Manhattan Cocktail Classic May 15th - 18th

Photo courtesy of Wagner Campelo on Flickr

For those who have a true appreciation for art of cocktailing and mixology, the Manhattan Cocktail Classic on May 15th - 18th is the first ever multi-day event celebrating the history, contemporary culture, and artful craft of the cocktail. It opens with a big gala at the New York Public Library on May 14th. Play hooky from work, to participate in a cornicopia of event ranging from workshops, tastings, historical lectures, and even a booze cruise featuring the city’s greatest bars, bartenders and restaurants.

Ticket range from $50 - $100. Many of the events are already sold out. Here are my top 3 picks in order of preference:

 1. Latin Spirits Bus Tour, Sun 5/16, 2pm @ The Randolph- Take a ride through NYC on a double decker bus, making frequent stops at the hottest venues to sample each destination’s own Gran Sierpe Pisco and Cuca Fresca cocktails

 2. Into the Mystic: A Tasting of the Rare, Forthcoming & Experimental, Mon 5/17, 1:30pm at WD 50 - Wylie Dufresne has a penchant for weird but delicious conconctions, cocktails not excluded. Taste old school quinquinas, rare and bending Scotch whiskey, maybe an exquisite hibiscus, wine of the royalty, authentic British Royal Navy and other extraordinary rums.

3. Stories from Behind the Bar at Employees Only, Sun 5/16 2pm - Dushan Zaric and Jason Kosmas (Co-owners and Principal Bartenders of Employees Only and Macao Trading Company, mix their famous cocktails and dish out stories. This prohibition style speakeasy is best known for modern twists on classic cocktails using a culinary approach to mixology.

CLICK HERE for a schedule and to buy tickets to the MCC