Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/164544
TALES OF THE COCKTAIL AFTER MONTHS OF ONLINE ENTRIES AND VOTING, THE TASTING PANEL AND BROKER'S GIN USA TEAMED UP TO SEND FOUR WINNING MIXOLOGISTS FROM ACROSS THE COUNTRY TO TALES OF THE COCKTAIL. THEIR BOWLER HATS WERE ON AND THE COCKTAILS WERE FLOWING FOR . . . Broker's Big Splash by Rachel Burkons / photos by Fred Minnick The Broker's Bowler Cup winners with Broker's Gin co-founders Andy and Martin Dawson. Left to right: Martin Dawson; Lauren-Taylor Axt; Christopher Marty; Rusty Lovell; Chris Amirault; Andy Dawson. A s the famously bebowlered brothers Andy and Martin Dawson mingled about a room filled with Tales of the Cocktail revelers wearing bowler hats, they must've felt quite at home: Not only was their headwear of choice bobbing about on nearly every head, but the gin they'd created, brilliantly British as it is, was on everyone's lips and in everyone's mouths. Of course, we're referring to Broker's Gin, the classic London dry gin that mixologists love and which was a standout during the world's premier cocktail event. THE TASTING PANEL was equally proud to join the Broker's team in their tasting room as the official sponsor of the first annual Broker's Bowler Cup, a national competition designed to send four mixologists from across the country to Tales, where their winning cocktails were served in the Broker's Gin tasting room. Said Keri Eliason, Marketing Brand Manager for Hood River Distillers, which manages the brand in the U.S., "We were honored to feature four fantastic cocktails in our tasting room. The Broker's Bowler Cup regional winners made their way to New Orleans to showcase their unique creations and represent what Tales of the Cocktail is all about: the advance- ment of the craft of the cocktail. We can't wait to come back next year!" As tasting room guests enjoyed the cocktails and had the chance to taste the spirit neat, many were also thrilled to take advantage of the unique opportunity to be face-to-face with the Dawsons—who were equally excited to meet the cocktail community face-to-face. "It being our first year at Tales of the Cocktail, we weren't sure what to expect," admits co-founder Andy Dawson, Director of the brand. "The attendance, quality of cocktails and energy in New Orleans were brilliant, and we were very happy to partner with THE TASTING PANEL on such an extraordinary event." As the room filled with more and more bowler hats, our four mixologists were hard at work serving their winning recipes, and the response was truly phenomenal: "Tales of the Cocktail was a huge success for Broker's Gin," said co-founder Martin Dawson, Managing Director. "Hundreds of people came to our tasting room and many said it was the best brand presentation they'd ever attended! New Orleans rocks!" To capture the New Orleans spirit, THE TASTING PANEL took the four Broker's winners around town to get to know them a bit. Here's their story! september 2013 / the tasting panel / 113 TP0913_104-156.indd 113 8/22/13 10:31 PM