So it begins… Tuesday, I hit the ground in New Orleans, after waking up at too-early-o-clock for my flight. After an exhausting morning of travel, I checked in to the Monteleone and came down shortly after for my first drink at the Carousel Bar, a Sazerac.

In short order, I met up with the ladies of LUPEC Boston, who aren’t normally as fuzzy as Pink Lady is, here:

They were off to Coop’s Place for lunch, and asked me to join them.

Soon, the Pacific Northwest fell upon us, with a stray Texan in tow.

(That’s Paul Clarke facing away, Rocky Yeh facing toward, John the Bastard facing away, and stray Texan Mindy Kucan facing toward, marking her Twitter handle–@drinkswmindy–on her arm.)

Later, it was off to d.b.a. for the Tuesday Tasting. Organized by Jake Parrott, the tasting is a venue in which anyone interested can bring a sample bottle of some obscure booze, whether found in your grandma’s private closet or made at home.