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Join us for a candid conversation on tropical drinks, cultural context, appropriation, and how to create vibrant, welcoming spaces with intention and respect. This session explores how social and political climates fuel escapism — and what responsibility we carry as hospitality professionals. Escapism isn’t the problem. How we execute it matters.
21st Century Tropical
Tuesday, March 10 at 12 PM Pacific / 3 PM Eastern
Acadia Cerise Cutschall has spent over a decade involved in the beverage and hospitality industry in NYC. Her contributions include art, poetry, political organizing, delicious cocktails, and the development and marketing of spirits & their brands (i.e.; Rosaluna Mezcal, Hamilton Rums and Ode to Babel Gin) as well as pop ups with and for women and BIPOC industry members. In addition to her local involvement, she has worked nationally and in the Caribbean.
Currently living in Brooklyn, she was born in Colorado in a vibrant yet underrepresented Native community. Her primarily Oglala Lakota, Irish Settler, and French Acadian heritage informs the conversations she has with other colonized communities around hospitality, contemporary Tiki movements, our relationship to ritual and more. In 2023 she was part of the inaugural event for The Cornsilk Road and the first Indigenous-led panel for BCB Brooklyn. Some other passions include martial arts, connecting with others and laughing too loudly.
Kyle Rioux is the founder of the esoteric world spirits society, The Weary Traveler's Club. He has been in the hospitality industry for nearly two decades. Kyle is dedicated to spirits education and has spoken at Tales of The Cocktail, various cocktail weekends, and is a regular speaker at Tiki Oasis. As a passionate member of the tiki community, Kyle has created bar programs for Southern California tiki bars such as The Hula Hula Room and Tiki Kai.
Chockie Tom is an Indigenous storyteller, bartender, and drinks writer working at the intersection of hospitality, labor, and culture. Proudly Numu (Paiute) and Pomo, she brings an Indigenous perspective to storytelling within the drinks industry. With more than twenty years behind the bar, she has worked in Los Angeles and New York and is now based in London. She is the founder of Doommersive and the creator of The Cornsilk Road.
@chocktail
Frederic Yarm is a Boston bartender who got into the industry through writing about cocktails nearing 20 years ago. His work with the CocktailVirgin blog blossomed into two books, Drink & Tell: A Boston Cocktail Book (2012) and Boston Cocktails: Drunk & Told (2017), which capture the cocktail renaissance in his city. After the first book, a night as a guest bartender led Frederic to seek out a barback position at an establishment known for training bartenders, was soon promoted, and has been bartending at various bars and restaurants in town for the last 13 years. He joined the Boston chapter of the USBG in 2012 and became part of the local leadership in 2019 and the national education committee in 2020.
@fredericyarm
To learn more and register, click HERE. Registration is free for current USBG Members and $29.99 for Non-Members.
Thank you to the USBG Education Committee for your hard work coordinating this seminar!
#usbglead