Several years ago we started hosting bartender send-off parties for the annual Tales of the Cocktail conference in New Orleans. Last year it morphed into a multi-city "tour" of Texas cocktail bars with Ann Tuennerman, the event's founder. When the Tipsies first attended Tales in 2007, there were very few attendees from Texas. By 2011, Texas represented one of the largest state delegations to the conference, which celebrates its 10th anniversary this year.

This year the Texas Tour also coincides with the 115th birthday of JM Legendre, the creator of Herbsaint, New Orleans's "native spirit" and an essential ingredient in the Sazerac and Herbsait Frappe. RSVP and join us at one of these events

The new semester of Tipsy Tech is about to begin, and we need your help to make it happen.

This semester, Tipsy Tech will accept up to three interns in various areas of specialization (described below) for San Antonio classes and three for Austin classes. Tipsy Tech interns are the support structure for the class, and are an indispensable part of its success.

Depending on the area of specialization, Interns will help produce the class; work on our many events throughout the semester; blog, tweet, document and write about the program and goings-on in the community. There can be overlap between internships, and one intern can adopt multiple areas of specialization. The internship program is flexible, and we are open to developing a structure with you that benefits all parties involved.

In exchange for your dedicated work, you will gain crucial experience working with some of the best talent in this industry, both locally and nationally. You will meet distillers, brand ambassadors, top-flight bartenders. You will see behind-the-scenes construction of bars before they open, and taste products before they even come to market. You will have access to and network with an amazing group of people.

The internship is part of the full introductory course schedule. Interns will complete the course (attend at least 10 of 12 classes, with prior notice of absence). The course fee ($295) is waived, but there is a $50 fee for materials.

Deadline for application submission is Sunday February 12.

For more information on the Tipsy Tech Internship Program, or to register your interest, please email Tex at info [at] tipsytexan.com with reasons why you are interested, a resume and supplementary materials if applicable.

(More info after the jump)

Continue reading "Tipsy Tech Apprentice Program--Accepting Spring Applications" »

For the last several years, I have made the prediction that the current year was going to be "the year of the cocktail" for Austin. I meant it each time, and the last several years have been awesome for our bar and restaurant community. We've watched the opening of several fabulous places, some of which (Congress, Haddingtons, Contigo, Franklin BBQ) have been garnering national media attention. We even closed out the final year of our Wine & Food festival with such a bang that we attracted the attention of Food & Wine Mag, who will now help run an Austin festival. Our humble USBG chapter has grown, we've hosted some notable dignitaries from the bar world (Tony Abou-Ganim, Tobin Ellis, and many more) and we are hosting our holiday party at Franklin BBQ--Not having to wait for Franklin BBQ is definitely a signifier that you have arrived.

Not to break with tradition, I'm going to announce my early excitement for 2012. I got news this am that our pal Jason Stevens is going to take over the bar at Bar Congress next month.

More on this following the jump...

Continue reading "A Few Preliminary Thoughts About 2012" »

This year's Official Drink of Austin Contest is gearing up to be the best one yet. Chef Josh Watkins and the crew of the Carillon / AT&T Executive Education & Conference Center have ponied up a significant sponsorship and are hosting us in their monumental ballroom. Just about every Texas distiller will be present. We have a cash prize of $1000 and Breed & Co has donated some fabulous crystal glasses and other gifts. It will be a cocktail event to remember.

We are pleased to announce that the following Austin bartenders have advanced to the final round and will compete live at the main event on Thursday December 8.

Josh Loving, Baby's First Punch, FINO Restaurant Patio & Bar
Jessica Sanders, Hippie Harvest, Drink.Well.
Marcelo Nascimento, Texas Cup #9, Lucky 13 Cocktail Co.
Houston Eaves, Smokin' Gypsy, Contigo
Justin Chamberlin, The Pinetop, Sagra

Alternate:
Madelyn Kay, Lie to Me, Peche

Tickets are still available at Edible Austin

In the mid-2000s, nobody seems to recall exactly when, Tito's Handmade Vodka formed a partnership with the Austin Convention & Visitors Bureau and created an event called the Official Drink of Austin Contest. ACVB is the primary cheerleader for the City of Austin in the national media market, and the Official Drink contest proved to be a popular marketing vehicle in their campaign to showcase Austin has an Eating & Drinking city (the recent announcement of a Food & Wine magazine-endorsed festival in Austin could be seen as the fruits of their labor). It was also a fabulous promotional event for Tito's, which at the time (and for about a decade) was the only distillery in Texas. Lastly, the event was an early showcase for what has become a vibrant creative cocktail scene in Austin.

Over the years, as the Texas distilling industry expanded, and as Austin's cocktail bartenders became more sophisticated, the city began to outgrow the original format of its Official Drink contest. I was a judge in the 2008 contest, and was eager to offer input (some would call it nagging, unsolicited opinion-giving) into the running of the event in subsequent years. Some suggestions were heeded, and the ACVB, especially Beth Krauss, was patient with me even when they needn't have been. In the winter of 2008, Tipsy Texan and Edible Austin started the Drink Local Cocktail Contest as a way to put a focus on the craft side of cocktails, the importance of fresh/local ingredients, and the diversity of spirits that had started to pop up in recent years.

This year the ACVB was not able to provide a budget for the event, and so they called me to ask if I was interested in running it. Obviously I was honored to be asked, and delighted to say "Yes." It occurred to me that we now had two cocktail events that in many ways overlapped each other, so we have merged them into one. I think the format of the old Drink Local contest is a good one, and we have consistently had some of the best talent in Austin and Texas compete in our event. Obviously the high profile and fun nature of the Official Drink contest has tremendous appeal. I think in merging the two events, we have created something that exceeds the sum of its parts: an Official Drink of Austin Contest that focuses on the craft of the cocktail, showcases the diverse talent in Texas distilling, and is open to all Austin bartenders--professional and amateur alike. I hope you'll agree--contest rules after the jump

The new Official Drink of Austin contest will be held on Drink Local Night, part of Edible Austin Magazine's Eat Drink Local Week

Continue reading "2011 Official Drink of Austin Contest is Here!" »

We are proud to announce fourth semester of Mixology 101 classes at Twin Liquors Marketplace at Hancock Center. Twelve weeks of classes where we discuss the history of spirits and cocktails, and perform tastings (within allowable regulatory guidelines). Classes are Tuesday nights from 6-8pm, and start 9/13. Registration fee ($275) covers course packet, instruction, and guarantees a seat in class. Space is limited so sign up at TipsyTech.net.

Classes are perfect for enthusiasts with all levels of interest or knowledge. Each semester we have had everyone from engineers to bank tellers to folks who just like to take a cooking class. You can take the entire course, which delivers the best value, or pick any single class or group of classes.

Last year's class won us an Austin Chronicle "Best of Austin" Award.

Tito Beveridge and Tony Abou-Ganim are figures of giant stature in the world of spirits and cocktails, and are familiar faces to many people in our industry. I think last night was the first time they shared the stage to tell their stories, which are more entwined than many people know.

Around the turn of the millennium, Tony was heading up the extensive bar program at the Bellagio in Las Vegas. At the time, the Bellagio was one of the most expensive, most talked-about entertainment properties ever built. Tony had challenged himself to apply the same fresh ingredient/classic technique approach to the Bellagio's bars in Vegas that Dale DeGroff practiced to much acclaim at the Rainbow Room in New York. Fresh juice was still a revolutionary concept in those days, and the Bellagio experiment proved to be a huge success for Tony.

Tony recalling the fateful phone conversation with Tito that led to their decade-long friendship

While flipping through Bob Emmons's book on gin & vodka, Tony saw a piece about a little-known distiller in Texas, making a handmade vodka called Tito's. He had tried the product and liked it, but when he called Tito himself to invite him to the Bellagio to do a staff training seminar on Vodka, Tito was initially hesitant. Until, of course, someone explained to him the importance of the Bellagio and of Tony, at which point they began to make arrangements for the proposed seminars.

The success of Tony's program has extended far beyond the Bellagio, as people like Bridget Albert have taken the good word and spread it far and wide. In that same regard, Tito's investment in relationship building with the Bellagio staff has paid a tremendous dividend, in that as those bartenders--and especially Tony Abou-Ganim--have established themselves in markets around the country, one of the things they have taken with them is Tito's Handmade Vodka. I live in Austin and started working in this industry around the same time Tito was launching his product. I have watched in real time as their grass roots approach to marketing has taken them from being an obscure local brand to being one of the most successful independent distilleries in the country.

I had the pleasure of spending time with Tony talking about Tito, the industry, life in general. He is definitely one of the most down-to-earth people I've ever met, in or out of this business. I was glad that in his presentation he made a point to talk about the importance of the customer, the experience, the interaction between bartender and guest. No matter who we are or what our particular proclivities are as a bartender, at the end of the day it is the guest who we serve, and if we lose sight of that then we have lost our purpose. Some other pearls of wisdom from TAG:

1. Make and ask for recommendations. Many customers do not know what they want to drink. Let them know what you like to make, what think might satisfy them. As a customer, ask for recommendations--let the server or bartender know that you want to try what they're excited about, what they think the establishment excels at.
2. Have fun. At the end of the day, that is why people go out. For camaraderie and relationships. Tony can make a better Negroni at home, but the reason to go have one at a bar is for the companionship of others.
3. Be happy. If you do not derive pleasure from this industry, maybe your calling is in another industry
4. Give back. Tony has created a charitable organization with USBG in honor of his cousin Helen David, whose Brass Rail bar in Port Huron was an early inspiration to him. Helen successfully battled two rounds of breast cancer and lived a fulfilling 91 years. The Helen David Bartender Relief Fund will support bartenders who are fighting breast cancer.

Thank you to Tito and Tony for sharing your inspiring stories.

Note: If you are in Houston tonight (8/30) or Dallas tomorrow night (8/31) I recommend that you do not miss this appearance!

We are less than 18 hours away from the benefit for Daniel Curtis, our industry friend who suffered a debilitating accident at the beginning of the summer.

Great food from some of the best chefs in town (David Bull, Shawn Cirkiel, Philip Speer, and of course Daniel's coworker and friend Josh Watkins). Music by the Derailers. Drinks from the Tipsy Texan volunteer corps. Raffle, Live Auction, and Silent Auction, all benefitting an incredible cause. 6:30-9 PM Wednesday at the AT&T Conference Center and Hotel on the UT campus

The response has been immense--over 300 tickets sold, great pouring of support from volunteers and sponsors. Word is Daniel himself will probably be able to make an appearance. I was looking through some old boxes in the office this week and came upon some pictures of myself and Daniel from the late 90s when we worked together at Katz's.

I definitely can't wear those pants anymore.

Daniel may actually be this skinny again, according to his rehab blog he's lost a lot of weight at the hospital. I wish I could bring him a Katz's reuben to fatten him up but the deli is RIP.

Please be sure to check out the benefit site, even if you can't attend, contributions of all sizes are welcome.

(Back where it all got started, me and Daniel at the klosing party for Katz's, where we met in 1999)

When I was in my early twenties and starting to get really fired up about the food & beverage industry, I had the good fortune of getting to work with a curious and energetic young man named Daniel Curtis. He was one of the first people I ever worked with who I thought loved the business as much as I did, and one of the only ones since. Daniel has gone on to have a great career in the industry, and is the assistant F&B Director at the AT&T Center & Carillon restaurant. Although we've never worked together since those early days, I have always had great affection and admiration for him. About a month ago Daniel suffered a life-changing accident, and although he is enthusiastically on the road to recovery, the rehabilitation process will be long and costly. Several of Daniel's coworkers and hospitality community friends are putting on a benefit at the Carillon at UT, where he works with chef Josh Watkins. Please consider purchasing a ticket for this event and coming out to support my friend Daniel, a wonderful human being who is in need of all of our help right now.

Event Details:
Wednesday, July 13 6:30-9:30pm
Grand Ballroom, AT&T Executive Education and Conference Center
1900 University Ave
Suggested donation $75
Click here for tickets/reservations

If you are interested in being a volunteer bartender or donating a silent auction item for this event please email me at Tex at this url.