EVENT PREVIEW: Village Voice's First Annual 'Holiday Spirits' Tasting Event!

 

The Village Voice has been killing it on the food event game lately, with their popular Choice Eats and Choice Streets events, as well as the recent Brooklyn Pour - and now they've added a new event to their roster - the first annual Holiday Spirits Tasting Event!  This event, taking place on Thursday, December 5 at Long Island City's Studio Square, will highlight 31 spirits from all over New York City (as well as a couple other places around the country) - and the date commemorates the 80th anniversary of the day that ended the Prohibition era, so we think that's a pretty good reason to knock back a few spirits.

This year's participating spirits include Brooklyn Winery, Brooklyn Gin, Van Brunt Stillhouse, Tito's Handmade Vodka, Jack From Brooklyn, Cooperstown Distillery, and many, many more - additionally, there will also be food tastings (so you're not drinking on an empty stomach) as well as live music from The Blue Vipers of Brooklyn and a set by DJ Tim Martell.

Tickets are still available - head over to the website and pick up a VIP ticket for $70 (which gets you extra drinking time)or a General Admission ticket, which is normally $50 - but you can get it for a whopping 50% off with the promo code THANKS.

We are lucky to get a few words with Christina Pettit, one of the Village Voice's event directors - here's what she has to say on what visitors can expect from Holiday Spirits!

The Couch Sessions: As huge fans of Village Voice events, we were really excited to hear that there will be one focused on spirits!  How did the idea for Holiday Spirits come about?

Christina Pettit: We're so glad to hear that! Holiday Spirits stems from the essence of our many other Village Voice events that provide unlimited sampling for one ticket price. We produce Brooklyn Pour which focuses on gathering fine craft beers while Choice Eats and Choice Streets bring together some of the best restaurants and food trucks within the five boroughs. For this event, we wanted to highlight some of the fantastic distilleries and wineries based in New York City and beyond that are focused on producing great artisanal spirits and wines.

What was the process in selecting the spirits that will be participating in the event?

We really wanted to provide a platform for many of these wonderful local distilleries and wineries to showcase their spirits to our guests. Many of them have been featured within our Village Voice Fork in the Road food blog and others we have just plain sipped ourselves (maybe a bit too much...) and loved!

There seems to be a broad range of spirits involved - how important was it that the local distilleries be included?

It was one of our first initiatives for the event - to focus on local distilleries and wineries but we didn't want to exclude anyone either so we are welcoming some other brands as well! Guests can expect to sample from Brooklyn Gin, Van Brunt Stillhouse, Greenhook Ginsmiths and many more from Brooklyn but also from Tuthilltown Spirits, Black Dirt Distilling, Brotherhood, America's Oldest Winery and others from upstate New York too.

We know that there will be so much going on at Holiday Spirits - what are a couple things we must absolutely not miss out on?

We want to tell you not to miss a sip from any of these spirits but you will need to pace yourself! Snack on some of our complimentary passed hors d'oeuvres. Take in the view of the Manhattan skyline. Strike a pose in our photobooth. Check out our 1920's-esque live jazz band, The Blue Vipers of Brooklyn. And then go to Brotherhood, America's Oldest Winery's table and ask them how they managed to make it through Prohibition. Don't miss the opportunity to try some moonshine with hot mulled cider from the Hudson Valley's Dutch's Spirits - named after mobster Dutch Schultz.

What do you hope guests will gain from attending Holiday Spirits?

We're hoping that everyone can take a much-needed break from the holiday season to enjoy some great cocktails on the 80th Anniversary of the day that ended the Prohibition Era! Guests will be introduced to so many great distilleries and wineries at Holiday Spirits so we hope they find a new favorite spirit to keep them warm all winter long and that it inspires them to visit the distillery or winery in person!

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We're so excited for the event - look our for our event coverage, or better yet, snag yourself a (discounted!) ticket, and experience Holiday Spirits for yourself.  See you there!