Tales of the Cocktail® New Orleans 2016

In 2012 a woman who consumed a liquid nitrogen cocktail had life-saving surgery to remove her stomach, and the same liquid poured into a swimming pool nearly killed several partygoers in 2013. YouTube is full of videos of people stupidly swallowing dry ice and catching fire thanks to flamed drinks with absinthe and overproof spirits. Nicotine, quinine, and stone fruit pitts are toxic at certain levels, yet bartenders and home mixologists are playing fast and loose with tobacco infusions, tonic water syrup, and homemade amaretto. The tonka beans in the original Boker’s Bitters and the grass in bison grass vodka contain coumarin, which is banned as a food additive in the United States because it thins the blood; and the thujone level from wormwood in absinthe and vermouth is required to be legally negligible in America. In fact, a lot of 'traditional' bitters, amari, liqueur, and other drink ingredients are dangerous without certain processing or at high quantities. Plus, increasingly consumers are hyper-sensitive to nut, gluten, and other allergies and dietary requirements. This seminar will examine various dangers in cocktails and bartending, including the physical, the chemical, and the allergical (that's a new word). We'll discuss both legal requirements and practical advice for keeping within safe limits of certain ingredients and techniques, as well as where to look to find this information on your own for the future. This seminar will be a thrillride of danger! Responsibly.