IMBIBE

ABSOLUT x Gareth Pugh

British goth-chic designer Gareth Pugh has recently teamed up with ABSOLUT MODE EDITION to participate in a redesign of the iconic ABSOLUT bottle. Having served as a blank canvas for the likes of Andy Warhol, Kurt Wenner and Spike Lee, the Swedish brand’s bottle serves doubly as a container and a piece of art, especially when designed as special limited editions. For his turn at the trademark spirit, Pugh chose to evoke the realm of fashion by creating a bottle with twelve facets and wrapping it in a midnight blue silk cloth embroidered band. Available exclusively at Harvey Nichols and Selfridges, the distinctive ABSOLUT model is sure to be a collectors item for fashionistas and discerning drinkers alike.

Via my article on Hypebeast. 

ABSOLUT BLANK Artist Series

The ABSOLUT Vodka bottle’s kaleidoscopic range of iterations in print ads, short film pieces and throughout copious collaborations have made the liquor brand’s basic container a valuable asset and a veritable canvas for aspiring artists across the globe. Honing in on a marketing opportunity, ABSOLUT selected 18 creatives to get involved with ABSOLUT BLANK - a project that pretty self-explanatorily asks each participant to lend a visual makeover to a model of one of the brand’s standard, blank vodka bottles. The eclectic results include the intricate and surreal work of Good Wives and Warriors, energetic collage imagery from Mario Wagner, graphic design from Robert Mars and bright, geometric artwork from UVA, among others. Simply a great idea, ABSOLUT BLANK demonstrates how the venerable vodka brand has managed to once again leverage one of their most basic commodities - their bottle - as a trademark. It may not be tall, slender, glossy or frosted; but the ABSOLUT bottle makes for an ideal blank canvas for artists of all kinds. At the end of the day, that’s a lot more valuable than a luxurious or high-end perceived brand value. Art as commerce - Warhol would have been proud. 

Check out more from ABSOLUT BLANK here.

Hangar One Vodka Blimp Tour

Hangar One Vodka has long been a favorite of mine. From their quirky, seasonal flavored offerings (Buddha’s Hand Citron, anyone?) to the eponymous vintage airplane hangar that serves as their headquarters in Alameda, California - Hangar One is not your run-of-the-mill liquor brand. As the company has purposely eschewed standard publicity tactics such as club partnerships and celebrity-laden party-throwing in favor of a craft cocktail series and creation of self-promoting, limited edition flavors such as Chipotle and Wasabi, it’s no surprise that their latest advertising stint is not exactly a party bus. The Hangar One Vodka Blimp Tour harkens back to the brand’s aerial origins by sending a fully-branded zeppelin on a twenty-city, cross-country journey, landing at planned destinations along the way in order to host bartender “mix offs” using their hand-crafted vodka as the key ingredient. Destined to land at home in California by the end of November, the 120’ long blimp’s promotional material includes some lovely commissioned drawings and a bottle of classic Hangar One alongside information on where and when to spot their flying brand ambassador and - why not? - a map and some stickers.

Imbibe responsibly and learn more about the Hangar One Vodka Blimp Tour here.

Kanon Organic Vodka

Hailing from Sweden (like one if its infamous counterparts, SVEDKA), Kanon Organic Vodka has launched itself onto the wine and spirits scene lately with a full-scale rebranding campaign, a new website and its very own Coachella party.

Organic vodkas have been around for awhile now, but they tend to position themselves as earthy and responsible rather than cool and modern. Kanon, on the other hand, has taken the latter approach by emphasizing their locally-sourced, multiple-distilled grain vodka’s apparently close ties with the fashion and music communities. Nowhere in their branding is there a message of guilt or fear of global warming - instead, Kanon stresses that organic vodka is, in fact, better-tasting and smoother due to the fresher ingredients and lack of chemicals present in their Swedish libation.  Following up with a final interesting spin on their history, Kanon’s website also stresses how, since their distillery has been in operation since the 1500s, back in the ancient times there was no such things as non-organic vodka as chemicals and preservatives didn’t exist.

Heritage, quality and serious fashion cred make for a formidable trifecta for the new Kanon brand. In addition to making friends like Jeremy Scott, Phillip Lim & Lykke Li as well as throwing parties at Coachella and giving away concert tickets - the bottle’s not hard to look at either. By taking the modern hipster route rather than employing traditional environmentalist tactics, Kanon’s off to a good start of rebranding their product. 

Recipe: Bloody Mary

I’ve been avoiding this recipe for a few reasons. First of all, everyone has their own way of making a Bloody Mary and is sure to take issue with almost everyone else’s recipe. Secondly, I’ve honestly only recently settled on what I think makes for the perfect Bloody and, finally, it’s one of my favorite cocktails - so I wanted to make sure I didn’t screw it up. 

As Spring seems to be beginning to take root here on the East Coast, however, I think now is the perfect time to take on the endeavor of this mythic and potent drink, cultural artifact and fabled hangover cure. Without further adieu, you’ll need:

2 oz (a little over 1 jigger) premium vodka (Ketel One does nicely)

1/2 cup good tomato juice

The juice of 1 whole lemon

A liberal dashing of Worcestershire Sauce

2 spoonfuls (at least) of premium Horseradish 

Hot sauce to taste

Celery, cocktail olives, salt, pepper and lemon wedges to garnish

Before I suggest how to assemble this cacophony of ingredients, a word on some of my reasoning. First of all, most recipes would call for less vodka - but with such strong and possibly overwhelming flavors going on in the Bloody Mary, I think it’s important to make sure that vodka “bite” is still at least slightly noticeable. Secondly, some people will yell and scream that Tabasco just has to be in a Bloody and no other type of hot sauce. This just isn’t true and, in fact, I prefer some other more smoky hot sauces to Tabasco. Finally, in my mind, the horseradish is the golden ticket here. Use a lot of it. Add some, taste the concoction, and do not hesitate to add more if you feel like it. Make sure to use fresh horseradish, none of that horseradish sauce stuff.

OK - onto assembly. I find the easiest way to make a Bloody is sloshing all the ingredients into a cocktail shaker (including the olives, and maybe even a little bit of their brine), mixing together diligently with a large spoon until the horseradish has dissolved and the liquid takes on that familiar red, speckled aesthetic of the classic Bloody Mary. Pour into a high ball glass piled with ice and garnished with a large sprig of celery (be dramatic here - make it big and fancy) and a wedge of lemon. 

This recipe can be doubled, tripled, etc. and whipped up into a large pitcher for serving as well (which sounds good to me). Remember - this drink should be tangy, salty, spicy, smoky, a little bitter and everything in between. Indulge, enjoy and don’t fret if a flavor seems off - just keep adding more until the cocktail seems balanced. Or pour on the vodka and hope people get too drunk to notice.

Imbibe responsibly.

Crystal Head Vodka

Yes, Dan Aykroyd does co-own this vodka but, honestly, if he had any part in the design process then I have a newfound respect for the man. Crystal Head has been around for awhile now and is definitely in that category of ultrapremium vodkas that depend a lot more on image than they do on quality. As I have stated before, I really don’t think there’s any difference between most vodkas besides being ultrapremium or economy, so next time you’re looking for a Belvedere or Grey Goose-level spirit, consider swinging towards Crystal Head.

As with most expensive vodkas, the product is excellent and - more importantly - the bottle is absolutely stunning. For those of us who are more inclined towards the maccabre, once the liquor has been drained, the glass skull makes an excellent vase, case for spices, olive oil, coins, etc. It’s a little crazy to have as much brand affinity as to request Crystal Head when out at a restaurant or bar, however, when entertaining at home or merely looking for a luxury vodka for one’s own bar - Crystal Head certainly has that “wow” factor. Skull motifs have been popular for a few years and can certainly border on the tackier side of branding, however, this is an example of an excellent case of design.

Imbibe Responsibly.

Recipe: Moscow Mule

As a bit of a eulogy for Summer, I present you with one of the most simple and refreshing classic cocktails around - the Moscow Mule. Created in Manhattan’s Chatham Hotel in the 1940s as part of a movement of the upper-crust cocktail types towards vodka-based concoctions, the Moscow Mule perfectly brings together sweetness, spice, citrus and (of course) the loving embrace of alcohol. An interesting fact is that the Mule was traditionally served in copper mugs (almost like a Julep), yet this serving method had absolutely no grounds in history or mixology. It was, indeed, a complete marketing gimmick, designed to add an extra injection of aesthetic appeal to the cocktail in image-obsessed markets like Los Angeles, where it became particularly popular. The Moscow Mule’s trademark was a success, and the recipe helped to usher in an era of vodka-based drinks during a time of nearly total gin supremacy.

It’s this simple:

1-2 parts vodka 

1 part fresh lime juice

2-3 parts ginger beer

I happen to think that 2 parts of vodka to 3 parts of ginger beer is fine in a Moscow Mule, as ginger beer is a particularly strong flavor - but to each his own. Garnish with a slice of fresh lime and, if entertaining, throw some muddled limes in the glass for a little extra flare. As always, use only premium ingredients for the best tasting results.

Imbibe responsibly. 

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 stuff is a higher-proof (50% ABV) variety of Belvedere vodka naturally infused with nine unique ingredients designed to mingle well with nightlife mixers (such as Red Bull, soda and juices) as well as hold their own as the star of a modern cocktail. Vodka infused with botanicals - you wonder - isn’t that just gin? Well, normally that would be the case but these infusions aren’t exactly juniper and angelica. As you may have guessed by now, the “IX” (which is pronounced “One-X”) stands for the nine ingredients found in the spirit - ginseng, guarana, acai, black cherry, ginger, sweet almond, jasmine, eucalyptus & cinnamon. Besides eucalyptus and maybe jasmine - very few of these bad boys would ever make their way into a traditional batch of gin.

So, how does it taste? Bold, warm, spicy and honestly quite strange. For some reason, however, I really like it. I enjoy its intense complexity in drinks where I might traditionally use a flavored vodka and it’s also probably the only vodka I’ve ever purposely drank on the rocks. An added bonus is that IX has done a good job of keeping its brand promise - making for an excellent pre-game spirit or boost of liquid courage at any party or club. Do you really want to be that guy carrying around a magnum of exclusive party vodka for your own personal consumption, you wonder? Yes. Yes you do.

Even for those who don’t like the taste of IX - its marketing has been undeniably well executed (unlike Belvedere’s most recent ad campaign, which is so atrocious it’s almost funny). With a bottle designed and promoted by famed Parisian graffitti artist, club-owner and socialite Andre, the product is practically a piece of pop art and adds an undeniable cool-factor to any bar with its glossy black coating and hot pink ”tagged” logo.

BELVEDERE IX -

Worth a try for those adventurous hipsters who like experimenting with new liquor experiences.

Worth a buy for the ones who genuinely like the stuff…or just want people to think they do.