This time of the year always makes me wonder who is still behind the stick? With summer’s three big bartender shows happening within a 3 week period, from the middle of June through the 3rd week of July, it makes me recall a roadside billboard I spotted at the California state line on a drive to Seattle from San Francisco during the dot com bust. “Will the last one to leave please turn out the light?”
Whether you are a baby bartender, a master mixologist, or a libation luminary, you either want to be, should be, or are headed to the Bar Show in NYC (June 14-15), Bar09 in London (June 23-24), or Tales of the Cocktail in New Orleans (July 8-12) – or, for the few who can pull off the hat trick — all three.
It seems to me this is the perfect time to make myself Dark & Stormy, head outside with a stack of trade publications and read-up on all the latest trends, innovations, new products and ideas while I await the return of the newly inspired and intrepid imbibers. That or pack! See you in New Orleans?