Grand Marnier and Navan Natural Vanilla Liqueur will be hosting the 3rd annual Mixology Summit in Vail, Colorado from Sunday, April 5-7, 2009. Akin to the Olympics of mixology, 100 professional mixologists from around the United States will be hired as consultants for the event and help develop cocktails for use in national marketing programs. During the three-day event, participants will also have an opportunity to learn about the latest techniques and beverage trends from the most celebrated practitioners in American mixology.
October 2008 Archives
Brandy
is the most prestigious spirit on the shelf. Few products immediately conjure
aspirational images of prosperity and sophistication, or so ably illustrate the
concept of affordable luxury as do as these traditional heavyweights. Their
appeal transcends age and demographics, and although belt-tightening has
reduced our discretionary income, cognacs and brandies offer people a lot of
indulgence for the buck.
It's been 20 years since I attended my first Nightclub & Bar Show. From that point, for the next 10 years "The Show" became a considerable part of our planning, customer growth and income. But over the years the show grew so large we started feeling insignificant, our sales leads lessened and it stopped making much of a difference in our bottom line.
If you haven't heard already, absinthe is once again available in the U.S. It's the stuff of legends, and after 93 years, mixologists coast to coast are ecstatic to finally get their hands on this dazzling, emerald green spirit.
Few spirits are as intriguing to me as handcrafted tequila. So you
can imagine my good fortunate being invited to participate in the 2nd
annual Spirits of Mexico Tasting Competition in Old Town San Diego. Spirits
guru Jack Robertiello of Drink Ink and I again served as co-hosts of the formal
judging portion of the event, which this year featured nearly 80 labels of
tequilas and mezcals.