Who/What: In New Orleans for Tales of the Cocktail® and looking for the best drinks the city has to offer? Are you a cocktail enthusiast seeking the latest in liquid innovation? Plan now to attend "State of the Art: A Cocktail Extravaganza," The Museum of the American Cocktail's (MOTAC) biggest annual cocktail celebration and fundraising event.

State of the Art 2018 begins at 6PM with a welcome cocktail prepared by Adam Fleischman, founder of culinary empires Umami Burger and 800 Degrees Pizza and Chairman of the National Food & Beverage Foundation. Adam will join MOTAC Director Philip Dobard for a lively discussion of how both professional and home bartenders can detonate flavor in beloved cocktails by using ordinary ingredients that are naturally high in umami, the so-called “fifth taste.” Then Adam will sign copies of his newly published Flavor Bombs! The Umami Ingredients That Make Taste Explode.

At 7PM the competition begins as 10 of the city's best bartenders and bartending teams vie for “Most Creative Cocktail,” employing umami-rich ingredients and a range of New Orleans-made spirits and modifiers, including Ghost Tequila, Lula Spirits, El Guapo Bitters, and many more. A panel of expert judges will include Elizabeth Pearce, Star Hodgson, Kenny Nguyen, and Adam Fleischman. In addition, guests will receive a token that allows them to vote for their favorite cocktail!

Admission includes drinks and a variety of gourmet bites. Proceeds support the National Food & Beverage Foundation (NatFAB), home of MOTAC, the Southern Food & Beverage Museum (SoFAB), and Pacific Food & Beverage Museum.

When/Where: “State of the Art: A Cocktail Extravaganza” will take place Monday, July 16 from 6PM to 9PM at The Museum of The American Cocktail’s (MOTAC) New Orleans Collection inside SoFAB, located at 1504 Oretha C. Haley Boulevard, New Orleans.

Advance tickets are $25 for SoFAB-MOTAC members, USBG members, and all Tales of the Cocktail registrants and $35 for non-members. Tickets at the door will be $35 for members and $45 for non-members. Membership is available to all at natfab.org/membership. For more information and to purchase tickets, please visit natfab.org/events/state-of-the-art-2018.

ABOUT THE MUSEUM OF THE AMERICAN COCKTAIL

The Museum of the American Cocktail (MOTAC), a division of the nonprofit National Food & Beverage Foundation, celebrates a singular cultural icon and develops its craft, field, and market through exhibits, programming, and a range of media. Founded by craft cocktail pioneer Dale DeGroff and a group of eminent cocktail authorities, MOTAC preserves and develops a rich facet of American—and global—culture, advances the profession of bartending, and expands consumer knowledge of mixology. Led by Director Philip Dobard, it maintains permanent collections in Los Angeles and New Orleans and provides educational resources to professionals and enthusiasts in the fine art of crafting the cocktail through a series of seminars and other programs conducted by the world's foremost experts in locations across the country and globe, among them Los Angeles, New Orleans, New York, and Washington, DC.

Media interested in attending should contact:

Brustman Carrino Public Relations
nola@brustmancarrinopr.com

305.573.0658