Meet Sara Gorelick, Account Director at Colangelo & Partners

By Chilled Magazine

Veteran Tales attendee Sara Gorelick is heavily involved with brand messaging and marketing of multiple spirit brands for Colangelo & Partners.

Chilled got to speak to Sara as she gears up for the industry event of the year. Prior to entering the spirits industry Sara worked as a journalist for Tribune Media Company. But after working as a server at a restaurant during high school, she fell in love with the industry. Starting in the spirits communications industry in 2007, Sara began working with Partida Tequila and G’vine Gin and over the past decade has also worked with numerous bartenders and bars in the city from The Tippler to Cafe Standard. She currently oversees the spirits team at Colangelo & Partners and has managed many large events, including a Margarita party for Oprah Winfrey!

Sara has attended Tales of the Cocktail every year since 2009 and has her finger on the pulse of what is happening in the industry. Chilled asked Sara about what she is looking forward to at this year’s Tales, where she thinks the industry is headed in the future, and what today’s bartenders can do to better market themselves.

Sara Gorelick, Account Director at Colangelo & Partners
Photo Courtesy of Amanda Picotte

Tell us about your background in the spirits industry.

My background in the spirits industry started very much the same way as most others that I’ve met in hospitality – it’s something I was fortunate to fall into as a means to make money. I worked at a restaurant in high school serving pastries, coffee, wine and simple cocktails, which whet my appetite for the industry. After graduate school I joined the team at Colangelo & Partners working with bartenders, distillers and producers who really appreciate artisanal, craft spirits. This was a big eye-opener for me and immersed me in a wonderful world I never knew existed.

It’s been 9 years now and I’m so happy to be a part of it. I have also found ways to incorporate my writing background by contributing to a number of online publications as well as a column on Examiner.com where I write about cocktails in New York. It’s a really cool balance of digging deep into specific spirit categories for my clients during the day, and then switching to the consumer palate at night. I get to try new and interesting spirits and cocktails from around the world, but I try to write in a way that’s approachable for everyone to read.

Talk to us about Colangelo & Partners, what you do there and what they do in general.

Colangelo & Partners is an integrated communications agency where we focus on media relations (telling media about our clients), events (where people try the products we represent), social media and trade relations (working with industry influencers who then tell their communities about our products). I’ve been here now since 2007 and am really happy to see the way the agency has grown. When I started there were eight people, now we are over 40. Working in communications means every day is different, which I think is a beautiful thing. It’s not for everyone, there’s a lot of moving parts that you have to juggle.

Tell us about your experiences with Tales of the Cocktail?

Tales of the Cocktail is an adventure. You meet all types from all over the world. I first began going in 2009 and am so happy to continue the pilgrimage to New Orleans year after year. Every experience at Tales is different, with something new to learn and someone new to meet. The food is incredible, the people are nice and everyone is there to enjoy each other, the culture, the cocktails, the cuisine – it couldn’t be in a better place.

What are you looking forward to for this year’s Tales?

I’m especially excited for Tales this year because I have many industry friends who are coming for the first time. As someone who has been to Tales for the past eight years and seen its tremendous growth, I’m really looking forward to seeing it with new eyes. I look forward to meeting people, seeing friends old and new, and just enjoying all that the Crescent City has to offer. The Tales team puts on a phenomenal job – I’ve gotten to know a few of them over the last few years and Ann and her team truly do an astounding amount of work.

Sara Gorelick, Account Director at Colangelo & Partners
Photo Courtesy of Amanda Picotte

Talk to us about current trends in craft cocktails and spirits- where do you see this industry going?

Coffee and tea as ingredients in cocktails is still hot. Also it’s really great to see how the general consumer understands the important use of fresh juices, quality spirits and that good mixers elevate their drink. Tequila, Mezcal and Japanese Whisky continue to have their moment – which is awesome!

We hear you threw a Margarita Party for Oprah. Tell us about this event.

That was one of the coolest experiences in my career. I worked with my client Partida Tequila to throw a party just before Oprah went to her own network. It was at Harpo Studios in Chicago, and we had the help of some top local bartenders and chefs to put on a spectacular event. There was food, a mariachi band, tons of decorations, Oprah and fresh Margaritas. A dream come true (and a lot of work!).

Talk to us about how bartenders these days can market themselves. Can you offer a couple of tips?

Bartenders are in the driver’s seat when it comes to cocktail making – everyone wants a bartender’s opinion! We work with bartenders who design cocktail recipes with our clients, like Diplomático Rum and Amaro Lucano, and we pitch them to media/put them up on social with credit to those bartenders. It gives them exposure and allows their creative juices to flow. We’ve put bartenders in magazines, on tv, radio and it’s a nice way to collaborate.

What types of spirits/brand activations are most popular with the millennials today?

Experiential events and anything tying in social media are big right now. Snapchat and Instagram are ruling the roost, so any way for a brand to build their social presence is big. When things trend, they go far.

Is there anything else you’d like our readers to know about you and your firm?

At the end of the day, we always say that hiring an agency is like joining a gym. You can sign up, but you have to work at it by giving us content, ideas, recipes and just being responsive. You get out of it what you put into it. We’re ready to put all in, and we love clients who reflect that on their end as well.

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