NEW ORLEANS —The Museum of the American Cocktail (MOTAC) presents “King Cocktail in Story and Song: Dale DeGroff in Conversation with Philip Dobard," the debut edition of Touring the Cocktail: MOTAC New Orleans.
The presentation will take place Thursday, Feb. 5, 2015, at 6:30 p.m. in the Rouse’s Culinary Innovation Center by Jenn-Air inside the Southern Food and Beverage Museum, 1504 Oretha C. Haley Blvd.
Dale DeGroff is a central figure in the craft cocktail revolution of the last 25 years and joins the Crescent City launch of "Touring the Cocktail," a monthly series of cocktail and spirits seminars, and the rededication of The Museum of the American Cocktail's New Orleans collection. Dale will talk about how he became "King Cocktail," how he went from LA's Hotel Bel-Air to New York's Rainbow Room, why he and a group of like-minded craft cocktail pioneers established MOTAC and colorful tales of events along the way.
DeGroff has been credited with reinventing the bartending profession, setting off a cocktail revival that continues to flourish. Winner of the James Beard Award for Wine & Spirits and author of The Essential Cocktail and The Craft of the Cocktail (Random House), DeGroff's enormous influence in the bar world has spanned three decades. He is also a partner in the award-winning bar training program, Beverage Alcohol Resource (BAR), and founding president of The Museum of the American Cocktail. Saloon singing and storytelling is another passion of Dale's. His popular presentation, “ON THE TOWN: Bars, Speaks, & Legendary Saloons,” has been performed in over two dozen cities around the world.
DeGroff and Dobard will perform classic standards live at the MOTAC event and attendees will be able to sip signature cocktails prepared from recipes by several MOTAC founders. Admission includes a selection of gourmet appetizers, courtesy of Restaurant Purloo and Executive Chef Ryan Hughes.
The seminar will be followed by a ceremony and revelry celebrating the rededication of MOTAC's New Orleans collection, housed within the Southern Food & Beverage Museum. The Museum of the American Cocktail New Orleans will be open to the public and included with regular SoFAB admission beginning Feb. 6, 2015.
