This past Friday and Saturday, I had the privilege to attend Tales of the Cocktail 2016. This internationally-known, hugely popular cocktail festival dates back to 2002, and attracts premiere industry veterans from all over the world.
I was supposed to be working in Istanbul, Turkey- a place near and dear to my heart, but had to cancel my trip due to the military coup (how often does one say that??). So, at the last minute, I decided to take a chance to get on a plane to New Orleans even though the seminars were sold out.
Lucky for me, I got in! I attended an all day, three-part series called “Juniper Ascending,” led by Keli Rivers, “Ginnoisseur” at Whitechapel in San Francisco. Wow – what a session! She, along with a truly superstar panel of guests, took us through the history of gin, going as far back as the 1200s. It’s got a long and (somewhat) sordid history – kinda sexy, right? Of course, we had to do multiple tastings along the way – it was a cocktail conference!
Gin Tasting at Juniper Ascending
As a result of attending the session, I was inducted into the Mothers Ruin Reform Society – surely a badge of honor!
I also attended an amazing session all about genever presented Myriam Hendrikx by Rutte Distillers. Genever is a whole different story- more to come soon on that – it’s an exciting cocktail that gin lovers must include in their bar collections.
All in all, a terrific experience. I’m already looking forward to returning next year.
