Museum of the American Cocktail to Stir Things Up in Las Vegas

    The Museum of the American Cocktail announces the opening of its new exhibit at Commander’s Palace, Las Vegas, March 5-8 to coincide with the 2006 Nightclub & Bar Show.
    Founded by Dale and Jill DeGroff, Anistatia Miller, Jared Brown, Ted Haigh, Robert Hess, Phil Greene and Chris McMillian, The Museum of the American Cocktail is a nonprofit organization that provides education in mixology and preserves the rich history of the cocktail. In Las Vegas, visitors will be treated to a close up view of more than 200 years of cocktail history. Designed by curator Ted (Dr. Cocktail) Haigh, the show includes vintage cocktail shakers, Prohibition-era literature and music, and other cocktail memorabilia from the outstanding collections of the Museum’s founders and friends.
    The Museum also will open a permanent exhibit this month in New York City at 215 West 28th Street, inside Balance, a cocktail lounge appropriately located in what was once a hot 19th century saloon district. The Museum and lounge will be dedicated to presenting classic cocktails and innovations by well-known mixologists. Curated by renowned historian David Wondrich, the exhibit will focus on cocktail history in New York, profiling legendary bartenders and saloons while exploring drinks and stories from various eras.
    Open by appointment only, visitors can view the exhibit and sample period cocktails. In the evening, Balance will offer drinks from significant periods of the cocktail’s history as well as modern cocktails created by noted mixologists. Knowledgeable staff will be on hand to explain the history of the various cocktails that will be featured on the changing menu each week thus enhancing consumer awareness and affording guests a special new experience each time they visit. Balance will also be available as an event space on both its main floor and the mezzanine.
    The Museum Mixology Seminar Series will be offered in New York, Las Vegas, San Francisco, Seattle, Washington, D.C., and Boston throughout 2006, presented by leading mixologists around the country. For a list of seminars, visit museumoftheamericancocktail.org.