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Tales of the Cocktail Preview: The Chainsaw Shift

This is a preview of a seminar that will be given at Tales of the Cocktail in New Orleans, which takes place July 20-24, 2011.

The Chainsaw Shift

There are two seminars this year at Tales about setting up an ice program. I'm pretty sure this one will be the only one with chainsaws though. The other, How to Build a Cutting Edge Ice Program, is part of the professionals series, though both seem geared toward professionals.

I was treated to a preview of sorts of this seminar in San Francisco, as Andrew Bohrer came down and gave bartenders a demo of cutting a huge block of ice into workable blocks at Heaven's Dog. 

For those of you who saw this post on Alcademics in August 2010, the below is a repeat of that post, and hopefully a preview of what we'll witness at Tales. 

Note: there is some NSFW language in the videos along with chainsaw noise.

First they started with the giant block and shaved off slices. 

Then they cut those slices into rectangles

Then they cut those rectangles into cubes.

Then Andrew Bohrer demonstrated cutting an ice cube into an ice sphere using the shaving method.

 

Then he showed how he makes shaved ice by shaving ice.

 

Then he showed how he takes a big chunk of ice and with a knife can reduce it down to cubes.

 

Then Amanda Womack shows how she cuts ice spheres- by tapping at the outside with a knife rather than shaving.

 

 

The Details:

Time: 10 AM to 11:30 AM
Date: Friday the 22nd of July, 2011
Venue: La Nouvelle Orleans Ballroom, Hotel Monteleone
Moderators: Andrew Bohrer
Panelists: Anu Apte

The Chainsaw Shift is about offering to you a shift in thinking about the buzz phrase, “ice program.” The Chainsaw Shift is the lowest waste, highest quality way to have an, “ice program,” as well as being the simplest way to do so. This seminar is a shift in thinking on how bartenders treat their most essential and common ingredient: ice. Quality ice allows the bartender to reevaluate and reimagine every step of the drink making process and brings new joy and beauty to the simplest cocktails.

This seminar will cover the basics of safely and efficiently processing 300 lb. blocks of crystal clear ice with the aid of carpenter’s tools and a trusty chainsaw. We will also discuss and demonstrate techniques for cutting ice to improve aesthetics and quality of every cocktail. Examples will include in-glass ice sculptures, crushed ice, shaved ice, cracked & cubed ice for mixing and carving spheres, diamonds and other shapes. The Chainsaw Shift will never replace the ice machine; rather it will make every bartender into an ice machine.

Tales of the Cocktail Preview: Classic Hotel Bars

I am writing up several previews of seminars for the Tales of the Cocktail convention in New Orleans. This write-up is about the seminar called Classic Hotel Bars, lead by a couple of gin ambassadors.

Before Prohibition, cocktails were largely an American thing, though "American bars" were beginning to pop up around Europe. By calling them American bars, this typically meant that they served cocktails, and that those cocktails had ice in them; not common in many countries at the time.

Then Prohibition hit and many career bartenders fled the country to take up their profession elsewhere. They wound up in Cuba and all over Europe, helping to spread  this quirky little culinary movement internationally.

Today many of those hotel bars are still in existence, while new ones join them all the time. We'll learn about these classic and modern hotel bars from Simon and Dan, but should you want to read more about the hotel bars that Camper English has visited, follow the links below.

• The Savoy, London
• The Artesian, London
• Don't bother with the Singapore Sling at the Raffles
• Clock Bar, San Francisco
• A couple of hotel bars in Dublin
• The brand new Ohla Hotel in Barcelona

And finally, for an oldie but a goodie, check out this Hotel Wine MacGuyver post, which is a situation when you decide to drink in your room instead of the bar, but don't have a corkscrew.

Session Details:

Classic Hotel Bars
Time: 10 AM to 11:30 AM
Date: Friday the 22nd of July, 2011
Venue: The Queen Anne Ballroom, Hotel Monteleone
Moderators: Simon Ford
Panelists: Dan Warner

When Prohibition hit the USA professional bartenders fled the Country and took there skills to the finest luxury establishments around the World. These were mostly hotels and today some of the greatest bars in the World are hotel bars. This seminar will explore the great bartenders, bars and cocktail creations that came from these places and regal stories from some of the greatest bartenders in the World old & new. Harry Johnson, Harry Craddock, Hugo Enslin, Eddie Wolke and Jerry Thomas all worked in hotels and thats just the beginnings because today some of the greatest bartenders around are at hotels such as The Savoy & The Connaught in London, The Ritz in Paris, The Royalton in NYC, and so on.

Tales of the Cocktail Preview: What the V.O.C. Did for the Modern Bar

This is a preview of a seminar that will be given at Tales of the Cocktail in New Orleans, which takes place July 20-24, 2011.

The V.O.C., better known as the Dutch East India Company, influenced world history as well as the world of cocktails. It was a corporation big enough that it waged wars, coined currency, and executed prisoners.

It was established in 1602 and given a government-granted trade monopoly with Asia, with the main purpose being to enter the spice trade that was until that point dominated by Portugal.The company was highly prosperous until the later 1700's, and it went bankrupt and dissolved in 1800. Its territories in the Dutch East Indies eventually became Indonesia.

The company established posts and protected harbors throughout Asia, first in what today is Indonesia; particularly in Jakarta. Jakarta was once called Batavia, and that brings us into the V.O.C.'s connection with Batavia Arrack.

Back at home, ships bringing spices would land at ports such as Rotterdam and offload. Rotterdam is darn close to Schiedam, a city with so many distilleries that it was coated in black soot from the smoke billowing forth from them.

Those distilleries made delicious genever, of course, which is distilled with some of those exotic spices brought home by traders. The Dutch were also famous for making liqueurs (such as Curacao) undoubtedly flavored with other exotic citrus peels, herbs, and spices brought into the country from afar. 

Today Scheidem is still a distilling hub making such products as Van Gogh Vodka and Ketel One Vodka.

I'm guessing we'll be learning these and other details in this seminar.

Seminar Info:

What the V.O.C. did for the Modern Bar
Time: 10 AM to 11:30 AM
Date: Thursday the 21st of July, 2011
Venue: The Riverview Room, Hotel Monteleone
Moderators: Misja Vorstermans
Panelists: Andrew Nicholls

The seminar will address what the VOC (Dutch East India Trading Company) essentially did for the modern bar. Everything from trade of spirits to herbs, spices and slaves were established or heavily influenced by the VOC. The seminar looks at the knock on effect from the 1600's and the little country of The Netherlands helped mould the industry we know and love today.

And the Nominees Are

Hooray! I am a finalist in the Tales of the Cocktail Spirits Awards for Best Cocktail Writing. This is my second time being nominated for this award. 

Here's the full press release:

Nominee Finalist for the Tales of the Cocktail® 5th Annual Spirited Awards™ 

New Orleans, LA - June 1, 2011 -- Nominees have been chosen by a group of esteemed members of the cocktail industry for the prestigious Spirited Awards™.  The Ceremony will be held in New Orleans on Saturday, July 23, 2011 at the Mahalia Jackson Theater, as part of the international festival, Tales of the Cocktail® have been chosen.  This year, the judging committees left it was time to add three new categories, Best High Volume Cocktail Bar to be awarded to the top bar that consistently delivers top quality cocktails at bars with 100 seats or more. This award celebrates those bars that deliver cocktail culture to the masses efficiently. Cocktails, lists, bartending, and service are all considered, as well as, Best Restaurant Bar to be awarded to the top restaurant bar that is dedicated to creating a great cocktail experience for their dining guests. Considerations will go to the approach they have to Aperitif and Digestive drinks, how well they work with the kitchen to pair cocktails with food, as well as general bartending and mixing excellence. And finally, the award for Best Cocktail Writing has been divided into two subcategories, Non-Book Publication and Author.   The Non-Book category celebrates publications as a whole for their excellence in overall writing. The Author category awards individual writers for their contributions to furthering information, knowledge and interest in cocktail culture. 

Through its annual Spirited Awards™, Tales of the Cocktail® provides recognitionto those individuals and establishments that have shown an outstanding talent for advancing thecraft of the cocktail. To embody the ideals with which Tales of the Cocktail® was originallyfounded, these awards will recognize both national and international honorees who will receiveexclusive Riedel Crystal awards. 

Pernod Ricard USA is proud to be the sponsor of this year’s 5th Annual Spirited Awards™ for the company’s fourth year in a row- recognizing industry leaders and innovators. For the past 8 years, Tales of the Cocktail® has brought together an incredible group of suppliers, bartenders, writers and the most authoritative experts in the industry- all acting as partners in the celebration and appreciation of cocktail culture. In presenting the Spirited Awards™ and as the industry leader in bartender education, Pernod Ricard USA applauds each participant and nominee. Also, as part of the evening’s celebration, Beverage Media Group, Inc. will recognize 10 Up & Coming Mixologists, selected from participants of the Tales of the Cocktail Apprentice Program. 

Awards to be announced at the Tales of the Cocktail Spirited Awards™ on Saturday, July 23, 2011 in New Orleans at the Mahalia Jackson Theater.  Tickets can now be purchased online at www.TalesoftheCocktail.com. Please see below for a complete list of nominee according to category. 

American Bartender of the Year
●      Eric Alperin, Los Angeles, California
●      Kenta Goto, New York City, New York
●      Misty Kalkofen, Boston, Massachusetts
●      Sam Ross, New York City, New York
●      Joaquin Simo, New York City, New York 

Best American Brand Ambassador
●      Colin Asare-Appiah, U'luvka Vodka
●      Jacques Bezuidenhout, Partida Tequila
●      Jamie Gordon, Absolut Vodka
●      Jim Ryan, Hendrick's Gin 

Best American Cocktail Bar
●      Clover Club, New York City, New York
●      Drink, Boston, Massachusetts
●      Employees Only, New York City, New York
●      The Varnish, Los Angeles, California 

Best Bar Mentor
●      Wayne Collins, London, England
●      Steve Olson, New York City, New York
●      Audrey Saunders, New York City, New York
●      Dushan Zaric, New York City, New York 

Best High Volume Cocktail Bar
●      Eastern Standard, Boston, Massachusetts
●      Flatiron Lounge, New York City, New York
●      Florida Room, Miami, Florida
●      Rickhouse, San Francisco, California 

Best Cocktail Writing - Non Book
●      BarlifeUK.com
●      Imbibe USA
●      Liquor.com
●      Tasting Panel Magazine 

Best Cocktail Writing - Author
●      Toby Cecchini, New York City, New York
●      Camper English, San Francisco, Francisco
●      Darcy O'Neil, London, Ontario
●      Naren Young, New York City, New York 

Best International Brand Ambassador
●      Ian Burrell
●      Claire Smith, Belvedere Vodka
●      Dan Warner, Beefeater Gin
●      Angus Winchester, Tanqueray Gin 

Best New Cocktail/Bartending Book
●      Fix the Pumps by Darcy O'Neill 
●      Left Coast Libations by Ted Munat & Michael Lazar* 
●      Punch by David Wondrich 
●      Speakeasy by Dushan Zaric and Jay Kosmas  

Best New Product
●      Bank's Rum
●      Cocchi Americano**
●      Smith & Cross Rum
●      Tequila Calle 23 

Best Restaurant Bar
●      The Drawing Room, Chicago, Illinois
●      Eleven Madison Park, New York City, New York
●      Hawksmoor Seven Dials, London, England
●      Hix, London, England 

International Bartender of the Year
●      Erik Lorincz, London, England
●      Dre Masso, London, England
●      Sam Ross, New York City, New York
●      Dushan Zaric, New York City, New York 

World’s Best Cocktail Bar
●      69 Colebrooke Row, London, England
●      Dry Martini, Barcelona, Spain
●      Employees Only, New York City, New York
●      High Five, Tokyo, Japan 

World’s Best Cocktail Menu
●      Artesian at The Langham, London, England
●      Eau de Vie, Sydney, Australia
●      Mayahuel, New York City, New York
●      Sanctuaria, St. Louis, Missouri 

World’s Best Drinks Selection
●      Artesian at The Langham, London, England
●      Cure, New Orleans, Louisiana
●      Eau de Vie, Sydney, Australia
●      Employees Only, New York City, New York 

World’s Best Hotel Bar
●      Artesian at The Langham, London, England
●      Clive's Classic Lounge at Chateau Victoria Hotel, Victoria, British Columbia
●      Clyde Common at The Ace Hotel, Portland, Oregon
●      The Savoy, London, England 

World’s Best New Cocktail Bar
●      1534, New York City, New York
●      Dram, New York City, New York
●      Eau de Vie, Sydney, Australia
●      Painkiller, New York City, New York 

*Left Coast Libations is the hard back version
**Cocchi Americano is new to the US Market 

About Tales of the Cocktail®
Tales of the Cocktail® is the world’s premier cocktail festival, bringing together the mostrespected minds in mixology for five days of cocktails, cuisine and culture. Held annually inNew Orleans, this event has something for cocktail professionals and amateurs alike with aspirited schedule of seminars, dinners, competitions, parties and special events where brandsshowcase their latest products. Now in its ninth year, Tales of the Cocktail® returns with anotherround events all perfectly paired with some of the best cocktails ever made. Shake things up atTales of the Cocktail® 2011, July 20-24. 

About the New Orleans Culinary and Cultural Preservation SocietyThe New Orleans Culinary and Cultural Preservation Society is a non-profit organizationcommitted to preserving the unique culture of cocktails and cuisine in New Orleans and beyond.Since it’s founding in 2006 the NOCCPS has supported members of the hospitality industrythrough educational opportunities such as the Flo Woodward Scholarship and the CocktailApprentice Scholarship Program as well as the production of events like Tales of the Cocktail®.For more information on Tales of the Cocktail®, visit the website atwww.TalesoftheCocktail.com.  Ticket on sale now.

Sponsor Shout-Out: Tales of the Cocktail

Thanks to Tales of the Cocktail for sponsoring Alcademics! 

I'll be at the event, July 20-24 in New Orleans, for my fifth year in a row. Tickets are on sale now. 

This year I'll be one of five official Tales bloggers doing deep coverage of the event, and between now and then I'll be posting a few preview blog posts about seminars I'm looking forward to seeing. 

Will I tweet every drink every drink I have at Tales of the Cocktail again this year? Yeah, maybe. 

If you've never been to Tales before, I highly encourage you to come. It's a great time. 

How to Be Interviewed- Slides from my Talk

On July 21, 2010 I gave a talk at Tales of the Cocktail on How to be Interviewed for Print, Radio, and Television. I covered the print part and Jennifer English (no relation) covered radio and TV. 

The description of the seminar is here. 

Several people asked that I share the slides from the talk, so I've added them to Scribd website. The slides are viewable here. 

And if you happen to be in the conference planning business, please note that I am available to speak on being interviewed, getting press for your bar/restaurant, and any number of boozy topics!

The Fourth Annual Tales of the Cocktail Swag Awards

Another year, another Tales of the Cocktail convention in New Orleans, another chance to rank the swag! I started giving the swag awards in 2007. 

• 2007 Tales of the Cocktail Swag Awards
• 2008 Tales of the Cocktail Swag Awards
• 2009 Tales of the Cocktail Swag Awards

Once again this year they had a gifting suite rather than a swag bag, wherein you were able to fill up a sack with anything from the room. This is what made it home with me. 

I have a lot of swag around the house (and nearly all my jackets and t-shirts have a booze logo on them somewhere), so I try not to take stuff just to take it. I grabbed a bunch of Firefly Sweet Tea Bourbon from the suite, as I knew you can drink that stuff without any mixers back in the hotel room. I saw writer Jason Wilson with a flask of a Dubonnet Cocktail (Dubonnet, gin, bitters) created from all swag items- nicely done. I recreated that in the room as well.

I typically don't have time to make (or the inclination to fight the crowds for) the swag-rific tasting rooms at Tales, but I did receive a few items outside the gifting suite like the full bottles of Angostura rum and Geranium Gin. 

 

I was also handed this year's second place swag winner, an absinthe spoon from Tempus Fugit Spirits. They had the spoons custom made with the skull design, and as a joke kept the real spoon at the end. I will probably use this spoon for every meal and not just for absinthe. Alas, though, the spoon was not heavily-enough branded with the Tempus Fugit name, so it cannot win the award for Best Swag at Tales this year. 

That honor goes to Aperol, for their orange sunglasses. 

Hip enough to be popular, using the color of the product and subtle branding of the name on the side of the sunglasses, inexpensive enough to give out tons of them, extending the brand beyond the bar, and keeping in line with the brand's image (a sunny summer spirit), Aperol knocked it out of the park for Best Item of Swag this year. 

That said, there were tons of items of swag I'm sure I didn't see. For those who attended, what was your favorite item of swag? 

Every Drink I Had at Tales of the Cocktail

I just returned from New Orleans for Tales of the Cocktail, a cocktail convention attended by many of the world's top bartenders, drink writers, PR representatives, and superenthusiasts. I think this was my favorite year of the convention to date. 

I tweeted every cocktail I had over the week. Let's see how messy that looks added up!

Tuesday July 20, starting at 5PM

• Vieux Carre and an 
• Abita beer @ Monteleone Bar
• Another Abita beer at Carousel Bar at Monteleone
• makers mark on the rocks out of a plastic cup at acme oyster house
• Sazerac at Carousel Bar
• Vieux Carre at Carousel Bar
• Vieux Carre
• Giant Bud Light with some awful Pizza somewhere on Bourbon Street.

Wednesday July 21

• Coffee with Kahlua to start the day!
• Gold kiwifruit St Germain Splash
• kiwifruit cucumber reviver
• not sure what it's called but kiwi yummers
• Shot of rum before my seminar begins
• Three drinks at my seminar- rear admirals grog
• perudriver
• margarita
• Firefly bourbon in hotel room
• another sweet tea bourbon
• a shot of dubonnet cocktail out of a flask
• 3 glasses of Veuve Cliquot at dinner at Arnauds
• Shot of bourbon 
• bourbon cocktail
• miller lite
• orgeat drink
• 2 shots of Stock Fernet
• Ocho tequila
• Miller lite
• stock fernet

Thursday, July 22

• Cat Daddy Moonshine coffee drink at breakfast
• Drinks of Asia seminar cocktail: unkown cocktail with some herb that tastes like fuzzy lemon dandelion leaves
• cognac old fashioned
• Self Publishing seminar- an amaretto and gin cocktail
• Ron Abuelo juicy drink at Carousel Bar
• nutmeg drink at Consulting seminar 
• firefly bourbon
• Diageo Happy Hour drinks:

1. Joaquin riff on seelbach cocktail
2. Wayne Curtis drink with Oronoco rum and fernet
3. Singapore sling punch
4. Aviation from Simon Difford
5. Daiquiri from bill Norris
6. rosy sinclair by Jason Bram
7. Valentinos Denise by Jim rondall
8. Bryan Dayton serves a Mary Pickford
9. Phillip Duff makes a Clubland
10. Tequila negroni from Ricky gomez
11. Brian miller makes drink with tanqueray dolin chartreuse cocchi
12. Misty Kalkoffen drink 
13. John Lermayer drink
14. Lynette Manero makes a drink
15. Tommy klus Serves a Mexican firing squad
16. Pisco drink from Aisha Sharpe
17. Ed Hamilton actually makes a cocktail!! With Zacapa
18. Jim meehan with a Cuervo drink
19. Spicy drink from Wondrich
20. Sean Muldoon serves a trader Vic drink
21. Andrew Friedman serving a sagatiba drink
22. Cable Car from Tony Abou Ganim
23. Chad and Christie drink
24. Francesco Lafranconi drink
25. Josh Durr drink

• Cure bar daiquiri
• Another daiquiri at Cure
• Dubonnet cocktail In hotel room

Friday, July 23

• a sip of Ron Abuelo rum at breakfast
• 2 Disarono cocktails at my Social Media seminar
• A Glenfiddich drink from Jon Santer
• Bourbon carbonated grapes that taste like a Mint Julep at the Bax vs. Clift seminar
• Sazerac with absinthe fog
• Molecular michelada
• apple sous vide infused calvados. 
• Dehydrated fruit cereal with champagne
• Old fashioned with orange peel smoke served in a jar
• Quick bourbon in the room before a meeting
• 2 Abita Amber and a veggie mufalatta at Cage Maspero
• Pimms Cup at Napoleon House
• Abita Amber at Napoleon House
• glass of bourbon
• Hilo Hai cocktail with Teader Tiki Syrups!
• Stella Artois.
• nip of Ron Abuelo

Saturday, July 24

• a spicy Hendricks cocktail 
• Mount Gay Rum punch.
• Wet Grave cocktail in Darcy Oneils fascinating Soda seminar- bourbon, acid phosphate, bitters, vermouth, claret syrup
• Soda seminar drink with Root beer, gentian, bourbon, acid phosphate
• 10cane rum drink in the Subconscious Drinks seminar
• a sip of Geranium Gin
• Brandy Milk Punch in the Caousel Bar
• 2 rum drinks in hotel room followed 
• 2 martinis at Tales of the Cocktail awards
• Glenlivet Nadurra 16 
• Another gin martini at Tales awards 
• Many swigs of Jameson 18
• a beer with my slice of awful but sobering pizza on bourbon street

Sunday, July 25th

• A morning Akvinta vodka cocktail.
• Stella Artois at breakast
• A Dalmore cocktail at the Keeping Ahead in an Online World seminar
• second Dalmore cocktail
• A final vieux carre at carousel bar.
• One last beer at the airport 

Apparently I had 35 drinks on Thursday. That would be terrifying but do keep in mind that for the vast majority of these drinks I had only a sip out of a glass that only held an ounce or so at maximum. 

Still, my liver will be getting a much-earned rest for a while now that I'm home.