Aoc Restaurant Blog Tales of the Cocktail Recap, part 2: All in a Day's Work

Posted By: GroveHey, it's Nate again, here to fill you in on all the amazing food and beverage I experienced in just one day at the Tales of the Cocktail conference this summer in NOLA. A day filled with taste testing, meeting cocktail mavens and lots of drink samples... poor me ; ).I knew the trip would be great as soon as I stepped off the plane in NOLA. The night before classes began, I met with James Berg (Managing Partner of Essence Restaurant Group) for dinner along with some great folks from Van Eerden Food Service. We met at Donald Link's award-winning seafood restaurant, Pêche for one of the best meals I had while on my trip. It definitely set the tone for an amazing week in the culinary and cocktail mecca of New Orleans.Wednesday, July 15 10 am: Chartreuse in A BottleMy first class, Chartreuse in A Bottle, sold out in a day! Chartreuse is a magical French Liqueur made by Carthusian Monks in the French Alps (since 1737). Only three of these silent monks are aware of just one-third of the secret recipe composed of 130 different flowers, herbs, roots, and botanicals in this liqueur. Crazy, right? There are two main types of Chartreuse: Green Chartreuse and Yellow Chartreuse, both of which are key ingredients in many amazing cocktails. Green Chartreuse is floral, intensely herbal, and alternates between bitter and sweet, while Yellow Chartreuse is mellower and sweeter.There are specialty oak-aged bottles of Chartreuse called VEP, available in the United States, and several different Chartreuses available for sale only near the remote monastery in France. Chartreuse is the only liqueur that ages for better flavor over time after it's been bottled, making it high in demand-and pricey. In this class, we tasted all the Chartreuse available in the world today, including saved bottles from the 1960s, 70s, and 80s. This truly was a one of a kind experience. 12:30 pm: Rare and Heritage Rums of DemeraraThis class and tasting showcased the rums of El Dorado, which have been produced in Guyana, South America since 1670. Rum is produced by distilling the byproducts of sugarcane. The area of northeastern South America produces a very specific type of sugarcane called Demerara, highly sought after for its rich flavor and high concentration of molasses. El Dorado is the signature brand of The Demerara Distillers Company. This company has three stills that have been in continuous operation since the 18th and 19th centuries! A blend from these stills is then aged in oak barrels before being cut to proof. In this class led by Master Distiller Shaun Caleb, we tasted cask-strength rums distilled from specific stills that had been bottled for this exclusive tasting. Each still creates specific aromas and flavors, from tropical banana, toasted toffee, honey, chocolate, coffee, and even crème brûlée. The finale of the class was a sampling of the El Dorado Special Reserve 25, a rare 25-year-old blended rum. Almost like a highland scotch, this sipping rum was from another world-with a nose of over-ripened pear and honey and a depth of buttery dough, pipe tobacco, hickory and nutmeg. The taste is earthy, with a dark forest molasses sap that dances on your palette with a mouth-watering honey finish. 2:30 pm: From Milano to Torino and Beyond The Negroni is one of my favorite cocktails of all time, and this class traced its history. This classic aperitivo cocktail, consisting of equal parts gin, sweet vermouth, Campari, and an orange peal, is one of the most famous classic cocktails ever created. The Negroni's flavor is intriguing and complex: sweet, bitter, refreshingly tart, with serious depth of flavor that brings you back for more. The Negroni was born out of Italian aperitivo culture, which is enjoying a light meal or drink to stimulate the appetite before a first course. In the 1900s, the Milano-Turino was the most famous aperitivo cocktail of the time, which is equal parts sweet vermouth from Turino (Turin, Italy) and bitter Campari, from Milano (Milan, Italy). This drink slowly morphed into the classic cocktail, The Americano, which came about when American tourists wanted a splash of soda water on top of their Milano-Turino to mellow out the bitterness of the Campari and highlight the sweetness of the vermouth.The Negroni was named after the wealthy Count Negroni of Florence, who spent years traveling abroad, mainly in the Wild West of America and in gin-heavy England. Upon returning to Florence, Count Negroni wanted his Americano aperitivo with a little more zip and suggested to his bartender to add an English dry gin instead of soda. This delightful drink began popping up in cocktail books across Italy and France in in early 1920s, and is still one of the most ordered classic cocktails of all time nearly 100 years later. 6:00 pm: A Spirited Evening with Danny MeyerThe finale of my first day of Tales of The Cocktail was an inspiring Q&A session with the 2015 Tales of The Cocktail Keynote Speaker, Danny Meyer. Meyer's hospitality philosophies are the foundation of Essence Restaurant Group and his book, "Setting The Table" is a must-read for everyone in the food industry. Time Magazine named Meyer one of the '100 Most Influential People for 2015, and he and Union Square Hospitality Group have won an unprecedented 26 James Beard Awards to date.This very casual Q&A with Danny Meyer and Paul Tuennerman, Co-Founder of Tales of the Cocktail, began with a candid conversation (cocktails in hand, of course), discussing the growth and resurgence of the craft cocktail scene worldwide, the beginnings of Union Square Hospitality Group, the rebuilding of NOLA after Hurricane Katrina, and the growth of Tales Of The Cocktail. My big takeaway from Meyer was that service truly counts in all walks of business and life. To be successful at any business, you have to make people feel at home and at ease. He counsels to make sure your employees are happy, healthy, willing to work together, and have the right tools to go the extra mile. Treat guests like family. It doesn't matter how incredible the food or drink might be; if your guest can't feel comfortable, they will not come back. This blog series will wrap up next week so sit back, relax, and have a Negroni. Cheers!