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By Debra C. Argen
2nd Annual Southern Comfort “Tales of the Cocktail”
Southern Comfort “Tales of the Cocktail”,www.talesofthecocktail.com, made its debut in September 2003 to celebrate New Orleans - the culture, dining and drinks that made it famous.
M.W. Heron first created Southern Comfort at McCauley’s Tavern in the French Quarter in 1874, and today the legacy lives on. LuxuryWeb participated in the 2nd Annual Southern Comfort “Tales of the Cocktail” in August 2004, to provide our readers with an inside view of what is new in the spirits world. Yes, it was a tough job, but one that we definitely relished, as we experienced Spirited Pairing Dinners, met celebrated authors and mixologists, attended seminars, and sampled a variety of cocktails on the VIP Southern Comfort Cocktail Tour at some of the famous and infamous dining and drinking establishments in the French Quarter.
 “Laissez les bons temps rouler” (Let the good times roll)! This multi-day celebration began with a Welcome Dinner at Muriel’s Jackson Square with a Spirited Pairing Menu with Southern Comfort as a main ingredient. The following day there were two excellent seminars, “What is an Idea Worth?” led by noted author, Robert Plotkin, Perry Luntz, Senior Editor at Beverage Media Group, author and Editor of Cheers magazine, Jack Robertiello, and “The Food & Wine Radio Network” talk show host, Jennifer English at the New Orleans Pharmacy M useum, and “Cocktail Clinic” led by pre-eminent mixologist and author Dale DeGroff, with mixologist Audrey Saunders, “the Libation Goddess” of the celebrated Bemelmans Bar at The Carlyle hotel in New York, and Chris McMillan, Manager of The Library Lounge at the Ritz-Carlton New Orleans. (You can read about the seminars in our Spirits World section.) Adventures continued with Cocktail Hour at the Hotel Monteleone where guests and authors had the opportunity for a meet and greet, as well as sample cocktails created by the authors, and “taste a bit of New Orleans” as chefs and restaurants presented their creations using Southern Comfort, of course. Participating authors included Alexandra and Eliot Angle, Ted Breaux, Bev Church, Thomas Connors, Dale DeGroff, John DeMers, Katherine Fausset and Rebecca Gerstung, Mittie Helmich, Ron and Sharon Tyler Herbst, Robert Markel, Kerri McCaffety, Anastasia Miller and Jared Brown, Robert Plotkin, Rollin Riggs, Diana Seay, Jessica Strand, Stephen Viskay, James Waller, and David Wondrich, who explained their cocktails and signed purchased copies of their books. Although all of the books were well presented, I was especially impressed  with Dale DeGroff’s book “The Craft of the Cocktail”, a wonderful coffee table book as well as a guide to making drinks and their history, and James Waller’s book, “Drinkology: The Art and Science of the Cocktail”, an excellent reference, since in addition to recipes and amusing anecdotes about each drink, it also has a picture next to each drink suggesting the type of glassware to use, making it the ultimate guide for beginners. The smaller size of this hardcover book also makes it advantageous for residential or commercial bar use.
Spirited Dinners were held at Antoine’s, Arnaud’s, Brennan’s, Broussard’s, Café Giovanni, French Quarter Bar Restaurant, Galatoire’s, Girod’s Bistro at Napoleon House, the Hunt Room at the Hotel Monteleone, Louis XVI Restaurant, Muriel’s Jackson Square, and Tujaque’s , unfortunately, they were all held on the same night, so LuxuryWeb staff had dinner at the Hunt Room, since in a previous article on the Hotel Monteleone, I stated that I wanted to have dinner at the Hunt Room the next time I was in New Orleans. The wait was definitely worth it! (Read about the Spirited Dinners in our Restaurant Notes section and recipes in Cooks Corner, and the Hotel Monteleone in Hotels & Resorts .) After the dinner, Edward Nesta and I had the great pleasure of being guests on Jennifer English’s radio show on “The Food & Wine Radio Network” WGCH 1490 , where we talked about, what else - Luxury!
Foodies were in heaven as we continued our culinary exploration with a Jazz Breakfast at the Court of the Two Sisters, followed by a Dine and Design Luncheon at Brennan’s withauthors Bev Church, Jessica Strand and Mittie Helmich who inspired guests with their creative ideas for entertaining. Our Spirits education continued with a presentation by Peychaud Bitters descendant Phil Greene on Peychaud Bitters at Tujaque’s , and ended with a grand finale, the VIP Southern Comfort Cocktail Tour led by Joe Gendusa of Gray Line Tours, who amused guests with New Orleans history and personal anecdotes interspersed with stops and drinks of course, at Napoleon House where author Kerri McCaffety was on hand, followed by Antoine’s the oldest restaurant in New Orleans and the second oldest restaurant in the United States (Delmonico’s in New York is the oldest) and saw but did not get to partake of its 165 foot wine cellar with 30,000 bottles. The restaurant has been in the same family since 1840, and is filled with antiques and Mardi gras memorabilia. We then made a stop at Gennifer Flower’s Kelsto Club , but unfortunately missed seeing Gennifer, and Tony Seville’s Pirate’s Alley Café and Absinthe House, before ending with a “Last Call” drink of the tour at Tujaque’s . LuxuryWeb is definitely looking forward to returning for the 3rd Annual Southern Comfort “Tales of the Cocktail” next year. For information on the Southern Comfort ”Tales of the Cocktail” , please visit www.talesofthecocktail.com.
Please read our in-depth articles on the 2nd Annual Southern Comfort “Tales of the Cocktail” as well as New Orleans, in Hotels & Resorts, Restaurants, Restaurant Notes, Cooks Corner, Events, Spirits World and World Music Review. For information on New Orleans, please visit www.neworleanscvb.com.
©September/October 2004. All rights reserved
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