Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Drinks It's Like Fantasy Camp for the Drinking Crowd
Posted by Chris Chamberlain on Tue, Jul 20, 2010 at 9:11 AM
It is the mission of Tales of the Cocktail to promote the best of the cocktail community, and in turn to shake a finger at some of the world’s worst drinks. Tales of the Cocktail got into the cocktail-killing business three years ago with the burial of the Appletini. At the 2009 festival, attendees danced down Royal Street, led by a brass band, to take the Red-Headed Slut to her grave. This year, with the burial of Sex on the Beach, Tales of the Cocktail is one step closer to correcting some of the cocktail community’s worst mistakes.
The Sex on the Beach will be officially laid to rest in a jazz funeral procession as bartenders and cocktail enthusiasts from around the world will congregate outside The Roosevelt Hotel to carry the casket and put an end to the horror that is this peach schnapps monstrosity.
Believe it or not, I'll be attending seminars all day, networking with various liquor distributors and tasting their wares. The evenings will be filled with "Spirited Dinners" which pair New Orleans' fantastic food with ingenious cocktails created by top-shelf mixologists.
The event is open to the public and is based out of the historic Hotel Monteleone in the French Quarter. I'll try to report back during the week to let you know if it's worth the registration money and the effort to visit New Orleans in the teeth of the hottest part of the summer (and hurricane season). As the inimitable Tom Robbins described the situation in Jitterbug Perfume, "The minute you land in New Orleans, something wet and dark leaps on you and starts humping you like a swamp dog in heat, and the only way to get that aspect of New Orleans off you is to eat it off."
This of course assumes that I'll be able to rouse myself by the crack of noon to send back my dispatches from the front of the war against sobriety. If you don't hear from me again this week, you can probably assume that the conference was worth the money. If I am able to report back, that just means that journalism triumphed over hedonism. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go pack my stunt liver.
Comments (9)
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I think you should travel around to all the food/drink conferences and report back for us. And definitely get Bites to pay for it! I'm thinking specifically of the Southern Foodways Symposium in Oxford, MS October 21-24, or any of their other themed events around the country. Sounds like the best job ever! Also, this is one of my very favorite posts. Last paragraph cracks me up!
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I KNOW IT'S UNRELATED AND LAST-MINUTE, BUT DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY RESTAURANT RECOMMENDATIONS - I HAVE TO STAY OVERNIGHT TONIGHT. ANY AND ALL SUGGESTIONS WILL BE GREATLY APPRECIATED!
Does anyone have restaurant recommendations in Chattanooga? I have to stay overnight tonight and welcome any and all suggestions!
Hey, Messup, I like St. John's in Chatt for fancier fare, and 212 Market Street for more casual but still farm to table stuff. Nathan Winowich, formerly of Watermark, opened a place called Public House that I hear good things about but haven't been.
I took that Plaster pic a few years ago as part of a charity project. Google wheresbobbleheadgeorge to see him lots of unusual locales.
LWilson and Doug, thanks for the suggestions! We went to 212 Market, and it was fabulous. I highly recommend it if you are ever in Chattanooga. The Pickett Farms trout was excellent as was my boyfriend's filet. Top notch food, service, and the wine list is great. Next time, I want to try Public House - the website looks great. Alleia's reviews are wonderful, but their site is down for rehab, so I couldn't check it out. Thanks again.
