THE 2014 MANHATTAN COCKTAIL CLASSIC 

Each year, cocktail enthusiasts, vendors, restaurateurs, and other assorted inebriates gather together to celebrate the drinking of hard liquor. Each year, events are held across the three boroughs over the course of a weekend in which one can learn more about their favorite alcohol... and then drink it. From Campari or Amaro tastings to microbatch bourbon distilling to paring cordials with chocolate to how to make the best julep. And each year, the festivities kick off with the Manhattan Cocktail Classic gala, hosted at the main branch of the New York Public Library at Bryant Park. A couple thousand of us donned our suits and ties, our evening gowns and fascinators and grabbed a dozen or two drinks while listening to live jazz and blues and maybe even danced across three floors of one of NYC's grandest landmarks.