The Last Night on the Titanic

Veronica Hinke has been researching Titanic for as long as she can remember. While growing up in northern Wisconsin she often heard tales of “Popcorn Dan,” a man who hauled a horse-drawn popcorn cart through town with a withered arm and was the caretaker of a mansion that was rumored to be haunted. Daniel Coxon was one of the 537 men in third class who drowned aboard Titanic. Hinke has interviewed Coxon’s family members and historians who have studied him. She has also interviewed hundreds of experts on lifestyles, food and beverage for Tribune Media and other news outlets. She maintains a close working relationship with many leading chefs and mixologists around the world. Her annual year-end round-up story for Tribune Media, “The Best Thing I Ate This Year” features 50 food and drinks pros and their local picks. The story annually leads in holiday weekend news traffic and receives hundreds of retweets and Facebook shares. Her “Titanic Cocktails” report for Wine Enthusiast magazine honored the 100 th anniversary of Titanic. For the story, she interviewed Frank Caiafa, The Waldorf Astoria Bar Book, 2016, Penguin; and Toby Maloney, Co- founder, Alchemy Consulting, New York and co-founders of The Violet Hour, a prohibition era-style drinks venue in Chicago. Hinke also worked closely with RMS Titanic to obtain the data on liquor, beer, spirits and wine remnants pulled from Titanic debris sites. Each bottle provides a peek into Titanic’s history and helps to demystify what life was like for people in all three classes. “Titanic Cocktails” achieved considerable reach and continues to generate interest. The 360-word story was blogged by the Village Voice and spotlighted by New York Times “What We’re Reading” editors.