Schedule
Friday, September 12, 2025
- 6PM
- Martini Expo Kick Off Dinner at Confidant. Mingle with fellow martini aficionados and our presenting partner brands as you enjoy hors d'oeuvres and cocktails, followed by a three course seated dinner with paired martinis.
Saturday, September 13, 2025
- 12–3PM
- Sign up to attend various seminars (see below) from heralded bartenders, industry experts and historians, and spirits producers all while enjoying a Three Martini Lunch catered by Confidant and accompanied by a trio of different mini Martinis.
- 3–5PM
- Burgers and Books: all ticket holders will enjoy specialty burgers by George Motz, and have the opportunity to attend signings by their favorite cocktail book authors. Expected authors who will be on hand to sign books included Dave Arnold, Dale DeGroff, Lowell Edmunds, Nicola Nice, Steve Reddicliffe, Julie Reiner, Noah Rothbaum, Amanda Schuster, Robert Simonson and David Wondrich. Light aperitif and spritz-style cocktails will also be served.
- 5–8PM
- Martini Mixer Cocktail Party: The Martini Mixer Cocktail Party. This is the finale of The Martini Expo, an assembling of the world’s greatest Martini makers and Martini ingredients. Behind the bar will be a rotating roster of acknowledged Martini Masters mixing up their signature versions of the cocktail, including cocktail legends Dale DeGroff (King Cocktail himself), Julie Reiner (Clover Club, Milady’s), Phil Ward (Long Island Bar), Liam Davy (London’s Hawksmoor), David Wondrich (legendary cocktail historian and author), Sarah Morrissey (Le Veau d’Or) and more. Simultaneously, the Martini Expo’s curated list of spirit sponsors—including Ford’s Gin, Farmer’s Gin, Second Sip Gin, Dolin vermouth and many more—will have set up shop to discuss and offer samples of their gins, vodkas, vermouths, bitters, garnishes and more. Food will be provided by the celebrated Hamburger America and Crif Dogs and others. Additionally, guests will get to enjoy caviar from Tsar Nichoulai Caviar. There will be also music, performances and other sorts of fun. Get ready for the Martini Hour of the century!
- 9PM
- After party, location TBD
Seminar line-up
Subject to change; exact seminar times and additional seminars to be announced soon.
- Signature in a Glass: Creating the House Martini
- Bar directors of some of New York’s signature Martini destinations talk about what goes into the creation of a cocktail bar’s house Martini. Panelists include Sarah Morrissey (Le Veau d’Or), Brian Evans (Chelsea Hotel’s Lobby Bar), and Will Elliott (Maison Premiere).
- The Japanese-American Art of the Martini
- Japanese-American cocktail bars, which has flourished in recent years, have their own particular approaches to the Martini. Panelists include Masahiro Urushido (Katana Kitten), Kenta Goto (Bar Goto) and Takuma Watanabe (Martiny’s).
- The First Martini
- The surprising origin of the King of Cocktails, as told by noted drinks historian and author David Wondrich and Martin Doudoroff, publisher of the cocktail apps Total Mixology, Martin’s Index and The Martini Cocktail.
- From Pot to Not: The Evolution of Genever and Gin
- Genever expert Philip Duff, creator of Old Duff Genever, takes you through around 729 years of history, tracing the development of genever—the spirit that begat modern gin—from a medicinal spirit to a recreational one.
- Vermouth Noir
- Allen Katz, co-founder of New York Distilling Company (maker of Dorothy Parker and Perry’s Tot gins), counters the post-modern assertion of vermouth as a phantom ingredient in a Martini with an examination at the cocktail’s all-important secondary ingredient.
- Shaken or Stirred?
- Dave Arnold, author of the James Beard Award-winning Liquid Intelligence and longtime innovator in the field of cocktail technology, talks about the merit of various Martini techniques, from shaking to stirring to throwing and more.
- My Way: Getting Your Perfect Martini Every Time
- Led by spirits expert Keli Rivers, this session welcomes both gin and vodka martini lovers with open arms (and chilled glassware). You’ll leave knowing how to walk into any bar or restaurant and get exactly what you want—no guessing, no settling, no regrets.
