Bar Convent Brooklyn 26

Hanging out with Jake Parrot, Eric Seed, and David Wondrich at BCB

I didn’t go to my ten year high school reunion because spending more time with people I didn’t feel all that connected to didn’t sound like a fun idea. I didn’t go to my twenty year reunion either, nor will I attend my thirty year reunion next year. I did, however, fly out to New York this week to attend Bar Convent Brooklyn on behalf of two of my clients, and the first day was like a meet and greet for booze business veterans that hadn’t seen each other in years.

I can’t remember the last time I saw Eric Seed from Haus Alpenz, but it’s been at least a decade. He smiled at me from across the room and we gave each other a big hug. David Wondrich and I had a great time catching up. My old San Francisco buddies Erick Castro and Danny Ronin spotted me and we all embraced. I have to admit: it was a lot of fun. These are people I still very much want to see!

I spent most of the day standing on my feet, pouring samples for interested bartenders and retail buyers, but it was very much time well spent. I’ll say this about BCB: most alcohol conventions end up becoming a drunk fest full of people too wasted to remember anything you told them. This was not that event. It was very well organized, I met a ton of interesting people, I made several important contacts with distribution partners I was hoping to connect with, and the exposure my brands generated was palpable and real.

Luckily, I had Skurnik doing the hard yards for me (props to Emily McGuire), organizing all of the tables and times for where I needed to be. If you’re in the business, wondering whether BCB is worth doing, my short answer is: yes. Not only is it like a giant reunion for industry professionals, it’s packed with curious tradespeople of all ages, asking interesting questions and doing serious work. I’d come back again in a heartbeat (and I’ll be there again later today).

-David Driscoll