Agavepalooza! Siembra Azul and David Suro at Tales of the Cocktail
Tales of the Cocktail, the internationally acclaimed festival of cocktails, cuisine and culture held its annual event in New Orleans, Louisiana from July 8 to July 12, 2009. The event brought together the best and brightest of the cocktail community-award-winning mixologists, authors, bartenders, chefs and designers-for a five-day celebration of the history and artistry of making drinks.
This year, for Tequila and Mezcal lovers, Tales of the Cocktail organized the Agavepalooza Seminar. Moderated by Steve Olsen, the panel was composed of entrepreneur David Suro, Mezcal producer Ron Cooper, professor Dr. Rodolfo Fernandez and mixologist Junior Merino. The much-anticipated event sold out quickly. Made up of an audience of bartenders and cocktails enthusiasts, half hour before the event began, the audience crowded in the hallway across from the Monteleone's pool area and waited. The event had eight types of liquors to sample and taste and preparation took slightly longer than anticipated. So out went Junior Merino's Alma Blanca Cocktail, made with Siembra Azul Tequila, which was a huge success among the group. Once the doors opened people rushed and took their seats. Those who didn't find a seat, stood in the back of the room, hoping to just catch the show.
The seminar covered multiple topics. Dr. Rodolfo Fernandez gave a brief history lesson about the origin of the "vino mescal" and it transformed into Mezcal and then Tequila. Ron Cooper recapped his original journey as a young adult with Mezcal, and how the experience, truly spiritual, led him to produce Del Maguey Single Village Mezcals. David Suro highlighted the differences between highlands and lowlands terroirs and explained how each terroir ultimately affects taste in tequila production. Finally Steve Olsen and Junior Merino guided the audience through the tasting of eight types of agave spirits during the 90-minute session. Which proved to be far too little time to expand on the subject. So the panel moved to the hallway, poolside and elevator doors and continued to teach about the agave elixirs.
All in all, most would say the event was a success, and they look forward to more agave seminars and elixirs in future Tales of the Cocktail events.
