Meet Neal Cohen | Co-Founder, CMO

We had the good fortune of connecting with Neal Cohen and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Neal, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
The common thread I’ve found throughout my career is that I love exploring culture – food, music, art, travel – and figuring out ways to present my findings in creative ways that allow others to connect with something I’ve found significant and worthwhile sharing. So, if that means writing an article about a market tour in Mexico City, collaborating with a talented photographer to showcase a product or conceptualizing a video that represents the experience of a 5 days music festival, that’s how I feed my desire to create.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
My professional work has always been driven by passion. Whether it was as a cheesemonger, radio producer, music festival marketer or a cocktail brand entrepreneur, I’ve always needed to have a genuine interest in the field initially before finding the professional opportunity. The types of people I get to work with in my professional field has been an important factor too. I thrive on the shared energy between myself, colleagues, even friendly competitors. When I am able to surround myself with passionate, curious people, that’s when I do my best work.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Some of my favorite Atlanta places for food & drink are:

Kimball House – the ultimate destination for great cocktails, oysters and service, but with a really comfortable, casual attitude.

El Tesoro – The backyard space that they’ve created is unparalleled for enjoying Atlanta’s spring and fall weather with a delicious mulita and margarita.

Martin Luther King Jr Memorial is a place I’ve gone over the last year to regain perspective on Atlanta past, present and future. With all the attention that Georgia stirred up in the 2020 election, I’ve grown more and more proud of the history here. There’s also so many great murals around the Old Fourth Ward area that really give a visitor a great sense of place.

It’s always nice to take a walk through the Krog Street Tunnel and up Wylie Street to see the best street art that Atlanta has to offer which can be followed by a stop at Muchacho off of the Beltline.

And then there’s Atlanta’s great access to the mountains. If I had a week with a friend, I’d probably take them up to Tallulah Gorge or Amicalola Falls, the gateway to the Appalachian Trail.

What’s a formative experience that lead you to where you are today?
Tough question because my proudest accomplishments are always a function of collaborating, listening and building with other people. One experience I think of as truly formative was working at Zingermans Deli in Ann Arbor, MI during college. It’s a world class food mecca, where all the best cheese, charcuterie, traditional breads, olive oils and delicacies are sold. As a cheesemonger there, I began to understand the true power of story and that everything can be seen from a sociological or anthropological or even political context. Where your food comes from and who makes it, how it gets to you – these all make up a fascinating narrative that digs so much deeper than the face value of the item itself.

Website: https://tiptopcocktails.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tiptoppropercocktails/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/11845492/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/TipTopCocktails

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tiptopcocktails/

Other: Spotify Account for cocktail-inspired playlists: https://open.spotify.com/user/7igggbzr74x66b1zrhxo6jqzw?si=51030684e5774562

Image Credits
Images are from photographers Mia Yakel, Luke Beard and Henry Kornaros