Symposiums, Tastings, Classes, and Events
IAN BURRELL
Tasting: $1000 Rum Tasting with Ian Burrell
More details coming soon.
Class: The Okole Maluna Cocktail Academy with Ian Burrell
More details coming soon.
ABOUT IAN:
Ian Burrell, the award winning “EduTainer”, has redefined the definition of an international spirits ambassador. An ex professional basketball player in the UK and international recording artist, he has now established himself as the world’s ONLY
recognised Global Ambassador for the rum category. He has conducted masterclasses and seminars, sipped cocktails and judged competitions on no less than 7 continents around the world.
David Wondrich
Symposium: A New History of Rum Until 1900
The history of rum is peerlessly complex, and David Wondrich, Editor-in Chief of the award-winning Oxford Companion to Spirits and Cocktails, is here to make it even more so, by reattaching it to its deep Asian roots and re-examining exactly what distillers in the early British Caribbean were describing when they said “rum.” With a deep dive into production techniques, raw materials and the mechanics of distillation gleaned from sources in five languages set against a backdrop of global history, Dr. Wondrich’s lively, only-just-geeky-enough presentation will put what’s in your glass in a new light. And yes, there will be rum.
Class: How to Make Punch Like Captain Kidd
The golden age of punch-making ran from around 1650 to some time in the early 1800s—which was also the golden age of piracy on the high seas. Punch was the great social drink of the age, and pirates preferred to turn their rum into rum punch whenever they could. In this, anyway, they knew just what they were doing. Join David Wondrich, who literally wrote the book on punch, for a look at the drink’s rich history, with liquid samples, and a quick-and-dirty hands-on course on how to make a proper 18th-century bowl of punch.
ABOUT DAVID:
David Wondrich is widely hailed as one of the world’s foremost authorities on the history of the cocktail and one of the founders of the modern craft cocktail movement. Dr. Wondrich (he has a PhD in Comparative Literature from New York University) is the author of countless newspaper and magazine articles (most significantly, the almost 17 years’ worth he wrote as Esquire’s Drinks Correspondent). He is the Editor in Chief of the Oxford Companion to Spirits and Cocktails, winner of the American Library Association’s 2022 Dartmouth Medal for best reference book published in the preceding year, and the author of five books, including the hugely influential Imbibe!, the first cocktail book to win a James Beard award (2007; an expanded and thoroughly revised edition was published in April, 2015), and Punch, which came out in late 2010 to broad acclaim and did much to spark the current boom in punch-making. As a consultant, he has been involved in the creation of several spirits that are found on the backbars of practically every craft cocktail bar on the planet, including Ransom Old Tom gin and the multiple award-winning Plantation Stiggins’ Fancy Pineapple Rum. He is a founding partner in Beverage Alcohol Resource, America’s leading advanced training program for bartenders and other spirits professionals, and a frequent guest lecturer at venues such as the Smithsonian Institute, the Museum of the City of New York and fine bars on five continents and ships at sea. His writing, lecturing, podcasting and mentoring have earned him a record eight Tales of the Cocktail Spirit Awards and an IACP Trailblazer Award; in 2019, he came in at number three in Drinks International’s inaugural list of 100 most-influential people in the bar world, based on a poll of top industry professionals. He is a longtime resident of Brooklyn, New York.
Headhunter Ray
Designing Immersive Environments
Steering the senses to create a special experience that envelops guests with maximum aesthetic impact. HeadHunter Props and Fabrication is a turnkey design, build and installation company that is focused on fully-themed environments offering ultimate escapism with detailed, accurate and immersive decor.
Their team of artists runs the gamut of sculpting, molding, casting, paintwork, muralwork, design etc. With extensive experience building for themeparks worldwide along with working with commercial and residential designers, architects and builders, HeadHunter Props creates spaces that go well-beyond the ordinary.
Rodney Ray is the creative director, concept designer and primary fabricator for HeadHunter Props. He specializes in scenic material chemistry and composition and consults on theme park projects in Florida, California and abroad.
Rocket Betty
Alfred Shaheen: Iconic Hawaiian Textiles
Alfred Shaheen was the largest and most innovative mid-century aloha wear manufacturer in Hawaii. Over half a century later, Shaheen designs are still influencing modern aloha wear and his label has become increasingly collectible. Part of what sets Shaheen clothing apart is the incredible fabric. In this talk, we’ll explore how he revolutionized the fabric industry in Hawaii and became known as, The Master Printer.
Artist, Margo Scott, designs and creates beautifully handcrafted aloha wear that captures the mid-century vibe while remaining fresh and modern. Her Sandwich Isles style jackets, hostess dresses, and cabana sets can be seen around the globe at many tiki bars and events. With a tropical soul, love of vintage, degree in costume design, and 30 years of professional experience, she has found her passion and loves sharing it with others.
SPIKE MARBLE
Spike’s Breezeway Cocktail Hour Live!
Spike Marble is a multidisciplinary content creator, specializing in photography, videography, video editing & graphic design. He is a world-renowned vocalist & guitarist in “hulabilly” combo The Hula Girls, and hosts & produces weekly tiki education & lifestyle YouTube series Spike’s Breezeway Cocktail Hour.
Jeff Ballard of the tiki trail
Tiki Treasures: The Wild, Weird and Wonderful Things You Discover When You Pull Your Head Out of Your Glass!
Join us as we go beyond the cocktails, mugs and soundtracks to uncover the wild, weird and wonderful artifacts found in tiki bars around the world. In this session we’ll highlight some of the flotsam and jetsam of note and reveal the rich stories they have to tell. From the historical to the hysterical, we’re not talking about the standard issue tikis, peacock chairs and paintings. These are the cool, interesting and outlandish artifacts that are sometimes lost in the dark, obscured by the cocktails, or simply overlooked in the visual cornucopia that is a tiki bar.