Tales of the Cocktail back for second round
Expanded four- day festival celebrates the art of mixed drinks
You know that New Year’s resolution you made about no more alcohol or latenight shenanigans? Well, good luck with that, because Tales of the Cocktail is back in town Feb. 12 to 15, and this year the cocktail festival is even bigger, better and boozier than before.
The Vancouver event is an offshoot of the legendary New Orleans festival that takes place each July, drawing the world’s best bartenders and thirstiest patrons to dozens of seminars, dinners, tasting rooms and parties throughout The Big Easy.
In 2011, Tales took the show “on tour” for the first time, bringing it here to Vancouver before potentially expanding it to other cities. Organizers say that Vancouver’s passionate cocktail culture made it the logical destination for the tour’s first stop, and the success of the event not only proved them right, but encouraged them to come back for a second round this year.
“Last year, Tales on Tour was an incredible event and the city was amazing,” says Paul Tuennerman, who co- founded the original Tales with his wife Ann 10 years ago.
“I’ve been a big fan of Vancouver for a very long time,” he says by phone from Dallas. “I’ve always said the cocktail scene has been underappreciated. The bartenders there have been doing amazing stuff, and the culinary culture has always been terrific.”
He adds, “I love coming to that city. It’s a great city. You can always get good food and good drink. The thing I’m looking forward to most is just landing there.”
If he sounds excited about the whole thing, that’s nothing compared to the giddiness among local bartenders.
After all, Tales on Tour will feature seminars led by such industry legends as Pegu Club co- owner Audrey Saunders, 42Below “Vodka Professor” Jacob Briars, America’s “Spirits Guru” Paul Pacult and craft bartending pioneer Dushan Zaric.
And there’ll be plenty of other big bartending names in town just to enjoy the festivities, so you never know who you might end up sitting next to at your favourite watering hole.
“These are all just bartenders who went beyond just being behind the wood,” says event coordinator Jay Jones, noting that it’s the opportunity to mingle with these bartending heroes that makes Tales such a great event for anyone who loves cocktails.
That’s especially true for the apprentices who’ve been chosen to make the many, many cocktails that will be served throughout the event. They include ambitious bartenders from all over North America, several of them from Vancouver: Donnelly Group’s Trevor Kallies, Hawksworth’s Jon Smolensky, Uva’s Evelyn Chick, Yew’s Justin Taylor and Cin Cin Ristorante + Bar’s Donnie Wheeler.
“Having been fortunate enough to work with some of this city’s best bar folk, I’m incredibly excited for the opportunity to work and learn from some of the best in the world,” Wheeler says.
But Tales isn’t just for the bartending industry. There is also plenty on offer for customers, especially now that Tales on Tour has expanded to four days instead of three, and has added several events.
It kicks off with the Hollywood North opening bash at the Rosewood Hotel Georgia and closes with the Farewell Vancouver, Hello New Orleans lunch at Chambar. In between, there are seminars, parties, the B. C. Bar Crawl and, new this year, spirited dinners and tasting rooms, which are full- on themed bacchanalias featuring spirits such as Bacardi rum, Hendrick’s gin and Tia Maria liqueur.
“The tasting room concept is something that is absolutely massive in New Orleans,” Jones says. “The brands get to create their own little world. It’s still booze. You’ve got to have fun.”
Ultimately, “fun” is what Tales on Tour is all about, and one of the main reasons the organizers hope to make it an annual event.
“I remember sitting at the closing brunch last year with Ann and someone off the cuff said, ‘ Are you going to do it again?’ and I said, ‘ How could we not?’ ” Tuennerman recalls.
He laughs. “You all put up with us, so we’re coming back!”