August 2010
15 posts
3 tags
Bitters
In the world of classic cocktails there is one ingredient that pops up continuously, almost regardless of which base spirit one is working with - bitters. We all know that they’re very potent, come in small apothecary-styled bottles (Peychaud’s and Angostura being the leading brands) and have been lauded as a treatment for stomach ailments (just plop some in a glass of...
3 tags
Recipe: Bramble
The Bramble may not have as storied a history as the Sidecar or Old Fashioned, but it’s a modern classic - refreshing, bittersweet and slightly exotic. Although popular in England as a tart alternative to a Cosmopolitan, the Bramble has not gained a particularly high-profile here in the US. This is a shame, as it very well may be the most perfect Summer gin drink around (the New York...
5 tags
Dom Perignon X Karl Lagerfeld
About one year before their adventurous alliance with the Andy Warhol Foundation, Dom Perignon tested the waters of artistic collusion by tapping the iconic Karl Lagerfeld to produce a series of photographs for them. The theme of the collaboration was an ode to Dom’s flagship champagne - the Oenotheque (which means “library of wines”). Merging narrative storytelling, classic...
3 tags
Review: Hendrick's Gin
My review for Hendrick’s itself is pretty straightforward. This is a liquid that is refreshing and botanical, like most gins, yet boasts an uncommon smoothness and added flavor through the infusion of cucumber and rose petal. Their distillation process is special and the gin comes out of Scotland, an area obviously known more for their whiskies than gins, yet in the end it...
4 tags
Recipe: Sidecar
One of my favorite drinks in the world is the Sidecar - a cocktail with a rich history that is sweet and tangy enough to serve as a complex and refreshing piece of mixology, yet strong enough to ease away the anxiety of tough day. It’s also quite simple to prepare.
As with most classic drinks, the origins of the Sidecar are rather mysterious. As one of the six cocktails covered in...
6 tags
Package Design
The world of spirits marketing is a fickle one. Some liquors like scotch whisky and wine are all quite different from each other - requiring branding and advertising that will call out the particular liquid’s special properties while aligning it within the market as a non-premium, premium or super-premium offering. When it comes to vodka, however, there are essentially two...
3 tags
Brooklyn Boy Makes Good...Gin
Back during the Prohibition, NYC was a hub for at-home concoction of everything from moonshine to beer, whiskey to absinthe. After WWII, however, strict laws and high rent forced the local liquor trade out of the city and, eventually, out of the Tri-State Area almost entirely (the exception here, of course, is the wine business - as multiple vineyards flourish around NYC).
Luckily, new...
2 tags
Ace of Spades
Armand de Brignac Rose Champagne
4 tags
Review: Belvedere IX
I know that I’m “late” on this product, as the hypebeasts would say, but since it launched as a club-exclusive and has only become available at liquor stores in the last six months or so, I’m not too late.
Belvedere IX, branded as a “downtown” and exclusive, artsy cousin to the LVMH-owned Polish house’s regular premium vodka offerings, immediately defies categorization. The...
5 tags
Recipe: Old Fashioned
The Old Fashioned is considered by many to be closely tied to the origin of the term “cocktail,” making for an excellent first recipe post. The story of the birth of the Old Fashioned is dubious - however, the folklore goes that the first use of its name referred to a bourbon drink served in the 1880s at a gentlemen’s club in Louisville, Kentucky called the Pendennis Club. The recipe is...
5 tags
Dom Perignon x Andy Warhol Foundation
This new, limited-edition, collaboration between the Andy Warhol Foundation and Dom Perignon is quite an appropriate first post - successfully integrating art, design, branding and heritage to make for a truly enviable product.
The collection was inspired by Andy’s “2,000 Club” - a pact between the eccentric artist and his close friends to buy 2,000 bottles of Dom by the year 2000 and to...
