World’s Premier Cocktail Festival

Posted on 16. Jul, 2012 by Howard Salus in Dining, Education, featured, Florida News

TALES OF THE COCKTAIL FEATURES  “MIDNIGHT MOON” “CATDADDY SPICED MOONSHINE” and FAB RECIPES

Nancy Powell Radlauer ( PowellReviews@aol.com)

Tales of the Cocktail® is the world’s premier cocktail festival, bringing together the most respected minds on mixology for five days of cocktails, cuisine and culture. Held annually in New Orleans, this international event has something for cocktail professionals and enthusiasts alike with a spirited schedule of seminars, dinners, competitions and tasting rooms where brands showcase their latest products. Tales of the Cocktail® returns in 2012 for a historic milestone—its 10th Anniversary of rocking the cocktail world. Join the celebration July 25-29, 2012 and see how Tales of the Cocktail® only gets better with age. www.talesofthecocktail.com

Piedmont Distillers, a craft distillery in the little town of Madison, NC, is considered a leader of the current moonshine and artisan distilling movement. Its reputation is one of creating authentic, superior quality, handcrafted spirits. Piedmont Distillers’ spirits are handcrafted in small batches, distilled from corn and triple-distilled. Piedmont Distillers is committed to preserving the moonshining legacy and distilling traditions that have made North Carolina the “Moonshine Capital of the World.” Coupling these traditions with one-of-a-kind recipes and a state-of-the-art distillation process has enabled Piedmont Distillers’ spirits to transcend moonshine from the backwoods, to be amongst the finest spirits available anywhere. For more information, please visit www.piedmontdistillers.com.

Junior Johnson is a legendary moonshiner from North Carolina, who brought his family recipe to Piedmont Distillers in 2007. The Johnson family’s moonshine is considered to be the best. Junior grew-up tending to the family’s stills during the day and bootlegging ‘shine at night. Johnson’s incredible driving skills enabled him to stay two steps ahead of the revenuers. While never caught delivering his moonshine, Johnson was eventually arrested while firing up the family still. He served 11 months of a two-year sentence and then later received a presidential pardon from Ronald Reagan for his 1956 moonshining conviction. Junior used the racing and car building knowledge he acquired while bootlegging to become one of the most successful drivers and owners in racing history, culminating with his induction into the 2010 inaugural class of the NASCAR Hall of Fame. Johnson was the subject of Tom Wolfe’s famous essay for Esquire magazine in 1965 titled, “The Last American Hero is Junior Johnson. Yes!”

Junior Johnson’s legendary North Carolina moonshine Midnight Moon and Catdaddy Spiced Moonshine will roll into New Orleans on July 25 – 29, 2012, to celebrate its fifth year at the Tales of the Cocktail®, the world’s premier cocktail festival. From an exclusive five course meal with specialty cocktails to celebratory tasting rooms, Midnight Moon and Catdaddy Spiced Moonshine will the featured spirit that mixologists and enthusiasts won’t want to miss. “This festival is the culmination of the best the world has to offer in mixology and spirits. This is the place to be to mix with spirits enthusiasts, experts and influencers from around the globe.” said Sarah LeRoy, vice president of marketing for Piedmont Distillers, Inc., the makers of Midnight Moon and Catdaddy Spiced Moonshine.

Thursday, July 26, 8:00 p.m.: Midnight Moon Fruit Inclusions will be featured in five unique cocktails created just for this exclusive SOLD OUT “Barbeque Coast-to-Coast” Spirited Dinner Series event at Boucherie. Join Chef Nathanial Zimet, of the acclaimed Boucherie and Midnight Moon handmade moonshine, as we take a delicious tour of the country’s preeminent BBQ regions: North Carolina, Kansas City and Texas. Chef Nathanial will interpret the various techniques that make North Carolina, Kansas City and Texas BBQ legendary. Mixologists from each region will craft a cocktail pairing featuring one of the Midnight Moon varieties (Original, Apple Pie, Cherry, Strawberry, Blueberry or Cranberry) and each mixologist will be at the dinner to prepare their cocktail and speak to the guests. The attendees will receive a special Midnight Moon scrapbook featuring the cocktails from the evening and a history of moonshine. All six varieties of Midnight Moon will be available for straight tastings.

Friday, July 27: Catdaddy Spiced Moonshine and its Southern 75 cocktail will be featured during the “Dame Hall of Fame” Spirited Luncheon at 12:30 p.m. at the Omni Royal Hotel. Joy Richard from The Citizen, Boston, will be our mixologist. Tales of the Cocktail® and Ladies United for the Preservation of Endangered Cocktails (LUPEC) are coming together to honor today’s most influential female mixologists and honor the first class of inductees into the Dame Hall of Fame during the luncheon and tasting event.

Friday, July 27:, A new flavor t hat will be unveiled for the first time and served at the “Meet the Craft Distillers” tasting event at

 Hotel Monteleone from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. Come meet 24 of the world’s top craft distillers as they sample their handiwork and discuss the artisan and sometimes old-fashioned techniques that make their spirits much bigger than the number of barrels they produce.

Saturday, July 28: Catdaddy’s “Christmas in July” Tasting Room, Hotel Monteleone from 10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. to sample Catdaddy’s spicy-meets-sweet flavor of the holidays in our so tacky it’s hip tasting room. We will deck the halls of Bonnet Carre and transform a summer day in New Orleans into a spirited Christmas party. Three Catdaddy Spiced Moonshine cocktails will be featured, as well as moonshine-infused holiday breakfast sweets.

Midnight Moon fruit inclusions are available in delectable flavors like Apple Pie, Cherry, Strawberry, Blueberry and Cranberry. Midnight Moon follows the Johnson family’s generations-old, small batch recipe that is triple distilled to craft a smooth, clean-tasting spirit and authentically infused in Mason jars with whole pieces of gourmet fruit. Although people perceive notes or hints of cinnamon, vanilla and nutmeg, only the Founder and Master Distiller know the exact recipe of Catdaddy Spiced Moonshine. Catdaddy’s all natural ingredients are blended with a handcrafted spirit that is made from corn in small batches and triple-distilled to achieve an ultra-smooth finish and it is the only spiced moonshine on the market.

  TALES OF THE COCKTAIL 2012 SPECIALTY COCKTAIL RECIPES

Picnic (Created by James Denio, of Boucherie New Orleans)

2 oz Midnight Moon Strawberry Moonshine

1 oz Amestoi, Getariako, Txakolina (semi-effervescent white wine)

.2 oz fresh squeezed lemon & lime juice (equal parts, cut with equal amounts of water)

Watermelon Granita (one watermelon, small and ripe)

Remove seeds from watermelon & puree until liquid. If necessary, add a small amount of fresh lemon & lime to get the watermelon to near water-like consistency (a small amount of foam is normal.) Freeze watermelon juice in an ice tray. Add ice, Midnight Moon Strawberry, lemon & lime juice to a mixing glass. Shake vigorously. Add white wine. Crush 1-2 watermelon ice cubes with the concave side of a heavy spoon. Add crushed watermelon granite to the drink & serve.

Bluegrass Moon  (Created by Joel Finsel of Manna in Wilmington, NC)

1.5 oz Midnight Moon Blueberry Moonshine

4-6 fresh blueberries

0.5 shredded stalk of lemon grass

2 springs fresh mint leaves

1 oz honey syrup

2 oz unsweetened green tea

Muddle blueberries, mint leaves & shredded lemon grass in a mixing glass with honey syrup. Once extracted, add Midnight Moon Blueberry, tea, & ice. Shake 15-20 seconds & strain over fresh ice or in a coup. Garnish with fresh blueberries & mint.

Splitdog Fizz  (Created by Alberto Sanatoria of Extra Virgin in Kansas City, MO)

1.5 oz Midnight Moon Strawberry Moonshine

.5 oz simple syrup

.75 oz fresh lemon juice 5 dashes of Kansas City smoked bitters

Shake & strain over ice. Top with Boulevard Wheat (Kansas City craft beer). Garnish with a mint sprig & a strawberry.

Libacious Lunation (Created by Sly Cosmopoulos, Corporate Mixologist National Accounts, RNDC)

1.5 oz Midnight Moon Cranberry Moonshine

1 oz Apricot Brandy

1.5 oz Fresh Squeezed Texas Ruby Red Grapefruit Juice

.5 oz Almond Syrup

3 Dashes Fee Brothers Peach Bitters

1 Piece Apricot

3 oz Shiner Bock Beer Muddle all ingredients, except beer.

Shake over ice. Top off with beer. Roll then strain into champagne glass. Garnish with cranberries & grapefruit twist.

Dame Hall of Fame Catdaddy Spiced Moonshine  Southern 75 (Created by Piedmont Distillers)

1 1⁄2 oz Catdaddy Spiced Moonshine

1⁄2 oz lemon juice

1⁄2 oz simple syrup

1 oz Champagne Shake over ice, except the champagne.

Strain over fresh ice or serve up, top with Champagne. Garnish with a lemon twist.

Catdaddy’s Christmas in July (Created by Michael Glassberg of Domenica, New Orleans)

Bayou Moon

1 1⁄2 oz Catdaddy Spiced Moonshine

2 oz apple cider 1⁄2 oz Steen’s Molasses

1⁄4 oz Gran Gala

1⁄4 oz Bonded Applejack

Combine all ingredients. Serve warm with a sprinkle of cinnamon.

Liza’s Eggnog   (Created by Jay Early, Zely & Ritz, Raleigh, NC)

1⁄2 cup sugar

6 eggs (separated)

1 cup Catdaddy Spiced Moonshine

1 cup milk 1/4 tsp salt

1 cup whipping cream

Gradually add sugar to 6 egg yolks, beating until thick. Beat in milk & Catdaddy. Chill. Add salt to 6 egg whites, beating until soft peaks form. Whip cream until stiff. Fold egg whites & whipped cream into 2 cups of yolk mixture. Chill 1 hour. Makes 45 oz.

Tags: food, sustainability