![]() It’s the A Team, even if their taste suggests the D List. And while you’re digesting that, also keep in mind that many of these bartenders will also compete annually in renown competitions like Bacardi Legacy, Diageo World Class, Bombay’s Most Imaginative Bartender and so on. Now, it’s important to remember that these concoctions come from the minds of people who voluntarily jump to the aid of a fellow CAP who has been “Iced” (yes, this is still a thing) and seemingly enjoy it. ‘Fernanas’ (Fernet Branca and banana cream liqueur, as a shot) One of the first group conversations of the week, in fact, is an icebreaker exercise where each of these A-Team Glass Mops identifies their ‘guilty pleasure drink’, a descriptor that, in this context means “A drink that, if your colleagues, regulars or local media found out you actually enjoyed, could cause you the utmost embarrassment.” Hence the slightly foreboding email to the rookies. But that’s not exactly what ends up being top of mind with the world’s best and brightest the Tales end-of-day ritual is less World Class Cocktail and more Miller Time. But it is what it is.īecause being in the Big Easy, surrounded by some of the world’s best and future best bartenders, you might think that each day would close out with some sort of cocktail competition, or seminar on the method of stirring or the ideal serving temperature of a Martini. Looking back, I find it only slightly ironic that the education portion of trips designed for R&D and seminars end up being more a crash course in how not to get arrested and how to survive for a week on Pedialyte and American economy lagers. Seems obvious, but still, you will get arrested. These are not our friendly Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Yes, you can wander the streets, drinking with impunity, I tell them, but DO NOT BRING GLASS OUTSIDE AND BREAK IT. With the booze flowing at these rates, Responsibility Pants are required attire. It’s a big deal, as far as bartending gatherings go.Ībout four years ago, I started sending a select group of Freehouse Collective employees to Tales under the guise of research and development, meaning they drink while I work CAP during the day and then we all drink at night–the most educational kind of drinking.īy way of preparation, I send the group an email each year, detailing some of the cities do’s and don’ts. or earlier and running until well after sunset. The hours are both early and long, with most call times coming at 7 A.M. On eight of those I attended Tales of the Cocktail as part of the Cocktail Apprentice Program (CAP), a gathering of close to seventy bartenders from all over the world who come together to batch, prep and serve tens of thousands of cocktails over the five-day festival. Since that inaugural trip, I have made more than ten visits to that amazing city that I now know and love. The romanticism of these cocktails runs long and deep, but the bars and cocktails themselves (with some exceptions) are simply dated. Random consumption of this variety of spirits does not make for an amazing morning. Here’s what I discovered by consuming this bingo-style list of cocktails:įew of these drinks are particularly amazing at their origin locations. Pepper at Gold Rush, an Absinthe Frappe at Absinthe House, a Ramos Gin Fizz anywhere (apparently, I wanted NOLA bartenders to hate me), and, of course, a French 75 at Arnaud’s, though I knew nothing of the brandy history of this drink at the time. Also on this list was a Brandy Milk Punch at Bourbon House, a Flaming Dr. What follows is a list of the bars and cocktails I had to experience, in no particular order: A Vieux Carré at the Carosel Bar at the Hotel Monteleone, a Sazerac at the Roosevelt Hotel’s Sazerac (this bar had been open for less than two months, and the Sazerac wasn’t invented or popularized here, but what did I know?), a Pimm’s Cup at Napoleon House, and a Hurricane at Pat O’Briens. Having never been to New Orleans, I’d arranged a sort of personal walking tour of the bars that have canonized various drinks. The first time I attended Tales of the Cocktail was in 2009 as a consumer and self-proclaimed cocktail geek of the highest order. By Trevor Kallies, Bar & Beverages Director at Freehouse Collective
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