Tales of the Cocktail 2015

Through banks of green moss, midst flowers and gently trickling streams, nestles the ideal place to pick tender shoots of mint…

Mint can actually be grown in most places on earth providing a common, year-round flavor that keeps drinks bright and fresh in an illuminatingly pleasant, offensive to no one, perfectly unisex way.

Mint is nothing new. Mint is found in almost every bar on the planet and in many cocktail recipes: the old and new; the robust and refined; the classic and the tiki.

But where is mint from? What was it used for before the Julep came along and what, really, is the best way to store it?

Charlotte Voisey, mixologist, spirits educator and host of The Proper Pour along with Peter Vestinos, The BarMedic, President of the USBG Chicago Chapter, and Beverage Director of The Betty, present a seminar riddled with refreshment.

Discover the route mint has taken from its mythological make up to its place as herb king of the cocktail.
Find out which of your favorite Amari, Vermouths and Liqueurs use mint as an ingredient
Taste what happens when an Old Fashioned blooms to life as a Mint Julep, enjoy the famous heir to the rarely referenced Rum Rickey and be convinced that even creamy drinks taste good when made with mint!
Learn how to grow your own mint or how to maximize the mint on your doorstep.
And see, touch and smell different varieties of mint presented in the context of cocktail applications.

Rarely does a cocktail not benefit from a copious amount of mint, spanked, bunched tight and thrust down into the ice soaring tall and plenty with intoxicatingly good aroma.
Come celebrate the lord of the leaves!