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.
