What to Expect From Tales of the Cocktail 2025

Given that I was imbibing in freezing temperatures this weekend in New York, it’s hard to believe Tales of the Cocktail is just three months away. The New Orleans-based cocktail conference, taking place July 20-25 this year (and once again featuring our drinks newsletter The Spill as one of the media sponsors), is pretty much the drinks world’s Super Bowl (but in much, much hotter weather).

Both educational and a killer party, TOTC is overseen by the Tales of the Cocktail Foundation, a non-profit organization that recently appointed drinks vet Charlotte Voisey as its new executive director. According to the Foundation, Voisey’s mission will be to “educate, advance and support the global drinks community, fostering innovation, collaboration and expanded consumer engagement.”

She’s well-equipped for the role. Voisey’s career spans two decades and includes leading William Grant & Sons’ Brand Ambassador program (2006-2024), moderating seminars for TOTCF (since 2007) and serving as overall chair of the conference’s Spirited Awards from 2016 to 2024. A well-regarded bartender in her own right, Voisey is a one-time UK Bartender of the Year, Mixologist of the Year and a Silver Medalist at the World Female Bartender Championships.

Soon after her appointment in January, we spoke with Voisey on several Tales-related topics, from recent challenges to the drinks industry to how the convention could grow further in the next five years. “I’d love to see Tales play a role in elevating our craft and getting bartenders up to the level where chefs and celebrity chefs are at,” Voisey says. “Tales could be that household name in a way Michelin or James Beard are for the culinary world.”

InsideHook: What was your first experience with Tales of the Cocktail?

Charlotte Voisey: My first Tales was in 2006 as an attendee. It was a lot smaller then, but it’s been really useful for me in this role to have attended Tales throughout the last 18 years to understand the impact it has had on the evolution of the industry. It helps inform what I can help steer and do in this role now as executive director,

Every organization is different, so I’m curious about what an executive director does.

It’s essentially to lead the team that pulls off Tales. But what not everybody knows or maybe forgets is the Foundation is a year-round global initiative to support the industry. So many initiatives and programming are going on all year that we work hard on as well. It’s not just that wonderful week in July.

Does planning for the 2025 edition of TOTC start the day after the previous year’s event?

Actually, when I started, the Foundation let me know that in May of this year is when we start brainstorming on the theme for 2026. That shocked me a bit. There’s a very detailed timeline for the awards, seminars and all the things we enjoy.

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Every year has a theme. What’s the story behind “Evolve”?

Evolve, arguably, could be relevant every year. But I think the world as a whole is in a particular moment of evolution. And I think it’s particularly important for Tales, as the spirits industry is evolving in many different ways. Tales is that nucleus where everybody comes together and shares ideas and information. So during that week, it’s almost like you see the evolution that could go into the next 10 years. It’s like a fast track of evolution in terms of innovation and conversations that happen.

I’m pretty curious about what Tales was like in 2006 when you first attended.

First and foremost, the size of the event — the sheer quantity of people but also the way the audience has broadened. In 2006, it was very much an insider industry event. In 2024 or 2025, bartenders and bar owners are still the primary audience we serve. That’s what Tales is for, but the demographic now is quite interesting. Last year, 48% of attendees were new. That still shocks me and surprises most people, but it’s great, and that’s another nod to the evolution of the industry.

There are a lot of concerns with the drinks industry in 2025 — tariffs, fewer young adults drinking, etc. What do you think the biggest challenges are today?

You’ve mentioned a couple of the big things that provide this cloud of uncertainty right now. Tariffs will affect brands but will also affect bar owners. A lot of mutual challenges, and we need to find solutions together. And I think Tales plays an important role because we can have this conversation together in education and our forums.

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What programs does TOTC oversee that run year-round?

We activate with our brand partners on some initiatives. primarily in the bartender advocacy space. So if those partners are doing an education program throughout the year, they can partner with Tales so we can help amplify that and reach a broader audience. So it means it’s no longer just the bartenders in the five big states that brands typically invest in physically and with their money. Tales can open that up and share digitally or virtually with more and more bartenders, and then some of those resources end up online on the Tales website, and we’re working now on updating and rolling out a much more comprehensive educational library. So if you’re a young bartender interested in, say, learning about spirits production, we can guide you through a pathway. If you’re interested in history or creativity, we can pull together pathways through all of the education that Tales has hosted over the last few years. It’s going to be a phenomenal resource.

You were here recently with Speed Rack and did some guest bartending while in town. How often do you get to use your bartending skills?

Every once in a while. I really enjoy it. I think when you run a bar like I did in London back in the day, there’s nothing quite like it when you’ve got that busy mix of great guests and a great team on a busy evening. I would say four or five times a year I’m able to either pull a shift or work an event and actually make drinks. It keeps you humble. If I’m now sort of in charge of this organization that serves to support and understand bartenders, it helps me to literally keep in touch with that side of my profession.