The American Craft Spirits Association (ACSA) has selected beverage alcohol communications firm Colangelo & Partners as its official event management partner for the 14th Annual ACSA Convention & Expo, scheduled for February 17–18, 2027, at McCormick Place in Chicago. The hire is designed to free ACSA staff to focus on member services while a specialist team handles logistics and exhibitor coordination.
Why the Partnership Matters
For craft spirits producers navigating a shifting marketplace, the convention is a rare opportunity to gather peer-to-peer intelligence and evaluate supplier offerings under one roof. ACSA CEO Emily Pennington framed the move as a structural upgrade: "Bringing Colangelo & Partners on board is a strategic step for ACSA. They bring a deep understanding of the beverage alcohol industry to event management that lets our staff concentrate on what we do best: serving our members."
Colangelo & Partners is already well known in the trade as a fine wine and spirits integrated communications agency, handling public relations, digital campaigns, and trade programming for both global brands and independent distillers. Adding event management to the scope of its ACSA work is a natural extension of that footprint in the craft spirits sector. Felipe Gonzalez-Gordon, Chief Operating Officer and Partner at Colangelo & Partners, cited the agency's long-standing ties to the distilling community as the rationale: "Whether through integrated public relations, digital campaigns, or comprehensive event management, our goal is to provide producers with the strategic foundation and visibility they need to thrive."
What Attendees Can Expect
The 2027 program will include more than 30 hours of education sessions, a redesigned exhibit hall intended to improve the buyer-supplier experience, and structured networking built around the practical challenges distillers face heading into the year. The event will also host ACSA's annual awards ceremony recognizing craft producers and a Grand Tasting where attendees can sample hundreds of products, including medalists from this year's spirits competition.
For hospitality and beverage operators tracking the craft spirits category, the Chicago convention represents one of the industry's most concentrated access points to emerging distillers and the suppliers serving them. As beverage industry trends continue to favor independent and artisan producers, gatherings like this carry increasing weight for bars, restaurants, and retail buyers scouting what's next on the shelf. Coverage of craft spirits programming and distillery innovation is a recurring focus of restaurant and hospitality beverage coverage across the F&B trade press, reflecting the category's growing menu presence.
Registration, exhibitor, and sponsorship details are available at americancraftspirits.org/attend.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
