Industry Tips From Tales

Sonja Kassebaum is a Chicago-based boutique distiller (North Shore Distillery) and cocktail blogger (Thinking of Drinking), as well as the president of Chicago LUPEC.
Unlike most of my fellow Tales bloggers, I work in the liquor industry full-time, and one of the aspects of Tales that I particularly appreciate is the practical advice in the [...]

Mixologists and Their Toys – How Was It?

Sonja Kassebaum is a Chicago-based boutique distiller (North Shore Distillery) and cocktail blogger (Thinking of Drinking), as well as the president of Chicago LUPEC.
I wrote a preview of this session a few weeks ago, and headed into it with some level of anticipation. I was hoping to see some really innovative things, and thought [...]

Tales of Malört

Sonja Kassebaum is a Chicago-based boutique distiller (North Shore Distillery) and cocktail blogger (Thinking of Drinking), as well as the president of Chicago LUPEC.
I imagine many cities around the world have a local favorite spirit that isn’t seen much outside that place. In Chicago, we have Jeppson’s Malört, which is a wormwood-infused bitter [...]

New Mixology Toys & Techniques

Sonja Kassebaum is a Chicago-based boutique distiller (North Shore Distillery) and cocktail blogger (Thinking of Drinking).  In her spare time, she’s president and founder of the Chicago chapter of Ladies United for the Preservation of Endangered Cocktails (LUPEC Chicago), and a member of the United States Bartenders Guild, Illinois Chapter.
Every day, in every great cocktail bar, mixologists [...]

Exploring Antoine’s

Sonja Kassebaum is an Illinois-based distiller and fan of good drinks. She documents her interests at Thinking of Drinking.
Last night we had the privilege of dining at Antoine’s, perhaps the oldest restaurant in New Orleans (and one of the oldest in the country). They moved to their current location in 1868, after their first location [...]

Initial Tidbits from Tales

Sonja Kassebaum is an Illinois-based distiller and fan of good drinks. She documents her interests at Thinking of Drinking.
For my first post about my first time at Tales, I thought I’d just throw in a few tidbits about what I’ve seen, heard and done so far.  Here goes nuthin’!
Great Participants and Parties
I have already met [...]

All About Artisan Spirits

This is the first post from Sonja Kassebaum, an Illinois-based distiller and fan of good drinks. She documents her interests at Thinking of Drinking.
You might not know it (yet), but there are a number of small distillers and spirit companies out there making amazing products. They may not have huge marketing budgets like Diageo or [...]