Good Morning! We hope that everyone is surviving this insane heat wave; patio servers and bartenders - we salute you! Thankfully by the time you all are reading this we should be getting some cool air (at least in mine and Lui’s corner of the world) and it couldn’t be better timing heading into the weekend.

Our very own Lui Fernandes had the pleasure of attending this year’s Tales of the Cocktail Conference. Sounds like the perfect time to talk about the evolution of the event itself and what was great about this year’s gathering.

Lui here: This was my 3rd year of Tales and every year and despite a few things I absolutely loved it. Got to see friends I hadn’t seen in almost a year despite spending so much time with them last year. Got to make new friends.

But New Orleans felt a little different this year, it felt like there was an apprehension in the air. And who could blame it, our industry is going through the ringer. So many of us who work in the industry are scared. Scared that our co-workers might not make it to work, scared things could fall apart, and so that means that many didn’t make the pilgrimage this year to tales. It felt off. Maybe those weren’t the only reason, I have heard that New Orleans has been going through some changes recently. There were some people who did champion immigrants in the restaurant industry, and to them I am very thankful but it still felt odd. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. Nonetheless, Tales did what Tales did best. Be HOT AF, make me sweat like crazy, and make me drink one too many cocktails.

Anyway, before we dive into this weeks newsletter I posted this video this week about Cocktail Bars in the suburbs, and its a topic I am so proud of and think is a very important topic. Give it a watch!

On to this weeks Newsletter!

What exactly is Tales of the Cocktail?

How it started and what it looks like now

As a former bartender I have heard many times about the Tales of the Cocktail conference and all of the amazing and exciting things that come out of it but what I didn’t know is how different it once was and how much it has grown since its inception.

When the event started (referenced as simply “Tales” by those who regularly attend/run it) it was actually a walking tour of some of New Orleans best bars. The tour was run by a group of bar enthusiasts and was operated like a small business. It has now grown to be a multi-day conference run by a non-profit that benefits the greater hospitality and spirits community all year.

The event seeks to highlight excellence in all levels of the industry and to do so the board members have to keep a pulse on the industry and the major concerns of those working in it. We all know that we have been facing crisis after crisis the past few years in the bar and spirits industries and the work that Tales of the Cocktail does in the weeks outside of the big conference try to reach and help those affected directly. The foundation made sure to have resources compiled all in one place for those effected in the industry during the peak of the COVID-19 shut downs and made sure to act early on making them available.

At the end of the day the event runners say that what makes Tales such an important and amazing gathering is the community and the amount of knowledge that is shared from all directions. Most people see it as one big party but in an interview with SevenFiftyDaily board member Neal Bodenheimer says that’s a big misconception; education is truly at the heart of Tales of the Cocktail.

Evolve 2025

This years theme and events

This year the theme for Tales was “Evolve” and in their own words sought to “explore the cocktail industry’s ongoing transformation and development, highlighting evolution as a catalyst for innovation and a necessity for growth.” Just looking over the itinerary made me a little dizzy with all there was to offer! As an outsider who did not attend I think the most interesting takeaways were the upcoming trends and the major winners of the spirited awards.

All of the things that I could find cited as major upcoming trends coming out of this years’ Tales honestly were very appealing to me personally. This article from InsideHook’s The Spill got me a little jealous of all the things I hadn’t tasted. They claim that sours are making a huge comeback - anything sour is generally a big yes from me - and that the lychee martini is coming back better than ever before. I also was excited to see that wine is trending as a cocktail ingredient. I was recently talking with a friend who honeymooned in Portugal about how I missed playing around with port wine in cocktail recipes, it just kind of dropped off my radar post pandemic.

Spirited Awards Winners

Use this list to plan your next vacation maybe?

Every year since 2007 as part of the conference, Tales hosts the Spirited Awards. These awards have grown to become some of the most prestigious honors in the spirits and cocktail community and the winners are selected by a panel of over 250 experts in the industry. This year since the theme was “evolve” the winners were selected for their ability to embody the creativity needed to push progress in the industry and keep up with the ever changing landscape of the hospitality world. These awards include domestic and international recognitions in multiple categories but for the sake of brevity we will list the US winners along with the writing and media winners, and link the official list with all of the other wonderful international honorees as well.

U.S. CATEGORIES:

U.S. Bartender of the Year presented by Pernod Ricard

• Christine Kim — Service Bar, Washington, D.C.

Best U.S. Bar Mentor presented by Pernod Ricard

• Colin Asare-Appiah

Best U.S. Brand Ambassador

• Natasha Sofia — Mijenta Tequila

Best U.S. Bar Team presented by William Grant & Sons

• Allegory at the Eaton Hotel — Washington, D.C.

Best U.S. Cocktail Bar presented by Pernod Ricard

• Trick Dog — San Francisco, CA

Best U.S. Hotel Bar

• Little Rituals at the Residence Inn/Courtyard by Marriott — Phoenix, AZ

Best U.S. Restaurant Bar

• Kumiko — Chicago, IL

Best New U.S. Cocktail Bar

• Sip & Guzzle — New York, NY

WRITING & MEDIA CATEGORIES:

Best Cocktail & Spirits Publication

• Full Pour

Best Cocktail & Spirits Writing

• “In War-Torn Ukraine, Nightlife Offers a Fleeting Escape” by Adam Robb, for Wine Enthusiast

Best Broadcast, Podcast, or Online Video Series presented by Cheech & Chong Cannabis Co.

• Radio Imbibe

Best New Cocktail or Bartending Book presented by Branca USA

• The Bartender’s Pantry: A Beverage Handbook for the Universal Bar by Jim Meehan and Bart Sasso with Emma Janzen

Best New Book on Drinks Culture, History, or Spirits

• The Cocktail Parlor: How Women Brought the Cocktail Home by Nicola Nice

For the full list of awards click here.

I am definitely using my new career as a writer in this field as an excuse to go visit one of my best friends in Washington D.C. for some “field work” as soon as humanly possible.

Best Video We Saw This Week

swansbarcurragha

3,167 followers

View more on Instagram

There really is nothing quite like the quick wit and vicious sarcasm of the Irish. I have no notes. This really just fed my soul.

Quick Hits:

• If you enjoy European wine (and spirits) you might be facing some sticker-shock very soon as more tariffs rear their ugly heads.

• This well known and loved distillery won a number of 2025 New Orleans Spirits Competition distinctions in the blind tastings hosted by the Tales of the Cocktail Foundation at this years’ conference.