Tickets are on sale now! Get them here!
I know that right now, this week, every cocktail maven’s mind is on Tales of the Cocktail and every cocktail maven’s body is in New Orleans. (We are on our way there ourselves as you read this!) But, have you thought to yourself: “What am I to do after Tales is over?”
Worry not. You can take August off—we all do—but we have your September all mapped out. From Sept. 13 to Sept. 20 in Chicago, The Mix will present The Second Annual Martini Expo.
The first, held last September at Industry City in Brooklyn, was the first-of-its-kind convention dedicated to the culture, craft, and legacy of the Martini. This will be the second such unicorn.
Thanks for reading The Mix with Robert Simonson! This post is public so feel free to share it.
We are holding it in Chicago this year because the Martini belongs to the world, not just one city; and Chicago is a great drinking city. And we have expanded it to run from a full week, and not just in one location! There will be Martini dinners; a kick-off dinner; participating Martini Expo bars; The Martini Mixer with the “Martini Masters” (copyright, baby—we came up with that term first); surprise events we’re not telling you about yet because we haven’t ironed out all the details; and a fantastic finish on the final day with seminars, a Three-Martini Lunch and a special Happy Hour.
Oh, have I mentioned that tickets are on sale NOW to the Mixer and the seminars?
There are only a few hundred tickets available for each, so I wouldn’t dilly-dally.
Last year’s Expo was the first time The Mix ventured into public-event territory (apart from our lovely, annual, cocktail-hour get-togethers with our Bar Regular subscribers). It was a learning curve. It was just two journos and an event planner (the glorious Claire Bertin-Lang) putting on a show in the old barn!
If you remember, the idea came to us one early spring evening spent over Martinis in the Montauk Club in Brooklyn. We were brainstorming ideas for The Mix—as one does—when we observed there had never been a symposium or convention centered on the Martini, and there ought to be.
We laughed at the idea for a few seconds, took another sip, and then stopped and said, “Wait, that’s actually not a bad idea.” If ever a single cocktail could support an entire confab, it’s the Martini.
We wondered who might be best equipped to stage such a thing.
Then we thought, “Well, why not us?”
So, here we are back at it for another go-round. And once again, the Expo is being produced and managed by Claire Bertin-Lang and her Hero Events Group. It you are in the cocktail industry, you know Claire. She’s the person behind the scenes on countless events at Tales of the Cocktail and Brooklyn Bar Convent, as well as events put on by brands like Fords Gin and Bacardi. She’s excellent at what she does and we feel very fortunate to have her. (If you have a booze event you want to do coming up, we recommend you contact her.)
We really hope you will join us and if you have any logistical questions, do not hesitate to contact us at marykateatthemix@gmail.com
See you there!!
Tickets are on sale now! Get them here.
Just like last year, we will lead up to The Martini Expo by promoting a full week of mini Martini celebrations, highlighting the favorite versions of this classic cocktail at bars across Chicagoland. The drink featured may be their famous house Martini or something entirely new they’ve created just for Martini Expo Week. We will update you here on the bars’ locations; and you’ll be able to see these locations on the Bartender Magazine Martini Expo Week Heat Map!! It’s an exciting way to kick-things off!
Not only will Martini Expo Week be happening all week long at participating bars, but, we have extended our programming the full week! Stay tuned for news of when tickets go on sale for additional events. In the meantime, here are a few hints at what’s to come:
Have we secured one of Chicago’s best cocktail bars to throw a pop-up party with the most eagerly awaited opening of a Martini Bar started by one of the world’s most famous bar owners, serving Martinis made with an amazing sponsor of the Martini Expo? Why yes, we have.
Are there Martini Dinners in their final planning stages at incredible restaurants, with the best bartenders and brands. Yes, yes, there are.
Will there be a Martini History Tour with stops for delicious food and Martinis? Absolutely.
And finally, will we have a Martini Expo Kick-Off Dinner that is as delicious and as much fun as last year? To be honest, this one will be even better! Cheers!
Because tickets are limited for these main events, we have partnered with OpenTable to sell tickets, beginning with tickets for the Martini Mixer and the Seminar Day.
GET MARTINI EXPO TICKETS HERE!
The Martini Mixer is the main event, a spectacular, one-night cocktail experience that will take place on two, count ‘em, two floors of Hawksmoor Chicago. It will bring together the best bartending talent in Chicago, as well as around the country. There will be an indulgent spread of the finest food and drink, and an atmosphere that is equal parts sophistication and fun.
The Martini Masters 2026, whipping up their version of the Martini, will include (as of presstime): Colin Asare-Appiah, Kevin Beary, Toby Cecchini, Liam Davy, Meaghan Dorman, Lynn House, Charles Joly, Toby Maloney, Julia Momose, Katie Renshaw, Dan Smith, Peter Vestinos and Abe Vucekovich—and more!
This year the Seminars, Three Martini Lunch and Happy Hour will take place at the event space Salon 61, as well as the bars Gus’ Sip & Dip and Kitty’s Cosmopolitan Club. (These are all on the same block.) The Education Program will feature a dynamic line of seminars and panels led by some of the most knowledgeable, opinionated, and entertaining voices in the world of cocktails. They’ll be talking gin. They’ll be talking vermouth. They’ll be talking history!
There will also be a curated pop-up bookshop stocked with essential titles for cocktail enthusiasts and industry professionals alike and a catered walk-around Three Martini Lunch. As if that wasn’t enough, the day’s seminars will end with a Happy Hour where all can drink, eat and discuss the day’s events!
Chicago is one of the easiest cities to get to from anywhere in the world. And, once you are there, there are plenty of cabs, Lyfts, buses and even the L-train that will take you from O’Hare airport to the River North section of Chicago where most events at the Expo are taking place. We suggest you make your plans now.
Hotels
We are getting more information on hotels in the River North area (or, as we like to call it, “Martini Expo Central”). But in the meantime, here are some hotels that Robert and I love to make our homes when we are in Chicago.
We may be recommending the Palmer House due to the fact that Robert’s parents would pack the kids up in the station wagon and drive the whole family from Milwaukee to Chicago for a fun filled weekend here when he was young. Or because he was the date to the formal for countless sorority girls at Northwestern University (and some of those shindigs took place at the Palmer House). But, really, it’s because we’ve stayed there half a dozen times over the past decade and we still marvel at the Peacock Door; love to have drinks in the lobby bar; and find ourselves wandering about the halls thinking of the time when this hotel was home to the Empire Room, seemed like a small city unto itself and catered to Chicago’s finest tourists.
The Chicago Athletic Association
Long ago in another time—on someone else’s dime, when Paul McGee was running the now disappeared Cherry Circle Room—Robert stayed at the Chicago Athletic Association. He really thought it was swell. The rooms were small, but in a sort of chic Great-Gatsby-locker-room way; and the architecture is gorgeous. Situated across the street from The Bean, you couldn’t base your tourist time in Chicago more fittingly.
Situated just a few blocks from the Martini Expo events, this remnant of Route 66 is the last motel in downtown Chicago. We stayed here for the Chicago Cocktail Classic and it was fun. It was clean and comfy, but also motel-like in every way. It’s a retro trip. And walking distance to Portillo’s and many bars. You can request the rooms above the office that have picture windows looking up and down the intersection.
The Crowne Plaza Chicago West Loop
Back in January, when the Martini Expo Chicago was just a baby, we rushed to make reservations for Tales on Tour. I saw this hotel had a good rate and looked nice. It was the kind of place that hosted corporate gatherings, and had a nineties-style, long-low-fireplace lobby feel. But it was the perfect outpost for the long weekend. We even ended up in the huge hotel restaurant (the kind that has “Bourbon” in the name) one night for dinner. The bartender was a pro that made really good drinks and we enjoyed the burgers immensely.
We’ll be back with more on the Martini Expo in the weeks to come. In the meantime, keep your Martinis out of the sun.
—Robert and Mary Kate
We know quite a few Martini scholars. Like Bourbon, it is that rare intoxicant that has inspired an entire school of study. More books have been published about the Martini than any other cocktail. And more writers who otherwise concentrate on other matters have found happy distraction in the dissection of the Martini.
With that in mind, we could think of no better literary preamble to The Martini Expo than to ask some of the best Martini-minded scribblers we know to jot down a few thoughts about the world’s most celebrated cocktail. We are calling this series of essays The Martini Colloquy. We will run one essay a week beginning on July 27.
The series will begin with a piece of new writing by Lowell Edmunds, the dean of Martini scholarship. Edmunds, a Classics scholar, wrote a book-length treastise on The Martini, called The Silver Bullet, in 1981. It has since been updated as Martini, Straight Up, in 1998; as well as published in Italian in 2000, with a preface by Umberto Eco. Edmunds has never stopped thinking about the Martini and will share his most recent thoughts with The Mix readers.
Subsequent Martini essays will come from the hands of cocktail scholars Anistatia Miller and Jared Brown; food writer Alicia Kennedy; brewer and beer scholar Garrett Oliver; and cocktail historian David Wondrich.
If the series is received well, we will run additional Cocktail Colloquies, addressing other classic cocktails, in the future.
There’s a company in Chicago called Hoste. They make bottled cocktails. I first encountered them several years ago when they sent me a bottle of their bottled Old-Fashioned, named Gold Fashioned. The mixture was fashioned by Robby Haynes, a bartender of talent who used to work at The Violet Hour back in the day and then had his own bar Analogue for a while. It was good. Surprisingly good. It was made of Sherry-cask-finished Bourbon, Rye Whiskey, Saffron Bitters, Demerara syryp, and Orange Zest.
And that was that. I put the product out of my mind. But Hoste wasn’t done. They put out a bottled Mezcal Negroni, Perfect Manhattan (paging Florence Fabricant!) and The Martini. This last was created by esteemed Chicago bartender and Kumiko bar owner Julia Momose. Recently, we were lucky enough to visit Hoste headquarters and walked away with a bottle of the stuff. It is made with “bespoke gin distilled from hand selected botanicals inspired by the seasonal flavors, sights and scents of Momose’s hometown in Nara, Japan,” and dry vermouth from Little City Vermouth in Rochester, NY (a favorite brand here at The Mix). The box Includes a yuzu citrus zest atomizer for garnish.
Momose has created a wonderfully dry, savory Martini, one with plenty of unfamiliar herbal notes, yet one that hews closely to the boundaries of classic Martini territory. It’s a vigorous appetizer, both forthright and subtly layered.
The bottle goes for $65 and contained 10 full Martinis. That’s $6.50 for one of the best Martinis you’re going to find, bottled or not. A bargain.
As usual, Octavia Books will be hosting a pop-up book shop at Tales of the Cocktail, inside the Ritz-Carlton. And, as usual, authors will be on duty at various times of the week, singing copies of their tomes. Among these are The Mix subscribers Aaron Goldfarb, T. Cole Newton, and David Wondrich. I will not be on duty this week, but signed copies of my books will be available for sale… Hawksmoor, the esteemed London-based steakhouse, will be serving Manhattans and Martinis at Dickie Brennan’s on Thursday, July 23, from 2-5 p.m. … July 20-22, Absolut Vodka will takeover the much-loved mega-sandwich joint Turkey and the Wolf, 739 Jackson Avenue. It will be three-day affair of spicy Bloody Marys, crushable brunch cocktails, luxury comfort food and day drinking delights, featuring eight notable bars and restaurants, including Yacht Club, Kasama, Bar Snack, Mei Lin, Tjoget, Chippy’s by Dame NYC and Nini Nguyen… This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Spirited Awards, which have been called the Oscars of the cocktail world. They will be held July 23, 6-10 p.m., at The Filmore, 6 Canal Street. The ceremony highlights for The Mix this year will be David Wondrich accepting the Lifetime Achievement Award (at long last) and Bryant’s Cocktail Lounge being given a Timeless Award (at long last). Between us, Bryant’s owner John Dye and his crew, Milwaukee will be strong in the house that night!… On July 20, cocktail writer Wayne Curtis will conduct a cocktail tour of Bourbon Street, explaining how the hedonistic thoroughfare got that way. This walking tour will explore the evolution of America’s drinking mall, and delve into the background of some of the iconic drinks, including the Hurricane, Hand Grenade, and Shark Attack… On July 21, 12:30-3:30 p.m., Altamura Distilleries will host, for the fourth year in a row, a three-Martini lunch at The Mix favorite haunt, Galatoire’s Restaurant, 209 Bourbon St. This event is by invitation only… Speaking of Galatoire’s, if you want to find us on Friday midday, we’ll be where we always are, at the Bourbon Street icon enjoying ourselves massively with the rest of the Crescent City swells and fascinator mavens.
All Martini Expo 2025 Photos are by Shannon Sturgis.
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