Episode 6: Ann Tuennerman from Tales of the Cocktail

**This show was pre-recorded in spring of 2017 and released June 30th.

Ann Tuennerman is the Founder and Executive Director of Tales of the Cocktail, the world’s premiere cocktail event. A New Orleans native with an entrepreneurial spirit and knack for bringing people together, Ann has grown Tales from an hour long walking tour to a week-long festival, bringing tens of thousands of cocktail experts and enthusiasts to New Orleans each summer.

As Executive Director, Ann provides the vision and strategic direction for Tales of the Cocktail, working directly with bartenders, brands and industry partners to create original experiences for all attendees— all with the lens of education and celebration. In addition to the core festival, Ann has also founded a number of other spirits-focused events and programs including Tales 365®, Tales on Tour, Tales of the Toddy® and Daiquiri Season®. Ann’s focus on giving back to the industry was brought to life through the New Orleans Culinary & Cultural Preservation Society, which she founded in 2006 with her husband Paul. The NOCCPS invests funds raised from Tales of the Cocktail events back into the cocktail industry through apprenticeships, grants, scholarship programs and more.

All this work cultivating and promoting the spirits industry has made Ann a go-to authority on cocktails and the business behind them, regularly serving as a source for national and international publications including Fortune, Imbibe, Saveur, The Washington Post, The New York Times, and Condé Nast Traveler. Ann has earned awards and recognition from around the world including being named a James Beard Award Semifinalist, one of the top 10 most influential people of the past 25 years by Cheers Magazine, and BNIC Cognac Personality of the Year.

When Ann isn’t spending time coordinating each year’s events, she can be found with her husband Paul and the unofficial Tales of the Cocktail mascot, Delta Dawg.