Wi-Fi in the Monteleone is… well, crappy. And so, what you’re about to experience took two days to get up. No, no, no… it’s not my ex. It’s my thoughts on Allison Evanow’s session on Artisan Spirits that took place on Thursday afternoon. This session was very informative for spirit makers, but also very important for us small-beans media. We need to support our artisan distillers!

As far as craft distillers are concerned, Lance Winters is like… my new boyfriend or something. I’m just saying, jeez! And although he was really busy after the Artisan Spirits session, I was very pleased to catch him after the Aroma Thing this afternoon so that we could catch up and chat about all things distilling; you know, just me pickin’ his brain… (s)talking.

“Every region in the world has its own local flavor…. Have what they’re making so you can truly ingest their culture.”

A lot of great things have been said to me immediately before I truly take up my arms and stalk a man. But when Lance made this comment about regional styles and building a local following for your products, I saw a unique opportunity. The obvious and extremely creepy opportunity, and then an opportunity to plug MxMo August, hosted at SaveTheDrinkers.com! The MxMo August theme is Local Flavor, and Lance’s immortal words are that theme’s new slogan.

The conversation between this panel and the attendees was one that I think we need to address on a mass-media level. Here are the basic points of the panel and of my conversations with Lance Winters and Allison Evanow, (Hot Chick and founder of Square One Organic Vodka.)

1. Craft distillers, artisan spirit makers, and distributors focused on interesting products with integrity need a vehicle for cultivating the right operators for their products, and in turn serving those products to the right end-user.
2. As craft cocktail makers, we are not trying to serve great drinks to people who do not want them. We’re not trying to feed pearls to pigs, (as our dear Lord Jesus may have said,) but looking for our exact market instead. We want to build a program to cultivate a kind of buyer that loves that program, helps the program build popularity, and then helps build the overall awareness of the drinking public.
3. Concordantly, artisan spirit makers should be looking for the bars and bar concepts and bartenders with an equally yoked vision. They shouldn’t try to sell pearls of beautiful small batch gin to bartending pigs who are only interested in slinging citrus-flavored beet sugar evaporate mixed with energy drink from the gun.
4. Good instructions for surviving in the distilling world: Build a local following for your great product, be the best, live simply until you can sell a few cases, and try to market directly with the operating public and through the craft-oriented media, (like quality-oriented bloggers,) and hopefully the rest will happen organically and the integrity of your process will match the integrity of your product.

There were other questions addressed like the popularity of organics and the implications of the locavore movement, but the general point of the panel was to discuss ways to establish a foothold for the artisan spirit makers in the general public’s drinking habits.

With all of that said, I’d like to take this chance to tell the limited public that might actually read this post about the businesses represented on this panel: Square One Organic Vodka, St. George Spirits, and Haus-Alpenz. (By “tell”, I mean “provide links so you can do it yourself.”) These are people we need to get behind because they’re doing the right thing. If you’re an operator, get a hold of these great distillers and find a way to use their products. (Vodka schmodka, you can find a way to use it, you turd.) You’ll be pleased to make something besides an Ultimate Cadillac Grapejito Whatever, and they’ll be glad to have one more account closer to getting their kids through college.

After having foot to ground in New Orleans for around 18 hours, I’d already had a serious case of heartburn, a hangover, regret that I don’t live in a larger city, and a new set of neat people to stalk, (you know who you are…,) before I found time to post. I also learned that one must have a panama in their collection to be a cocktail writer traveling to New Orleans…

I do not own a panama hat.

Since I’m a research-free writer at the moment, and I don’t know a ton about the subject already, I can’t go into great depth about my visit to the Preview Opening of the Absinthe Museum of America and the simultaneous consumption of several glasses of that funny stuff. But I can tell you that I was surprised about the complex differences between Lucid, Marteau, and La Fee absinthes. Lucid has a rich, earthy flavor that I prefer to the others, while the La Fee has a bright, full-bodied sweetness that I think has more universal appeal to our culture’s less-than-1700s appreciation of absinthe. These differences are probably the result of the different styles and philosophies associated with each spirit-maker, but you’ll have to do some research to find out. (I don’t feel like it.) I basically had to threaten a pipe bombing at the ISLD to get Lucid into Idaho, and I’ve since grown to love the stuff. I was equally loving the vast collection of pastis and absinthe brands and accessories at today’s preview… and these chicks:

If I could sing by typing, I’d belt out a paragraph about my excitement for next week’s trip to New Orleans. I’d bust out my Broadway best and tell you first-timers of the drama and derelict behavior that awaits. I’d gayly dance about your web browser, tapping out my tips for a fine week of networking and hangover nursing. And by the end of the show, you’d have a playbill of preparation that would make any drunk old queen proud.

But, (fortunately for you,) this song/dance is only possible in person, and so I’ll offer you a few tips by typing in the regular, more boring way instead. If you’d like to hear the version in B-flat when we’re getting dizzy at the Carousel Bar next week, feel free to let me know… though I’m sure you’d prefer to spare yourself the buzz-kill.

Tip number one: Network! Meet as many people as you can. A good bar-full of the best cocktail minds take this week to come together and wax liquorsophical. If you want access to good ideas and good products, this is the place to get it! Bring business cards if you have them, or be ready with a blueberry or blacktooth or iFriend or tattoo gun for taking down contact info. Also, this is no time to go to bed early. Push yourself to catch every party you can, to have fun and make new friends, and to potentially embarrass yourself after hours.

Two: Although I enjoyed every session I attended last year, (who doesn’t love a Manhattan at 10 a.m.?) there’s a few speakers that you should try to catch at least once. Not only because the content of the sessions will be phenomenal, but because these are some very good teachers and engaging presenters. Individual sessions that I won’t miss are listed at the bottom of this post, but do your best to sneak into sessions with Robert Hess, Audrey Saunders, David Wondrich, and Eric Seed. Everything at this dog and pony show is worth catching, but these are some of my favorites.Three: Take notes! Yes, this is just like college. Except there will probably be fewer bong water spills and better attendance. Note-taking is especially important if you’re a manager or owner of a restaurant or bar. There is so much to learn and, let’s face it, your brain will probably be functioning on reserves after the first twenty-four hours. You’ll need all the help you can get!

Four: I won’t burn out my keyboard trying to tell you every great place to eat and drink in New Orleans, but I will give you three highlights from my trip last year: Have a Muffaletta Sandwich at Napoleon House, 500 Chartres Street. Just trust me and order it. Chase it down with a Pimm’s Cup, then head over to The Swizzle Stick Bar at Cafe Adelaide, 300 Poydras Street, and have yourself a Sazerac. They’re very good there, and finding a good Sazerac is not as easy as you may believe given that it’s now New Orleans’ official cocktail. (This is due mostly in part to the mass-market palate of the majority of tourists, or so I’ve been told.) And lastly, I enjoyed a fabulous meal at Iris Restaurant, 8115 Jeannette Street, which is off the path slightly, but worth the cab ride for the fresh and unique atmosphere and excellent food and drink.

And finally, tip number five: Do not close down the Carousel Bar stalking Audrey Saunders, then go to an after-hours party in the media suite where you consume copious and mischief-inducing amounts of Lucid, and then forage the hotel for free stuff before returning to your room to drink whatever is in the honor bar, and then attempt to wake at 8:30 for a guided town car tour of New Orleans. This will be memorable for the wrong reason, let me assure you…

Morning Glory Cocktails, Presented by The Museum of the American Cocktail
with Robert Hess
Saturday, July 19th, 10:30 a.m.
Café Adelaide, 300 Poydras Street
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Bartending Techniques 101 and Barware, Presented by St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur, Death and Co., and Martini Brands
with Robert Hess and David Wondrich
Sunday, July 20th, 10:30 a.m.
Hotel Monteleone, 214 Rue Royal
Get Tickets

Sensory Perception in Mixology/What Your Taste Buds Are Telling You, Presented by Bombay Sapphire
featuring Robert Hess and Audrey Saunders
Friday, July 18th, 4:30 p.m.
Hotel Monteleone, 214 Rue Royal
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Juniperlooza, Presented by Aviation Gin, Beefeater Gin, Bols, Martin Miller’s Gin, and Plymouth Gin
featuring Audrey Saunders
Thursday, July 17th, 12:30 p.m.
Hotel Monteleone, 214 Rue Royal
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The Scented Trail: Techniques on How to Develop Aroma in Your Cocktails, Presented by Stoli Vodka
featuring Audrey Saunders
Thursday, July 17, 2:30 p.m.
Hotel Monteleone, 214 Rue Royal
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Amore Amari: A Very Bitter History of Bitter Spirits in Aperitif Service and and Cocktails, Presented by Averna, Campari, and The Bitter Truth
led by Eric Seed, (featuring Toby Cecchini to boot!)
Friday, July 18th, 10:30 a.m.
Hotel Monteleone, 214 Rue Royal
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Spirited Dinner Series: Commander’s Palace
bar chefs Eric Seed and Ted Breaux
Thursday, July 17th in the evening
Commander’s Palace, 1403 Washington Avenue
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