Tales of the Cocktail is an international cocktail conference in which the best and brightest of the beverage industry across about 50 countries duke it out in New Orleans, Louisiana, to determine who makes the best drink in the world. Along with an award ceremony, there are also hundreds of tasting rooms and seminars throughout the week where cocktail enthusiasts, mixologists, spirits producers, and more can learn, network, and build friendships that can last a lifetime.
This year, I was nominated for a Spirited Award in the writing/journalism category, so I got to attend numerous tastings and private events. I’ll be pulling back the curtain and showing all of my favorite cocktails from this drinking marathon, and highlighting the bartenders who brought the magic to life.
White Elephant Punch
Initially, I wanted to attend a seminar about aromas and cocktails, but I got there too late to be seated. In wandering the main level, I came across a collaborative activation by Pinterest and Punch Room. Not only did I connect with other ESSENCE lovers there, but I also got to try some of their White Elephant Punch. Think tropical flavors with pineapple, mango, and ginger tea with warming spirits like bourbon and reposado tequila.
6 AM Yoga Cocktail
Starting off your morning with champagne and bourbon is a bold choice, so I decided to slow it down. Tales is a marathon, not a race, and too many people don’t find their groove early on and end up blacked out on Bourbon Street on day three. To catch my breath, I stopped by the Lyre’s tasting room for some of their non-alcoholic beverages. As a tea lover, their 6 AM Yoga cocktail called to me. It had green tea, cucumber, honeydew melon, guava mint, and two Lyre’s alcohol-free spirits: White Cane Spirit and Classico Sparkling. Definitely a bright spot in my morning.
An Original Cosmopolitan
After getting some lunch and catching up with old friends, I attended a private event hosted by Absolut Vodka. This event was about six hours (I know, but it was worth it!). We met the inventor of the Cosmopolitan, talked about how this popular brand is leading the way in spirit-focused sustainability, and then ended the night with dinner. My group was very intimate (about nine attendees total), so we were all friends by the end. The cocktail highlights were 1. Getting served a Cosmo by its creator, Toby Cecchini, and 2. Celebrating the end of our first night of Tales with espresso martinis!
Tepache Sazon
I took it significantly easier on Tuesday by having a late breakfast and then catching a seminar with one of my personal favorite brands, Tepache Sazon. This Mexican beverage is like a pineapple cider with a kick. Mexican-owned and community-focused, this small but mighty brand is doing inspiring work in its home base of San Pancho, Mexico. It’s low ABV (7%), bright, and definitely binge-able. If you’re trying to move away from beer or standard ciders, give this a try!
A CBD Cocktail
Before my multiple dinner plans, I hopped into a seminar about the future of cannabis cocktails called Futures Lab. As a loud and proud advocate for legalization in the USA, I wanted to see what this conversation was about. The cocktail was solid (definitely herbal, likely with some CBD in there) but the seminar only had time to scratch the surface of this complex industry. Hopefully next time there can (and should) be a conversation about the necessity of Black and brown voices taking leadership and getting justice in this multi-billion-dollar industry.
Huriya Lemonade
At the Likeminded Spirits Event, the seminar was a conversation with Black, brown, and Indigenous people about the realities of racism and anti-indigeneity within the spirits industry, from bartenders to producers and everyone in between. Ashley Eldefri, a first-generation Egyptian-Colombian American, made a cocktail for the seminar called “Huriya Lemonade.” This drink had mint, za’atar, orange liquor, vodka, honey syrup, and watermelon. This cocktail was both an homage to their Egpytian roots (Egpyt was the birthplace of lemonade) and a declaration of Palestinian solidarity (with za’atar originating from Palestine and watermelon now an international symbol for Palestinian solidarity)…plus it was refreshing and delicious.
The Next Episode
After lunch, I hopped over to the Copper Vine Hotel, which was hosting a private event for Woodford Reserve, a small batch of bourbon made in Woodford County, Kentucky. This event offered five spins on bourbon cocktails with world-renowned bartenders individually making drinks that feature vanilla, eucalyptus, fig leaf, pineapple, and other ingredients that bring this spirit to life. There also happened to be an icon (and dear friend of mine) in attendance named Tiffanie Barriere who made a cocktail called “The Next Episode.” With cherry liquor, cinnamon syrup, angostura bitters, bourbon, and more, it tasted like everything we love about fall but with the lightness of sitting on the porch in the summertime.
B612, For Consuelo
I’m not going to lie; I took a 20-minute nap that turned into a 3-hour sleep after the Woodford event and woke up just in time to go to the industry hour for Fords Gin at Republic NOLA, a popular club in town. Out of all the cocktails I tried at the Fords Gin Private Tasting, my favorites were made by the bartenders at Library by the Sea, a bar located in the Cayman Islands. All of their cocktails were based off of children’s stories like Peter Rabbit and Le Petit Prince. My top contender was their B612, For Consuelo, dedicated to Le Petit Prince, which had gin, rose water, hibiscus, goat kefir, and a few other ingredients. Fives across the board.
The Vida Buena
After living in Mexico, I’ve fallen in love with agave spirits so I had to hop into the Mijenta Tequila pop-up at the Four Seasons for the Spirited Awards Ceremony. This poolside activation included two of my favorite things (tequila and tea) in one cocktail. The Vida Buena, which had tequila reposado, green tea, honey, ginger, and lemon, felt like the tea I grew up on but with a hint of tequila (which automatically makes it better). While I was there, I also got to meet Juan Coronado, one of the founders of Tres Tribus Mezcal and a legend in the world of craft cocktails. I didn’t get to try any of his cocktails, unfortunately, but I did get a sip of his mezcal! As someone who was nominated for my mezcal writing, I would recommend his product.
New Money
With all of the Tales activities wrapped up until 2025, a friend and I decided to celebrate innovative people of color in the spirits industry in another way: we went to Saffron NOLA. While, technically, not associated with Tales of the Cocktail this year, this bar and restaurant makes Creole-Indian fusion dishes and cocktails that deserve to be on everyone’s radar. My personal favorite was their New Money, complete with reposado tequila, a South Asian tincture, ginger, yogurt, and clarified lime; I’ve never had a cocktail like it before and will be thinking about it until I return.
