I didn’t know a festival like this even existed! Leave it to New Orleans to host the greatest events!
If you love cocktails (and really, who doesn’t?) then you must travel to New Orleans July 16th-20th for the most “spirited” event of the summer.
Tales of the Cocktail, the annual culinary and cocktail festival that showcases New Orleans’ colorful mixological history, returns for its sixth year from July 16-20. Five days of first-class food and drink events feature the world’s finest mixologists, chefs, authors and all around cocktail gurus with educational seminars and fun things to do.
The festival celebrates the history and culture of dining and drinking in New Orleans, where the cocktail was born and given its name in the early 1800s. This year, the five days of TOC encompass more than 75 events including:
“The Return of Absinthe to America” and the first-ever book signing by Absinthe Museum Founder and Curator, Marie Claude Delahaye
“Green Spirits and Fitting Organics Into Your Bar Program”
“Eggs in Cocktails and Beer as an Ingredient in Cocktails”
“Molecular Mixology” and “The Flowing Punch”
“Bartender Techniques 101”
“Bourbon and Blues and Rum and All That Jazz”
“Creating Your Own Elixirs and Cocktail Ingredients”
“Creole Drinks and Traditions and Famous New Orleans Spirits”
Plus the following competitions, awards and exhibits:
World Bloody Mary Championships
2nd Annual Bar Chef Competition
Tales of the Cocktail Spirit Awards
“Behind the Bar,” a photo exhibit to create an exhibit capturing bartenders at their finest
The list of guest mixologists, authors and world-renowned personalities is impressive. They include:
Dale DeGroff, “King of Cocktails”
Tony Abou-Ganim, “The Modern Mixologist”
George Riedel (Riedel glassware)
Roy Blunt Jr. (author and humorist)
Sylvia Weinstock (Weinstock Cakes)
Gary Regan (mixologist)
Audrey Saunders (Pegu Club)
Kevin Brauch, host of The Thirsty Traveler
Chef David Myers.
Plus a whole host of local celebrity bartenders. More celebrity guests are expected, as well. Check the TOC website for details.
Tickets for Tales of the Cocktail are now on sale. To order tickets and to receive information on event additions and updates, log on to http://www.talesofthecocktail.com/2008/index.php.
