The city gets shaking when Thirst Boston returns May 20th to May 23rd for a four-day cocktail festival celebrating the drink-makers (and drink-drinkers) of Boston with a lineup of seminars, tastings and wild shindigs. This year, the glass-half-full happenings will take place at the Boston Center for Adult Education, kicking off with a classy cocktail party, The Thing, on Friday, May 20th. The weekend is a veritable who’s-who of the spirits scene with industry pros extending a shaker’s worth of cocktail wisdom—and cocktails, too, of course.
Daytime classes cover everything from tequila to tiki, home bartending to a history of wine and the sips seep into the evening hours, as well, with a blender-based bartender competition, pop-up bars and a showcase of New England’s beverage talent. As the event enters its third go-round, co-founder Maureen Hautaniemi reflects on the city’s ever-growing thirst.
How have you seen the Boston’s cocktail and spirits culture change since the first year of Thirst?
Oh wow, well I’ve seen a big change in the people, those who were ‘up and coming’ our first year are now the bar managers and beverage directors of major programs in Boston. I’ve seen a lot more education on the guest side as well. People who come into bars are knowledgeable and often dabble in cocktails at home, so I’m thrilled to see our education helping the community as a whole grow and learn from each other.
What makes this city’s drink scene unique?
The Boston community is steeped in higher education, with a lot of incredibly intelligent people choosing careers in the hospitality industry. I think the Boston scene is tight-knit and has the luxury of drawing inspiration from so many different places. It’s amazing to be so close to Providence, RI, Portland, ME, and New York. We can collaborate and visit anytime we want, which creates great conversations. It can also be a curse. There’s always the temptation to move and we often lose a lot of talent to New York and other cities, which we’re actually discussing in two different seminars on Monday: Creating and Catching the Rising Tide of Cocktails (about bonding together as a community to help all ships rise) and Keeping Boston Talent(ed) (a seminar that will discuss how to keep and motivate a great staff).
What do you think is ahead, trend-wise, for booze in Boston?
Well, I think keg cocktails are on the rise. It’s a great way for a bar program to create fast, delicious and consistent drinks. Can you imagine getting a craft cocktail on tap at Fenway Park? I can! I think shrubs are making waves in a lot of bar programs. The vinegar- and sugar- based flavorings add a great and interesting kick to cocktails that I think we will see more of. (You can learn more about those on Sunday’s Flavor Explosion: Shrubs, Syrups and More.)
You can pick up day, weekend or seminar passes to Thirst Boston online here to give your booze IQ a boost and toast to the barmen and barwomen that keep the city in high spirits.
