Ted “Dr. Cocktail” Haigh has released the second edition of his influential book. The first edition was serendipitously release just as the cocktail renaissance was beginning. Some, including Dr. Cocktail, would say that his book, combined with a bunch of enthusiastic, but lost, cocktail bloggers helped pave the way for what we are now experiencing. Without Vintage Spirits & Forgotten Cocktails a lot of writers would still be quoting early editions of the Mr. Boston Bartending Guide, or possibly worse.

The Sugar: Science of Sweet presentation is now available in PDF format. I tried exporting it to Flash, but no luck, for now. I’ll be expanding on some of the items, in articles, over the summer, but if you have a question, feel free to post your question on this page and I’ll answer it as soon as possible.

Sugar: Science of Sweet (PDF)

Art appreciation is something that has eluded me for years. I've always been rather technically minded, so painting is limited to drywall, and playing music to mp3's. Bartending could be considered an art, to some, but I think flavour, if raised in a family that experiences a wide range of cuisines, is something we learn. Without this intrinsic understanding of art, I'm often left staring at paintings wondering "how can I relate to this portrait". Then by chance, I discovered David Teniers the Younger while researching my Drink's from the 1600's session for Tales of the Cocktail.

Tales of the Cocktail has come to a conclusion for another year. This time around the event was bigger than ever and the organization of events was a magnitude better than last year. Obviously, as the event grows bigger, there are growing pains, but this year I found it very easy to get around. That’s impressive for an event this big, and continuous improvement is all anyone can ever ask for, and we got it. The number of new attendee’s seemed pretty high and most of the veterans were pushed out of the Carousel Bar to other bars around the city. That’s a good thing, sometimes the Carousel Bar can be too easy and you spend the evening spinning around it circles, literally.

Tales of the Cocktail moves along so fast, sometimes it is hard to really know what day it is. Happily, I woke up, without a hangover, and realized it was Friday, my big, two session, back-to-back, day. I love a challenge.

The day started out rainy, which delayed my attempt for Beignets, but eventually the rain paused and I made it out. After that I managed to sort out some technical things, pick up my 35lbs of different sugars for Friday’s session and then prepare for the Drink.Write photography session and so much more.

Pictures have started popping up in the photo gallery. Upload speeds, via the hotel’s wireless, is rather slow, so it could very well take a couple hours to get the pictures online. I’m working on that.

Anyway, I arrived around noon yesterday, went to lunch at Iris, in the Beinville House Hotel, with the CSOWG Drink.Write crew. Then we had a bloggers discussion on how to improve our reach and expand the world of cocktails. I’ll write up more on that eventually.

After that we went for dinner at Rambla and had a few drinks. I decided to be wise and retire by 11PM. A good night sleep is probably the best way to start Tales.

And with this post I am on my way to Tales of the Cocktail 2009. Next post will be from New Orleans. If you can’t attend, but still like the spirit of the event, I’ll be covering much of it here on Art of Drink. My intent is to do more photography this year and upload it in a timely fashion. Also, I’ll throw in a post here and there. I’ll also be Tweeting (if you don't Twitter you can see the updates just below the navigation menu on the site) and you can follow on Facebook.

If you want a wider perspective, and I’m sure you do, check out the Tales Blog which will be updated frequently with posts from all the other cocktail bloggers in attendance. This looks to be the biggest year yet, so there will be a lot of great stories. Cheers!

Tales of the Cocktail 2009 Photo Gallery

Question from Blair: I've noticed a phenomena when I'm making bitters.  After I macerate this that or the other in the alcohol, I filter it to remove any sediment, twigs, etc.  I then add cooled caramel syrup to lower the proof and give it a nice texture/color. After adding and blending the syrup, I start to get some flaky fallout... looks like old fish food or something.  It seems like something falls out of solution? I'm partly curious to know why this happens, partly want to stop it from happening.

As we approach the peek temperatures of summer, thousands of people are boarding planes destine for New Orleans, and its insanely hot temperatures. With humidex factored in, it will feel like 107°F (42°C). To get that many people to go to New Orleans, in July, it must be time for Tales of the Cocktail. The annual event where the best bartenders and mixologists, from around the world, gather to celebrate the cocktail. Every year it gets bigger and by all accounts, this one is looking to be an impressive display of drink making talent. Or is that just drinking talent?