Tales of the Cocktail 2012 - The 10th Anniversary

Culinary and spirits festival Tales of the Cocktail (a.k.a. Tales) celebrates its' 10th Anniversary this July. Tales kicks off at the Hotel Monteleone on Wednesday, July 25th.  The world's best craft bartenders, taste makers, brand ambassadors, cocktail bloggers, liquor sponsors, and cocktail aficionados plus a legion of media and public relations people descend on the Crescent City for a week of booze filled seminars, "Spirited Dinners", tough talking competitions, liquor tastings, and brand sponsored parties.

The following is a list of events, parties, and seminars that Fredo plans to attend as a media correspondent for Umamimart and Loungerati. He is flying in on Thursday morning and will hit the ground running! OK, he will probably grab a big ole' lunch first but then it is on! Salute!

Follow Fredo at Tales on Twitter:#taleslounger and #umamitales

Fredo's Itinerary for Tales 2012:

SEMINARS 

True/Untrue: Exploring Bar World Myths

Cocktail writers Wayne Curtis and David Wondrich put to the test several common myths that underlie cocktail making. The audience will be dragooned into a blind taste test to help sort of fact from fiction. This seminar is sponsored by Don Julio Tequila & George Dinkel Bourbon.

Cognac: The Barkeep's Forgotten Friend

Dave Broom and Tristan Stephenson will discuss the flavours of Cognac, where they come from and what they mean. Attendees will sample a classic cocktail of that era and then look at ways in which to make it more accessible and exciting for the modern palate.

The Process to Perfection

A sold out seminar featuring newly weds Audrey Saunders and Robert "Drinkboy" Hess discussing successful cocktail programs! Enough said!! This seminar is sponsored by the Pernard Ricard USA portfolio.

Talking Tequila - A Sensory Science

Tequila Interchange Project members Phil Ward (Mayahuel, NY), Bobby Hugel (Anvil, TX), David Suro (Tequilas, PA), and Don Lee (Cocktail Kingdom, NY) present new sensory analysis and discuss the language of tequila. Sponsored by Herradura Tequila.

EVENTS, PARTIES, & COMPETITIONS

Spirit of Italy Media Luncheon
The lunch will feature Italian delicacies paired with cocktails made with Italian artisanal liquors, digestives and grappas produced by Luxardo, Amaro Lucano, Distillerie Moccia, Distillerie Nardini, Pallini, Toschi and Varnelli. The event will be hosted by master mixologist Francesco Lafranconi. 

Diageo Happy Hour "A World Class Affair"

Diageo hosts a happy hour of happy hours with their skilled mixologists providing a lush worthy sample of the company's brands. Leave the streets of New Orleans and enter a Brazilian-inspired oasis to celebrate the largest global cocktail program and have the opportunity to try an array of classics with a twist incorporating gin, tequila, whisk(e)y, vodka and rum alongside local delicacies. This seminar is sponsored by the Diageo brands portfolio.

Spirited Dinner: The Life and Times of Tom Bullock

The dinner will be a tribute to Tom Bullock, the first African American to write a cocktail book in 1917, his cocktails were so good they scandalized a President. It will take place aboard the luxury paddle wheeler Creole Queen on the Mississippi River.  A full creole buffet, hot jazz band and Bar and Books Cigars will be available for the duration of the cruise. Cocktail heavy weights Jim Meehan of PDT and David Wondrich will be involved in the libation portion of the cruise.

Employees Only - NOLA

New York's Employees Only (EO), the 2011 winner for best Cocktail bar in the World, are not ones to rest on their laurels. They bring their award winning operations down to the Big Easy at a pop-up bar in a burlesque bar called One Eyed Jacks that I am sure will be one of the hottest parties of the festival.

Distillerie Branca Breakfast
A unique opportunity to break bread with Count Niccolo Branca, the head of the Fratelli Branca family owned company. Sponsored by Fernet Branca.

Bacardi 150th Anniversary USBG Hand-Shaken Daiquiri Competition

Twelve competitors from USBG chapters across the country will take to their bar tools to shake up new takes on this classic cocktail with one thing remaining the same – Bacardi – the rum this legendary cocktail was created with. The prize: title as champion of the Hand-Shaken Daiquirí.

Bar Room Brawl

Teams from the following stellar cocktail bars from across the country compete for the coveted title of Bar Room Brawl Champions of the World!

North West:   Rob Roy—Seattle

West Coast:  Beretta—San Francisco

Mid West:  Manifesto-Kansas City

East Coast: Employees Only-New York City

South West:  Anvil Bar & Refuge-Houston

South East:  The Passenger/Columbia Room-Washington D.C.

Pig & Punch Party

A band of bartenders out of San Francisco called The Bon Vivants get to NOLA early and devote their energy to helping reconstruct schools in neighborhoods that were devastated by Hurricane Katrina. Pig & Punch is a free party to local residents offering spit roasted pigs and serving lots of boudin, Creole tomato salad, Cajun cole slaw, plus delicious complimentary punches out of 32 gallon trash containers and cold beer is available!

The Spirited Awards 2012

Guests are encouraged to wear your best cocktail attire to cheer on your friends and colleagues and find out who is deemed best of the best in the cocktail world for 2012 with entertainment, good pub food, and drinks supplied by your sponsors Pernod Ricard USA.

Juniperlooza Tales (aka the Bartenders' Breakfast)

If a bartender has breakfast its usually after a shift at the crack of dawn. To pay homage to the bartending way of life Simon Ford and Audrey Saunders' Bartenders Breakfast was born 6 years ago at Tales and its back again as the official unofficial wrap party for the festivities. Sponsored by Plymouth and Beefeater Gins.