At the Contemporary Arts Center in New Orleans, Tales of The Cocktail 2024 continued on with The Diageo Portfolio Party. The theme of the night was Diageo Goes West. From 8 p.m. to midnight, guests were invited to wear their best Western outfits and come party with some of the biggest brand names in the cocktail making world.
Diageo is a British beverage company that specializes in alcoholic drink brands sold all around the world. The company currently has over 200 brands under their wing, including popular brands Smirnoff, Guinness, Captain Morgan, and Johnnie Walker, just to name a few.
Different brands and bartenders set up bars around the venue, each with a limited menu of specialty drinks. Guests were meant to feel like they were bar hopping in the wild west, stopping at different saloons, each with their own name. At the Dickel Bar, an Old Fashioned and a Rye Daiquiri were served. At the Pronghorn Bar, two cocktails named Perfect Daiquiri and Southern Belle were made with Ten To One White Rum and Greenwood Whiskey, respectively.
At the Mountain Lodge seven different specialty drinks were up for grabs. Three of the drinks were martinis including an espresso, London Dry Gin, and Tanqueray 10. A classic Dutch Mule with Ketel One Vodka and a Zacapa Signature Old Fashioned were next on the menu. There was also a margarita-like option of Mezcal Union Uno with hibiscus tea, lime juice, agave syrup, a salt rim, and a lime wheel garnish. The drink that sounded the yummiest was the Campfire Kicker, a mix of Marshmallow infused Ketel One Vodka, Baileys chocolate, Mr. Black Coffee Liqueur, and a graham cracker garnish.
In true wild west fashion, a mechanical bull was set up so guests could test their bull riding skills. If bull riding wasn’t quite their style, some partygoers made their way to play some pool, grab a photo next to a giant silver cowboy boot, or enjoy the DJ’d set. At 10 p.m. Country Folk musician Kashus Culpepper took over the stage, serenading all the cocktail lovers while they enjoyed their evening.
Over at the Saloon Bar, another seven hand-made drinks were being served up. The drinks included liquors like Bullet Rye, Don Julio Reposado, Captain Morgan White, and more. Different fruit and vegetable juices were added to give the drinks a hint of sweetness like beet juice and lemon juice. Many of the beverages were garnished with fruit peels, and some were topped with black lava salt rims or chili salt rims.
The Disco Cowgirl Bar was decked out in colored lights and offered four different fruity and fun cocktails. The Texas Punch was a pecan, lime, and mint flavored drink with Balcones Lineage and a pecan garnish. Next was the pineapple Pina Picante with Smirnoff Spicy Tamarind, simple syrup, club soda, and Tajin Rum. Young Soul was a citrus based cocktail created with Pierde Almas La Puritita Verdá and included lime juice, Yuzuri Liquor, agave syrup, club soda, a salt rim, and an orange peel garnish. The Sunset Margarita contained Astral Tequila Blanco, lime juice, agave syrup, watermelon juice, and a watermelon wedge garnish.
This event was the busiest one we’ve seen so far at Tales of the Cocktail, and it featured so many different brands that it was hard to keep track! As the night went on but the party kept going, we found out that the “saloons” had some great non-alcoholic options. What a great way to end our night out in New Orleans.
Words by Emily Cigan @emily.cigan and Amy Harris @thetraveladdictig