More than cocktails: What I learned from my mentors at cocktail conference

Nicole Morris is a Hospitality & Tourism Management student with a focus on beverage management and expects to graduate in 2029. She serves on the executive board for the bartenders guild within the FIU Bacardi Center of Excellence. Her passion for the spirits industry has taken her from working at the South Beach Wine & Food Festival® all the way to New Orleans for the world's premier spirits conference. She shares how FIU has taught her to work from the ground up and given her the tools to one day open and lead her own bar by putting her in a room with the people that have inspired her to make that happen.

When I first arrived in New Orleans for Tales of the Cocktail, I expected a week of working with incredible bars, attending educational seminars, and networking with as many people in the industry as possible. While all of those expectations were met, the experience became much more meaningful than I anticipated.

Tales reminded me that the beverage industry is about far more than making exceptional drinks. It is about building relationships, learning from peers and mentors and becoming part of a community that genuinely wants to see you succeed.

Throughout the week, our team from the FIU Bacardi Center of Excellence (BCE) within the Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism Management, experienced every side of the industry. We toured Mammoth Coffee, a local coffee shop, to learn how coffee professionals approach flavor, hospitality and guest experience. We also assisted with beverage operations at the Sazerac House, prepping cocktail batches and garnishes for over 25 events at Tales of the Cocktail with attendance ranging from 300 to 2,000.

Beyond beverage preparation, we represented FIU and BCE through event setup, execution and breakdown, which gave us a behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to produce world-class hospitality experiences. Getting to work alongside employees of world-renowned bars such Sip & Guzzle, Allegory, Attaboy and Gilly’s House gave me experiences to learn from and professionals with whom to build relationships. Experiences like this bridge the gap between classroom learning and the realities of the hospitality industry.

Nicole Morris participating in beverage preparation for events associated with Tales of the Cocktail.

One of the most impactful moments of the week came during the 12th annual seminar titled Letters to a Young Bartender, a community session where industry titans read aloud a letter written to their younger selves. As someone who has always believed that proving myself in this industry meant saying yes to every double shift, every "clopen" (working the closing and returning the next day to work the opening shift) and every opportunity in between (often at the expense of much needed sleep and recovery), the panel’s message to their younger selves resonated deeply with me as a young bartender coming up in this industry.

The panelists reminded us that passion and hard work do not have to come at the cost of our health, our relationships or ourselves. It was a perspective I didn’t realize I needed to hear, and judging by the emotion throughout the room, I wasn’t alone.

That lesson became even more meaningful through the relationships I built during the week. Working with Steve Schneider and the Sip & Guzzle team, recently named No. 1 bar in North America by the Worlds 50 Best organization, was an experience I never imagined having as a student. Someone I had admired from afar became someone I worked alongside, learned from and shared conversations with throughout the week.

What meant the most wasn’t simply meeting someone I respected, but it was being remembered. Having Steve find me days later in a crowd, jokingly refer to me as “his barback,” and genuinely investing time to encourage me reminded me that this industry is built on mentorship just as much as skill. Those interactions reinforced the idea that hospitality extends beyond the guests; it is also about investing in the people around you.

Tales of the Cocktail gave me far more than technical knowledge or networking opportunities. It showed me that there is no single path to becoming a great hospitality professional. Whether through leadership, creativity, mentorship or simply making someone feel welcome, everyone we met and worked with had a different way of leaving a lasting impact on us all as students.

I am incredibly grateful to the Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism Management and the Bacardi Center of Excellence for making experiences like this possible. I returned to Miami with new skills, new friendships, and a renewed excitement for the career I’m building.