Bonnaroo attendees could relax in hammocks and enter to win V.I.P. passes in the "Great State Lounge" hosted by State Farm. The insurance company also provided what it called "Bonnaroo Roadside Assistance"—free services such as help with flat tires and dead batteries.
Things tend to get messy at food festivals, tastings, and other events with lots of grub, so Delta provided toothpicks, hand wipes, and mints at the 2010 New York City Wine & Food Festival, a smart way to get the brand in front of attendees.
Chicago Dine Around’s progressive dining option for private groups gives out-of-towners the chance to experience an interactive city tour aboard a luxury coach bus while en route to visit three different restaurants: one for appetizers, one for the main course, and one for dessert. Tour guides encourage interaction by quizzing attendees on Chicago trivia during the three-hour event, and there’s also the option to end with a post-meal show at a local theater. The private tour is available for as many as 450 guests; packages start from $65 per person.
Based in Dallas, Food Tours of America offers two customizable options for private groups: a two-and-a-half-hour walking tour, which costs $65 per person and includes three stops at sit-down restaurants plus a made-from-scratch dessert, or a three-and-half-hour walking tour of the city’s Uptown neighborhood, which costs $85 per person. In addition to seated tastings of local grub such as barbecue brisket nachos, chicken shawarma, fried pickles, and chimichangas, the second option also includes a visit to a local art gallery and a souvenir tour photo. Alcohol pairings and wine tastings can be added on for an additional fee. There is a maximum of 18 people per tour guide, but larger groups can book multiple guides.
Whether guests are looking to dine at a swanky restaurant or a local cheap-eats favorite, Miami Culinary Tours can deliver. The company offers guided food tours that also educate participants on local culture, history, and architecture. Private tours are customizable but typically last four hours and include five stops. Options cost between $59 and $79 per person and include the South Beach Cocktail Tour, the Wynwood, Midtown, and Design District Tour, the Cuban-Inspired Food Tour, and the Miami City Food Tour. Outings can be conducted by foot or aboard a festive Chiva bus, a colorful open-air form of transportation popular in Colombia and Ecuador.
Six Taste Food Tours in Los Angeles has relaunched, specializing in three- to four-hour guided walking tours of local neighborhoods for private groups of six or more people. Guests get the chance to sample popular dishes from as many as eight different restaurants while learning about the history and culture of areas such as Little Tokyo, downtown, Santa Monica, Hollywood, Arcadia, New Chinatown, and Thai Town. Itineraries are based on the group’s preferences and budget, which can range from $40 to $250 per person. Adding on a wine and dessert tasting at the end of the tour is an option, and all but the Delicious Dumpling and New Chinatown tours are vegetarian-friendly.
DC Metro Food Tours’ evening dine-arounds combine a multicourse, progressive meal set up with a historical and architectural walking tour of neighborhoods such as Old Town, Georgetown, Capitol Hill, Penn Quarter, and Loudoun. While private tours, which have room for more than 200 people, are customizable when it comes to the number and types of restaurants included on the itinerary, a standard three-hour tour has guests visiting two to three restaurants, including casual holes-in-the-wall and five-star eateries, with menus highlighting local specialties and ethnic favorites. Food-focused teambuilding challenges and scavenger hunts are also available. Evening dine-arounds start from $67 per person.
“We are absolutely trending towards an era of less reverential and more irreverent cocktail drinking," says Jamie Gordon, manager of mixology for Pernod Ricard USA. "There is still a great appreciation towards the craft as a whole, but bartenders are finally working out that a tongue-in-cheek delivery of a good drink still delivers a good drink.” At the Absolut party during Tales of the Cocktail, servers used syringes to serve shots to guests in a room with the feel of a mad scientist's lab (pictured).
"The most interesting cocktail trend I noticed at Tales this year were cocktail fountains," says Claire Smith, Belvedere Vodka's head of spirit creation and mixology. "I think these will gain popularity at corporate events because they are both fantastic for serving signature cocktails to larger groups and also serve as a gorgeous decorative element for an event." Another vodka brand, Absolut, used cocktail fountains at its party during Tales of the Cocktail (pictured).
Paul Monahan, a brand ambassador for Sailor Jerry, is aging cocktails in barrels used to make whiskey. He has made large batches of Sailor Jerry Old Fashioneds and aged them for there months in barrels already used to make Glenfiddich or Hudson. (Like Sailor Jerry, both are William Grant & Sons brands.)
Punches have been a popular trend for a few years now, and mixologists continue to seek ways to make them different. Andy Gemmell, global brand ambassador for Dewar's, said he has been rediscovering punch recipes from the 1700s that use honey, herbs, and spices. A pop-up version of the Dead Rabbit—a New York cocktail bar several people mentioned as a new leader in conversations during the festival—hosted by Pinot Ricard Irish whiskey brands Jameson and Midleton had bowls of punch set out on the bar with teacups (pictured) guests could fill themselves (or have bartenders properly garnish).
