This week thousands of bartenders, servers, mixologists and bar and restaurant owners (and the liquor companies and brands that love them) are descending on New Orleans for the annual Tales of the Cocktail conference.
What started off as a small walking tour of bars in 2002 has mushroomed into a multi-day event that sprawls across much of the city and brings some of the hospitality industry’s leading figures — and biggest brands — to town.
In the last several years, Tales has become one of the few summer draws for visitors to the city, generating around $24 million in economic input. And a lot of that ends up going directly to bars, restaurants and small businesses and their workers…