The Tasting Panel magazine

March 2013

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Of SACC and SOMMS A LOOK AT JUST TWO OF THE MANY EXCITING EVENTS THAT KEEP TEXAS TIPPLERS ON THEIR TOES by Anthony Head / photos by Kirk Weddle W hat I love most about living in San Marcos is that it���s smackdab in the middle of the Austin���San Antonio corridor. These two Texas cities are experiencing major tectonic shifts in their food and wine and beer and spirits cultures���not only are they attracting terriic talent from outside the state but they���re also cultivating stellar homegrown chefs, mixologists and producers. There���s no doubt in my mind that that next decade of inluential American culinaria belongs to Texas. And without meaning to snub Dallas and Houston, between Austin and San Antonio, there is almost no reason to venture any further aield. So I regularly jump on Interstate 35, and within an hour���s drive in either direction I arrive at a kick-ass event. Take this past January, for example, when the second annual San Antonio Cocktail Conference (SACC) took over the city. During this four-day event, brand ambassadors, mixologists, industry professionals and alcohol enthusiasts from around the country descended on Alamo City like Santa Anna���s army coming for John Wayne. A majority of SACC���s events took place at the historic Sheraton Gunter Hotel, including classes (for example, ���I Love You, Man: A Bartender���s Relationship with the Community���), seminars (���It���s Not the Size or Your Barrels, It���s How You Use Them���), workshops (���Big Ice���) and skills competitions. At the ���Texas Spirits Panel,��� Paula Angerstein (Paula���s Texas Spirits) proudly discussed the recent formation of the Texas Distilled Spirits Association. Angerstein, who was instrumental in pulling together the irst 17 charter members, explained that the TDSA will actively market Texas spirits within the state, across the country and even overseas. I can only hope they also dive headlong into state legislation to help overturn some of Texas���s current rules. (And by ���current��� I mean ���horribly While tequila producers provide the libations, an all-female mariachi band performs at La Margarita to bring the second annual San Antonio Cocktail Conference to a rollicking ���nish. JP De Loera (left), Brand Ambassador for William Grant & Sons, mixes up specialty Milagro Tequila cocktails at La Margarita with Dwayne Clark, Bar Manager of Austin���s renowned P��ch��. march 2013 / the tasting panel / 135

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