Junior Johnson’s legendary North Carolina moonshine Midnight Moon and Catdaddy Spiced Moonshine will roll into New Orleans on July 25 – 29, 2012, to celebrate its fifth year at the Tales of the Cocktail®, the world’s premier cocktail festival. From an exclusive five course meal with specialty cocktails to celebratory tasting rooms, Midnight Moon and Catdaddy Spiced Moonshine will the featured spirit that mixologists and enthusiasts won’t want to miss. “Our craft distillery moonshine is thrilled to be here again at Tales of the Cocktail,” said Sarah LeRoy, vice president of marketing for Piedmont Distillers, Inc., the makers of Midnight Moon and Catdaddy Spiced Moonshine. “This festival is the culmination of the best the world has to offer in mixology and spirits. This is the place to be to mix with spirits enthusiasts, experts and influencers from around the globe.”
Beginning on Thursday, July 26, at 8:00 p.m., Midnight Moon Fruit Inclusions will be featured in five unique cocktails created just for this exclusive SOLD OUT “Barbeque Coast-to-Coast” Spirited Dinner Series event at Boucherie. Join Chef Nathanial Zimet, of the acclaimed Boucherie and Midnight Moon handmade moonshine, as we take a delicious tour of the country’s preeminent barbeque regions: North Carolina, Kansas City and Texas. Chef Nathanial will interpret the various techniques that make North Carolina, Kansas City and Texas barbeque legendary. He will also offer an innovative take on New Orleans style barbeque. Mixologists from each region will craft a cocktail pairing featuring one of the Midnight Moon varieties (Original, Apple Pie, Cherry, Strawberry, Blueberry or Cranberry) and each mixologist will be at the dinner to prepare their cocktail and speak to the guests. The attendees will receive a special Midnight Moon scrapbook featuring the cocktails from the evening and a history of moonshine. All six varieties of Midnight Moon will be available for straight tastings.
On Friday, July 27, Midnight Moon and Catdaddy Spiced Moonshine will be featured at two separate tasting events. Catdaddy Spiced Moonshine and its Southern 75 cocktail will be featured during the “Dame Hall of Fame” Spirited Luncheon at 12:30 p.m. at the Omni Royal Hotel. Joy Richard from The Citizen, Boston, will be our mixologist. Tales of the Cocktail® and Ladies United for the Preservation of Endangered Cocktails (LUPEC) are coming together to honor today’s most influential female mixologists and honor the first class of inductees into the Dame Hall of Fame during the luncheon and tasting event.
Later on Friday, July 27, Midnight Moon Original, Apple Pie, Strawberry, Blueberry, Cranberry and a new flavor that wil l be unveiled for the first time will be served at the “Meet the Craft Distillers” tasting event at Hotel Monteleone from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. Tales of the Cocktail® was founded on entrepreneurial spirit, and in 2012, it will give attendees a special opportunity to meet the artisans of our country’s craft distillers. The impact craft distillers have on the world of cocktails can’t be measured in the gallons of spirits they make. Come meet 24 of the world’s top craft distillers as they sample their handiwork and discuss the artisan and sometimes old-fashioned techniques that make their spirits much bigger than the number of barrels they produce.
On Saturday, July 28, Catdaddy’s “Christmas in July” Tasting Room is coming to Tales of the Cocktail. Come to the Hotel Monteleone from 10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. to sa mple Catdaddy’s spicy-meets-sweet flavor of the holidays in our so tacky it’s hip tasting room. The holidays are the most wonderful time of the year, so join Catdaddy Spiced Moonshine as we deck the halls of Bonnet Carre and transform a summer day in New Orleans into a spirited Christmas party. After all, it’s never too early to have yourself a merry little Christmas and to start planning your fall and holiday menus. Three Catdaddy Spiced Moonshine cocktails will be featured, as well as moonshine-infused holiday breakfast sweets.
Midnight Moon fruit inclusions are inspired by the family recipe from legendary moonshiner and NASCAR Hall of Famer, Junior Johnson. This handcrafted moonshine is available in delectable flavors like Apple Pie, Cherry, Strawberry, Blueberry and Cranberry. Midnight Moon follows the Johnson family’s generations-old, small batch re cipe that is triple distilled to craft a smooth, clean-tasting spirit and authentically infused in Mason jars with whole pieces of gourmet fruit.
Although people perceive notes or hints of cinnamon, vanilla and nutmeg, only the Founder and Master Distiller know the exact recipe of Catdaddy Spiced Moonshine. Catdaddy’s all natural ingredients are blended with a handcrafted spirit that is made from corn in small batches and triple-distilled to achieve an ultra-smooth finish and it is the only spiced moonshine on the market.
Piedmont Distillers’ spirits are handcrafted in small batches, distilled from corn and triple-distilled. Our spirits are sold in most states in the US. Check PiedmontDistillers.com for availability.
About Piedmont Distillers
Piedmont Distillers, a craft distillery in the little town of Madison, NC, is considered a leader of the current moonshine and artisan distilling movement. Its reputation is one of creating authentic, superior quality, handcrafted spirits. Piedmont Distillers is committed to preserving the moonshining legacy and distilling traditions that have made North Carolina the “Moonshine Capital of the World.” Coupling these traditions with one-of-a-kind recipes and a state-of-the-art distillation process has enabled Piedmont Distillers’ spiri ts to transcend moonshine from the backwoods, to be amongst the finest spirits available anywhere. For more information, please visit www.piedmontdistillers.com.
About Junior Johnson
Junior Johnson is a legendary moonshiner from North Carolina, who brought his family recipe to Piedmont Distillers in 2007. The Johnson family’s moonshine is considered to be the best. Junior grew-up tending to the family’s stills during the day and bootlegging ‘shine at night. Johnson’s incredible driving skills enabled him to stay two steps ahead of the revenuers. While never caught delivering his moonshine, Johnson was eventually arrested while firing up the family still. He served 11 months of a two-year sentence and then later received a presidential pardon from Ronald Reagan for his 1956 moonshining conviction. Junior used the racing and car building knowledge he acquired while bootlegging to become one of the most successful drivers and owners in racing history, culminating with his induction into the 2010 inaugural class of the NASCAR Hall of Fame. Johnson was the subject of Tom Wolfe’s famous essay for Esquire magazine in 1965 titled, “The Last American Hero is Junior Johnson. Yes!”
About Tales of the Cocktail®
Tales of the Cocktail® is the world’s premier cocktail festival, bringing together the most respected minds on mixology for five days of cocktails, cuisine and culture. Held annually in New Orleans, this international event has something for cocktail professionals and enthusiasts alike with a spirited schedule of seminars, dinners, competitions and tasting rooms where brands showcase their latest products. Tales of the Cocktail® returns in 2012 for a historic milestone—its 10th Anniversary of rocking the cocktail world. Join the celebration July 25-29, 2012 and see how Tales of the Cocktail® only gets better with age. www.talesofthecocktail.com
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