Adam Seger knows he has it good. The Nacional 27 uber-barman is en route today to the 2009 Grand Marnier and Navan Mixology Summit in Vail, Colo. He'll be joined by eight other Chicago bar chefs for the event, which runs Sunday through Tuesday.

A mixology summit is just that -- cocktails at 8,000 feet. This is Seger's third summit, and he says there is "plenty if imbibing," plus "skiing, hot tubbing in the snow and a cocktail pairing dinner with food prepared by Colorado's only AAA 5 Diamond chef."

But it is also a meeting of the nation's top 100 mixologists, so there is "work" involved in the form of tasting labs and demos of the latest cocktail trends.

Seger is particularly excited to present a master class, "The New Bar: A Liquid, Seasonal Kitchen" with Francesco Lafranconi of Southern Wine and Spirits of Nevada. He'll make some of his trademarks, including an heirloom tomato caipirinha.

Like we said, it's "work."