Indy Spirits Expo Coming to Chicago; Discounted Tickets on Sale
By Roger Kamholz in Food on Jul 19, 2011 3:30PM
The Independent Spirits Expo, a gathering of American micro-distillers, importers and small, independent spirits brands, comes to town for the first time on Wednesday, September 28. For the past several years, organizer Dave Schmier has hosted installments of the Indy Spirits Expo in New York and San Francisco, drawing an average of 40 exhibitors. The debut event in Chicago, which will take place at the Bottom Lounge's Volcano Room, in the West Loop, has already attracted lots of craft producers, including local and regional distillers like Koval, Evanston's fledgling F.E.W. Spirits, Rehorst and North Shore Distillery.
Exhibitors will be presenting and pouring their products from 5 to 9 p.m. Tickets are on sale now, with discounted prices available until September 1. General admission (6:30 p.m. entry) and VIP (5 p.m. entry) tickets are currently $45 and $60, respectively. (General and VIP ticket prices will increase to $55 and $75 after September 1.)
While many of the ISE attendees tend to be liquor-industry folk, Schmier says, "We get a lot of curious consumers." Schmier is based in Connecticut, where he distributes Orange V Vodka and the Redemption line of whiskeys. He launched the ISE to help bring attention to the growing number of new small-batch and artisanal spirits producers in the U.S. and abroad.
The Bottom Lounge is located at 1375 West Lake Street.