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Jean-Paul Villere: Gettin' Told -- NickDetrich Talks on Tales of the CocktailPosted by Robert Morris at 5:30 am Featured, eventsJul 132011

Barman Nick Detrich of Cure. (Sabree Hill, UptownMessenger.com)

If you have a pulse and you live in New Orleans, you are probably well aware that in the last littlewhile cocktail couture has experienced a celebrated return. ”And why?” you may wonder to yourself. I’m glad you asked. I myself am a curious type of fellow so I enquired with some one in the know. Going straight to the source, I recently exchanged pleasantries with of the local players in thebusiness.

This is what transpired:

JP: So who are you? Where do you work? What’s your title? And how long have you been doingthis?

ND: My name is Nick Detrich, and I’ve been a barman at Cure for a year and a half now.

JP: ‘Barman’ has a certain weight to it and nicely so. Differences from the layman’sperspective of barman to bartender to mixologist?

ND: There’re many names for basically the same person: bartender, bar chef, mixologist, barman,etc. The term ‘mixologist’ was coined in the ’50s to sell books. I’ve found that some in the lastdecade have adopted it to give themselves a more professional title as opposed to the guy whodoes something and bartends on the side. I prefer the title ‘barman’ or even ‘host’, because it betterencompasses what I do. Only about a quarter of what I do is making drinks; I’m also entertainingfolks, offering advice, telling jokes, etc. For someone not in the industry, mixologist is an easy termto apply to someone who knows more about attending than cracking beers and making LongIslands.

JP: Tales of the Cocktail takes place next week. Describe in your own words what Tales (or for

those in the Twitter-verse, #totc) means or is.

ND: Tales is an annual summit, which brings together a diverse crowd related to the craft cocktailscene. Every summer, newcomers to the craft, enthusiaists, brand ambassadors, writers, and thelike, descend upon New Orleans to discuss new ideas and products and drink in their work.

Jean-Paul Villere

JP: (aside) Speaking of brand ambassadors, I myself was witness to some last summer. OneJuly evening two doors down from Cure I was watering my lawn when out of nowhere a stretch limodoubleparked up the block. No big deal. It’s Cure, right? Then one, two, three nay a dozen or soleggy, young women all dressed identically in brown minidresses and yellow scarves (I can’tmake this up) single file out of said limo. I looked around to see if Robert Palmer was nearby andremembered he had long since passed. I later found out they were the brand ambassadors forAngostura. But I digress. (Ahem) Nick, why Tales of the Cocktail? I mean, what’s the big deal? Any parallels in other cities or is Tales “unparalled”?

ND: What began as a modest book signing event in the Carousel Bar of the Hotel Monteleonenearly a decade ago, has become the premier meet and greet for the cocktail world. Gainingmomentum very quickly, Tales quickly expanded to include tastings, seminars, contests and more,providing an incubator of sorts for the returning craft that was still in its infancy. Now Tales is a placewhere new products are unveiled, individuals and organizations are honored for their skills andcontributions to the craft, and passionate people really dork out about things like thethermodynamics behind shaking a cocktail. Today there are a few gatherings that are picking upspeed, the only one that is comparable to Tales is the Manhattan Cocktail Classic, which is held inNYC every spring.

JP: Best experience in your time either working Tales or otherwise?

The Champagne Cocktail - take a sugar cubedrenched in Angostura Bitters, drop into a glass ofsparkling wine. Garnish with an expressed lemon peel.(Sabree Hill, UptownMessenger.com)

ND: Last year I had a lot of fun at the Bartender’s Brawl, which is an event where five of the bestbars in the nation are selected to square off against one another at Generations Hall. There are fivedifferent stations set up where people can walk about and sample a cocktail from very deft handsfrom very far away in one room. The judges are usually some titans in the industry. Last year wasDale Degroff, Steve Olsen, Audrey Saunders, and Chris McMillian to name a few. Ritchie Boccatoasked me to play the accordion for their French-Themed set up at the Dutch Kills station. I had a lotof fun waltzing about their area and serenading folks.

JP: Words of wisdom for the uninitiated looking to get their Tales on this year?

ND: If this is your first Tales, look at the schedule and decide what events you really want to do andstick to it. Once you set foot in the Monteleone, it’s very easy to get swept along in the current ofenthusiastic cocktail folks. That being said, you can also have a really good time just showing upand wandering around the hotel. Make sure that you buy your tickets now though, many events aresold out and most do sell out before everything begins.

JP: And on that note, if I told you the buzz about town is during Tales there is no availableglassware left to rent in all of New Orleans, your response would be…?

ND: Well, when tens of thousands of professional drinkers descend, it’s not surprising to hear of

glassware going. Also, a lot of booze can be harder to come by. Last year Benedictine (a keyingredient in a New Orlean’s classic, the Vieux Carre) was out of stock, since so many bars andpeople presenting seminars bought it up. You’ll also be hard pressed to find Fevertree tonic waterand bitters at Stein’s Deli, as presenters and party throwers will buy out their stock.

Tales of the Cocktail takes place in New Orleans July 20-24, 2011. To learn more visitwww.talesofthecocktail.com. Cheers!

Jean-Paul Villere is the owner of Villere Realty and the Du Mois gallery on Freret Street andfather of four girls. In addition to his Wednesday column at UptownMessenger.com, he also writesan occasional real-estate blog at villererealty.com and shares his family’s adventures viapedicab on Facebook and Twitter.

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One Response to “Jean-Paul Villere: Gettin’ Told — Nick Detrich Talks onTales of the Cocktail”

1. Gretchen says:July 13, 2011 at 5:07 pm

This is a great interview with barman Nick Detrich of Cure! It is very interesting.

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