Tales of the Cocktail has announced 2017’s seminars. As per usual it’s a superlative lineup of industry changes, enlightenment, and rollicking good fun.

I couldn’t help but notice major crossover appeal. Here are five non-hospitality-industry people who would get plenty out of the TOTC lineup.

History buffs

The schedule offers plenty of deep dives into our drinking past:

• The Original Whiskey Writer: Alfred Barnard – Noah Rothbaum
• We the People: Cocktails in the Colonies – Brian Maxwell
• Great Hoaxes in Cocktail History – Robert Simonson (Simonson knows a thing or two about the topic.)
• Sailor’s Joy: 400 years of Drinking at Sea – David Wondrich
• From the Medicine Cabinet to the Liquor Cabinet – Noah Rothbaum
• A Journey Into the World of Vintage Spirits – Edgar Harden

Librarians and academics

Get your sexy research on (and your cotton gloves):

• Finding Classic Cocktails in the Dusty Archives – Philip Greene

Trekkies

We’re Next Generation devotees around these parts but there’s room for even  NuTrek under our umbrella:

• Drink Well, Live Long and Prosper? – Claire Smith-Warner

Lawyers

Recipes are famously uncopyrightable. Alcohol is infamously legislated. So much room for legal exploration.

• Intellectual Property Law Issues in Cocktail Land – Philip Greene
• How To Make The Right Deal: Acquisitions 101 – Ryan Malkin

Marketers

From brands to brand reps, how to get more lips on your glasses.

• Do Brands Need Bartenders? – Ian McLaren
• BYOB – Build Your Own Brand – Daniel Singer
• Bartenders to Brand Ambassadors to Brand Managers – Will Thompson

And a few extra categories of note:

Local boy makes good, talks bugs

• Beetlejuice! When Bugs Meet Booze – Camper English (I have a draft about vegan cocktails also titled Beetlejuice. Just realized I hadn’t published it yet. Well, I’m not the first to make the joke and won’t be the last.  )

Local girl makes good, talks bots

• Bartending Robots: Friend or Foe? – Jennifer Colliau

Local bar makes good, gets seminar

Okay, not superlocal, but one of my favorites on the west coast.

• Bar Indepth: The Walker Inn, USA – Trevor Easter

Science, bitches!

So much more than just molecular mixology.

• Contextulibation – Location versus Perception in Drinks – Angus Winchester
• Better Drinking Through Chemistry – Ewan Morgan
• I Can See Clearly Now The Centrifuge Is Here – Don Lee
• Making Scents Out of Flavor: Olfactory Experience – Eamon Rockey

Yes, appreciate me

• Here’s to the Enthusiasts! – Joe McCanta

Industry-shaking concepts

The evolution of rum classification, a response to a flood of NAS scotch, and ethical spirits: these are highly relevant trends.

• Moving Beyond Colour, a new Classification for Rum – Richard Seale
• Hey Scotch, Where’s My Age Statement? – Georgina Bell
• Sustainability in Spirit Production – Bex Almqvist