The Day I Met Mrs. Cocktail

Mrs. Cocktail is the best name ever. Please call me Mrs. Intoxicology…. Never mind… that’s not as catchy.

Tales of the Cocktail was amazing yet again this year. It was eventful, educational, fun and as always, very busy. We met so many great people and were lucky enough to catch some amazing competitions this year. Even though the drinks are what brings you in, Tales best kept secret might be the fact that the food is equally as good. But all of these things were overshadowed by a measly 10 minute conversation I had with the great Anne Tuennerman. I must admit that I set out to meet her this year because of how much I admired her accomplishments. She created Tales and opened up a whole new world to people like me! She’s someone who set out to do something for her city and for the bartending industry and has since turned it into the premier cocktail conference in the world.

So let me explain how I met Mrs. Cocktail!

On our first day in New Orleans, we decided to attend the toast to Tales of the Cocktail. Honestly, I was hoping to meet her and say hello then, but clearly she was very busy. We decided to hit some other tasting rooms and on our first day, I encountered Mrs. Cocktail at least three times. Each time, I couldn’t say anything. I was so excited and apparently star struck as Alex called it. I didn’t know what to say. So Wednesday came and went and still no introduction. But I was still determined. I had it in my mind that I would definitely meet her on Sunday at the annual Mr. & Mrs. Cocktail brunch.

Thursday comes and we enjoy a full day of events. Tasting rooms, special events, swag… you name it and we were there. That night we attended the “Hennessy:Never Stop, Never Settle” special event and after, I decided to meet up with our friend, Tanisha, a fellow blogger who writes at http://girlmeetsglass.tumblr.com and specializes in wine. I met her last year at Tales and we’ve kept up ever since. Anyway, we meet up and Tanisha needs to go to her room at the Hotel Monteleone. We walk up to the elevator and who is standing there?! Mrs. Cocktail… looking flawless! I said “Is that Mrs. Cocktail?” She turned and smiled and said “Yes it is!” I almost died. DIED.

I became a total dork and asked her to be my best friend… yeah I really said that. The funny part was she said yes! So not only did I meet her, but now we’re best friends. I proceeded to tell her how much I loved Tales and that we felt so honored to receive media credentials to cover the events. I told her how much I loved her staff and how great they had treated us. I specifically mentioned Shannon Rhoden and Michelle Dunnick for being so helpful.

Now I need to pause here and explain how great these girls were. Shannon and Michelle went above and beyond the call of duty for us and I can’t thank them enough. From the moment we applied for media, they both did all they could to make sure we were informed and aware of how things went. I felt so thankful for the information and it allowed us to have everything in order when we arrived in NOLA. And then to top it all off, when we arrived at registration, Shannon introduced herself personally and took time to ask me if there was anything else I needed. Mind you, I am sure that Shannon spoke with at least 1000 other people concerning their Tales plans, but she heard me checking in and remembered ME and took time to say hello and introduce herself. If that’s not great service, I don’t know what is!

Okay where was I? Ahh yes.. speaking with Mrs. Cocktail. So while we are riding the elevator, we completely miss our floor and had to ride down and back up again. This allowed Tanisha and I more time to speak with Anne. So I explained to her how great her staff was and how wonderful I thought Tales was. She was so genuine and so sweet. Everything you want a best friend to be!

What kind of friends would we be if we didn’t commemorate the moment with a photo….