World’s Biggest Cocktail Festival, Tales of the Cocktail, Is Returning to New Orleans for 15th Year

Arguably the world’s biggest cocktail festival, Tales of the Cocktail will soon take over New Orleans for the 15th year on July 18-23. The six-day festival is filled with tasting and historical seminars, industry parties, cocktail competitions, bar tours, and much more.

On Tuesday, the festival starts with a market and pop-up shop featuring a collection of cocktail books, bitters, apparel, and bar tools. There will be a launch party and a cocktail tour of New Orleans, as well.

Barmini by Jose Andres will showcase a selection of cocktails at The Tasting Room, while a number of seminars from the “Bar Indepth” series brings in some of the world’s best bars. This includes Dandelyan (London), The Walker Inn (Los Angeles), Quinary (Hong Kong), The Clumsies (Athens), Mace (New York), and Peg & Patriot (London).

History and cocktail nerds can choose seminars to learn about the history of Jewish culture in the alcohol industry, or one on various historical fermented beverages (think Kvass, mead, kombucha, tepache, kefir, and amazake). Many seminars are also targeted to the industry, including intellectual property issues in the cocktail world, taking the leap from bartender to becoming brand ambassadors, and new business models for bars. The Tasting Room will hold multitudes of tastings throughout the festival—mezcal samplings, gin cocktail competitions, a morning coffee bar, a bitters tasting, and a cocktail party with a brass band and burlesque shows.

Ticket prices to individual events vary, and guests must purchase at least $150 worth of events and seminars to be admitted to the Tasting Room. For those with access, events at The Tasting Room are complimentary.

Stay in style during this cocktail week at the Henry Howard Hotel, a chic boutique hotel in the Garden District, housed in an 1867 mansion with Corinthian columns. The guest rooms at this converted mansion are decked out with contemporary art, designer toiletries, and flat-screen TVs, while some even boast private sitting rooms and balconies. Get that old-glamour vibe at Hotel Mazarin, a French-style boutique hotel just off of Bourbon Street. Despite the vintage style lobby and courtyard, the rooms are furnished with large flat-screen TVs and the ceramic tiled bathrooms that boast rain showerheads. The always-hip Ace Hotel at the up-and-coming Warehouse District offers access to the burgeoning food and cocktail scene (including their own bars, restaurants, and a Stumptown Coffee outpost) as well as the art galleries in the neighborhood.

Tales of the Cocktail will be July 18-23. Purchase tickets here.