Tales of the Cocktail is proud to recognize the various sponsors that have come together to make this event possible. In the "Tasting Room" attendees will get the opportunity to meet many of these sponsors and learn more about their products. You'll be able to talk with experts from the company, learn about the history of the products, and in some sessions be able to sample their offerings. A variety of sessions will be scheduled throughout the day, please see below for times and descriptions from your favorite brands. The Tasting Room is complimentary and is first come first serve for seating.

Event Descriptions

• Hendrick's Gin and Bols Genever invite you to join a journey into the evolution of gin. From medicine to mixer, from rags to riches, from Holland to the world, the history of the Cocktail's first true spirit is celebrated with a rare tasting of Bols Young Genever, Very Old Genever and Corenwyn with Phillip Duff, Global Brand Ambassador for Lucas Bols as well as contemporary creations by Mixologist Charlotte Voisey.

• Awaken your sense of adventure, by kicking off your Tales of the Cocktail spirits journey with a sampling of two American originals; a traditional New Orleans Jazz brunch and a taste of the historical award-winning Bulleit Bourbon.
  
  Join Bulleit Bourbon and founder Tom Bulleit as he takes you down an entertaining and educational tasting of one of Americas greatest spirits. In 1987, Tom Bulleit revived his ancestral distilling enterprise based on the original recipe of his great-great-grandfather. Now poised to join the ranks of Bourbon’s legendary masters, he and Mixologist Shawn Sugrue of NYC and Spirits Sommelier Elayne Duke, will team up to entice guests with some “not so traditional bourbon cocktails”, along with scrumptious New Orleans cuisine.   Tasting and Q& A to follow.

  **Food will be provided by a local New Orleans restaurant**

• FRENCH GRAPE BASED VODKA  +  FRENCH CHAMPAGNE  +  ABSINTHE -- A DANGEROULSY REFRESHING COMBINATION
  
  Join CIROC Vodka (the world’s first luxury grape based vodka) and spirits sommelier Elayne Duke, as they come together with Mixologist Shawn Sugrue to introduce the fine art of cocktail creation utilizing vodka, champagne and absinthe.  Vodka expert Elayne Duke will discuss vodka’s myths and reality, while Mixologist Sean Sugrue will demonstrate how to combine these delectable ingredients in a champagne glass to create a refreshing, sophisticated drink. Cocktails, take home recipes and Q&A to follow.

• You are cordially invited to discover Sagatiba Pura, Brazil’s leading premium Cachaça, embraced both in its home country and in 13 global markets, including the U.K. and Germany.  Due to its unmatched quality and smooth taste, Sagatiba is the most versatile Cachaça available in the market.
  
  Sagatiba’s unique multi-distillation process fuses a 400 year-old heritage with advanced technology.  As Global Brand Ambassador, John Gakuru will demonstrate Sagatiba mixes beautifully in Caipirinhas, and in a range of contemporary cocktails.

• America’s oldest premium rum distillery teams with the planet’s only Master Intoxicologist, Bill deTurk, for an entertaining and educational tour of Louisiana music matched with Old New Orleans Rum. Bill is an award winning brewing and cocktail competitor and judge and is also the author of The Big Easy Bartending Guide. As the host of WWOZ’s Louisiana Music Party, he broadcasts remarkable Louisiana music around the globe.
  
  At this event, Bill will introduce you to four uniquely Louisiana musical genres, each one paired with a sumptuous cocktail made from the small batch collection of Celebration Distillation. Sampling will include Old New Orleans Crystal Rum, Amber Rum, Cajun Spice Rum and their wonderful new Gingeroo, a fresh ginger & rum soda. Our party will conclude with a Q&A discussion of Big Easy music, Old New Orleans Rum, and our city’s fascinating cocktail history.
  
  

Event Descriptions

• Moët & Chandon has been the leading house of Champagne since its founding in 1743. Today, Moët & Chandon is the  # 1 champagne in the U.S., selling at a rate of one bottle per second every hour, somewhere in the world.
  The quality of Moët & Chandon wines starts with unparalleled access to the Grand Cru and Premier Cru vineyards of Champagne. Our grapes are sourced from 13 Grands Crus and 28 Premiers Crus vineyards and Moët & Chandon ages its champagnes for almost twice the legal requirement in 21 miles of underground chalk cellars, the most extensive in the region.
  
  Moët & Chandon Imperial was first shipped in 1869, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the birth of Napoleon Bonaparte. This tribute to the emperor was only fitting, as he was a close friend of Jean Remy Moët. Today, Moët & Chandon Champagne is enjoyed at Royal tables and in top restaurants around the world.

• The history of rum drinks began with the British Navy and Vice-Admiral Edward Vernon, who ordered his sailors to combine rum, lime juice, sugar, and water, to create what was to become a classic in the annals of cocktail lore, the grog.  Think of how much better that grog would have tasted had the sailors used 10 Cane rum to make their elixir. There is no doubt that we have refined our tastes since 1740 and are fortunate to be living in an era where we can find rums of great finesse and complexity and use them for making classic cocktails such as the Daiquiri. The perfect Daiquiri is elusive, but a cocktail made with 10 Cane rum comes closer than any other to attaining the perfection that we all seek. 10 Cane is made from lightly pressed virgin sugar cane, imparting an incomparably fresh and complex can flavor to any drink. Produced entirely in Trinidad, 10 Cane is made with the utmost care according to the exacting standards of Moët Hennessy, a purveyor of the highest quality wines and spirits for more than 250 years. Join the 10 Cane Tastemaker, Miss Camille Broderick, as she works her magic in preparing some of the freshest and most delicious renditions ever tasted of the classic Daiquiri.

• The world's first luxury vodka, Belvedere was first introduced to North America in 1996. Single handedly, Belvedere created the luxury vodka category and offers a luxury experience to a broad international audience of vodka enthusiasts and connoisseurs. Located in the small town of Zyrardow, west of Warsaw, Poland, Belvedere Vodka is distilled 100% from locally grown Dankowskie Rye. The spirit undergoes four distillations, the optimum number for enhancing its unique subtle character. Following practices dating back over 600 years, the spirit is handcrafted in small batches to ensure superior quality.
  
  Belvedere Vodka is named after the Belvedere Palace, the former home of Polish royalty and presidents. The word Belvedere literally translates to beautiful to see. Live a beautiful life!!

• In 1765 Richard Hennessy, a young Irish soldier who had just retired from the army of Louis XV, settled in the city of Cognac and founded The House of Hennessy. He began by shipping barrels of aged cognac to his family and friends in Ireland, but the reputation of his house grew rapidly and soon Richard was selling cognac around the world, including the American colonies. One hundred years later, in 1865, Maurice Hennessy, the great-grandson of founder Richard Hennessy, was the first to systematically classify cognacs, developing what became the Three Star Cognac, better known today as V.S (Very Special). In 1870 Maurice created the category of X.O for the private use of the Hennessy family and their friends. For the next one hundred years, Hennessy X.O remained the only X.O in the world. Today, it sets the standard against which all other X.O cognacs are measured.
  
  For nearly 200 years, the Hennessy family has trusted the critical task of blending its eaux-de-vie to a member of the Fillioux family, the Hennessy Cellar Masters, now in their 7th generation. This has ensured a consistency of quality, style and excellence for each Hennessy marque.

• Try your own techniques and have a hand at Mixology using simple, fresh ingredients at the “Inside Out Bar” from Heaven Hill Distilleries and the USBG.  In this session, refine your craft with four easy-to-make cocktails using fresh fruits, juices and innovative spirits from the Heaven Hill portfolio.  Shake and stir under the watchful eye of Armando Rosario, Beverage Specialist & Spirits Educator at Southern Wine and Spirits of Nevada and USBG member.  We provide the juices and the instruction – you serve. 

  Heaven Hill is a proud supporter of the United States Bartenders' Guild and their
  dedication to the craft and quality of the cocktail

• Join the Sazerac Company, a native New Orleans company since 1850, to learn about and sample two of the company’s most exciting brands – Sazerac Straight Rye Whiskey and Eagle Rare Single Barrel Bourbon.  Sazerac’s Bill Powell and Kevin Richards will be on hand to answer your questions and to showcase these products which are made at the Buffalo Trace Distillery in Frankfort, Kentucky.  Buffalo Trace is the reigning Distillery of the Year of Malt Advocate Magazine, Wine Enthusiast Magazine and Whisky Magazine – the first and only distiller to have achieved such a feat.
  
  
• “Learn about the next “Great Spirit Category” from Pisco Ambassador Diego Loret de Mola. Share into the history of the oldest spirit distilled in the Americas, Pisco, and the most popular cocktail, Pisco Punch, invented during the gold rush years and a favorite thru the first half of the 1900’s. Learn how to make the perfect 1915 Classic Pisco Sour and enjoy tasting other classic Pisco cocktails and a special selection of Peruvian Pisco types made from different Pisco grape varietals.

Event Descriptions

• Hendrick's Gin and Bols Genever invite you to join a journey into the evolution of gin. From medicine to mixer, from rags to riches, from Holland to the world, the history of the Cocktail's first true spirit is celebrated with a rare tasting of Bols Young Genever, Very Old Genever and Corenwyn with Phillip Duff, Global Brand Ambassador for Lucas Bols as well as contemporary creations by Mixologist Charlotte Voisey.

• SKYY Vodka is one the nations leading vodkas as well as one of the worlds leading Spirit companies. Join Richard Bohn as we take a walk around the world and get introduced to spirits that you may not have heard of as well as some old favorites. The trip will take us from the US to Ireland, Scotland, Japan, Mexico, Italy and more.
  
  
• Join ABSOLUT Vodka and entertaining lifestyle guru Jennifer Rubell as the world’s most iconic vodka brand and the latest breakout star from the illustrious Rubell clan - her uncle Steve Rubell was the brainchild behind the legendary Studio 54 nightclub in New York City - come together to introduce the fine art of spirits and food pairings. Featuring a “special” ingredient that will be unveiled at Tales of the Cocktail, Rubell, author of Real Life Entertaining, and ABSOLUT master mixologist Andrea Bearbower will team up to tempt the audience with delicious cocktails and sumptuous food pairings that lend themselves nicely to the inherent flavors of each. Tastings and Q&A to follow.
  
  
• Join ABSOLUT Vodka and entertaining lifestyle guru Jennifer Rubell as the world’s most iconic vodka brand and the latest breakout star from the illustrious Rubell clan - her uncle Steve Rubell was the brainchild behind the legendary Studio 54 nightclub in New York City - come together to introduce the fine art of spirits and food pairings. Featuring a “special” ingredient that will be unveiled at Tales of the Cocktail, Rubell, author of Real Life Entertaining, and ABSOLUT master mixologist Andrea Bearbower will team up to tempt the audience with delicious cocktails and sumptuous food pairings that lend themselves nicely to the inherent flavors of each. Tastings and Q&A to follow.
  (for both events)
  
  
• Join Boca Loca Cachaça and two top US authorities on Latin cocktails, San Francisco’s acclaimed mixologist Duggan McDonnell and veteran Miami bartender David Ortiz, in an exploration of cachaça, the Brazilian spirit that is heating up the bar scene around the world.
  
  McDonnell and Ortiz will tantalize your palates with cachaça cocktails – from the classic caipirinha to both fruit and wine-based cachaça concoctions to a myriad of innovative trends that complement this versatile spirit.
  You will be among the very first to try something new! Boca Loca will be presenting an exciting array of products here – for the first time - at Tales of the Cocktail. Escape from the New Orleans heat with Happy Hour Boca Loca-style – and take away some innovative ideas for the home and professional bar.
  
  
• Join Saké One for relaxed interactive discussion and tasting of fine saké. Vice President of Marketing, Dewey Weddington will pour tastes of a rare Nama (unpasteurized) saké from Momokawa, examples of infused saké from Moonstone, and selections from the imported Murai Family brand including Tokubetsu Honjozo and one of the finest Daiginjo's available. This will be a great opportunity to answer all your questions and dispel the myths of saké and prepare yourself for the continued exploration this wonderful beverage.
  
  
• What’s not quite a gin, not your standard vodka and uses a mash for the base? Sonnema VodkaHERB, an import from Holland that straddles the line between spirits, standing out as something all together unique and impressive. Rich with the Dutch Jenever (gin) tradition and embodying the subtle smoothness of vodka, VodkaHERB is one of the first vodka’s infused with a proprietary blend of herbs to hit US shelves. Join Sonnema VodkaHERB Holland’s top mixologist bartenders, the Fabulous Shaker Boys, for a dynamic introduction to this unique and innovative Dutch spirit and an exploration of the distilling tradition that inspired its creation.
  
  The Amsterdam-based Fabulous Shaker Boys – led by Tal Nadari, Ricardo Sporkslede, and Misja Vorstermans – is a well-known, professional mixology/bartending agency that has quickly become the top cocktail authority in Holland.  Inspired by VodkaHERB’s unique flavor profile the Fabulous Shaker Boys have designed distinctive cocktails to showcase not only the spirit’s versatility, but to illustrate the complexity it brings to the classics.  Come sample the modern spirit and cocktails that embody some of the top flavor trends behind the bar today!
  
  

Event Descriptions

• Join Malt Advocate’s 2006 “Pioneer of the Year”, John Hall, as he deconstructs his Forty Creek Whisky in this rare opportunity to taste barrel samples of the single malt barley, single rye and single Indian corn whiskies that go into the making of the final Forty Creek Barrel Select blend. As a first generation whisky maker with a wine making background, John’s approach to whisky making is inspired by tradition rather than bound by it.  Forty Creek Whisky is made in a “meritage” style, with each varietal grain distilled and aged separately, before being blended, and rounded off in vintage sherry casks.  This unconventional approach has produced award winning results: Forty Creek Whisky has been recognized with gold medals at every major international spirit competition.

• The Gin’s French revolution : from grain to grape
  Presented by g’Vine, Gin de France
  Led by 3 Froggies : Jean Sébastien Robicquet, Master Distiller, and Jean Baptiste Prot & Audrey Fort, US and Marketing Directors
  Come and discover how G’Vine, Gin de France, has just been rated Best Gin in the US by the 2007 Chicago BTI. A tutored comparative tasting of grape vs grain spirit and vine flower distillate, as well as some exquisite cocktails, will be monitored to understand why G’Vine is so unique and versatile.

• Be an OFFICAL JUDGE, at “Power to the People” - the week’s only GUEST JUDGED cocktail competition, presented by: St-Germain, Delice de Sureau.

  Led by:  Robert Cooper creator of St-Germain, and Internationally renowned bartenders: Simon Difford, Brian Miller, Lynette Marrero, and Phil Ward

  Robert Cooper, the creator of St-Germain, the renowned elderflower liqueur from France, will present a compelling slideshow presentation of the annual harvest of elderflowers.  Most importantly, world class bartenders, Phil Ward, Brian Miller (Death and Co. NYC), Simon Difford (Diffordsguides, London, UK), and Lynette Marrero (Freeman’s, NYC) will be making incredible cocktails that YOU, as attendees will JUDGE, to crown the winner of the 1st Annual St-Germain “Power to the People” Competition.  Put the fate of these influential masters of the cocktail in YOUR hands, as you judge their libations.

  St- Germain, the World’s first elderflower liqueur made in Burgundy, France from 100% fresh, hand picked wild elderflowers from the Haute Savoie region, presents a dynamic selection of handcrafted, classic, and innovative cocktails, by World renowned bartenders:  Simon Difford (Diffords Guides), Brian Miller and Phil Ward (Death and Co., NYC) and Lynette Marrero (Freeman’s, NYC).  Additionally, we will show a stunning slide show of the annual harvest of elderflowers used in the most recent vintage of St Germain, along with a compelling explanation of the six year journey it took to create this wonderful, acclaimed liqueur, by Robert Cooper.  Guests will be showered with the finest cocktails and copious gifts.  See you there.

• With the creation of Trinchero Winery in 1998 to honor their father Mario, the Trinchero brothers Bob and Roger along with sister Vera Trinchero Torres have been furthering their commitment to the Napa Valley. The Trinchero Napa Valley wines feature single-vineyard selections, focusing on the premier growing regions within the Napa Valley. The Trinchero family also purchased Folie a Deux in northern St. Helena in 2004 and recently added Napa Cellars to their fine wine collection in 2006. Together, Trinchero Napa Valley, Folie a Deux and Napa Cellars offer ultra-premium wines showcasing the world-renowned wine region as well as the family’s significant holdings in the Napa Valley.

• With its distinctive white bottle featuring palm trees and the Caribbean sun, Malibu Rum immediately transports you to another world, where seriously easy good times are second nature.
  
  Malibu has its beginnings on the beautiful Caribbean island of Barbados, located in the extreme southeast corner of the West Indies.  The distillery overlooks the beach and white sands of Black Rock and is intrinsically linked to the rum heritage of Barbados.  Long regarded as the "birthplace of rum", the spirit has been produced on the Caribbean island of Barbados for 350 years as far back as the mid-1600's when it was known as "rumbullion" and was made in pot stills next to the wind-driven mills of the sugar plantations.
  
  Barbados rums are light and delicate with subtle sugar cane and soft butter rum notes – ideal for blending with the exotic natural flavors of Malibu. Malibu adds the unique and subtle taste of true Caribbean to your favorite drink.  The smooth delicious taste of Malibu makes it perfect to enjoy over ice with a favorite mixer.
  
  Come enjoy Malibu’s “Seriously Easy Going” summer cocktail line up, featuring Malibu Coconut, Passion Fruit, Pineapple, Mango, and the newest addition to the family- Malibu Banana.

• Puerto Rico: The Rum Capital of the World!
  Tasting and Mixology Class with a Guest Mixologist from Puerto Rico

  According to the Distilled Spirits Council (DISCUS), rum sales in the U.S. are now a $1.3 billion industry with a growth rate of 7.2%. And, 70 percent of all rum consumed in the United States comes from the beautiful island of Puerto Rico, where rum making is a 450-year-old tradition. By law, Puerto Rican rums must be aged a minimum of one year in charred white oak barrels. Aged rums are smoother and more balanced, perfect for drinking neat or mixed in cocktails.

  At this tasting, a guest mixologist from Puerto Rico will lead you through a tasting of top rums, from light to dark to flavored. Learn how to serve rum with popular mixers. Taste a selection of creative cocktails and learn how to mix easy rum cocktails at home.

• Reyka Vodka presents a taste of Icelandic cocktails and cuisine from Chef Darin Nesbit of Palace Café alongside Mixologist Charlotte Voisey.
  Welcome to Iceland, where natural underground hot springs heat the homes and business of the 300,000 strong population, all of whom are listed by first name in the telephone directory and ten percent of whom believe that elves definitely exist.
  
  
• Tommy Bahama is the purveyor of island lifestyles.  For years, customers have been enjoying the Tommy Bahama experience.  From luxury sportswear to elegant timepieces, fine furnishings to tropical cafes, Tommy Bahama has complemented the good times with good taste.  Now, sip into the good life with Tommy Bahama Rum.  Tommy Bahama Rum comes in two delightfully distinct flavors: Tommy Bahama White Sand and Tommy Bahama Golden Sun.  Each begins with the best blackstrap molasses and the cleanest, clearest water naturally filtered through coral stone.  Tommy Bahama Rums are fermented using a specially selected yeast imported from the wine-growing regions of South Africa.  A clear, light-bodied rum, White Sand has a smooth entry and clean finish with hints of tangy, tropical fruit.  A full-bodied, amber rum, Golden Sun has an elegant, fruity nose and a taste nuanced with hints of coffee, roasted nuts, and sweet pralines. Come enjoy refreshing summer cocktails with Tommy Bahama Rum.