Tales of the Cocktail® New Orleans 2016

Join the Moscow Copper Co. as the Original Copper Mug is feautred and available for photos. You won't want to miss this authentic bar ware. Your Moscow Mule and taste buds will thank you for it!

Stay connected with Mosow Copper Co. on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. 

Join Mandy Simpson & Daren Sumrow, owners of NOLA BOARDS, as they will be demonstrating how to care & maintain wooden cutting boards by using lemons as well as food safe oil & local beeswax.
NOLA BOARDS is a homegrown, handcrafted cutting board business based out of the Freret Neighborhood in Uptown New Orleans. Wanting to combine their talents, Mandy Simpson & her husband Daren Sumrow of New Orleans Woodworking teamed up in 2014 to create these one of a kind pieces of functional art.
Mandy, a native of New Orleans & owner of NOLA BOARDS designs & names each cutting board. Inspired by the staples of the southern food she was raised with and the landmarks she has been surrounded by, the boards have been given names like ‘ROUX,’ ‘the TRINITY,’ and ‘the MARIGNY TRIANGLE.’ Daren & his crew help to fabricate the boards in his woodshop. What started as a way of using up scrap wood from Daren’s shop after the custom furniture, cabinetry, and restaurant build-outs he has done, NOLA BOARDS has now grown into a full-scale operation.
A variety of domestic & exotic hardwoods are used to make these chopping blocks & cheese boards including Louisiana Sinker Cypress in the 'ATCHAFALAYA.' No scrap is left behind and new products for the bar, kitchen, and dining room are continually added to the mix depending on the size of wood left over. 

Connect with NOLA BOARDS on Facebook and Instagram: @nolacuttingboards

Join Russ Meredith with The Beer Syrup Company, where he will be offering samples of their Beer Syrups and hosting a Gift Basket Giveaway. Flavors to try include Pecan Nut Brown, Chocolate Porter, Bourbon Barrel Stout, and their newest gluten-free, cider-based beer syrup which will be launched at Tales of the Cocktail 2016! 

Russ Meredith is a Bar Manager from Louisville, Kentucky, who served in the Marine Corps and returned home to study Entrepreneurship at the University of Louisville. After working in sales for a few years after college, he quit his corporate job and began working at local breweries as a bartender in order to travel and pursue his own ventures. During this time, he discovered a true passion for the industry and furthering his education of beer, spirits, and wine.

While developing simple syrups for his own bar, he discovered other bartenders had experimented with simple syrups using craft beer. Being a fan of craft beer and cocktails, he was intrigued and started developing a non-alcoholic Beer Syrup that could be used in both food and beverage and consumed by anyone, regardless of their age. Once the recipes were developed and approved, The Beer Syrup Company was launched in 2015.  

Connect with The Beer Syrup Company on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

Come visit Javier Trevin of The FoodWhore to see their beautifully crafted urban service industry apparel including various aprons, leather bags, and leather barkeys.

Javier Trevino started making aprons in my garage in SoCal, moved the business to Texas where he slowly expanded into designing and making leather choice goods which lead him to making beautiful leather crossback aprons.

Connect with The FoodWhore on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

Meet Mindy Kleinke-Jennings, co-owner and head crafter for Milk Studio, as she explains her inspiration for her creative cocktail-inspired hand poured soy candles and custom coasters. Milk Studio has been operating in the historic French Quarter for 11 years. The studio/retail location is 1309 Decatur Street, NOLA 70116.

Join Joshua Thorne, co-founder of Time & Oak, as he discusses his inspiration behind their Signature and Dark Whiskey elements. Thorne will demonstrate the spirits aging process and share insights on best uses and spirits for this product. 

The Signature Whiskey Elements smoothes your whiskey while adding essential barrel-aged flavor within 24 hours. The Signature Dark Whiskey Elements draw out notes of mellow smoke and charred oak from your whiskey.

Connect with Time & Oak on Facebook and follow them on Instagram and Twitter at the handle: @WhiskeyElements

Join Don Morton, owner of Shrub District as he demonstrates his new cocktail vinegars and provides samples of the different flavors. Come try out these exclusive products and stay for a chance to win a few prizes!

Don left a policy career to bring a little more happiness into the world. A wine nerd, cocktail geek, fermentation enthusiast, and eager host, Don founded Shrub District in late 2015. Before Shrub District, he spent his free time advocating for policies to create new U.S. manufacturing jobs, telling complex foreign policy stories, writing speeches, promoting global food security, and staffing a Congressman. And making cocktails.

Connect with Shrub District on Facebook and follow them on Twitter and Instagram with the handle: @shrubdistrict

Join Emily Arden Wells, editor and founder of Gastronomista, as she showcases her unique Cocktail Necklaces... you don't want to miss these exclusive TOTC 2016 jewelry pieces! Gastronomista is a website dedicated to the Culture of Drink.

Follow Gastronomista on Twitter and Instagram using the handle: @xxgastronomista 

Join Jessica with Southern Rhoades as she hosts giveaways, demonstrates products. Stop by to test these natural products and see their nourishing benefits for yourself! Products for testing include Prohibition Spray Insect Repellent, Fit As a Fiddle Hand Sanitizer, Salvation Skin Salve, Mary Jane's Herbal Elixir, Wild Bill's Hand Salve, Brain Pain Relief, and Sandman Slumber Drops.

Jessica Rhoades Growing up in Florida, Oklahoma, and Texas, Jessica was often wandering in the footsteps of her father, a wildlife bioligist. Thanks to the nourishing character of her large family and the natural world surrounding her earliest memories, she developed a profound respect for nature and ecological conservation.

Jessica moved to New Orleans in the Fall of 2002 to attend Loyola University and in 2006 began working at the Garden Trellis in the Riverbend. Over the next few years, she firmly established a passion for working with the Southern garden.

Today, Jessica continues her journey toward understanding the environment and the way in which it pertains to our overall health and happiness. She sustains an organic herbal, citrus, fruit, and vegetable garden at a home she shares with her husband and dog in the Bywater neighborhood of New Orleans, Louisiana. Many of the Southern Rhoades ingredients are cultivated within the confines of this magical year-round growing space.

Follow Southern Rhoades on Instagram: @Southern_Rhoades and
Twitter: @SouthernRhoades 

Join Max Messier with Cocktail & Sons as he showcases his syrups and cocktails, which include Fassionola, a Hurricane Tiki syrup and King Cake, a Mardi Gras syrup. These flavors are sure to get you in the NOLA spirit. In addition to these classic New Orleans flavors, Messier will be featuring the Switchel syrup (only 10 bottles!) and the Haymaker's Punch. Don't forget to stay awhile and meet Sugar Farmer Bob Romero from Three Brothers Farm during this Meet the Makers Session.

Max Messier is co-founder and productions director for Cocktail & Sons. Max is an award-winning bartender and spirits consultant based currently in New Orleans, LA.

Connect with Cocktail & Sons on Facebook and follow them on Instagram using handle: @cocktailandsons 

Join Scott Mattox with El Guapo Bitters to not only sample his products, but also win prizes by correctly answering bitters-related trivia questions. Samples include the flavors Whiskey Barrel Aged Spiced Cocoa Tea Bitters, Rose Cordial, and a Louisiana Bitters Pack.

We'll also feature The Cocktail Computer by Lily Szajnberg. The Cocktail Computer suggests curated cocktail recipes based on the ingredients you have at home. The Cocktail Computer's curated list of 24 ingredients was selected by top bartenders. It provides a comprehensive list of easy to make, sophisticated cocktails that will impress even the most discerning palettes at your party.


Scot Mattox - US Marine, Founder and CEO of El Guapo Bitters, & Bartender. He created a line of bitters for use at a local bar he was managing in the French Quarter of New Orleans. His first job behind a bar was in 1994 at an E Club on Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, a night job while he was a young active duty Marine. Since that time he has moved through different facets of the industry from dive bars to craft bars, finally to creating a brand. El Guapo uses locally grown ingredients in the products. El Guapo's goal is to give you a quality product, like you would make, in a cost effective manner to eliminate the need for you and your staff to make complex ingredients and give you more time to spend engaging your customers and building your business. This is a brand that is by bar professionals for bar professionals! While Serving in the USMC he picked up the nickname El Guapo, which means handsome, and is always quick to remind others there are worse nicknames to have! El Guapo Bitters donates 10% of profits to support the men and women of our Armed Forces.

Connect with El Guapo Bitters on Facebook and follow them on Instagram using
handle: @el_guapo_scot and Twitter: @elguapobitters

Join Lucas Plant and Daniel Osborne with Bull in China as they will be hosting giveaways, demonstrating products and offering special orders for bartenders. Designed by Bull in China and hand blown in Portland, Oregon, the Bull in China signature mixing glass is a workhorse for the industry. The Bull in China Lewis Bag will also be featured along with the demonstration of the handcrafted Bull in China Ice Mallet.

Connect with Bull in China on Facebook and follow them at the handle @bullinchinapdx on Instagram and Twitter. 

Join Kathleen Currie with Smoke Perfume and smell and sample various body oils, perfumes, and body scrubs.

Smoke Perfume & Co. was launched with a single fragrance by founder Kathleen Currie in 2013. Drawing on her background as a massage therapist and aromatherapist, Currie set out to craft a scent that was as evocative as it was therapeutic. The signature scent of vetiver, citrus, and jasmine that launched the company has continued to grow organically and has spawned a cult following in the natural fragrance movement. While Smoke Perfume & Co. has expanded far beyond Currie's French Quarter kitchen, the company remains committed to producing high-quality products using ethically sourced, all-natural ingredients and sustainable, but thoughtfully designed packaging. Inspired by the company's home base of New Orleans, as well as travel, wellness, nature and the environment, Smoke Perfume & Co. offers an elegant and unique approach to unisex perfumes and holistic beauty products.
 
Follow Smoke Perfume at handle @smokeperfume on Instagram and Twitter. 

Join Jackson Cannon as he demonstrates his custom R. Murphy Knife made specifically with bartenders in mind.

The Jackson Cannon Bar knife is great for:
-Cutting citrus easily. Makes a clean cut, preserving the fruit's fresh, just cut appearance.
-Using the squared off blade tip, quickly notch fruit for glass rim garnishes.
-Removing fruit seeds effortlessly with the tip of the blade.-Slicing citrus peels for perfect twists with little oil loss.
-Facilitating workstation clean-up by scraping counters with flush blade underside.

 

Join Kristin Malone, owner of Home Malone, for an interactive paint-by-numbers display. Visit her during Meet the Members for a chance to win a great prize! Showcased will be various New Orleans themed wooden artwork.

Follow Home Malone on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter: @homemalonenola 

Join Eric Uhrynowski of Vincent Bartender's Hand Salve as he showcases his hand salve made for bartenders by bartenders. Hand massagees included.  

Vincent Bartender's Hand Salve was created with a loving spirit and a lofty objective: to offer curated skincare with fair pricing to those of us in the bartending world. 

Join Dean Callan with William Grant & Sons as he demonstrates the Monkey Shoulder Konga Shaker, a reinvention of the classic 1930's Konga Shaker. Due to the larger size of this shaker, up to three drinks may be mixed at once. This Monkey Shoulder Konga Shaker is availbale exclusively at Tales and there is a limited supply, so come see why the revival of this classic art is shaking things up at Tales!

Join Kirk with Orleans Coffee as he provides samples of locally roasted whole bean coffee.

Available coffee and chicory blends will include FTO Black Pearl Espresso, Colombia La Estrella, Creole Coffee & Chicory, Pure French Chicory, and FTO Ethiopia Yirgacheffe Halo Bariti.

Kirk Knipmeyer was born and raised in New Orleans and will most likely die there. He spent his youth getting into trouble in the Quarter and as he's now that he's older and wiser, he is getting into trouble all over the city. Kirk has worked with Specialty coffee and coffee Equipment for the past 16 years. He has worked in almost every aspect of the industry from being a barista, and a service tech, to green coffee purchasing. Coffee is one of the few things he loves almost as much as his family, marching in Mardi Gras parades, and New Orleans. 

Join Krista with Krista Lark Mason Art as she showcases her various cocktail and New Orleans-themed watercolor prints. Don't miss out on this opportunity to participate in the Instagram challenge, where the winner will win one of her prints! Hashtag will be available at the event.
Krista Lark has worked in the wine & spirits world for a decade, most recently as co-owner of the renowned cocktail and whiskey bar, H. Harper Station, in Atlanta with her husband, Jerry Slater. Since closing H. Harper, Krista has returned to her first passion, art and illustration, focusing on imagery of the business she loves; cocktails and other 'spirited' imagery. Krista works primarily in pen & ink and Japanese watercolor on paper.

Follow her on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter: @larkthegirl 
 

Join David Bergeron with Bergeron Woodworks as he features various frames and mosaic boxes constructed with reclaimed wood. Each piece—from small frames and boxes to larger tables and armoires—reflects a dedication to craft, a legacy of design and materials, resourcefulness, precision, environmental consciousness and artistic vision.

Stay connected with Bergeron Woodworks on Facebook and Instagram.