Thirsty in NOLA: Tales of the Cocktail 2011

The last time I was in New Orleans, it was many years before Katrina, when my girlfriend and I stayed at her best friend’s house in the Garden District and we spent two weeks eating and drinking our way through the Big Easy. Now, after far too long a gap between visits, I’m heading back to New Orleans to join thousands of other attendees at the 2011 Tales of the Cocktail!

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May 12: Thirsty in LA 2-Year Blogiversary & World Cocktail Day Celebration at Caña

May 13th is World Cocktail Day, the culmination of World Cocktail Week and its celebration of the American Cocktail. The date coincides with the earliest uses of the term “Cocktail” in the May 1806 editions of the Balance & Columbian Repository. It also happens to be the day that Thirsty in LA went live in 2009. With that in mind, I’ll be celebrating my Two-Year Blogiversary with a party at Caña Rum Bar on Thursday, May 12th!

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March 31: Mixtape Mixology at Big Bar with Erick Castro

On Thursday, March 31st, Big Bar is spicing up its weekly Mixtape Mixology night with a bit of friendly LA-SF rivalry. Starting at 7pm, San Francisco’s Erick Castro will be mixing SF-inspired Plymouth Gin cocktails, while Big Bar’s Juan Sevilla and Dan Long will be holding it down for the home team.

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Oliver Jones Named Winner of the 2010 Jimmy Barela Award

Oliver Jones has been named the winner of the 2010 Jimmy Barela Award, which honors the legendary bartender who held court at Cole’s Red Car Bar for 65 years. Jones, who can be found behind the stick at Las Perlas and Tengu (Westwood), bested eleven other competitors in a cocktail showdown that took place at The Varnish on Repeal Day.

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Cocktails, Punch and the Art of Entertaining with LA Times Magazine

With the holidays just around the corner, a recent Saturday afternoon was the perfect time for The Art of Entertaining, a day of shopping, tastings and educational sessions focused on home entertaining. The inaugural event, presented by LA Times Magazine, was held at the Home of the Avenues, a showcase house exhibiting art, furniture, appliances…

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Sampling the New Fall Cocktail Menu at Dominick’s

Last week, while I was at a birthday bash for Bill Esparza (Street Gourmet LA), I sent a text to Caroline on Crack, who had made the short walk from Bill’s party at Petrossian West Hollywood to nearby Dominick’s to check out the new fall cocktail menu. Me: “How’s Dominick’s?” Caroline: “Lovely. They set me…

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