EVENT PREVIEW: Village Voice's 3rd Annual Holiday Spirits 2015

Village Voice's 2015 Holiday Spirits event is this Thursday, November 19, and all you really need to know from me is that it's unlimited drink samples, and it's on a boat. I've gone on and on about Village Voice events [like here, here, here, and here...] so it's time to let the organizers of Holiday Spirits tell you themselves.
There is always an amazing selection of spirits at this event. How do you choose which spirits to include?
We curate the Holiday Spirits event by inviting local distilleries and wineries that are focused on creating artisanal and unique spirits within New York City. We also extend invites to some of our favorites beyond New York City as well and always welcome distillers who are passionate about their craft that want to reach NYC’s cocktail and drink connoisseurs. It’s important to us each year to change the line-up and introduce our guests to new flavors in the spirits world, as well as bring back some returning event favorites.
I'm already excited for the drink selection - do you provide guidelines to the vendors on what kinds of cocktails to provide?
We suggest that each vendor bring a specially crafted signature cocktail but also allow them to pour their liquors neat if they wish to provide guests with a true taste of their products. For instance, Tanteo Tequila is bringing a Jalapeño Margarita while Van Brunt Stillhouse will be sampling tastes of their malt whiskey. For a drink menu preview, visit our site to take a peek!
What makes this Holiday Spirits event different from the previous Holiday Spirits events?
This year’s Village Voice Holiday Spirits event will feature many new distilleries including Kings County Distillery (who won “Best Local Distillery” in our Best of NYC 2015 issue and is NYC’s oldest operating whiskey distillery), Queens Courage Gin from Astoria; Port Morris Distillery from the Bronx; Denning’s Point Distillery from Beacon; Iron Smoke Distillery from upstate Fairport; and Sag Harbor Rum from the eastern end of Long Island. The event also features spirits beyond New York, such as Hood River Distillers from Oregon.
We’ve also expanded this year’s event to include a more extensive dinner for all guests, our first-ever live salsa band in the Rums of Puerto Rico Top Deck Lounge where you can shake your tail feather and a longer New York Harbor sail around Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty.
Besides the drinks, what else can we look forward to at this year's event?
We will have a full complimentary dinner for all guests including passed hors d’oeuvres, a carving station, pasta station, barbecue station, Asian fusion station plus passed desserts and a coffee & tea station.
Where else can you sample 25+ of the hottest distillers while enjoying dinner, dancing and dazzling skyline views from a New York Harbor Cruise?
See you on Thursday, November 19th at Holiday Spirits! Cheers to the holiday season - snag tickets now.