The Tasting Panel magazine

October 2011

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The Noses Know. Our panel, left to right: J. R. Starkus (RM Seafood), Drew Levinson (Wirtz Beverage Group), Eddie Allen (TAO Hospitality Group), Kristen Schaefer (The Cosmopolitan), Woody Linihan (P. J. Clarke's), Tobin Ellis (Bar Magic), Meridith May (THE TASTING PANEL), Eddie Perales (Caesars Palace), Jeremy Merritt (Downtown Cocktail Room), Patricia Richards (Wynn/Encore) and Xania Woodman (Vegas SEVEN). W hen you think of fashion, you might instantly conjure images of tall, elegant women marching down runways draped in clothes that cost more than your mortgage. But fabulous fashion is an important part of our industry—in more ways than just the clothes on our back. From trendy tequilas and vogue vodkas to couture cocktails and dapper drams, the modern cocktail and spirit movement is fashionably forward-minded. Driven by a pack of groundbreaking brands and innovative mixologists, trends are set in this industry every day—and it's important to keep up. That's why THE TASTING PANEL invited 14 buzz-wor- thy brands to participate in our first-ever cocktail runway show, hosted by The Library at Marquee Nightclub & Dayclub from the TAO Hospitality Group at the one of the chicest properties on the Vegas Strip, The Cosmopolitan. There, each brand was represented by an à la mode mixologist, whose hand-crafted haute couture cocktails were presented to our exclusive panel of 11 of the most influential buyers, media and mixologists in the industry today. If we are the Vogue of the cocktail world, surely these men and women are our Anna Wintour. When it comes to fashion, Vegas marches to its own beat: bold, brash and blingy. The exploding mixology scene here is much the same, as reflected by our broadly varied panel. Nationally-recognized innovator Patricia Richards (Wynn/Encore Property Mixologist) was coun- tered by veteran bartender Woody Linihan (P.J. Clarke's), with The Cosmopolitan's Kristen Schaefer, J. R. Starkus (Bar Manager, RM Seafood), Eddie Perales (Caesars Palace), Jeremy Merritt (Downtown Cocktail Room), Tobin Ellis (Bar Magic) and Drew Levinson (Wirtz Beverage Group) all falling somewhere between the two esthetically. Joining them were THE TASTING PANEL's own Executive Editor/Publisher Meridith May, local cocktail and club journalist Xania Woodman (Vegas SEVEN magazine) and host Eddie Allen (TAO Hospitality Group Beverage Director). october 201 1 / the tasting panel / 117

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