Diageo’s ‘Cocktails Through the Decades’ Party

The Cabildo overflowed with mixologists and cocktail connoisseurs alike during Diageo’s “Cocktails Through the Decades” party in New Orleans.

Vieux Carré

In my purse, I keep our swizzle sticks from the original Vieux Carré cocktails we had at the Hotel Monteleone Carousel Bar. When our Vieux Carrés arrive, I discretely slip them in when the bartender isn’t looking and we reminisce about our time at the historic hotel.

Tales of the Cocktail Small Batch Roundup

While big names like Diageo, Bacardi and Pernod seem to dominate Tales of the Cocktail, there are some small batch producers in the mix, too. Some nice stand-out spirits we tasted included the following.

Black Paloma

When I bounded down the Hotel Monteleone staircase to the Kahlúa Coffee Bar on my second morning at Tales of the Cocktail I thought, “Kahlúa in my coffee sounds like a delicious way to begin to the day!” Little did I know I was about to experience what would become one of my favorite brunch cocktails.

Sensory Analysis With an Absolut Scientist

One of the most fascinating seminars we attended at Tales of the Cocktail was Per Harmansson’s Sensory Analysis seminar. Harmansson is a leading sensory analyst from Sweden and Director of Sensory Analysis for Absolut vodka. He led attendees through an examination of sensory experience as well as an in-depth vodka tasting.

A Shot of the Black Stuff

The Tales of the Cocktail seminar A Shot of the Black Stuff: Amazing Amaros and Brilliant Bitters, was well worth being part of the standing-room-only overflow.

Top 10 Tips for Tasting Spirits Like a Professional

As spirits critic Paul Pacult so eloquently phrased it during the hands-on Spirit’s Critic seminar we attended at Tales of the Cocktail: “Gin is such a lovely invention. First, there was the wheel; then there was gin.” Pacult guided attendees not only through his favorite gin, Plymouth, but through a whole array of other classic spirits as well. Here are our critical takeaways from the hands-on event.

Sobieski at Tales of the Cocktail

We went to enjoy the lunchtime circus in the room taken over by Sobieski and Imperial Brands. Definitely not craft distilling, given their huge presence in Europe, but when at Tales of the Cocktail…

Bar Tonique

Bar Tonique in New Orleans is a nice find during our trip for Tales of the Cocktail. They make their own tonics and other concoctions, taking a page, with a nod, from Jeffrey Morgenthaler of Clyde Common in Portland, Oregon.

We’ll be blogging from Tales of the Cocktail July 21-25!

It’s official: We’ll be blogging from Tales of the Cocktail in New Orleans this summer, July 21-25, 2010! Mr. Boozenik will be covering products and technique, while Ms. Boozenik focuses on the history of cocktails and cocktail culture.

« Previous Page