Tales of the Cocktail 2: Electric Boogaloo

“The second time around
Ooh, the second time is so much better, baby
The second time around
And I’ll make it better than the first time”

That was my attitude as I approached my second trip to Tales of the Cocktail in New Orleans. I was ready to do it bigger, better, harder, longer, and stronger.

In the wake of the CrowdStrike outage, which delayed and canceled so many flights, I considered my mere 2.5-hour delayed departure to New Orleans a blessing. I missed a few events I wanted to check out that Monday night, but it wasn’t a big deal. When I eventually touched down at Louis Armstrong International Airport around 11:30 PM, I headed to my hotel for a late check-in, then hit the streets to check out the No Sleep Till Baijiu late-night last call event at Jolie. The event featured cocktails crafted by Shannon Mustipher, William Tsui, and Cale Brown. I had the Peking Cocktail, a perplexing but intriguing blend of ingredients.

I took some time to soak in Jolie’s ambiance and decompress. After another drink, I headed back to my hotel for the night.

The following morning, I took advantage of the free breakfast (something I made sure to do every morning during my stay) and finally mustered up the courage to take a New Orleans streetcar. Since I was only about a mile from the Ritz, Ubering didn’t make much sense.

Credentialed registration was a breeze, though I wish the credentials were made of plastic instead of paper, as my sweat caused them to come off by the third day. Luckily, I still had my wristband.

I spent one full day at the Ritz, exploring the tasting rooms, live demonstrations, and activations on every floor and in every nook and cranny. The Bookstore & Bitters Market had just about every cocktailing book I already own or could wish for. I tried cocktails from brands like New Riff, Bulleit, Crown Royal, Bardstown Bourbon Company, Cristalino, and a few others.

A popular rule of thumb is “See food, eat food,” and it’s a good one because you never know when the next opportunity to eat might come. So, whenever I saw food, I piled up a few plates to absorb all the delicious cocktails on-site.

In the media lounge, there was more food, plus a couple of cocktails from Don Q Tequila to try. They even took an Instax photo of me as a keepsake.

Rain was in the forecast (just about every day, honestly), so I decided to stay close to the Ritz but did venture over to Filthy Love at The Alibi for a tasting of cocktails from Old Smokey Moonshine before eventually returning to the hotel to rest up for the nighttime events.

Initially, I planned to pop into a White Claw event, but the line didn’t seem to be moving, and I didn’t feel like talking my way in. Instead, I walked to Generations Hall for a party presented by Espolon Tequila, celebrating their 25th anniversary. Despite another line, I asked if there was a media entrance, and they quickly accommodated me. The experience was quite different from my last visit there.

Inside, I enjoyed several cocktails, including one that seemed to glow in the dark, along with some much-needed bites of Mexican food (remember: see food, eat food). In addition to a DJ spinning tunes, a mariachi band appeared, and a towering cake adorned with bottles of Espolon Tequila was presented. I had one more event I wanted to attend that night, so I left and caught an Uber to the Orpheum Theater for La Bombonera presented by William Grant & Sons.

I knew I was on the media list for this event, so getting in was no problem. My first drink in the lobby was called “Give Me Two Margaritas” (IYKYK). In hindsight, the lobby was the calm before the storm because once inside the theater, chaos ensued.

Disco balls twirled, confetti flew, faceless living photobooths, life-size martini glasses (with cucumber!), mythical creatures, and even s’mores by the campfire filled the space. The drinks from Hendricks Gin were my favorite of the night. I heard there was even more happening downstairs, but I never made it there. I did take a quick trip upstairs to check out the Tullamore D.E.W. room, which had a separate DJ and more drinks. After moseying around for a bit, I grabbed a couple of waters for the road before turning in for the night.

I was still hungry, so I ordered some wings and loaded fries via Uber Eats.

The next day, I hopped on the streetcar to Canal Street and made my way to the Royal Sonesta for a National Tequila Day celebration presented by Patron. My first stop was SuperBueno for a spicy cucumber cocktail (I saw others with shrimp, but they must have run out by the time I got there). To the side, a bar was making frozen drinks in miniature Patron bottles, and inside, there was a band and another bar making Fluffy Palomas.

Just a few doors down, NYC’s Double Chicken Please had a unique activation celebrating bartenders who are also photographers. The event featured yellow light that desaturated all the images, making them appear black & white. Only with the aid of a flashlight could eventgoers see the actual colors (or lack thereof) in the photographs. Of course, there were some cocktails crafted by DCP’s GN Chan to complement the journey—very cool.

I saw that the OG Josh Davis, aka Mr. Mixologist, was participating in an event at Hide/Seek, alongside popular bartenders like Shauna O’Neil and Toray Henry. I got there before the rush, so I quickly sampled all the drinks and had a few heavy bites (see food, eat food). I devoured so many miniature lamb chops (at least eight, probably more) and the BBQ wings were just what I needed at the moment. I enjoyed the Rye & Seek cocktail, made with Bulleit Rye, raspberry liqueur, orgeat, bitters, lemon juice, and some fruit.

The DJ was playing a little bit of everything, and I almost got put out when he played “Thuggish Ruggish Bone.” A few more familiar faces began to pop into the venue, including Andre Sykes from Detroit, whom I met in Cleveland just a month ago at Society Lounge for a Juneteenth popup.

The weather had been dodgy all week, but it seemed like I might finally make it to at least one pool party this year. I caught an Uber to the Milagro party at one of my favorite rooftops in New Orleans, The Pool Club at Virgin Hotels. Things were going great until the sunny skies turned gray, and a torrential downpour lasted about 20 minutes. Some braver and freer souls embraced the rain and danced in it—not me, though.

Afterward, I ended up at Republic NOLA for Fords Gin’s Industry Night event, which featured some of hip-hop’s greatest on the 1s and 2s, including Jarobi from the recently-inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame A Tribe Called Quest and Just Blaze, who spun vinyl-only all night. Bites were provided by Turkey & The Wolf, and cocktails were crafted by SuperBueno, Thunderbolt, Equal Measure, and Dante’s HiFi, among others. Right after I got both a Billie Jean and Purple Rain from Dante’s, Shammai and Kip from SuperBueno started pouring drinks into people’s mouths. Someone bumped into me as I attempted to carry two drinks in one hand and take photos with my other—but I got the shot.

I soon left that event and walked over to The Chicory—a building I didn’t realize I’d been to before until I arrived there—for the Remy Martin 300th birthday celebration. I made it in early enough to grab a quick drink before everyone was ushered upstairs to the rooftop…for something. That something turned out to be a lengthy drone show in the sky (a first for me) with various animations set to music—pretty cool.

Afterward, I went back downstairs and partook in more of the party. Later, I heard murmurs of a special guest back on the rooftop, but I was kinda spent by that point. As I sat for a bit and scrolled on IG, I saw that the guest was none other than Juvenile, Mr. 400 Degreez himself. I’m still kinda kicking myself for missing that, just as I was when I headed back to my hotel for the night.

I started the next day with another scrumptious hotel breakfast before making my way to Moet Hennessy’s La Maison event, which explored the company’s history through various eras dating back to the 1800s. There were performances, including a band and a performer who walked on Moet bottles. She did not appreciate my flashing her while she tried to balance—I apologized afterward. Also in the activation was a ’60s-style record show and even a Sno-Ball stand. A DJ welcomed everyone into the newest era, and bartenders from Shinjis Bar mixed up some cocktails.

I left just in time to catch the second line making its way to Colada Club at Manolito. This was probably the hottest day during my stay, but I joined the line with everyone else, and we eventually made it. I bumped into my old buddy Alan Ruesga, whom I met at a Tequila Cazadores event in Cleveland just over a month ago. I had a couple of piña coladas in the courtyard, but I was definitely overheating. I decided to take a break and get a full meal before heading back to get ready for the evening events.

I went to Peche, one of my favorite seafood spots in New Orleans, and had some Gulf shrimp, a half dozen oysters, some potatoes, and, of course, a cocktail.

The walk from my hotel to the Contemporary Arts Center was literally less than five minutes. That was the venue for Diageo Goes West. As you might guess, the theme was country western—there was even a mechanical bull that I watched many people fall off in a variety of ways. One of the first cocktails I had contained a piece of pork rib in it. I thought there would be more food, but that was the last thing I ate there. The Diageo portfolio is quite large and includes brands like Crown Royal, Tanqueray, Johnnie Walker, Bulleit, Smirnoff, and Don Julio, just to name a few. A DJ decked out in cowboy gear and a mini-burlesque show in-between sets kept the energy high. There was also a performance by Kashus Culpepper to kick the country vibes up another notch.

As the party started to thin out, I had to decide whether to walk to one last event for the night or go back to my room. I ended up walking down to Generations Hall for Casa Lumbre’s House of Fire party. When I walked in, a Mexican brass band was playing, though I didn’t catch their name—the music was very good and danceable. I was thrilled to discover food from Maizajo, including tacos de brisket and esquites. One of my favorite drinks from the event was Cool Like That, crafted by Erika Flowers. It featured The Community Spirit vodka, chareau, cucumber and lemongrass syrup, and Topo Chico—very refreshing. After a few more drinks, I walked back to my hotel and called it a night.

Friday was my last full day in New Orleans, and I intended to go to Sorel’s All Black Everything or Bon Vivants’ Pig & Punch. Ultimately, ABE was canceled, but instead of going to P&P, I decided to explore the area on my own. The forecast called for rain (again), so I wanted to stay near the hotel. When I finally made it outside, I went to SeaWorthy—another personal favorite from previous trips to New Orleans. I had a dozen oysters, pork belly, and Brussels sprouts. While I was there, the rain started coming down, but I was determined to finally make it to the Wine Institute of New Orleans (W.I.N.O.) because my previous two attempts had failed. I trekked through moderate rain showers, taking shelter along the sides of buildings when necessary, but I’m pleased to say that I finally made it. I sampled about six different red wines and had some air fryer fries. There’s a venue similar to W.I.N.O. in Cleveland, but they don’t have nearly as many bottles on tap.

When the rain subsided, I returned to my hotel to unwind (dry off) and prepare for my early morning flight back to Cleveland. I ordered some fried fish and shrimp via Uber Eats and turned in for the night.

As that old Shalamar song comes to a close, the lyrics go:

“The second time around
I’m gonna keep you mine, the second time, baby
The second time around
I’ll know what to do, just as long as I’m with you…”

Overall, I’d say my second trip to Tales of the Cocktail was a success. I had more time to pick and choose my adventures, made new connections within the industry, and reconnected with a few others. I’m always willing to listen, learn, and try new things. I’ve yet to attend the Spirited Awards, so perhaps that’s something to put on the agenda for 2025 and beyond.