The conference was founded in 2003 by cocktail enthusiast Ann Tuennerman, following an earlier walking tour started in 2002,[1] and as of 2016 hosts between 15,000 and 17,000 ticketed attendants.

[1] After a hiatus following Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Tales of the Cocktail returned to New Orleans in 2006 and resumed operation.

Additionally, there was a complete overhaul of the Board of Directors for the non-profit called New Orleans Culinary and Cultural Preservation Society.

The Tales of the Cocktail Foundation was officially formalized under new leadership, with a mission to educate, advance, and support our industry, on February 15, 2018.

[6][7] In November 2018, Tales of the Cocktail announced a new brick and mortar location in downtown New Orleans.