Introducing The Martini Expo
The Mix Presents Its First Public Event at Industry City, Brooklyn, Sept. 12-13.
We have some news at The Mix!
This September, The Mix will present The Martini Expo, a first-of-its-kind convention dedicated to the culture, craft, and legacy of the Martini. It will be held at Industry City in Brooklyn. The two-day event—on September 12 and 13—will explore the Martini’s enduring influence through curated tastings, thought-provoking seminars, appearances by leading bartenders, and much more. (Shout out to the legendary Florence Fabricant at The New York Times for breaking the news!)
This is first time The Mix is venturing into public event territory (apart from our lovely, annual, cocktail-hour get-togethers with our Bar Regular subscribers). It’s been a learning curve, to be sure, but so far it’s been exhilarating and fun. We expect the Expo itself will be the same.
The idea came about one early spring evening spent over—what else? —Martinis. Mary Kate and I were brainstorming ideas for The Mix, as we do often. One of us observed there had never been a symposium or convention centered on the Martini, and there ought to be.
We laughed at the idea for a few seconds and then stopped and said, “Wait, that’s actually not a bad idea.” If ever a single cocktail could support an entire confab, it’s the Martini.
We wondered who might be best equipped to stage such a thing. Then we thought, “Well, why not us?”
And so the adventure began. Our first call was to Industry City, which has done such a great job hosting the Brooklyn Bar Convent the last few years. IC immediately saw the value of a Martini Expo and suggested the two-level Cowork IC/The Landing space that will be home to the first Expo. A Friday night, kick-off Martini dinner was soon envisioned at Confidant, the new fine-dining restaurant that has been receiving raves since it opened at Industry City in March.
Saturday will be the main event, featuring a full day of programming. It will begin at noon with a series of expert-led seminars on the cocktail’s history, variations, and cultural relevance. (To find out who’s involved so far, check out the website.) A 3-Martini Lunch, catered by Confidant, will be served simultaneously.
Beginning at 3 pm, bites from some of the city’s mostly lively and acclaimed food purveyors will be on offer, including George Motz’s acclaimed Hamburger America, the multi-national steak house chain Hawksmoor and Crif Dogs, the place that furnishes cocktail bar PDT with its famous hot dogs (including the Simonson Dog!). At the same time, some of the best writers on cocktail and Martini culture will be signing copies of their books, which will be available for purchase.
An extended happy hour known as The Mixer will commence at 5 pm and last until 8 pm. Behind the long marble bar at The Landing, rotating quartets of star bartenders—each of them known for their wizardry with the Martini—will work their magic. Meanwhile, on both floors, some of our favorite gin, vodka, vermouth, bitters and garnish brands will be on hand (including Ford’s Gin, Farmer’s Gin, Dolin vermouth and many more), discussing their products and pouring out samples. Also on hand will be popular food-and-drink-world podcasters The Restaurant Guys, who will be interviewing the various Martini talents in the house throughout the day.
There will also be an after party, as a location to be named later. There also might be a film screening, and maybe a listening room. We don’t know. We’re still working it all out and will be for the next two months. All I know is that it’s going to be fun! You can follow the Instagram pages of The Mix and Martini Expo to keep up on all the updates!
The Expo is being produced and managed by Claire Bertin-Lang and her Hero Events Group. It you are in the cocktail industry, you know Claire. She’s the person behind the scenes on countless events at Tales of the Cocktail and Brooklyn Bar Convent, as well as brands like Ford’s Gin and Bacardi. She’s excellent at what she does and we feel very fortunate to have her. (If you have a booze event you want to do coming up, I recommend you contact her.)
We, of course, would love to see as many The Mix subscribers there as possible, as we know there are many Martini and cocktail enthusiasts among our readership. If interested, you can find out more information at the Martini Expo website (that logo is by my cousin Mark Simonson, a famous creator of fonts; while the website was designed by Friend-of-The-Mix Martini Doudoroff) and purchase tickets at Eventbrite.
Tickets sales will go live on Friday.
This is excellent.
Congratulations! Cant wait to attend!