Cocktail lovers and bartenders gather in Portland

Sunday evening marked the kickoff event for the third annual Portland Cocktail Week (PDXCW2012).  The 2012 edition, which runs from October 21 through October 25, boasts an expanded schedule featuring two days of seminars and vendor presentations directed toward professional bartenders on Monday and Tuesday, and even more seminars and vendor presentations targeted at writers and bloggers on Tuesday and Wednesday, with a final round of events on Thursday.  Attendance has doubled from 2011; 472 bartenders and cocktail professionals pre-registered and have come to Portland this year.  All 34 chapters of the US Bartenders Guild are represented, with attendees traveling to Portland from 26 states.

One of the reasons people come to cocktail weeks is for the festivities, and festivities there will be.  While the days are devoted to liquor oriented education on topics ranging from writing a business plan for a cocktail bar to cocktail photography, the nights are devoted to parties and celebration.  Tuesday evening seems to be the party peak; there are no less than four vendor sponsored events scheduled at different watering-holes around the city, and your correspondent will try to cover as many of them as is possible.

PDXCW2012 is not the only cocktail week, but it is rapidly becoming one of the ones to attend. Cocktail weeks are becoming more popular every year. New Orleans' Tales of the Cocktail is the most well-known; it lasts ten days and is likely to destroy the liver of anyone who attends the entire event.  Better known cities with vibrant cocktail scenes that host events include New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and London, so if you love cocktails and can’t make it to PDXCW2012, keep an eye out for an event in a city near you.