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NEW ORLEANS — Tales of the Cocktail is back and it’s raising the bar.

With new owners, this year’s events have a more charitable cause with support to the hospitality industry.

After 16 years, this foundation has become fully non-profit and will be awarding $250,000 dollars in community grants to different programs on Tuesday, July 17th.

So what can event goers expect this year from bartenders, bar owners, and distillers?

Well for one, they really know how to go the distance.

“We have people from Singapore, we have people from Ghana. I mean you name it, this is truly an international pool,” says executive director of Tales of the Cocktail Foundation, Caroline Rosen.

If you’re a veteran of this event, be looking out for some subtle changes.

The new registration area is now outside of the Hotel Monteleone on Bienville Street.

“Anyone can walk up and buy tickets there, and I think it’ll be a fun new little addition,” says Rosen.

Don’t forget, it may be all about the cocktail, but the meaning of this week’s events go deeper than mixology.

“The tales of the cocktail obviously highlights the cocktail, but it’s the stories of those cocktails, it is the wellness behind a whole group of individuals, and that is what we are bringing new to the table this year. We are starting to introduce that it has to be for the whole industry and that’s exciting for us,” says Rosen.

So pick your poison, and click here to get a taste of what’s happening during this week’s events.