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Find out where you can find New Mexico Cocktail Week
There’s a burgeoning cocktail culture in New Mexico that’s more sophisticated than just walking into a bar and ordering a Jack and Coke.
“Everybody is putting together bar programs and trying to do elevated cocktails,” Stephanie Cameron, publisher of Edible New Mexico, said. “And lots of bartenders have cut their chops in various settings and now are ready to do their own thing.
“… They all have their own cocktail programs. So it just seemed like the opportunity was there, there were enough people doing that, that we ought to celebrate it.”
A little more than three years ago, the idea for New Mexico Cocktail Week was born. It’s a collaboration between Cameron and Natalie Bovis, who is the founder of The Liquid Muse. Bovis initially launched the New Mexico Cocktails & Culture Festival/Taco Wars in 2015 to “celebrate local culinary talent and worldwide liquor brands,” but the event was put on hold due to the pandemic.
Having noticed that cocktail weeks were growing in popularity around the country, Cameron approached Bovis about bringing back the festival — but on a larger scale. With that, New Mexico Cocktail Week was born. Bovis’ signature, the Cocktail & Culture Festival, is something of an event within the event in Santa Fe, but there are also a variety of offerings throughout the Land of Enchantment from Saturday, May 31, to Sunday, June 8, including parties, cocktail pairing dinners, tastings, tours and classes.
Over the last few years, the week has grown considerably, both in terms of the number of participants and the variety of attractions offered. Some require tickets, while in other instances it’s as simple as showing up at an establishment.
“It’s been an open call since the beginning, and the only requirement we ask of the different venues is to just feature a cocktail,” Cameron said. “It doesn’t have to be a special cocktail; it could be something that’s already on your menu, but that at least gives us a starting point to talk about.
“The first year we did it, we probably had 30 venues participate, but the majority of them just did a cocktail, and then there were a handful of folks that did events. Last year, people were like, ‘Oh, OK. I could have a cocktail class or whatever and just tie it to the week.’”
Some establishments, such as Troubled Minds Distilling at Tractor Wells Park, have taken it to another level this year by offering events each day of the week. One can plan out each day by visiting nmcocktailweek.com, but the most difficult aspect of the experience might be settling on a plan of attack.
“I mean, every day has so many things going on,” Cameron said. “It’s like, how do you pick? That’s gonna be the issue for the attendees.”
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While the majority of the Cocktail Week attractions are in Albuquerque and Santa Fe, there are some participants from Las Cruces, Silver City and Las Vegas, New Mexico. Cameron says the goal is to eventually expand to offerings throughout the Land of Enchantment.
“I feel like we’ve really gotten our footing, and we will continue to grow and I think it’ll be something that everyone can look forward to every year,” she said.
