Tales of the Cocktail - Day 1: Gin & Freshness

It has already been an event filled with excitement at Tales of the Cocktail. The French Quarter is teeming with cocktail enthusiasts and the information is flowing. I have so much to say but here's a quick (OK, semi-quick) recap of day one and more (extensive) articles will follow in the coming days and weeks.

This afternoon we had the pleasure of enjoying lunch with Martin Miller and David Bromige of Martin Miller's Gin. Our conversations were filled with musings about the past and future of gin. It started last night with a blogger reception hosted by the gin brand. There we sipped on Palin's Christmas Punch - yes, it was developed around election time this last year and named after the (soon-to-be) former governor - and it was delicious. (Sidenote: Saturday we are going to get a peak at Martin Miller's special 10th anniversary bottling!)

Part of our conversation today was regarding the reason behind introducing their Westbourne Strength and that punch was a good example. That bottling was introduced to cater to "cocktail geeks" (aka mixologists) who are creating very complex cocktails in which gin often gets lost. With the higher strength it can be mixed and still be apparent as it was in that absinthe, Zirbenz and date-filled punch I just mentioned.

Like I said, I'll have more of that lunch interview later but for now let's just say that the guys behind Martin Miller Gin are fun to talk to and got into this business because they wanted to improve the spirit. Originally they thought that if the brand didn't work out they would have had a lifetime supply of their personalized gin. Thank goodness it took off so all of us could enjoy.

The other highlight of my day was a seminar titled "Stop Talking...Go Fresh!" led by Tony Abou-Ganim and Dale DeGroff. The title is poignant and says it all but the point is that bars and bartenders should stop thinking about using fresh ingredients and just do it. The legendary team gave many reasons for making this leap and the one that will appeal to many managers is the cost savings. Think about this one example: fresh simple syrup is only the cost of sugar, buy it in bulk and you're at somewhere around 10 cents per 1/2 ounce, whereas bottled bar syrup can cost $4-5 per 500ml (or so, depending on your supplier, of course). The seminar continued into choosing the best fruits for juices, how to make the best sour drinks and so much more.

I'll expand on all of this later, for now we're off to gather more cocktail knowledge to bring back to you.