The Cocktail Comes Home to Show-Town USA

The Nightclub & Bar show in Las Vegas several in years past was Disneyland for the techie and audio visual end of the business but was at best underwhelming for the food and beverage end of the business. Not so anymore. The show has moved into larger quarters in the convention center and fills the room with ease. There were more wine and spirit brands represented this year then ever before and the speakers program included the master distillers from Courvoisier, Bacardi Rums, Jack Daniels, and Jim Beam. Major players like Allied Domecq and Pernod Ricard set up extensive bars on the floor of the center producing cocktails from new and old products.

The show this year hosted the first National Bar Safety Conference to address crowd management, capacity issues, emergency programs, and design and exit requirements. This timely seminar should become the center of a national movement to educate food and beverage professionals in this critical area to avoid tragedies like the fire Rhode Island and the panic in Chicago over this last year.

I participated in this years show by making cocktails using two products new to the US market. The first is Pisco Aba, a premium pisco from Chile, produced by Alejandro Aguirre for export only. I mixed the floral Pisco Aba with a mango liqueur called Fruja Mango and orange juice to create the FrujAba Cocktail.

I also presented a cocktail for Spirit of Hartford, a small rum importing house that is importing a product that has been missing from bars for years; Velvet Falernum from Barbados. Years ago I used an imitation of Falernum produced by the Sazerac company that is no longer on the market. When I finally tasted the original product, I found it to be far superior to the imitation and used it in the cocktails I created for the International Bacardi Martini Grand Prix, winning best Fancy Cocktail two years in a row. The unique flavor of Velvet Falernum made all the difference in the world.

The evening events surrounding the show were truly in the tradition of Las Vegas. Bacardi's opening night party from dusk till nearly dawn was the equal to any show up and down the strip. I made sure to attend the two events at the Bellagio's Fontana Lounge on the outdoor patio on Tuesday and Wednesday nights. Tony Abou-Ganim the cocktail director of the Bellagio and the man who brought the well made classic cocktail back to Las Vegas, created cocktails using the hosts products both nights. At the Kettle One party he presented the ultimate apple cocktail called the Apple Blossom and he was quick to note "this is NOT a sour apple martini!" Mr. Abou-Ganim used a unique apple liqueur called Blanca Navarra Green Apple Liqueur mixed in equal parts with Ketel One Citreon. "I created the apple Blossom more out of the need to fill the gap that had been created by the huge demand for a Sour Apple Martini without sacrificing our commitment to using only premium spirits and fresh ingredients."

On Wednesday night at the Tanqueray No Ten/Grand Marnier party Tony created the Baja featuring Gran Centenario Reposado Tequila and Grand Marnier in a margarita style setting but flavored with Pomegranate Molasses. Tony Abou-Ganim's influence is reaching beyond the Bellagio, his former assistant Seth Martin is now the cocktail Director of the MGM Grand Casino and Hotel and is bringing the same dedication to excellence to that group. Abou-Ganim and Martin co-hosted one of the show's seminars Developing a profitable bar scene hosted by Sante Magazine. The seminar explored ways to be the happening scene producing volume without giving up quality and excellence in the beverages produced.

Las Vegas has changed in many ways since the Rat Pack and Bugsy Siegel, the restaurants are better, the entertainment is more family oriented and finally the Cocktails are world class.

May 2003