Museum Sponsor Prospectus

CONTACT: JILL DEGROFF
Museum of the American Cocktail, Inc.
516.565.4981 [email protected]
www.museumoftheamericancocktail.org
SPONSOR PROSPECTUS
The Museum
of the American CocktailTM
Has Finally Arrived!
Get Ready to embark
on an unforgettable journey
of the American Cocktal!
A fantastic network of the world's most passionate and talented
bartenders, collectors, promoters, historians, and writers on the
subject of drink, have united to implement a visually exciting tribute
to the American Cocktail.
Our goal is to establish a self-sustaining, non-profit museum and tourist
attraction that celebrates and preserves a truly rich aspect of our
culture; the American Cocktail... and what better place to do it but in
the city of New Orleans!
With Your Sponsorship and Support,
We Can Establish the World's First Museum
Dedicated to the American Cocktail!
Mission Statement
The Museum of the American Cocktail is a nonprofit organization which seeks to
celebrate a true American cultural icon, the American Cocktail. Having roots in New
Orleans, the American cocktail has influenced music, theater, art, film, and politics
around the world during its two-century-old history. Founded by the King of Cocktails,
Dale DeGroff, and a host of the world's most passionate cocktail authorities and
historians, the Museum of the American Cocktail seeks to elevate both professional
and consumer knowledge of mixology through exhibits, classes and tasting sessions, as
well as publications and multimedia presentations. Our goals are:
• To establish a non-profit museum and tourist attraction that celebrates and
preserves a rich aspect of American culture; the American cocktail, in an
environment reminiscent of the great cocktail palaces that flourished toward the
end of the nineteenth century.
• To establish a permanent exhibition space that will discover, collect, and
preserve original and source materials illustrative of the American Cocktail and
its influence on the world's beverage industry.
• To undertake an education program to promote and stimulate public interest in
the appreciation of American Cocktail, while sampling classic cocktails at an
authentic turn-of-the-century bar-The Professor Jerry Thomas BarTM.
• To educate both professionals and the public in the fine art of crafting the
cocktail through a series of mixology seminars conducted by the world's foremost
authorities on cocktail history and American cocktails.
• To disseminate knowledge about the Cocktail and mixology through the
preparation, editing, and publication of historical materials descriptive and
illustrative of these areas, especially through an annual journal, newsletter,
annotated reproductions of classic cocktail books, and original works written by
the world's authorities on the subject, many of whom are the museum's founders.
• To acquire and offer for research purposes a library of literature on the
subjects of cocktails, spirits, and drinking in both paper and digital form, housed
in the museum's permanent location.
• To reach out to the New Orleans community through activities and events
which will enlighten its citizenry about this integral part of the city's history.
• To broaden career opportunities for young people who are interested in careers
in the bar service or spirits industry and encourage more participation from
women and members of under-represented groups in the mixology field.
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Structure & Activities
The Museum of the American Cocktail will actively involve residents, scholars, and
visitors in the American Cocktail's history and lore, and will keep collections and
programs attuned to the rapidly changing, multicultural population.
Museum Collections & Exhibitions
The Museum of the American CocktailTM will lead visitors through the fascinating
two-hundred-year-old history of the American Cocktail.
Situated in the Pharmacy Museum in New Orleans'
French Quarter
from January through September 2005, The Museum
of the American CocktailTM will contain an extensive
collection of rare books, Prohibition-era literature and
music, vintage cocktail shakers, glassware, drink archives,
tools, gadgets and all sorts of cocktail memorabilia and
photographs from the outstanding collections of our
founders. Larger-than-life reproductions will enliven the
set and bring visitors up close to the subject.
Once the Museum becomes established in its permanent home, the museum will also
feature multimedia presentations that will bring the cocktail's history even more to life
with film clips, interactive displays, songs, and sounds.
Research and Publication
The American Cocktail's history and lore are just two examples of the diverse subject
matter that will be explored on an ongoing basis by the museum's founders, guest
curators, outside researchers, writers, and historians. The results of this research will be
published on an annual basis in the museum's journal The Mixologist: The Journal of
The Museum of the American Cocktail, in exhibition catalogues, and in original works
written by the world's top cocktail authorities.
A library of rare and out-of-print literature as well as modern titles on the
subjects of cocktails, spirits, and drinking in both paper and digital form, will
be made available for writers and researchers, housed in the museum's
permanent location. Books and films that document the cocktail's influence
on American and European culture will all be acquired and made for
viewing at the museum's permanent location.
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Mixology Seminars
The Museum of the American CocktailTM will also serve as an association of the
nation's most accomplished mixologists, who will come to the museum to share
their knowledge and talent to aspiring professionals and cocktail aficionados.
An essential component in this role are Dale DeGroff's Mixology Seminars and the
Professor Jerry Thomas BarTM.
Dale DeGroff's Mixology Seminars will offer cocktail history and mixology seminars
conducted by the world's foremost authorities on cocktails and beverage preparation.
Here, they will have the opportunity to share their individual styles and their cocktails,
continuously building the museum reputation as a forum for the continued
development of the fine art of mixology.
The Professor Jerry Thomas Bar TM
, a recreation of a Victorian-era bar-will offer visitors
an opportunity to sample classic cocktails, while learning more about each cocktail's
history from a presiding mixologist.
Outreach
Partnerships with existing programs such as the Southern Comfort Tales of the
Cocktail Tour and the Pharmacy Museum as well new, innovative programs such as
Dale DeGroff's Mixology Seminars will be offered to enlighten and engage citizens and
visitors in New Orleans.
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The Founders
The Museum of the American Cocktail's founders are its greatest asset.
They will contribute their expertise on the subject as well as loan pieces
from their outstanding collections that include rare books, menus, glassware,
cocktail shakers, old periodicals, motion pictures, and memorabilia of all
kinds. Given their diverse talents, they will create an environment in which
ongoing research, professional and consumer mixology education, and
special events will keep the Museum fresh and dynamic.
Dale DeGroff, one of the museum’s primary founders as well as the world’s
premiere mixologist is spearheading the project in an effort to bring about a
better understanding and appreciation of the historical significance and
evolution of the cocktail.
Anistatia Miller and Jared Brown will establish the museum's library and
publishing division. A three-decade veteran of the publishing industry and
creative director for a Manhattan-based marketing and public relations firm,
Miller will establish the museum's annual journal of scholarly research. Coauthor and journalist Jared Brown will spearhead the acquisition and
presentation of the museum's library of books, brochures, and films.
The American art of mixology is a fun and enriching subject that is in
serious need of an organized documentation process. Ted Haigh, aka "Dr.
Cocktail", an outstanding graphic designer for the film industry, will design
the exhibit. Haigh and other scholars of the cocktail including Robert Hess,
Lowell Edmunds, Philip Greene, and David Wondrich will continue their
historical research and oversee collection development, conservation, and
acquisition. Hess is building a dynamic companion website for the museum
that will enable visitors to gather information and converse with one
another online.
Jill DeGroff will establish and maintain contacts with the press, media, and
community, and produce promotional materials, advertisements, brochures,
and other marketing support materials. She will also build membership and
coordinate the mixology sessions.
A full-time museum coordinator-and New Orleans resident-will serve as
curator and event coordinator in charge of day-to-day operations. Local
freelancers and other essential subcontractors will be used on an as-needed
basis for exhibition construction, presentation, and other essential services.
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Museum Membership and Admissions
Building Membership
Your support in building this non-profit venture is crucial. We ask that you give
generously as we work to establish the first museum in the world dedicated to
preserving and celebrating the history and culture o9 the American Cocktail.
Annual membership is offered at the following levels:
Standard: Bartenders and Students
$35/yr.
($25 tax-deductible: 20% discount on mixology seminars, online newsletter, online
chatroom entrance, 20% discount on museum journal and book purchases)
Gold: Cocktailians; Professional and Non-professional
$75/yr.
($65 tax-deductible: 20% discount on mixology seminars, online newsletter, online
chatroom entrance, 20% discount on museum journal and book purchases)
Industry: Bar, Restaurant, and Hotel
$150/yr.
($140 tax deductible: 25% discount on staff-attended mixology seminars
(maximum 2 attendees per seminar); online newsletter; free ad in one issue of the
museum newsletter; online chatroom entrance, 25% discount on museum journal
and book purchases)
Sponsor
$5,000/yr
($4,000 tax deductible: 25% discount on staff-attended mixology seminars; online
newsletter; 50 free instructional CDs, entitled Mixology: Making Great Drinks; free
ad in 6 issues of the museum newsletter; product positioning and branding at select
mixology sessions throughout the year; online chatroom entrance; 25% discount on
museum journal and book purchases)
Patron (beverage company, chain hotel/bar)
$10,000/yr
($9,000 tax deductible: 25% discount on staff-attended mixology seminars; online
newsletter; 100 free instructional CDs: Mixology: Making Great Drinks; free ad in
all issues of the museum newsletter for a year; product positioning at all mixology
sessions conducted throughout the year; product placement on printed drink recipe
menus at the Professor Jerry Thomas Bar (upon opening); 25% discount on
museum journal and book purchases)
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Sponsorship Benefits
As of now, there is no
permanent museum
dedicated to the
American Cocktail
anywhere in the
United States or
overseas.
With your sponsorship and support,
The Museum of the
American Cocktail
will answer this void.
The association of Museum of the American Cocktail's founders
will insure the museum's integrity and authenticity as well as offer sponsors and
patrons a unique media and promotional opportunities throughout the year.
• Media and Promotional Opportunities
Spearheaded by Dale DeGroff, whose extensive contacts in the spirits industry,
culinary world and media, along with his notoriety and publicity opportunities
will enable high visibility for this one-of-a-kind institution. Museum founders and
cocktail authorities such as Jared Brown, Anistatia Miller, Ted Haigh, Robert
Hess, Phil Greene, Robert Plotkin, and Dave Wondrich will also served as
spokespersons for the museum and its patrons and sponsors through print and
broadcast interviews and presentations.
Special events, fundraisers, mixology seminars, and book promotions will also
generate additional media and promotional opportunities as well as exposure for
sponsor and patron products.
• Reaching New Markets
Accomplished mixologists throughout the world will participate in Dale
DeGroff's Mixology Seminars such as award-winning mixologists Tony
Abou-Ganim and Audrey Saunders. The seminars will set the stage for a varied
and ever-evolving curriculum that will introduce new applications of sponsor and
patrons products to both professional and consumer audiences.
• The Museum of the American Cocktail Website
Robert Hess’s dynamic companion website for the museum and the museum
chatrooms will also boost awareness of the museum as well as its sponsors and
patrons. Industry, Sponsor, and Patron-level advertising will also boost consumer
and professional awareness of products..
• Public Relations and Publicity Specialists
Utilizing the founders' strong network of public relations and publicity specialists
on a freelance, per-project basis, media opportunities that include the Museum of
the American Cocktail, its founders, and its sponsors and patrons will be sought
and exploited on an on-going basis.
• Strengthening Brand Identity for Museum Sponsors
The value of an association with what is certain to become the most prestigious
establishment devoted to the cocktail, where restaurant groups and aspiring
professionals can come to enjoy the rich history and culture of the cocktail and
obtain state of the art bar training.
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Museum Founders
Dale DeGroff
Debonair, a great raconteur and an unparalleled authority, Dale DeGroff is a
much sought after expert in the industry and universally acknowledged as the
world's premier mixologist. Dale developed his extraordinary techniques and
talent tending bar for over twenty years at great establishments most notably,
New York City's famous Rainbow Room, where he pioneered a gourmet
approach to mixing drinks. Often referred to as the "King of Cocktails",
DeGroff is a leading authority and popular personality in the beverage world,
appearing regularly in the press and media throughout the US and Europe.
Dale provides beverage consulting services, and bar training seminars to spirits
manufacturers and leading restaurants throughout the world. His book, The
Craft of The Cocktail, winner of the IACP Julia Child Award, has been hailed by
Men's Journal as the "look-here-first, look-here-last primer on drink mixing."
Jill DeGroff
A graphic artist and illustrator, Jill DeGroff created the website Kingcocktail.com and handles
the communications and support work for Dale DeGroff Company. Jill dreamed up the idea of
The Museum of the American Cocktail so that her husband’s outstanding contributions and
research in the field of mixology, as well as those of his colleagues would be collected and
exhibited in an everlasting tribute to the American cocktail. (And what a perfect excuse to move to
New Orleans!)
Ted Haigh
By profession Ted Haigh (aka: Dr. Cocktail) is a noted graphic designer for major Hollywood
movies. His heart and soul, however, belong to the history of the American cocktail. Previously
the Cocktail & Spirits Maven for the America Online, he has developed, with Martin Doudoroff,
cocktaildb.com, an encyclopedic database of drink recipes, ingredient definitions, and
bibliographic entries - which is acclaimed as a resource for writers, researchers, barmen, and
aficionados alike. His premises and theories of the cocktail and its constituent components have
been widely quoted in books, newspapers, magazines, and on the Web internationally. His new
book, Vintage Spirits & Forgotten Cocktails, (Rockport Publishers) has just been released.
Robert Hess
Robert Hess, a senior executive at Microsoft, traces his interest in cocktail to a childhood
fascination of bartenders—who effortlessly transformed the contents of the bottles around them
into gleaming jewels of refreshment. Eventually he took action on these early memories,
absorbing all he could about the classic art of mixology. Using his culinary training as a canvas,
he views cocktails as a cuisine with the same artistic flavor potentials as that of any French chef.
He has since become a ceaseless evangelist of quality cocktails, working with restaurants,
bartenders, and consumers—as well as creating the informative and widely recognized website
www.DrinkBoy.com —to increase recognition and respect for this undervalued art.
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Founders
Continued...
Chris McMillian
“When historic New Orleans drinks are the subject of a quest, all roads lead eventually to
Chris McMillian, the bartender at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel’s Library Lounge,” writes Eliza
Stickland of the Gambit.
New Orleans native, Chris McMillian descends from four generations of bartenders; his great
grandfather was a saloon keeper and his uncles owned casinos and night clubs in the thirties
and forties. After plying his trade at New Orleans’ famous Arnaud’s and the Royal Sonesta,
Chris opened the darkly deluxe Library Lounge four years ago and entertains his guests with
outstanding classic drinks and often a lesson in cocktail history as well; Chris has tracked
down many key facts about the role of New Orleans in the wonderful story of the American
Cocktail and believes there is so much more work to be done.
Anistatia Miller and Jared Brown
Jared Brown and Anistatia Miller drink and write about drinks for a living. Established in
1995, their website Shaken Not Stirred:® A Celebration of the Martini led to the publication of
the book by the same name (HarperCollins, 1997 and Europa Verlag, 1998). Their homage
to the bubbly, Champagne Cocktails, was published two years later (ReganBooks, 1999).
They are contributing cocktail and travel editors for Hamptons, Gotham, LA Confidential,
and Aspen Peak magazines. Their articles have also appeared in Wine Spectator, Cigar
Aficionado, FoodArts, Wine & Dine, and Northwest Palate. Miller and Brown developed a
Norwegian vodka that won the Beverage Tasting Institute’s gold and “best of” designations
in 2002.
This husband-and-wife team has made numerous TV and radio appearances, discussing their
favorite subject—cocktails. And they’ve taken their show on the road, teaching consumers
how to shake and stirred their own cocktails at Morton’s Steakhouses nationwide.
Miller is also Creative Director for Bratskeir & Company, a Manhattan-based marketing
and public relations firm. Former art director, production director, and editor for Rizzoli
International Publications, three divisions of Random House, and Bison Books UK, Miller
was also president of the New York Art Directors Club book division. She developed special
publishing projects for hair guru Vidal Sassoon, architects Tadao Ando, Stanley Tigerman,
Emilio Ambasz, and Beverly Willis. She also designed two multi-million bestsellers: How to
Make Love to a Man and 101 Uses for a Dead Cat.
Lowell Edmunds
The critical success of Lowell Edmunds' Martini, Straight Up: The Classic American
Cocktail (1998), a revised edition of The Silver Bullet: The Martini in American
Civilization (1981) brought him into contact with the illuminati and glitterati of the drinks
trade (and avocation) on both sides of the Atlantic. An Italian translation, with a preface
by Umberto Eco, appeared in 2000. He has published "The Secular Sacrament," a memoir,
in Social History of Alcohol Review; also "Women and Cocktails in Victorian America," in
the same journal, and a review-article. He has been a professor of Classics at Harvard,
Boston College, Johns Hopkins, and Rutgers, and a visiting professor at Princeton and, in
Italy, at the Universities of Venice and Trent.
Steve Olsen
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Founders
Continued...
Olson is dedicated to the education and consultation of degustation for appreciation and
celebration. He teaches, lectures, and writes about wine, beer, spirits, sake, and virtually
any other beverages under the sun, discussing their integral cause-and-effect relationship
with food, as he preaches the gospel of his mission: making tasting fun by removing the
intimidation factor and the pretense.
Steve lectures and appears on television, and also writes for several industry publications, such
as Food & Wine Magazine, Wine & Spirits, or Santé. Olson may be best known to many,
however, for his restaurant consulting, having designed the innovative beverage programs and
service systems for several nationally acclaimed restaurants, including the Relais Chateau,
Mobil Five Star award-winning Mayflower Inn in Connecticut, New York City's #1 Zagatrated restaurant, Gramercy Tavern, Chelsea’s hot new Mexican restaurant, Sueños, and the
billion dollar Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa in Atlantic City. Olson has also just been
honored by being selected as Santé Magazine’s Spirits Professional of the Year for 2003.
Phil Greene
Attorney, author of manuscript Creole Gumbo, and freelance historian, Phil Greene is a
descendant of the Peychaud family of New Orleans and the Bordeaux region of France
(home to Chateau Peychaud). Among Phil's ancestors was the illustrious Antoine Amedee
Peychaud, the nineteenth-century New Orleans pharmacist who concocted Peychaud's
Bitters and is credited with coining the term "cocktail." As the story goes, Peychaud mixed
a brandy and bitters (for their medicinal powers, of course) concoction, served in a doubleended, hourglass egg cup, called a "coquetier, which later coined into the term "cocktail."
This brandy drink eventually evolved into the Sazerac cocktail, a New Orleans' signature
drink, which is still made with Peychaud's Bitters. Phil has become an authority on the life
of the ironically initialed A.A. Peychaud and the tale of the cocktail tale, as well as New
Orleans history, in general. A graduate of New Orleans' Loyola University School of Law,
Phil is Senior Counsel for Internet Technology with the U.S. Department of Commerce
and lives in Washington, DC with his wife and three daughters.
Robert Plotkin
Robert has worked his way up through the ranks as a bartender and beverage manager for
numerous highly successful independent operations, as well as such companies as, Lunt
Avenue Marble Club, El Torito and Sheraton Hotels. He also gained invaluable experience
as the owner/operator of his own state-accredited bartending school and highly successful
beverage catering service in Tucson, Arizona for over ten years. He sold the business in 1990
to expand his opportunities in other areas of the beverage industry. He has since worked
steadily as a writer for many national trade publications, as a well as a frequent speaker at
trade shows and conventions around the country. Robert is as comfortable motivating groups
of 20 in a boardroom, as he is leading training sessions of 700 at national trade shows. In
1987 he founded BarMedia, a publishing company dedicated to producing the many sought
after texts and training manuals he was writing. To date he has since published 12 books on
beverage management and mixology trends. Through proven management concepts and a
long professional career, Robert Plotkin has become a leader in motivation, training,
speaking and business concepts that define success in the beverage industry today.
Gary and Mardee Regan
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Founders
Continued...
Gary and Mardee Regan are very highly regarded
cocktail connoisseurs, spirit experts,
and authors, as well as bartending and restaurant
consultants. Gary's latest, The Joy of Mixology: The
Consummate Guide to the Bartender's Craft, has been
called "a definitive and entertaining guide to the
bartender' trade" (Publishers' Weekly). They have
also written for publications such as Food & Wine, Playboy, Wine
Spectator, Martha Stewart Living, All About Beer, Wine & Spirits, Cheers,
Food Arts, and Wine & Spirit International. They consult for liquor
companies and have lectured at The Smithsonian Institute, The Culinary Institute of
America and The International Wine Center, New York.
Steve Visakay
Steve Visakay is author of Vintage Bar Ware, and is the leading expert on values of cocktail
shakers, books, and bar ware. Pictured at left is a cocktail shaker which is sometimes
referred to a the "Shake a Leg". This recently sold at an Artnet.com auction for over $2,000.
David Wondrich
David Wondrich is an internationally-recognized authority on cocktails
and their history. He is a Contributing Editor at Esquire and writes for
numerous other magazines on the subject, including Saveur, Gotham,
Wine and Spirits, Playboy, and Drinks. His first book, Esquire Drinks: An
Opinionated and Irreverent Guide to Drinking (Hearst Books, 2002), has
been acclaimed as "arguably the most enjoyable guide to entertaining
with alcohol since Kingsley Amis's 1972 On Drink…brilliantly witty,
irreverent and brimming with interesting trivia" David, who holds a
Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from New York University, is also the motive force behind
Slow Food's annual Tribute to Jerry Thomas, in which some of the nation's most respected
mixologists get together to pay tribute to "Professor" Jerry Thomas (the man who wrote the
first cocktail book, in 1862)-an event which The New York Times described as "an antiquarian
lark, with overtones of a séance."
Brian Rea
Brian Rea has been involved in the service and management of alcoholic beverages for over
50 years. He was associated with the "400" and "21" Clubs in New York; "Scandia" and
"Frascati" restaurants in Los Angeles, as well as other establishments in New York, Florida
and California. He also spent eight years as Corporate Beverage Director for Host
International, overseeing a 115 million dollar per year beverage operation. Mr. Rea is the
author of Brian's Booze Guide and Brian's Bartender Guide as well as numerous articles in
various trade publications. Mr. Rea also created and taught the "Management of Alcoholic
Beverage Service Operations" curriculum at UCLA and Cal Poly University and developed
and conducted the nationwide "Bar Management Seminars" program for the National
Restaurant Association. Brian’s rare cocktail book collection is considered to be the most
extensive in existence.
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