Event

Wow, what a week. This year was bigger and better than last year. In fact there were so many people I wanted to have a drink with that there just wasn’t enough time. But I did manage to drink my fair share and chat with a lot of people. This year I went as a presenter and not media. I presented 3 sessions, plus helped out on Andrew Nicholls Essential Oil session so I was busy. I tend to feel… [Continue]

There are cocktail competitions and then there is the G’Vine Gin Connoisseur Program. Most cocktail / bartending competitions are relatively simple affairs that pit one cocktail against another with the winner having the best cocktail of the moment. Sometimes it’s as much luck as it is the whims of the judging panel. The G’Vine program is very different and the final… [Continue]

The recent upswing in popularity of spirits has had good and bad effects. The good part is that there are many more options for the consumer, with the healthy competition producing gads of new products. The bad part is that to fill the demand many companies have cut back on quality, and put it into marketing. At what point does the marketing overshadow the tradition of a product? To some it might… [Continue]

With Tales of the Cocktail 2011 a mere 90 days away (or less) it’s time to start getting your flight booked, hotel reserved and sessions picked. This year I am a co-presenter on two session, one of them being “Sodatender or Barjerk” with the esteemed David Wondrich. With my book on soda fountains (Fix the Pumps)… [Continue]

Anyone who knows anything about cocktails is aware that Tales of the Cocktail is just about upon us. For those that don’t know what “Tales” is, it is the largest annual migration of the worlds best bartenders and drink experts, who congregate in New Orleans for a week of learning, socializing, drinking and mild to moderate suffering. Yes, it’s almost impossible to escape… [Continue]

Tales of the Cocktail may have finished up 10 or so days ago, but I need to summarize things and thank a few people.  Aside from the rough start with US Customs & Border Protection that turned my travel day into a 16 hour adrenaline rush, things went extremely well. This may have been the best Tales of the Cocktail yet. I shall explain why below.

With large events there is always… [Continue]