First Time at Tales
Guide: First Time at
Tales of the Cocktail
If you’re a first-timer, use the guide below to help navigate your way through Tales of the Cocktail. We’ll see you there!
With hundreds of opportunities developed specifically for industry professionals from bartenders to distillers, Tales of the Cocktail® is the drinks industry’s annual meeting place for exchanging new ideas, products, and techniques featuring in-person education, tastings, networking, and awards programming. Since 2002, the global spirits community has gathered in the heart of the French Quarter for Tales of the Cocktail®. What started as an annual walking tour of historic New Orleans cocktail bars has now become the world’s leading cocktail conference.
Location
The Tales of the Cocktail conference is headquartered at The Ritz-Carlton, New Orleans, and is home to Registration, Seminars, Tasting Rooms, Tales Catalyst, Toast to Tales, New Orleans Spirits Competition, and is the meeting point for New Orleans Cocktail Tours.
In addition, you can attend brand-sponsored events throughout the city. Grab a ride from a ride-sharing app to the brand parties or hop on a pedicab to arrive in style.
When You Arrive: Head to Registration First
To get your wristband and confirm you’re over 21, head to Registration at The Ritz-Carlton or MSY Airport. Satellite registration will be offered at select offsite events on Sunday. Be sure to bring a valid government-issued ID.
Hotel Blocks
Tales of the Cocktail offers a hotel block for attendees with discounted rates at the host hotel, The Ritz-Carlton, New Orleans, and a selection of other great hotels around New Orleans.
Tickets
First things first, decide which ticket package is right for you and choose your Special Event tickets. A pass is required to attend all TOTC events. Buy your tickets online in advance before they sell out!
Ticket packages include week and day passes with options to choose seminar and tasting room combo access, tasting room access only, or the Festival Entry Pass that includes RSVP events, workshops, fitness, and networking (and is included with all day & week passes). A La Carte tickets grant you access to special events, including Spirited Awards and New Orleans Cocktail Tours.
Learn Something New at Seminars
TOTC strives to bring innovative, inclusive, and stimulating educational programming to the annual conference. Aimed at educating people in the drinks industry, the educational seminars’ themes of Business, Culture, Futures Labs, and Beyond the Bar offer relevant topics for bartenders, managers, and owners.
Check out the Conference Agenda to learn more about this year’s seminar topics and when and where they are taking place.
Network with Brand Reps and Sample Spirits in Tasting Rooms
Brands from around the world come together in Tales of the Cocktail Tasting Rooms to offer you the best pours. Head to the bars located around the conference floors and explore inside traditional tasting rooms and Brand Residencies.
A must-do is Meet the Distillers on Thursday, July 24, TOTC’s signature trade show offering guests an up close and personal experience with their favorite spirits brands. Taste samples, meet the makers, and get a firsthand account of distillations from across the globe.
The Conference Schedule lists all of the Tasting Rooms and bars for each day so you can plan which brands you want to learn about and taste.
Choose RSVP Events to Attend
The best spirits brands from around the world will once again host exclusive events in venues around New Orleans for TOTC attendees to be inspired by their creativity. RSVP Event types include day and night events, as well as Spirited Drinking + Dining.
RSVP Events have an RSVP list that is shared on the Conference Schedule as well as the brand’s social media. Check the Conference Agenda often, as brands lock in their parties. To find out more information about this event, including how to attend, please contact a brand representative. Get your RSVPs in early, as space is limited at many parties.
Spirited Drinking + Dining
Spirited Drinking + Dining experiences include Spirited Dinners, Guest Shifts, Happy Hours, and Last Call Happy Hours. Spirited Dining events require a separate ticket available to purchase in the description located in the Conference Schedule. Guest Shifts, Happy Hours, and Last Call Happy Hours may require an RSVP. If so, the link will be in the description.
Go Beyond the Bar
Beyond the Bar (BTB) provides a platform to address serious issues within the global drinks industry, including mental and physical wellness, substance use, sexual harassment, diversity, and sustainability.
This year, Tales of the Cocktail’s Beyond the Bar programming includes onsite workshops, networking sessions, fitness classes, and sobriety support groups.
Look for the Beyond the Bar tag in the Conference Schedule to attend one of these events.
Make Plans to Attend Special Events
Toast to Tales
Monday, July 20, 2025
10 a.m. to 10:15 a.m.
Join the Tales of the Cocktail Foundation’s Board of Directors in toasting its 23rd year and another exceptional lineup of seminars, events, networking opportunities, tastings, and awards programming. This year’s Toast to Tales will be held in The Ritz-Carlton, New Orleans Davenport Lounge on the third floor.
New Orleans Cocktail Tour
$65 + Processing Fees
In collaboration with Wayne Curtis, a series of 8 educational walking tours will provide a wealth of knowledge and keen insight into the city’s history and cocktail scene. Enlisting special guests to help guide the tours, Wayne and his team will lead immersive experiences throughout the French Quarter.
Tales Catalyst
Admission with Seminar + Tasting Pass
Tuesday, July 21, 2026
Celebrate the 2026 Tales Catalyst Honorees! Hear from the 2026 International Honoree, Anna Sebastian, and the U.S. Honoree, Kapri Robinson, during Tales Catalyst on Tuesday, July 21, 2026. Created to celebrate women and non-binary individuals who are breaking barriers and championing inclusivity within the global beverage community, Tales Catalyst will honor two individuals—one U.S. and one International—at the 2026 Tales of the Cocktail conference in New Orleans.
Spirited Awards
Thursday, July 23, 2026
Tickets on Sale June 8, 2026
Join us for an unforgettable evening at the 20th Annual Spirited Awards®, the most prestigious celebration in the global cocktail and spirits industry. Taking place on Thursday, July 23, 2026, at the iconic Fillmore New Orleans, this renowned ceremony honors excellence across U.S. and International bar culture, writing and media, and features highly coveted titles such as Bartender of the Year and World’s Best Bar.