8
MY
ROUSES
EVERYDAY
JULY | AUGUST 2013
Tales of the Cocktail
by
Ann R.Tuennerman, @Mrs_Cocktail
N
ew Orleans is renowned for its
drinks. Yes, some of that comes
from the over-the-top debauchery
of Bourbon Street. But long before the
hand grenades and daiquiri shops, there was
Antoine Peychaud, creator of Peychaud’s
bitters and one of the world’s first
“mixologists.” The cocktail culture of New
Orleans was established in legendary bars
like the Sazerac Bar, the Carousel Bar and
the Old Absinthe Bar with revolutionary
cocktails like the Sazerac, the Ramos Gin
Fizz and the Vieux Carré. With such
a storied spirits history, where else but
New Orleans could they host the world’s
premier cocktail festival — Tales of the
Cocktail, being held July 17-21.
Tales of the Cocktail started in 2002, not as
the international cocktail festival it is today,
but as a small gathering to celebrate the
one-year anniversary of the New Orleans
Cocktail Tour. Over the past 11 years it’s
grown into the annual meeting place for
the entire cocktail industry, drawing more
than 20,000 professional bartenders and
members of the hospitality industry to
New Orleans every year. While many
events cater to the more serious cocktail
aficionados, like seminars examining
oxidation in drinks, there is a way for the
serious cocktail enthusiasts to enjoy Tales of
the Cocktail.
The best place for locals to start sipping
their way through Tales of the Cocktail is
the Spirited Dinner series.Though drinks
may take center stage at Tales of the
Cocktail, this is New Orleans, so food is
always part of the equation. On Thursday
July 18, two of New Orleans’ greatest
pastimes — eating and drinking — come
together at the Spirited Dinners. At these
special themed dinners, the world’s best
mixologists and the city’s most renowned
chefs combine their talents to create dining
experiences unlike anything you’ve had
before in New Orleans.
Ann R. Tuennerman is the founder and executive
director of Tales of the Cocktail, and co-founder of
the New Orleans Culinary & Cultural Preservation
Society with her husband, Paul. The NOCCPS invests
funds raised from Tales of the Cocktail events back
into the cocktail industry through apprenticeships,
grants, scholarship programs and more.
About the Writer
photo by
Frank Aymami
photo by
Jennifer Mitchell
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