Tales on tour
As Tales of the Cocktail nears its 10th anniversary in New Orleans, its sister event in Vancouver has just completed its second edition.
Bartenders, spirits brands and media from around the world converged on Vancouver for the second annual Tales of the Cocktail on Tour – Vancouver 2012, in February. TOTC Vancouver is a satellite event to the main Tales of the Cocktail, which is set to celebrate its 10th anniversary in New Orleans this July.
Both festivals bring together cocktail enthusiasts to sample a wide range of spirits from the sponsoring brands, as well as tasting cocktails created from those products by talented bartenders. Education is a key component as well, with seminars covering all aspects of spirits and cocktails. Of course the heart of TOTC is meeting like-minded enthusiasts and professionals while enjoying delicious drinks. As a result, many personal and business connections are formed during the four-day event.
Those unfamiliar with the spirits and cocktail scene in Vancouver may be surprised that it was chosen for the first expansion of TOTC. Ann Tuennerman, founder of TOTC, feels that Vancouver’s emergent cocktail scene and the enthusiastic reception given to Tales by the city’s tight-knit bartending community made it a natural fit. The expanded programme for the second year added tasting rooms sponsored by brands, a craft distillers showcase and a series of spirited dinners at local restaurants.
When bartenders from different cities meet at TOTC, they talk trade. Commonalities emerge, but so do regional differences. A focus on hand-made bitters, syrups, and vermouths is common among top bartenders in Canada and the US, but here in Canada it is driven more by necessity. Due to tight government regulation of the spirits trade, bartenders in Canada cannot rely on a deep selection of brands on their back-bar and are forced to innovate in the creation of drink components in order to provide unique experiences for customers. Ultimately, though, bartenders meeting at TOTC find more in common among their methods and experiences than differences.
One category where Canadian bartenders do have some excellent products available is premium liqueurs. Local bartender Jay Jones (Market at the Shangri-La) uses Giffard Abricot du Roussillon to great effect in his The Four Horsemen cocktail, while Shaun Layton (L’Abattoir) mixes Giffard Banane du Brésil in his revelatory Banana Daiquiri. When new quality liqueurs come into the market, such as St-Germain, Licor 43 or Cynar, they are enthusiastically added to the Vancouver bartender’s palette of ingredients.
The Meet the Maker craft distiller showcase at TOTC Vancouver also introduced attendees to a range of craft liqueurs. Recent competitions in Vancouver and Calgary have put premium liqueurs such as Licor 43 and Cointreau in the spotlight, flipping the classic role of the liqueur in cocktail composition and making it the centrepiece, not the accompaniment. While skill is required to maintain balance in the cocktail, the results can be delicious and thought-provoking.
THE MAIN EVENT
Hard to believe that a decade has passed since the first Tales of the Cocktail took its bow, but the world of mixology is set to descend on New Orleans this July for the 10th anniversary edition of the world’s premier cocktail festival.
Held on 25-29 July, Tales brings together experts from around the globe for five days of cocktails, cuisine and culture, including a busy schedule of seminars, dinners, competitions and tasting rooms where brands showcase their latest products.
This year’s Tales of the Cocktail official cocktail competition invites participants to create their own take on the Old Fashioned, using the spirit of their choice to make a cocktail using the original definition of the word: spirit plus sugar, water and bitters. Submissions will be made by 12 March and the winner is announced on 12 April, with the winning cocktail available during Tales.
Written by Marc Smolinski
Photos by Caylee Betts
For more information on Tales, visit www.talesofthecocktail.com
