Paul's Spirited Travels- Recap of 2023 TOTC

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Sounds and Spirits: Tales of the Cocktail 2023 Recap

The French Quarter, New Orleans, the sights, the music, the food, drink, and culture make this one of the most unique locations in the United States, and for that reason, it is perhaps the most appropriate place in the United States for the annual Tales of the Cocktail conference. During July 24th through the 28th, 2023, members of the Global Spirits and Hospitality industry gathered for a week-long series of seminars and brand events. This was the second year the conference was held in person after holding two virtual conferences during the pandemic. 2022 was aptly themed “Progress” as the hospitality industry continued to work through the challenges created by the pandemic. For the 2023 conference, the Tales of the Cocktail foundation decided that the theme this year would be “Vitalize” which means “give strength and energy to.” As the post-pandemic recovery continues, this conference theme seemed completely in step with an industry that is continuing to rebuild, recover, and innovate in the changing environment in the world of hospitality.

When perusing the 2023 conference schedule, there was literally something for everyone in the industry, with topics covering diversity and inclusion, media training, business training, cocktail craftsmanship and bar techniques, and so much more.  The Tales of the Cocktail Spirit Competition featured blind tasting sessions with the finalist with a live audience. Of special note, this was the fifth year of the TOTC Beyond the Bar program, which has a particular focus on the health and sustainability of those who work in the global bar industry. The Beyond the Bar seminars this year remained focused on being relevant to the challenges of the hospitality community, and their programming during the week was well attended. In July of 2022, the Tales of the Cocktail foundation announced a partnership with the Singapore Tourism Board and during this year’s conference featured five bars from the island nation throughout the week in a dedicated space at the Ritz Carlton hotel.

In true Tales of the Cocktail tradition, the nights were filled with parties, spirited dinners, and lots of music. Music seemed to play a bigger part of the event this year and was kicked off Monday night with three different musical events: Sofi Tukker, equity partner of Novo Fogo Cachaça, performed at the Sazerac House; Ludacris performed at Mardi Gras World for the Jack Daniels event; and two different Hip Hop groups performed at the Jameson party at Central City BBQ. During the rest of the week, you never knew what the soundtrack would be for an event—country, flamenco, Hip Hop, New Orleans Jazz, R&B, Yacht Rock—performed live or a DJ set. It was always an additional level of immersion during an event. Don Q, of all the rum brands, was a particular standout, with three different events at different hotels around New Orleans throughout the week featuring the team from La Factoria with their high-quality cocktails.

As far as seminar programming this year, there was only one seminar that was devoted solely to the rum category, and that was “Out of Many... One Rum: How Jamaica Rum is taking on the World,” presented by Appleton Estate, led by Rum Ambassador Ian Burrell with panelists Christelle Harris of Hampden Estate, Alexander Kong of Worthy Park, Martha Miller of National Rums of Jamaica, Ltd., and Garnett Phillip Bar Owner, Rogers Garden. During the seminar, participants learned about the island’s current rum operations and were allowed to taste several expressions from its distilleries.  Noticeably absent was a representative from Appleton Estate, which was surprising since they were the sponsors of the seminar. Other seminars did have some rum related content but also involved other spirits, such as “Why Farmers and Distillers Should Be Friends,” which featured Olivia Stewart of Oxbow Rum Distillery, and “Creating a New Product: From Boosting Creativity to Market Reality,” which included panelists Angelique Julienne and Alexandre Gabriel of Maison Ferrand.

Outside of the seminars, every day of the conference there were rum-related events and portfolio showcases featuring over 40 rum brands from around the globe. Bacardi held its annual La Gran Familia at the Royal Sonesta Hotel over three days, Mount Gay held a swimming pool rum regatta relay event at the Hyatt Centric, and Kraken rum “attacked” the Creole Queen Thursday night. Tastings and brand events were also hosted by Angostura, Brugal, Captain Morgan, Chairman’s Reserve, Denizen, El Dorado, Equiano, Flor de Caña, Hampden Estate, Pa’lante, Phraya, Rhum Clement, Rhum Depaz, Rhum JM, Ron Colon, Tanduay, and Worthy Park. Wednesday was overwhelming, and due to time conflicts, it was impossible to attend every rum event that was going on. Of particular interest during the final event of the week on Friday, entitled “Meet the Distillers,” was a showcase of Louisianna made products, and among them quite a few new rum products were discovered from Bayou, Oxbow, Wildcat Brothers, and Sugarfield. This was a wonderful way to punctuate the week-long experience.

It is often commented that attending Tales of the Cocktail is not for the faint of heart and can be overwhelming to the uninitiated.  It is for the attendees who have an invested interest in some aspect of the industry from owner to journalist, where they need to dive deep and immerse themselves, so that they may learn, grow, and find new opportunities and skills to assist them with their careers. This year there was a clear focus on the things a bar could do to be successful, from the quality of ingredients to the time they use to make their cocktails.  One of the challenges all spirit/trade events face is addressing the turbulent times the hospitality industry continues to endure from health concerns to the economy. The Tales of the Cocktail Foundation managed to produce a well-balanced conference that takes these challenges head on in the hopes of helping find solutions when they can be found.

For those in the rum world, Tales of the Cocktail is an opportunity for connection, honest dialogue, and a hard look at the shifting marketplace as an intense battle for the back bar and store shelf is underway across all categories of the spirit. Listening to the representatives from different brands, regardless of the size of the portfolio, you heard the same concerns about the competition in the marketplace, the global economy, sustainability, evolving consumer tastes, and more rum education opportunities for the hospitality industry. It is the last point where the conference shines best, and the brands that chose to participate felt the time and investment were well worth the effort.