MixBurgh Craft Cocktail & Spirits Conference

MixBurgh returns to Heinz Hall from Sunday, November 8, through Tuesday, November 10, for three days of seminars, tastings, and panels. It's a craft cocktail and spirits conference held in the Cultural District, and it's run by MixBurgh, a 501(c)(3) non-profit co-op made up of working bartenders, bar owners, distillers, and the writers who cover them. They describe it as the world's biggest gathering of craft cocktail and spirits thought leaders, built for the industry with education first and peers in the room, drawing talent from around the world.

The program runs across four parallel tracks: Spirits & Distillery, Behind the Bar, The Business of the Bar, and The Future of Cocktails. A conference pass covers all three days of seminars, panels, and tastings, and it also gets you into the distiller tasting room. The lineup brings in names from across the globe: David Kaplan of Death & Co, Tato Giovannoni of Florería Atlántico, Lance Winters from St. George Spirits, Camper English, Robert Simonson of The New York Times, and Phil Ward and Garret Richard of Sunken Harbor. Guest bartenders and distillers come from bars like Sunken Harbor, Florería Atlántico, Mother, Porco Lounge, and Portland Hunt and Alpine Club.

Because it's run by people who actually work in the industry, the focus stays on the craft rather than the hype. The four tracks let you pick your own path through the weekend, whether you're more interested in the production side of things, the day-to-day of running a bar, or where cocktails are headed next. The distiller tasting room is where you'll find the spirits being discussed in the sessions, and the guest bartenders bring their own styles from around the world to the table.

MixBurgh organizes the event with support from Visit Pittsburgh. Since there's alcohol service involved, you have to be 21 or older for any session that serves. It runs Sunday through Tuesday at Heinz Hall, 600 Penn Ave, in the Cultural District.