Bar Scrawl

Another Manhattan Cocktail Classic event was The History and Evolution of Sherry in Cocktails, a lecture and tasting hosted by The Beagle.

Wine expert Peter Liem (center) walked us through the different types of sherry, from Fino (light and dry) to Pedro Ximenez (heavy and sweet), and we tried samples of four varieties.

Then Beagle co-owner Dan Greenbaum (above, left) walked us through a history of sherry in cocktails, as embodied in four drinks:

(Tom’s the head bartender)

Seminars like this are the reason I go to the Cocktail Classic – it’s interesting, you learn a lot, you try some great-tasting drinks, and you can get seriously sloshed. Is there anything better?

Also, the guys at The Beagle are full-time sherry fiends – the bar has one of the biggest sherry lists in the city. If you want to try some, stop by. Also, Dipsology.com has a preview write-up of this event that goes into a little more detail.

Other talks included “The Science of Mixology,” “To Have and Have Another: A Hemingway Cocktail Seminar,” and “The Importance of Traceability in Spirits.” It’s as focused and geeky as a comics convention, but everyone’s talking about liquor instead of Spider-Man.

The Manhattan Cocktail Classic took over the Andaz Hotel for the “Industry Invitational” – for bartenders, distillers, wholesalers… anyone involved in the beverage industry.

For these people, there were lectures, workshops, and networking opportunities. But before you got to any of that, there was the walk-around tasting room, where about 20 liquor brands set up tables and gave away free samples and cocktails.

1) Geiger Glogg Liqueur;  2) Pig’s Nose Whisky & Edinburgh Gin;  3) Comb Spirits;  4) Orleans Apertifs;  5) Amaro Montenegro;  and 6) Quadry Apertifs.

One of the tables I stopped at was offering samples of Diplomatico Rum.

If you can wrangle a pass to the Invitational, I strongly advise doing so.

I’ve undertaken a brutal, liver-expanding regimen of whiskey consumption!

I’ll be covering the Manhattan Cocktail Classic all weekend (except the Friday Gala, alas) and I’ll be drawing (at least one) comic about it every day! It lasts until Tuesday!