different ingredients can go into making a dish really stand out.
Mozart was kind enough to send me home with a bottle of their tasty liqueur, and I definitely see adult milkshakes in my future!
Once again, I had other plans after dinner, but I was so full and tired that I decided to call it a night so that I would be well-rested for the final event of the week: Pig & Punch!
Friday was the last day of Tales, and it was Pig & Punch day at The Broadside! As we headed in, attendees were given a reusable, albeit clunky, cup at the door.
This was my first time attending Pig & Punch, a charity event that closes out Tales of the Cocktail. To date, the Pig & Punch event series has raised $753,580.68 and contributed 10,562 volunteer hours to charter schools nationwide! Via the event's PR: All proceeds from ticket sales and merch benefitted New Orleans KIPP Charter Schools (a national network of schools that help students from underserved communities achieve their highest potential), Tales of the Cocktail Foundation, Hogs for the Cause, and The Bon Vivants Scholarship (which supports first-generation college students in San Francisco).
There were cocktails (and mocktails) available throughout the event as well as “guest” bartending shifts from Yacht Club Bar (Denver, CO), Schmuck Bar (New York, NY), Panda & Sons (Edinburgh, UK), and Maybe Sammy (Sydney, Australia). I loved the guest shifts because each bar team brought its own brand of energy to the event.
By Friday, I was running on fumes (but still running, at least!), and I was excited to make the most of the day despite the New Orleans summer rain and heat. I was in chill mode on the last day of Tales.
As amazing as the cocktails were, I have to rave about the food. I had Smoked bacon and andouille with corn maque choux by Mr. Pigglesworth BBQ; Smoked pork shoulder tostadas with bacon-y beans, roasted corn salad, and spicy pickled carrots by Chits and Piggles; and Pulled pork sliders with ribs, cole slaw, and pickled vegetables by Pork Funk All-Stars! The food was excellent, and all of the vendors knocked the tasty stuff out of the park!
By the last day I was a little burnt out on the drinking (I KNOW!) so I was leaning more toward the food selections. I did sample some cocktails throughout the day but kept it pretty basic with things like canned margaritas and a Crown and coke. I was out in the heat and really didn’t want to push it as far as the alcohol intake was concerned. I have an image to uphold, after all. 😉
For the rest of the afternoon, I dodged raindrops and enjoyed music by Rebirth Brass Band. As much as I like The Broadside, I did kind of wish the event was at an indoor venue, but it was enjoyable for the last event of the conference, and there was a place where you could dash inside to get some air conditioning. I called it an early afternoon and headed home before the end of the event just to save what was left of my sanity and brain cells.
I had so much more fun at Tales this year than I did last year and I hit my goal of attending more events and participating. I met a bunch of cool people and did some networking, so all in all, it was a success.
As I did last year, I would like to thank Foxglove Communications, the official PR company for Tales of the Cocktail, for informing us of the week's events. Another thank you to the Whova app for allowing attendees and participants to set their Tales schedule and connect with fellow "Talers" with the touch of a button and with the greatest ease!
If you’re a cocktail enthusiast, professional, or just a casual imbiber, you should check out Tales of the Cocktail for yourself! It’s a destination event for people all over the world and an amazing opportunity to connect with like-minded, cocktail-loving folks.
If you’ve made it this far and enjoy reading about cocktail experiences, you’re in luck! Starting in October, I’m going to contribute to a monthly newsletter with cocktails and spirits content. If wine and beer are your thing, two other incredible writers will have you covered in that department as well. The Food Section is an award-winning online magazine founded in 2021 that brings quality food journalism to the South’s underserved states, cities, and towns. There’s a yearly subscription, and if you’re interested in subscribing, go here!
Thank you for reading! If you enjoy my blog, please sign up for email alerts on the main blog page. Although my blogs are few, I always try to make them interesting!
Comentários