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See you in Portland!

The Cocktail Camp team owes a huge Thank You! to everyone who came out on Sunday and helped make Cocktail Camp PDX such a blast. Those of you who were there know what I mean.

The photos are starting to come in, and here’s a few of ours to give people something to look forward to in 2012.

For more of ours, head over to Cocktailia and check out the cocktailcamp tag on Flickr to see what other people have shared.

Cocktail Camp is tomorrow! We’re as excited as you are, so we’ve put together a short list of things you might want to know as you get ready for your day.

Getting There

The Gerding Theater web site already has everything you need to know to get here by car or public transit, including local parking options. So I’ll just link to them here: Directions and parking info.

We encourage everyone to drink responsibly, so avail yourself of Portland’s great public transit if you can.

Food and Drink

Well, drink is the whole point, right? If you’ve been following along on the Cocktail Camp blog, you already know about the morning, lunchtime, and afternoon cocktail bars and social hours. Here’s a brief reminder:

• 10:30 – Lillet Meet and greet
• 1:00 – Northwest Distillery lunchtime social hour
• 3:00 – House Spirits afternoon social hour

Each cocktail hour will actually run for 90 minutes and will each feature two cocktails and a punch showcasing some of the sponsors’ products. Six drink tickets are included with your entry price and if that’s not enough, additional tickets are available for only $2 each (cocktails are half-sized, so don’t worry about having to skip some).

With all that going on, you’ll definitely need to eat something. Food will be available from the Armory Cafe, which will be open all day for everything from coffee and pastries to sandwiches, salads, and plenty of non-alcoholic drinks.

Social Media

We love social media! Everyone is encouraged to live-blog, live-tweet, or whatever else they want throughout the day.

• Use the #ccpdx hashtag on Twitter
• Tag your Flickr photos cocktailcamp and cocktailcamppdx
• Add your photos to the Cocktail Camp Facebook page

And if you post your writeups or photos anywhere else, tell @CocktailCamp via Twitter and we’ll make sure everyone else sees them. And be sure to follow us!

Afterparty

After last year’s Cocktail Camp, a bunch of us met up at Clyde Common for a sort of unofficial afterparty. That was almost as much fun as the event itself, so let’s do it again this year. They don’t know we’re coming, so we won’t have reserved tables or anything, but it’ll be early enough that fitting in shouldn’t be a problem. See you there?

Thank you

Finally, be sure to introduce yourself to the Cocktail Camp staff on Sunday. We love meeting the people who make this all possible. We couldn’t do it without you.

This year’s programs were delivered yesterday and so I thought I’d give you a sneak preview of what you’ll be getting when you arrive the morning of April 10:

Like with the event itself, we went a little bigger and better this year. The Cocktail Camp 2011 programs are full of beautiful photography, information about our speakers and sponsors, and recipes for most of the cocktails and punches you’ll be drinking at the event. They’re like little mini-magazines you’ll want to keep around for a long time to come. And they are, of course, included free in your admission price.

These wouldn’t have been possible without the great work and generous support of Bridgetown Printing. Seriously, these guys are awesome.

You can see a few more photos in our Cocktail Camp 2011 photoset on Flickr.

3:00pm sees the opening of the last, but most certainly not least, of the cocktail hours we have arranged for you. You started the day off with cocktails and punch by Lillet, took a lunch break with Northwest Distillery, and learned about how to properly taste spirits and beer, how to mix those two things, and all about these new American whiskeys you’ve been hearing so much about.

Our afternoon social hour signals a change of pace for the remainder of the day. At the bar, you’ll be trying two cocktails and a punch from House Spirits Distillery, featuring their famous Aviation Gin and Krogstad Aquavit. Kyle Webster will be taking a break from the bar at St. Jack in order to serve these up for you as you prepare for our afternoon sessions.

Here’s what he has lined up for you:

33rd State – Krogstad Aquavit, Imbue vermouth, grapefruit, simple syrup. Served up.

Stuyvesant – Aviation Gin, Combier, lime, Bonal Gentian, Peychaud’s bitters. Served up.

Midnight Sun punch – Krogstad Aquavit, grapefruit, raspberry gum syrup, Angostura bitters

The afternoon discussions move into the direction of helping you apply the things you’ve been learning the first half of the day. Next up is Yes, You Can Entertain, in which David Shenaut and Jacqueline Patterson show you how to plan your own cocktail parties. And once you’re ready to get started, put a final flourish on your cocktail menu with some DIY Sodas, Syrups, and Bitters. Jennifer Colliau and Columbine Quillen will wrap up the day showing you how to do just this. These back-to-back DIY talks will leave you inspired and prepare you to really wow your guests (just don’t forget to invite us!).

Today is the last day for early ticket sales. Prices go up on April first (no joke, I’m afraid). If you don’t have yours yet, buy your tickets now!

You whet your appetite upon arriving to Cocktail Camp with the Lillet social hour and meet-and-greet and The Art of Tasting and now you’re ready to do a little tasting of your own. Northwest Distillery is here to help.

Our lunchtime cocktail bar and social hour is sponsors by Northwest Distillery and will be featuring cocktails developed and poured by Nathan Gerdes, who you met in the aforementioned Art of Tasting discussion and may also know from your visits to great Portland bars such as Hotel Fifty, Thatch Tiki Bar, or the now-closed Alu. Or maybe you remember him from Cocktail Camp 2010 where he taught us the importance of water in cocktails, from choosing your ice to knowing when to shake or stir.

This time around he’ll be mixing up two cocktails and a punch showcasing some of Northwest Distillery’s products. Here’s what they’ve got on the menu:

North West Andesine – Liquid Vodka, Imbue Vermouth, Dolin Rouge Vermouth, lemon chamomile simple syrup, and a rinse of Kubler Absinthe, served up and garnished with lemon.

English Violet – Lavishmint Vodka, lemon chamomile simple syrup, Rothman & Winter Crème de Violette, served up with an edible violet.

St Helens Punch – Liquid Vodka, Cock and Bull Ginger Beer, maraschino, lemon, lime, orange, pineapple, and allspice dram.

Our first social hour of the afternoon runs from 1:00 until 2:30, with the next discussion not starting until 2:00, so you’ve got plenty of time to sample the drinks and get to know some of your fellow cocktail enthusiasts.

And don’t forget, we’re now doing six drink tickets instead of four, so your decisions will be a little easier.

Cocktail Camp tickets are still on sale but are only available at the $40 starting price until this Friday. Buy your tickets now!