Back Bar USA Announces Fifth Annual For the Love of Cocktails Gala

For the Love of CocktailsCelebrating its fifth year on the Las Vegas Strip, For the Love of Cocktails will bring together the nation’s leaders in spirits, mixology and libations for a masters dinner at Aureole at Mandalay Bay on Thursday, May 17, followed by its annual Grand Gala on Friday, May 18 at Skyfall Lounge and Rivea at Delano Las Vegas. Ticket sales from the event will be donated to the Helen David Relief Fund for Bartenders Affected by Breast Cancer.

“Through the nationwide growth of the mixology industry, Las Vegas has been at the center of it all with some of the most talented bartenders in the business,” said Back Bar USA Founder Tim Haughinberry. “We developed “For the Love of Cocktails” five years ago to celebrate that talent and our local cocktail culture. This event has since become a ‘can’t-miss’ for bartenders and cocktail enthusiasts from all over the country.”

To kick-off the weekend, different culinary teams from a multitude of venues will prepare a five-course wine dinner held at Aureole at Mandalay Bay from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Thursday, May 17, where guests will enjoy an extravagant meal paired with rare, fine wines. Tickets are available for purchase on the “For the Love of Cocktails” website.

For the main event on Friday, May 18, VIP ticketholders will have access to the gala at Skyfall Lounge at 7 p.m. followed by general admission entry at 8 p.m. The decadent event will offer a limitless amount of craft cocktail samples along with gourmet cuisine from Alain Ducasse’s Rivea and the opportunity to meet world-renowned mixologists and chefs. Live entertainment and additional surprises also will take place throughout the evening. Tickets are available for purchase on the “For the Love of Cocktails” website.

Founded by top spirits consulting and marketing firm, Back Bar USA, “For the Love of Cocktails” is sponsored by MGM Resorts International and the United States Bartenders’ Guild (USBG). The USBG unites the hospitality community and advances professional bartending by empowering bartenders to take charge of their careers. With each event, For the Love of Cocktails has donated 100 percent of ticket sale proceeds to the USBG’s Helen David Relief Fund for Bartenders Affected by Breast Cancer. The non-profit was founded by Las Vegas’ own father of mixology and author, Tony Abou-Ganim, whose aunt fought and survived breast cancer.