El Dorado Returns To Tales Of The Cocktail With Extraordinary Rum, Food And Beer Pairings.

El Dorado Demerara Rum, general sponsor of this year's TOTC, will be taking part in two events this year. Mixologist Jacob Grier has prepared some incredible rum and craft beer cocktails for a spirited dinner at Emeril's Delmonico and will also take part in Saveur's Snack Stand at the Hotel Monteleone. These are just two of many events taking place over July 25th to 29th in some of New Orleans' coolest spots to enjoy a taste of great cocktails, informative seminars, competitions and award ceremonies, and of course, the spirit of the Big Easy.

Thursday, the 26th, Mr. Grier, author, blogger and lead bartender at Portland, OR's Metrovino, will present two El Dorado Rum and Beer cocktails at Brewing Up Cocktails, a four-course dinner at Emeril Lagasse's New Orlean's Steakhouse. The evening will start off with Jacob's Mai Ta-Ipa, crafted with El Dorado's oldest white rum, the 6 Year-Old Silver, and rich, dark 8 Year Old that made an appearance last year in the Cocktail Fresh Market event. Jacob adds a fermented and hoppy twist to the tiki-traditional Mai-Tai with a local, citrusy-hopped IPA. This opening cocktail will be a refreshing start along with Chef Spencer Minch's first course of Mint- Ginger Grilled Gulf Shrimp. The evening's event will close with a Ginger Panna Cotta and Jacob's twist on a flip, a Chocolate Stout flip with El Dorado's flagship rum, the Special Reserve 15, aged a minimum of 15 years.

With a sweet tooth in mind, El Dorado will also offer earlier in the day their own twist on Grog at Saveur's Snack Stand in the lobby at the historic French Quarter Hotel, Hotel Monteleone. From 4pm, El Dorado will offer their Seven Seas Grog, featuring their aged Spiced rum with Barritt's Bermuda Stone Ginger Beer, pomegranate juice, fresh lime and jalapeno. A rummy Brownie with 8 year-old infused whipped cream sprinkled with lime zest offers a tangy and sweet afternoon treat to compliment El Dorado's take on the multitude of flavors sailors encountered traversing the Earth with their Demerara Rum always on board. Grog is something El Dorado knows all about as the distillery boasts four of the oldest working stills in the world, including the original Wooden Pot Stills that produced rum for the British Royal Navy for centuries. El Dorado continues a centuries-old tradition of crafting Caribbean Rum from locally grown sugarcane on the Demerara River and aging in once-used, re-coopered American Bourbon barrels under a tropical climate that doubles the angel's share of spirits aged in cooler climates to the North. Director of Marketing, U.S.A., Nalini Tiwari, thrilled with last year's experience at TOTC, expanded this year's exposure at what is a perfect fit for El Dorado. "Given all the history and care that goes into each bottle we want to do justice to the rum by creating cocktails that are made with the freshest available ingredients and highlight the versatility of the rum with a multitude of food and now beer. We started playing around with craft beer in Philly, an incredible beer town, and Jacob's enthusiasm, knowledge and creativity with beer and spirits was a natural fit for El Dorado. Our involvement with Tales is the best way to represent the brand."

El Dorado certainly has made an impression since last year's inaugural participation in TOTC. In events leading up to July in New Orleans, El Dorado has been part of two winning cocktail competitions. TOTC in partnership with Mutineer Magazine announced the winner of the 2012 Official Cocktail Competition as Dominic Venegas of NoMad Hotel, for his original creation, the "Rum Row" Old Fashioned, featuring El Dorado's 12. In the Mixing it Up Porto Cocktail Competition, El Dorado's 12 joined up with Sandeman Founder