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Tales of the Cocktail, a four-day cocktail festival held annually in New Orleans, is often considered the bartender’s equivalent of Great American Beer Festival. Marking its 10th anniversary this year, cocktologists, mixologists, and bartenders flock internationally to this hot-bed of all things spirits and drinks. What started as the brainchild of Ann Teunnerman, founder and executive director of Tales, and her close colleagues founded this homage to the cocktail with 200 participants in the first year; attendance last year broke 21,000 participants.
Ten years later, the Carousel Bar in the Hotel Monteleone—the birthplace of the Vieux Carre cocktail—is the host and epicenter of Tales of the Cocktail. Boasting spirited dinners, seminars, and parties, this melting pot sets the stage for global collective wisdom—or pained livers. Check out Eater NOLA's coverage, including their inside guide to the hot events. For cocktail enthusiasts in Denver worried that their favorite bartender or bartendress has decamped for the South, we have a roll call below:
Absent:
Ryan Conklin, Euclid Hall
Tara Curry, Ghost Plate / Coupe Bar
Bryan Dayton, OAK at Fourteenth
Matty Durgin, Green Russell
Allie Geppert, Star Bar / The Cove
Mike Henderson, Root Down
Sean Kenyon, Williams & Graham / The Squeaky Bean
Alexandra Parks, Green Russell
Jason Patz, Williams & Graham
Courtney Wilson, Williams & Graham
Anika Zappe, Le Grand Bistro & Oyster Bar
Present and accounted for:
Johnny Ballen, The Squeaky Bean
Kevin Burke, Colt & Gray
Britt Henze, Star Bar / The Cove
Joe Hines, Williams & Graham
Adam Hodak, Osteria Marco / Green Russell
Randy Layman, Steuben's / soon-to-be Ace
Ryan Layman, Steuben’s
James Lee, The Bitter Bar
Glenn Pollack, OAK at Fourteenth