Thursday was the official kickoff party for the San Antonio Cocktail Conference at the Majestic Theater. The evening was filled with the smooth tunes from Mayer Hawthorne, food from local restaurants and—of course—cocktails. SA Flavor and Matthew Niemann Photography were on hand for the festivities and here are some of our favorite photos from the evening.
Local distillery Cinco Vodka was on hand with their drink called Mana—vodka, Grand Marnier with mint and cranberry bitters. Check out our video with founder Trey Azar from last year’s cocktail conference.
Mixtli made a Poblano pepper tostada that was creamy with a nice kick—bonus points for the cactus burner-esque torch.
Ole Smoky made me a believer in moonshine with this ginger beer and blackberry cocktail that I’ll just call a “Lightning Mule.” This was by far the best drink of the evening—if you hear of a bar that has it on hand, let me know.
Luis Morales of Humble House Foods was there with his outstanding hummus and pesto. But he went next level with a crab bisque (I think the name was a Brazlian one) and pork tacos. Notice how the rack is empty? Those tacos moved fast.
What’s the best way to keep an ancho infused margarita cool? Why in a giant ice bowl of course—at least according to Milagro Tequila.
The Bee’s Knees Catering company offered a tasty tortilla Española and a prosciutto wrapped date.
Woodford Reserve had one of the most creative drinks of the night—bourbon infused fruit juice that was flash frozen into a sorbet with liquid nitrogen.
The boudin from the Cookhouse—my favorite bite from the evening—bumped the restaurant up to the top of my “Must Try” list.
This Hudson Manhattan Rye whiskey will make an appearance in my liquor cabinet in the near future.
While I didn’t care for this cocktail at all, I loved the photo we got of this Roca Patrón, champagne and pomegranate drink. I think they should’ve served their añejo Old Fashioned that they had at the Ruth’s Chris paired dinner the previous week.
Deep Eddy showed off their new lemon vodka—I’m sure that it will find a way into many 2015 Summer cocktails along the coast.
Mayer Hawthorne kept the crowds grooving to some classic soul—check him out on Spotify, I love “The Walk.”
And there was even a guy rolling cigars on the patio.
Overall everyone had a pretty rad time.
We’ll have more 2015 San Antonio Cocktail Conference coverage later in the week—Jessica Luhrman will have a recap of Friday’s Waldorf on the Prairie event and I’ll be back with more photos from the Stroll on Houston along with a recap of the Mezcal class. So stay tuned!
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