Last weekend was a great weekend, I was able to hang out with new friends, learn about the UWS and learn about a new liqueur that I believe is definitely cutting edge and should be a staple in your
fridge.

I had the opportunity to sit with Rob Back of Voyant Chai, the world’s first Chai Cream Liqueur. Listening to Rob talk about Voyant Chai was an amazing experience. Typically, I learn about new products from sales reps or those within marketing. I enjoyed sitting at Coliseum, an UWS bar with Rob who actually created the formula.

First off, the bottle is eye catching! When I looked at the bottle online, I was instantly taken with the warm and vibrant colors. Seeing it up close, this painted bottle really started taking on new meaning especially when I received my first taste. Typically, I taste drinks already mixed; however, Rob insisted that I had to taste Voyant Chai on
ice. I was immediately struck by the amazing spices (Chai, Nutmeg), black tea, oak aged rum and vanilla. Instantly I thought of sweet potato pie (of course many will also think of pumpkin pie if this is your
preference).

For those of you that may enjoy a variety of cream liqueurs, I was shocked with my first sip. It was such a light, fragrant
and crisp experience that I was interested in how one would mix this beverage that already had a very distinctive taste. Although it’s creamy, it doesn’t leave a film or a coating that can distract from the
taste.

In addition, I loved that although there are a variety of spices, they aren’t so overwhelming that they burn your throat. Most
importantly, the flavors don’t taste artificial due to the use of real spices. Being a chai fan, it didn’t take much for me to appreciate this drink; however, I was completely transformed with my first drink that Rob suggested. Unfortunately, I don’t know the name of this drink but, I had a 1/3 Voyant Chai, 1/3 Jagermeister and a 1/3 Coke in a glass. I am not a fan
of Jagermeister; however, blended together I tasted more of a slight minty flavor with the chai and the Coke balancing it out.

Interestingly enough, if you visit the site, you will find that you can enjoy Voyant Chai in a variety of ways including Martini/cocktails, after dinner drinks, shots, summer drinks and also something that you can
include while baking.

My biggest question was why Chai? Apparently, the answer was simply, there wasn’t a presence in the market; therefore, it was an appropriate time to introduce it. For those that love the spiciness of pumpkin or sweet potato pie, I would recommend this beverage and can also imagine enjoying it during the fall. I think this would be perfect to pair with
a cider when you go to tailgates or other functions. Visit the site and
learn more about Voyant Chai. If you’re in NYC, feel free to visit Astor Wines where you can purchase your own bottle.

Technorati Tags: chai, voyant chai, cocktail, liquor, beverage, mixed drink, liqueur

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Bubble Saver (from My Wine Education):

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Beam Global Spirits & Wine, a global leader in premium spirits and wine, is proud to announce that its Scotch and Cognac brands won 12 medals at the 2007 International Wine & Spirit Competition. Of the 12 medals awarded to the three brands, eight were gold and eight were awarded “Best in Class” distinction.

Courvoisier® Cognac was awarded the most gold medals of any brand in the Cognac category. Courvoisier® Initiale Extra, Courvoisier® VS, Courvoisier® Exclusif and Courvoisier® Succession J.S. were all awarded gold medals and named “Best in Class”. Courvoisier® VSOP received a silver medal and a “Best in Class” distinction.

Two of the Scotch whisky brands Beam Global distributes in the United States, Laphroaig® Single Malt Islay Scotch Whisky and The Dalmore® Single Highland Malt Scotch Whisky, received high praise from this year’s International Wine & Spirit Competition:

* Laphroaig® 10 Year – Gold medal and “Best in Class”
* Laphroaig® Quarter Cask – Gold medal and “Best in Class”
* Laphroaig® 15 Year – Gold medal
* Laphroaig® 10 Year Cask Strength – Gold medal
* Laphroaig® 30 Year – Silver medal and “Best in Class”
* The Dalmore® 12 Year – Silver medal
* The Dalmore® 21 Year – Silver medal

“We are honored to have been awarded such high marks from the prestigious International Wine & Spirit Competition,” said Tom Flocco, president and CEO of Beam Global Spirits & Wine. “Our Scotch and Cognac brands continue to stand out in competitions across the world. These awards not only validate the quality of our brands, but also the work and craftsmanship that underpin our world-renowned spirits.”

The annual International Wine & Spirit Competition was founded in 1969. Its aim is to promote the quality and excellence of the world’s best wines, spirits and liqueurs through a rigorous two stage judging process of professional blind tasting and detailed (chemical and microbiological) analysis. This year, the competition will conduct tastings throughout the year based on spirits category. Scotches and Cognacs were among the first spirits categories to be judged and announced.

Technorati Tags: liquor, laphroaig, scotch, cognac, spirits, wine, liqueur, courvoisier, whisky, singlemaltwhisky

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Smirnoff Source, the new premium malt beverage offering from Diageo North America that combines pure spring water with alcohol, today announced it will hold a benefit in New York City on June 14th, to raise funds on behalf of The Nature Conservancy, a leading conservation organization working around the world to protect ecologically important lands and waters for nature and people. The event, entitled “Conservation Starts at the Source,” will be hosted by Anna Kournikova and feature a performance by celebrity DJ Samantha Ronson.

Recently released in the Northeast, Smirnoff Source is the first malt beverage in the U.S. to contain pure spring water and alcohol. The beverage is light, crisp and perfectly balanced to deliver the ultimate in refreshing taste.

“In launching Smirnoff Source, we factored in our consumers’ concerns for the environment and our shared concern for keeping Smirnoff Source’s pure spring water pure,” said Mark Breene, vice president, Diageo Progressive Adult Beverages. “The Nature Conservancy’s solid reputation and proven track record of producing tangible, lasting results for the environment makes them the perfect organization to benefit from this event,” he added.

“We’re pleased to have this opportunity to help raise awareness of the need to conserve the natural systems that sustain life on Earth,” said Steve Ertel, Director of Media Relations for The Nature Conservancy. “As the challenges facing the planet become more urgent, it is increasingly critical to incorporate environmental thinking into our daily lives. We hope to inspire a new generation of environmentalists, and we hope ‘Conservation Starts at the Source’ can remind people that their choices can and do affect the world around them.”

Technorati Tags: vodka, smirnoff, liquor, beverage, environment, ecology, green, tennis, annakournikova, anna kournikova

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Stella Artois Draught Master World Champions, originally uploaded by chrisjara.

As a follow-up to the previous post, here are all three of the top finalists in the Championship.

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Stella Artois Draught Master World Champion - Michaela Joita, originally uploaded by chrisjara.

The tenth edition of the Stella Artois® World Draught Master Competition - a contest that rewards the world’s best pourer of Belgian beers - took place today in the Stella Artois brewery in Leuven, the hometown of Stella Artois®. InBev brought together 26 international finalists for the competition, which is the highlight of 12 months hard work in training bartenders from all over the world. This year’s Stella Artois® World Draught Master title has been awarded to Michaela Joita - Romania (1st place winner), Ruslan Sorokpud – the Ukraine (1st runner-up) and Natasja Villette - Belgium (2nd runner-up).

First held in 1997, the Stella Artois® World Draught Master Competition assembles the best bartenders from around the world to rate their tapping skills, bottle-pouring finesse and table-serving protocol when it comes to serving Belgian beers. Every step of a competitor’s attempt to perform the “perfect pour” is carefully scrutinized by a panel of expert judges. The winner receives a free trip to a worldwide destination of their choice; two runner-ups receive a free trip anywhere in Europe.

Always a fight to the finish, the competition heralds the importance of the Stella Artois® 9-step pouring ritual: a cleaning process, the position of the tap (not touching the beer, head or glass), the size of the head (no higher than two fingers), and a careful re-dipping of the glass in cool water to restore its proper drinking temperature – all of which ensure that a Stella Artois® will always taste its best. Even the shape of the brand’s signature chalice glass is chosen to release all of the beer’s multi-textured aromas.

This annual contest welcomes the winners of locally-held contests from more than 26 countries - from Taiwan to Kazakhstan - a broad spectrum of international Stella Artois® brand ambassadors who reflect the widespread global appeal of Belgium’s premium lager.

Alexander Darwazeh, Stella Artois® Global Brand Director says: “Without a doubt, a well-poured beer adds something special to the experience, which is why for the last decade we’ve organized the Stella Artois® Draught Master competition, celebrating the fine art of pouring a perfect chalice of the world’s most popular Belgian beer.”

This years competition participants came from: Australia, Azerbaijan, Brazil, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Dubai, Gibraltar, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Romania, Russia, South Africa, Taiwan, Ukraine and the USA.

Technorati Tags: beer, belgium, inbev, stella artois, stellaartois, draughtmaster, draught master, championship, michaela joita

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Baileys, originally uploaded by cassi.jones.

The makers of BAILEYS(R) Original Irish Cream, the world’s number one selling cream liqueur, today launched the Baileys Drinkable Desserts Challenge, a competition that invites amateur and professional mixologists and chefs to create their own smooth, contemporary twists on traditional dessert just in time for the holidays.

Amateurs and professionals can submit recipes to the competition at www.drinkabledesserts.com through December 15, 2006. The site offers participants a list of suggested ingredients and garnishes which can be mixed with a base of Baileys Original Irish Cream or its two new flavors- Baileys Original Irish Cream with a hint of Mint Chocolate and Baileys Original Irish Cream with a hint of Caramel to create a Drinkable Dessert of their own.

“Drinkable Desserts are the latest trend in cocktails and are a great alternative to traditional desserts,” said Chef de Cuisine of Gourmet’s Cooking Arts Center, Jennifer Day. “The Baileys Drinkable Desserts Challenge encourages people to start with Baileys Original Irish Cream or one of the two new Baileys flavors, and then use their imagination to find new ways to enhance the unique taste of Baileys Irish Cream while serving cocktails responsibly and with style.”

On December 18, drinkabledesserts.com will begin featuring recipe submissions from around the country and consumers will be encouraged to vote for their favorites through January 21, 2007.

Following the voting round, a final judging panel including representatives from The Gourmet Cooking Arts Center, the makers of Baileys Irish Cream and mixology experts, will review the top five vote getters in both categories. The Grand Prize winning amateur and professional will have their recipes and images featured in a Baileys advertisement in the April 2007 issue of Gourmet Magazine. Additionally, the top amateur will receive a trip to New York City with a guest for a private cooking class in the The Gourmet Cooking Arts Center with Day (where legal).

For more information and official rules for the Baileys Drinkable Desserts Challenge, please visit www.drinkabledesserts.com. Entrants must be 21 years old to participate.

Technorati Tags: baileys, cocktails, mixed drinks, bar, pub, pubcrawl, liquor, spirits, contest, recipe

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I have been to Puerto Rico a number of times and of course we have seen the commercials talking about the Rums of Puerto Rico; however, I didn’t know what that really meant. Fortunately at the Rum Fest which was sponsored in part by this group, I was able to find out a little more and thought that I would share it with you.

Puerto Rico is known for many things and one of them is that it is the world capital for rum. In addition the United States obtains about 75% of its rum from this country. If you’ve enjoyed Bacardi or Captain Morgan you have enjoyed at least two of this countries exports. There is a process that is involved in order to be produced here, there is a law about the minumum aging time peiod (at least one year for lighter rums and 4-6 for darker) and they are distilled in white oak barrels. Why is this area so ideal? Apparently the land and environment supports this due to one year of aging equaling three years in Scotland.

I don’t know when it was officially considered the Rum Capital of the World but I believe with such historical figures as Christopher Columbus and Ponce de Leon bringing sugar cane and planting it provide evidence to this point. It was even the toasting drink of choice by George Washington and Paul Revere. Although we can go back as far as 1493 to provide this evidence, this light, dark, gold and premium beverage were regulated by the the Rums of Puerto Rico as a government agency in 1948 in ensuring its sale to the US.

The next time you see a commercial for the Rums of Puerto Rico - now you know that the leisure of drinking is serious business there!

Technorati Tags: puerto rico, rum, liquor, cocktails, bacardi, captain morgan, spirits

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About a month ago, I had a PR Rep for Airforce’s Nutrisoda contact me via reading Kitten Couture and See Pretty Things. As you know both of these blogs that I run are about fashion. Due to my love of fashion, he informed me that his client had
partnered with Bono’s line Edun in a partnership to Dress for Success which is an organization that assists women in lower economic structures by providing them the information needed to get a job and to dress the part for their interviews. I thought that it was a fabulous opportunity and reported the information on both blogs and forgot that he had promised me a case of their beverages.

Well, I just received it and I was blown away by the taste and also the ability for it to be mixed with various alcoholic beverages! This then became an obvious addition to the blog and to spread the word about this
great product. There are 8 products with these energy drinks that are beneficial to your body. Each of these are ideal to create a beverage of your choosing or to enjoy alone.

Focus is Peach and Mango and assists in mental alertness and concentration - perfect for studying or making plans., Flex is a mixture of Black Cherry and Apple and helps you stay mobile. Calm (which I have to admit that it made me feel better) contains Wild Berry and Citron and allows you to deal with the stresses of life. Immune contains Lime and Tangerine and makes sure that you stay healthy and battle against being sick. Energize is a mixture of Mandarin and Mint and boosts your
energy. Slender has Pink Grapefruit and Guava and allows you to manage your weight and Radiant Pomegranate and Blackberry which makes your skin look awesome and keep it’s firmness. This drink did make me feel refreshed as well. There are a lot of vitamins in these drinks and although these statements are not proven by the FDA I have to say that it feels healthy to drink these colorful containers.

Now that you have an idea of what these drinks do, we need to know what they really do when they play with a few friends. Here is a sample of each one :

The BIKINITINI is a mixture of Absolut and Citron with Slender. Radiant and sparkling wine create the FACE LIFT. JUMPING JACK FLASH which sounds like a kick in the pants includes Energize and Jack and Coke. A drink that I would love to try because I am a fan of Calm is AMETHYST which includes Blue Raspberry Vodka. The APPLE FLEXTINI merges Flex, Belvedere
Cytrus Vodka and Sour Apple Pucker together. Enter the TROPOSPHERE with Focus and Bacardi Rum. I’m loving the sound of the IMMUNARITA which is Gold Tequila, Triple Sec, lemonade and Immune.

So visit the website to learn more about the drinks, the recipes of the
beverages and of course the fusion with Edun where proceeds from the
sale of the t-shirt goes back to Dress for Success.

Technorati Tags: spirits, beverage, liquor, cocktail, tequila, rum, vodka, bono, edun, nutrisoda

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As promised, the Rum Fest in NYC may have only been one night; however, due to the variety of vendors that attended it’s nice to know that there will be a lot of information posted on here. By focusing on participants, you’ll be able to learn a little more about the alcohol. In addition, it is my hope to attend more events and share it with you. Finally, I will continue to post about bars since this is the best time of year to go to bars - I love when it’s colder and you visit bars that have fireplaces and other features that are perfect for going out to feel like you’re staying in. Anyway, that’s a little scoop, but pressing forward - back to the Rum Fest!

Some of you know that I used to do some promotional work as did my sister and we had the opportunity to work with a variety of beverages. My sister worked with 10 Cane in the city and although I had seen their bottles before, her work with them officially introduced me to them. Fortunately, I had another opportunity to learn more about this rum.

When I think of rum I think of such locales as Jamaica and Puerto Rico; however 10 Cane hails from Trinidad. Due to the process of creating this smooth and light tasting beverage from virgin Trinidadian sugarcane and lack of molasses - these are the distinctions that provide its unique taste that separates it from other rums. In addition, the rum is aged for 6 months in French Oak Barrels - this was something that was new to me, although for those who are rum aficionados this may be general knowledge. I do love that taste that you get when something has been distilled in oak, I believe that it gives it
more depth.

My favorite way to enjoy it is on the rocks or with tonic. I happily enjoyed my samples from the other night both ways. I also enjoyed how 10 Cane’s representatives were knowledgeable about the product and explaining a variety of ways to enjoy it. I think that for those that enjoy alcohol, you like to learn
how to hone your taste buds to taste all the components that make a beverage great. I look forward to learning and enjoying more of this great rum.

Technorati Tags: liquor, rum, cocktails, 10cane, 10+cane, trinidad, newyork, newyorkcity, new york, lvmh

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