Dale DeGroff: President
Master Mixologist Dale DeGroff, aka King Cocktail, developed his extraordinary techniques and talent tending bar at great establishments, most notably, New York’s famous Rainbow Room, where in the late 1980’s he pioneered a gourmet approach to recreating the great classic cocktails. Universally acknowledged as one of the world's premier mixologists whose innovations have globally impacted the industry, DeGroff has been credited with reinventing the profession of bartending and setting off the cocktail explosion that continues to transform the industry.
A leading trainer, and sought after authority in the beverage industry, DeGroff is a founding partner of Beverage Alcohol Resource (BAR), a partnership of six of the world's leading spirits and cocktails authorities who provide training and credentialing in distilled spirits and mixology.
Industry awards include: the 2009 James Beard Wine & Spirits Professional Award, the 2009 Lifetime Achievement Award from Nightclub & Bar Magazine, 2008 TOTC Helen David Lifetime Achievement Award, and the 2007 Cheers Beverage Industry Innovator of the Year with his partners, for Beverage Alcohol Resource.
DeGroff is the author of “The Essential Cocktail” (Random House), winner of the 2009 Spirit Awards, and “The Craft of the Cocktail” (Random House), winner of the 2002 IACP Julia Child Award. He is also the founding President of The Museum of the American Cocktail, a non-profit museum with an exhibit in New Orleans that celebrates 200 years of the rich history of the cocktail.
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Jill DeGroff: Vice President
A talented graphic artist and illustrator, Jill DeGroff created the
website Kingcocktail.com and handles the administrative work for Dale
DeGroff Company and for The Museum of the American Cocktail. Her illustrations
appear in Slammed Magazine and other industry publications. Jill dreamed
up the idea of a cocktail museum to showcase her esteemed husband’s
work and extensive collections as well as those of his colleagues that
they might all be encompassed in one institution in tribute to the Great
American Cocktail (and also as a good excuse to eventually move to New
Orleans!)
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Ted Haigh: Curator
Ted Haigh designs and curates the permanent Museum exhibits. A highly
respected graphic designer for the film industry, as well as a cocktail
authority, Haigh will maintain and augment the exhibit over time based
on locale, subject, acquisitions, and evolving knowledge. Haigh, also
known as Dr. Cocktail, has been called “the premiere cocktail historian
in America” and is the author of Vintage Spirits & Forgotten Cocktails,
published by Quarry Books. He was the cocktail and spirits advisor for
America Online and writes regular columns for Imbibe Magazine and Martini
Republic. He has been widely interviewed and quoted in books, magazines,
newspapers, on radio and on screen. Doc is the co-founder of CocktailDB.com:
The Internet Cocktail Database, and the inventor of the Mixilator. He
writes and lectures on subjects pertaining to classic cocktails and
has one of the largest collections of vintage and antique cocktail ingredients
in the world.
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Robert Hess: Secretary
Robert Hess is the Administrator of the The Museum of the American
Cocktail website and managing editor of Mixologist; the Journal of the
American Cocktail. Hess, by profession, is a Technical Evangelist at
Microsoft, a published author, and is widely known among his peers in
the cocktail world as the ambassador of cocktails. He is the creator
of the widely recognized cocktail education website, DrinkBoy.com. Robert
provides authoritative and persuasive outreach to the public and to
the food & beverage industry to increase recognition and respect for
this unique and undervalued art.
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Phil Greene: Treasurer
As a founding board member of The Museum of the American Cocktail,
Phil Greene assists with outreach, promotion, writing, and local communications,
while providing legal counsel. Greene is an attorney; Senior Counsel
for Internet Technology with the U.S. Department of Commerce. He is
a descendant of Antoine Amedee Peychaud, the 19th New Orleans pharmacist
who created Peychaud’s Bitters and is credited with inventing one of
the great classic cocktails of all times, the Sazerac - a New Orleans
drink, which is still made with Peychaud’s Bitters today. Phil is the
author of Creole Gumbo and other writings and is an authority on the
life of the ironically initialed A. A. Peychaud, and of New Orleans
cocktail lore & history in general.
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Chris & Laura McMillian
When historic New Orleans drinks are the quest, all roads lead eventually
to Chris McMillian, the bartender at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel’s Library
Lounge. Chris McMillian, a New Orleans native, descends from four generations
of barkeepers; his great grandfather was a saloon keeper and his uncles
owned casinos and night clubs in the 1930s and 1940s. After plying his
trade at landmarks Arnaud's and the Royal Sonesta, Chris opened the swank
and sensually-lit Library Lounge where he entertains his guests with
outstanding classic drinks and perhaps a lesson in cocktail history
as well; Chris is one of the foremost authorities on 19th century drinking
in the nation and serves the finest Mint Julep known to Man.
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Tim McNally
Raised and educated in Texas, Tim has lived in New Orleans for more than 40 years, and he is regarded by locals and visitors alike as the Consummate New Orleanian. He has been involved in marketing and advertising at every level, local, regional, and national, and he has guided his own company, IDEAS of New Orleans, since 1986. His love of cocktails and wine has led him back to what he received his college degree in, Journalism. His weekly two-hour radio program, The Wine Show, is heard in numerous markets, and he is the executive editor of the quarterly magazine, Gulf Coast Wine & Dine. He also is the Wine and Spirits Editor for New Orleans Magazine, where he authors a monthly cocktail photo feature, Last Call (no one in New Orleans understands the term), and he writes a weekly wine and spirits column, Happy Hour (everyone in New Orleans understands that term), for www.myneworleans.com.
Tim is a wine commentator and lecturer, with frequent appearances at seminars and at Hospitality Programs in universities.
Tim and his wife, Brenda Maitland, also a writer and also on the Board of MOTAC, travel extensively to vineyards all over North America and Europe. They are judges at professional wine competitions, and are often involved in festivals and spirits-related events.
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Brenda Maitland
Brenda Maitland, a wine, food and cocktail writer, lives in New Orleans, home of the Museum of the American Cocktail and one of the best cocktail/nightlife venues in America. That's not just a native's viewpoint, but the response from Travel + Leisure's 2009 "America's Favorite Cities survey." A journalism graduate, Brenda's work has appeared in national. regional and local publications for more than 25 years. She currently writes for Country Roads. Gambit Weekly, TravelHost New Orleans and Gulf Coast Wine and Dine. When not judging wine and cocktail competitions from California to Florida, she and her husband, Tim McNally,a fellow MoTac board member, travel the world chasing the good life and seeking the best in food, wine and spirits.
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