Last year, L.A. Weekly launched Sips & Sweets, a food event showcasing bakers, dessert makers and bartenders. For the cocktail aspect of the event, I was asked to invite the best bar folks in town, much the same as I do for restaurants with our Essentials event. And I was floored by the response — so many fantastic bartenders came that it reminded me of the amazing parties you find at some of the bigger cocktail conventions, such as Tales of the Cocktail in New Orleans. 

The bar industry is notoriously good at throwing great parties, as you might imagine, but that's the thing: Often these parties are by and for the industry. It's incredibly rare to get a bunch of world-class bartenders in one room making drinks for the public. But that's what we've managed at Sips & Sweets, and it's a feat I'm incredibly proud of. Tickets recently went on sale for our second Sips & Sweets event, taking place on Dec. 12. This year it's even more of a drinks-friendly event, being that it takes place from 8-11 p.m. Last year the day drinking was fun, but a night-time cocktail event makes more sense. 

And we have just as many great bartenders on board this year. Representatives from our city's best bars, including the Varnish, the 1886 Bar, the Pikey and the Roger Room will all be there. Gabriella Mlynarczyk, who currently works at Birch but is known for having created drinks for ink. and Cadet, and who recently had a great profile written about her by Los Angeles Magazine, will be there. Some of my favorite drink-makers from restaurant bars, such as Christiaan Rollich from A.O.C. and Lucques and Ryan Wainwright from Terrine, will be making and serving drinks. You can see the list of confirmed mixologist participants here. 

Tickets are on sale now for $35 ($55 for VIP), but go up to $40 (and $60) on Nov. 9 at 12:01 a.m. 

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