Bark & Bitter at Tales of the Cocktail 2026 | New Orleans

We're excited to be bringing our full line of bitters to Tales of the Cocktail 2026. The world's premier cocktail festival runs July 19 to 24 in New Orleans, and you'll find our bitters at the Bookstore & Bitters Market all week, with a tasting led by our founder, Nick, toward the end of it. If you're heading to Tales, here's where to find us, and why this particular trip means something to us.

Why New Orleans

New Orleans is about as close as cocktail bitters get to a hometown. It's the city that gave us Peychaud's and the Sazerac, where a dash of bitters has been part of the daily ritual for the better part of two centuries. For a brand built on botanical bitters, showing up here feels less like an exhibition and more like a visit to the source.

It's a little personal for us, too. New Orleans has been good to Novara Aperitivo, our non-alcoholic aperitivo, which was named Non-Alcoholic Spirit of the Year at the New Orleans Spirits Competition in 2022 and Non-Alcoholic Elixir of the Year there in 2023. Novara isn't making the trip this time, but those early wins were part of what gave us the confidence to keep building, and was followed shortly thereafter by our line of classic cocktail bitters, including New Orleans Bywater Bitters, named for the neighbourhood just outside the French Quarter.

Where to find us

The Bookstore & Bitters Market is open daily at The Ritz-Carlton, 921 Canal Street, from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM CT. It's exactly what it sounds like: one of the most extensive collections of cocktail books anywhere, alongside a wide spread of bitters and syrups, with book signings from some of the best cocktail writers around and brands on hand to talk and pour samples. Our bitters will be there throughout the week, so stop by, taste, and say hello.

Toward the end of the week, Nick will host Shots of Inspiration, a guided tasting through our bitters right there at the market. We're locking in the exact time now, so check back here or follow along on our channels for the details.

What you'll taste

We'll have the full bitters lineup on the table. A few to look for:

• Honestly Aromatic Bitters, our cinnamon, allspice, and clove aromatic, and winner of the Trophy for Best Cocktail Ingredient at the 2024 World Alcohol-Free Awards.
• Overtly Orange Bitters, a bright bitter-orange built for spritzes and aperitivo serves.
• New Orleans Bywater Bitters, the one carrying the city's name.

Every bottle is 0% ABV and made from whole botanicals, with no artificial flavours, extracts, or essences. The same job as a classic cocktail bitter, none of the alcohol.

Not making it to New Orleans?

You don't have to be at Tales to pour with our bitters. The full line is in our shop, and you'll find plenty of ways to use them across our recipe collection. But if you are in town for the festival, come find us at the market and say hi! We'd love to meet you.