Mouton Cadet Launches Three New Bordeaux Wines
Mouton Cadet has announced a new Bordeaux collection: Mouton Cadet x Mathilde, Mouton Cadet x Nathan and Mouton Cadet x Pierre, respectively rosé, white and red.
Mouton Cadet Rosé 2023 by Mathilde Sereys de Rothschild
Mouton Cadet Rosé x Mathilde was the first wine created as a collaboration between one of founder Baron Philippe de Rothschild’s great-grandchildren and Mouton Cadet’s winemakers. It was always going to have organic certification, but vegan was Mathilde’s choice, the company reports.
Mouton Cadet White 2023 by Nathan Sereys de Rothschild
Nathan lends his name to a wine made from sauvignon blanc. Mouton Cadet White x Nathan is an airy, fruit-forward wine, the company reports.
Mouton Cadet 2023 Red by Pierre Ögren de Rothschild
Pierre has chosen to lend his first name to a red wine made with another flagship grape variety, merlot. Using modern, low-temperature vinification techniques, the wine breaks with tradition and can even be enjoyed slightly chilled, the company says.
Available from spring 2024, this new collection of wines will be priced at a suggested price of $17.99 per 750-ml. bottle. The wines will be available across the US through Mouton Cadet’s importer, Turquoise Life.
Aberfeldy Introduces 21 Year Old Malbec Cask Finish
Aberfeldy Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky has announced a partnership with the Argentinian Winery, Finca Ambrosia, for the most recent edition to its Wine Cask Collection: Aberfeldy 21 Year Old Malbec Cask Finish.
This is the first partnership of its kind for the distillery.
Located at the foothills of the Andes Mountains, the Finca Ambrosia estate uses organic practices and observes moon cycles for its harvest.
Distilled on Nov. 14, 2001, and matured for more than two decades in sherry and bourbon re-fill barrels and hogsheads, the limited-edition Aberfeldy 21 Year Old finished for around eight months in the winery’s malbec French oak wine casks.
The finishing casks previously held Finca Ambrosia’s Viña Unica. It is a purely fruited, gently oaked red wine that spent 15 months in used French oak barrels, according to the winery. These barrels are created by a family-owned cooperage in Burgundy, France, called Mercurey, and come from sustainably managed forests.
Malt Master Stephanie Macleod and Winemaker Daniel Pi worked together to select these particular casks for finishing as they bring classic Malbec notes of blackberry, plum and black cherry, the distillery reports. Additional flavors include cocoa powder, violet flowers, leather and sweet tobacco spice.
“This delicate yet complex Finca Ambrosia cask finish opens with intriguing notes of sweet, toasted cereal, herbal sage and hints of rosemary,” adds Macleod. “It then begins to develop with ripe strawberries, drizzled in Aberfeldy’s signature Highland honey notes and then it’s delicately sharpened with notes of blackcurrant. Melting to floral notes of rose and violet, and a background hint of cinnamon spice. Settling on the palate the fruit sings and rejoices, soothing to a creamy vanilla and endlessly smooth finish.”
Bottled at 46% ABV, the suggested retail price of this new release is $279.99 per 700-ml. bottle.
This follows the release of Aberfeldy 25 Year Old Single Malt.
Loews Launches ‘Free Spirited’ Beverages
Loews Hotels & Co. on April 10 announced the debut of the Free Spirited by Loews Hotels program for guests who choose to imbibe less or not at all. The brand-wide offering of handcrafted low- and no-ABV beverage options will showcase on-site mixology talent using locally sourced ingredients and unique flavor combinations, the company says.
Beverage selections will differ at each property, reflecting the availability of local suppliers, popular flavors in the region and the creativity of the mixologists. For example, guests at the Loews Coronado Bay Resort can enjoy the low-ABV Coronado Cobbler, made with Amontillado sherry, lemon juice, agave, Liquid Alchemist peach syrup, dash of Angostura bitters and a mint sprig. The Loews Miami Beach Hotel has the Okiru Martini, with Soto sake, Aplos Arise non-alcoholic spirit, lemon juice, cucumber, and honey water.
No-ABV options include the Boulevard of Broken Dreams at the Loews Philadelphia Hotel, a barrel-aged Boulevardier made with Lyre’s whiskey, Aperitif Rosso and Italian Orange. The Pineapple-Matcha-Jito at Live! by Loews – St.Louis incorporates a house-made pineapple and tarragon shrub with lime juice, honey syrup, matcha powder and club soda.
The hospitality brand, which operates 25 hotels and resorts across the U.S. and Canada, will integrate the Free Spirited by Loews Hotels program into catering and event planning. The offering will also be infused into tentpole, brand-wide programming throughout the year, such as the brand’s annual Summerfest immersive experiences.
More hotel chains now offer no-/low-alcohol beverages. For instance, Hyatt Hotels Corp. launched its Zero Proof, Zero Judgment beverage program in 2021. Hilton’s contemporary lifestyle brand Tempo by Hilton late last year unveiled a menu of hand-crafted “Spirited” and “Free-Spirited” cocktails.
Pretty Little Thing
This vodka-based sparkling cocktail boasts flavors of lemon and hibiscus.
Pretty Little Thing
Ingredients
- 1 oz. Tito’s vodka
- ¼ oz. Fresh lemon juice
- ¼ oz. House-made limoncello
- ¼ oz. Hibiscus syrup
- Top with Isaac Fernandez cava
Instructions
- Shake vodka, lemon, limoncello and syrup together with ice.
- Strain and top with sparkling wine.
- Garnish with a nasturtium flower.
Notes
British Company Buying TGI Fridays
Casual-dining chain TGI Fridays announced today that it has agreed to be acquired by Hostmore, a U.K.-based hospitality business and also the brand’s largest global franchisee. The all-share acquisition, which is expected to close in the third quarter of 2024, would create a combined entity with 189 corporate-owned restaurants in the U.S. and U.K., for a total of nearly 600 restaurants across 44 countries.
Upon completion of the transaction, the new combined entity will be named TGI Fridays and listed on the London Stock Exchange as “TGIF.” Both U.S. and global operations of the brand will remain in place at the company’s Dallas headquarters under the leadership of current CEO, Weldon Spangler.
Founded in 1965, TGI Fridays has been owned by private equity firm TriArtisan Capital Advisors since 2014. TriArtisan had announced in late 2019 that it would combine TGI Fridays with Allegro Merger Corp. and take the company public, but the deal was cancelled in 2020 due to uncertainty during Covid. TGI Fridays reported $1.4 billion in total systemwide sales in 2023.
Flecha Azul Tequila Añejo Cristalino
As tequila sales continue apace, Flecha Azul Tequila has released its new Añejo Cristalino.
Flecha Azul Tequila Añejo Cristalino is matured for 18 months — six months longer than the industry standard, the company says — in bourbon-season American oak barrels.
This añejo cristalino has vanilla and dark chocolate notes, the company reports.
The suggested retail price is $119.99 per 750-ml. bottle.
Metallica’s Blackened Rye the Lighting Returns for 2024
As celebrity alcohol brands proliferate, Metallica has announced the 2024 release of their Blackened Rye the Lightning whiskey.
The brand name is inspired by Metallica’s sophomore album, “Ride the Lightning.”
This limited-edition expression follows the 2022 edition of Rye The Lightning.
The 2024 bottling was created by Blackened master distiller and blender Rob Dietrich. It’s a blend of straight rye whiskeys, finished in Madeira wine and Caribbean rum casks for two to fourteen weeks each.
Rye The Lightning is non-chill filtered and bottled at 92 proof. The result is notes of green apple, barn hay, caramel and banana bread on the nose, the company reports, with pear, honeysuckle, muscovado, almond, cinnamon, sawn-wood and waffle cone on the palate.
“When we launched the first edition of Rye The Lighting in 2022, I knew we had something special,” says Dietrich. “I absolutely love the hay spice and dark earthy notes in American rye whiskey, so it was an adventure to play around with a creative flavor profile through cask finishing. I was thrilled that consumers loved this whiskey as much as we did, and with this limited release, I tried to capture some of the innovative magic of the first expression, but with a slightly new spin by upping the proof a couple of notches, while applying non-chill filtering and using a rye with a different mash bill with different types of Madeira and Rum finishes.”
The makers of Blackened Whiskey also use a production method they call “Black Noise.” Barrels are placed near low hertz sound waves, meant to “cause the whiskey to reverberate at a fast rate, interacting with the oak staves of the barrel, measurably releasing wood compounds and flavors,” the company says.
“They say that lightning never strikes twice, but the second release of Rye The Lightning proves otherwise,” says Metallica’s lead guitarist, Kirk Hammett. “Rob captured the spirit of our ‘Ride The Lightning’ album with the award-winning first batch. And now with the 2024 edition, we are excited to take our fans on that ‘Ride’ once again.”
Rye The Lightning is available now with for a suggested retail price of $69.99 per 750-ml. bottle. To order online or find local retailers, visit BlackenedWhiskey.com.
This follows the release of Blackened Whiskey Cask Strength Volume 01.
Jim Beam Introduces A. Overholt Rye Whiskey
Overholt, an American whiskey brand maintained continuously since 1810, has announced the release of A. Overholt Straight Rye Whiskey.
This new offering uses the same mashbill that Overholt founder, Abraham Overholt, used in 1810: 80% rye grain and 20% soft malted barley. The goal is recreating a style of rye whiskey from the 1800’s.
The Overholt brand now belongs to the The James B. Beam Distilling Co.
“With over 200 years of exceptional craftmanship, Overholt is engrained in American history with its industrial roots and as a spirit that has set the industry standard since inception,” says Freddie Noe, 8th generation master distiller. “The newest launch of A. Overholt is the result of highly crafted whiskey, informed and inspired by generational expertise, and I’m honored to steward this brand forward while paying homage to its past and our shared commitment to American whiskey innovation.”
On the nose is caramel, sandalwood and caraway, the company reports. The palate brings brown butter, honeysuckle, clove, seasoned oak, before a finish with warm baking spice.
A. Overholt is 47.5% ABV. It rolls out nationwide across the U.S. for a suggested retail price of $39.99 per 750-ml. bottle.
This joins a portfolio that includes Old Overholt 4YO, Old Overholt 4YO Bottled in Bond and Old Overholt Extra Aged Cask Strength.
Planet-Positive Strategies for Earth Month
Just as nature springs to life, it’s time to celebrate Earth Month in April and Earth Day on April 22. Several bars and restaurants have planet-positive promotions that give back to environmental causes. For instance, Riviera Dining Group in Miami partnered with One Tree Planted so that for every purchase of a specialty cocktail called The Awakening, the organization will plant one tree in a region around the world.
STK Steakhouse, with 18 locations in the U.S., is offering a Martini named The Dirty Pearls for Earth Month and donating $1 from every Dirty Pearl Martini sold to the Billion Oyster Project, an organization dedicated to restoring oyster reefs in coastal communities. The Dirty Pearls, made with Bombay Sapphire gin, dry vermouth, olive brine orange bitters, sea salt (a nod to the oceans it will support) and absinthe, is garnished with an olive and a spoonful of sustainably sourced caviar.
A number of operators have implemented sustainable practices year round. For instance, all bartenders at Botanist restaurant in the Fairmont Pacific Rim hotel in Vancouver, Canada, undergo sustainability training. They use closed-loop-oriented cocktail and ingredient creation, which aims for as close to zero waste as possible, with methods such as saving waste trimmings for citrus, fruit and vegetable garnishes to create syrups and using alternative acids instead of freshly imported citruses for a lower carbon footprint.
At Buffalo & Bergen, with two locations in the Washington, D.C. area, restaurateur and cocktail expert Gina Chersevani keeps libations waste-free by juicing and using all of the fruit in her drinks. Citrus ends and herb stems are the foundation in Chersevani’s infused syrups, and garnishes remain a byproduct of already-incorporated ingredients, while locally sourced spirits contribute to the low carbon footprint the businesses.
Lola 55 in San Diego adheres to its sustainability-driven ethos with a spring cocktail called The Weekender. Created by Gareth Moore, The Weekender uses a house-made, ginger-infused beet tomatillo syrup made from kitchen scraps like beet water and charred tomatillo ends. The end result is an earthy nectar that complements the warm reposado base that’s perked up with Aperol and lemon juice, for “a low-waste interpretation of a modern classic,” according to Moore.
And Superbueno in New York is all about zero waste drinks and repurposing cocktail byproducts in the kitchen. For instance, the team uses plums cooked down into a syrup and strained for the Salted Plum & Tamarind Milk Punch; the fruit is then repurposed in the kitchen for the Salted Plum Donut.
The bar’s Adobada Bam Bam cocktail (recipe below), created by Superbueno owner Igancio “Nacho” Jimenez, uses a pineapple with zero waste, making use of the juice and grilled skin, which is infused into the mezcal base. The remaining skin gets used for a vinegar, and leftover pulp is mixed with maldon salt and ancho chili pepper for the garnish. The kitchen and bar team collaborate to use excess birria stock from the Birria Grilled Cheese as part of the Dashi Papi boilermaker, with raicilla, birria broth and Monopolio Mexican beer dressed with Masa’s hot sauce.
Adobada Bam Bam
1 ½ oz. Grilled pineapple-skin-infused Ilegal mezcal *
1 oz. Pineapple juice
¾ oz. Adobada Falernum/rum mixture **
½ oz. Lemon juice
4 dashes Pineapple vinegar ***
Pinch of salt
Add all ingredients to a blender with ice and blend until smooth. Pour into a dessert coupe and garnish with dehydrated pineapple and pineapple salt rim.****
*For Grilled pineapple-skin-infused mezcal:
Skin of 12 pineapples
12 L Ilegal Mezcal
Remove the skin from the pineapple (with as little meat as possible). Place the pineapple skins on the grill until roasted. Mix all the ingredients together and let it sit for 2 days. Strain
** For Adobada Falernum syrup:
Zest of 6 limes
Zest of 3 oranges
30 oz. Agave nectar (not diluted)
24 oz. Hot water
12 oz. Adobada rum infusion
3 pinches Achiote paste
Combine all ingredients in a double quart container and let infuse for at least 1 hour and no longer than 4. Fine strain.
** For Adobada rum infusion:
120 g whole Ancho chili
150 g whole Guajillo chili
12 pieces Allspice berries
12 pieces Whole star anise
18 pieces Cloves
6 tbsps. Cracked black pepper
6 tbsps. Maldon salt
3 L Charanda
Combine all ingredients in a double quart container and let infuse for 3 days, shaking vigorously daily. Combine with Adobada falernum.
*** For Pineapple vinegar:
32 oz. Water
1 Whole skinless pineapple, chopped
½ cup Brown sugar
Combine all ingredients in a large glass jar covered with cheesecloth and stir daily for no less than 3 weeks.
**** For Pineapple salt:
4 qts. Maldon salt
2 qts. Pineapple pulp
2 tbsps. Ancho powder
Mix everything together and spread on a baking pan. Cook at 200F for 20 min or until dry. Add ancho powder to taste, roughly 2 tablespoons. Note: Check every 5 to 10 min and break the big chunks apart and monitor for burning.
Meet the Mixologist: Jocelyn Jolley
Jocelyn Jolley is head bartender at Michael’s on Naples, an Italian restaurant in Long Beach, CA.
What was your first job in the beverage or hospitality industry?
One of my first jobs in the service industry was at a little brunch spot on the water called Schooner Or Later in Long Beach. It was a mom-and-pop local greasy spoon where I really cut my teeth in a super busy and bustling atmosphere. There was no choice but to sink or swim, and I quickly learned how to think fast on my feet.
How did you learn bartending and improve when you were starting out?
In the beginning, I sat at the well of every bartender I knew in town, with my notebook, and asked every question. I listened to podcasts, watched every video I could find and Googled anything and everything while having the opportunity to try out any idea I had while working at Michael’s. I was told that if I had a good idea, I could do almost anything I wanted; I just had to make it taste good and look great.
What is your favorite spirit to work with at the moment?
My favorite spirit to work with right now is mezcal. I feel like there are so many layers to this agave spirit, and the smokiness aspect adds an extra challenge for me in blending other flavors. Also, working in an Italian restaurant, combining the bitterness of most Italian liqueurs with this versatile spirit ends up creating the perfect balance that you would never expect.
You support small businesses in the area and nationally; how do you find these sources for bar ingredients?
I consider myself very lucky to have highly trusted and knowledgeable liquor distribution representatives. They understand my style and preferences, whether it’s a locally sourced product or woman-owned, and they always bring me the best and coolest new products. Additionally, I rely on my fellow coworkers and the good old internet.
What are some of the events you’ve produced with local brands?
I am currently exploring the possibility of organizing more events with local spirit brands in the future. Up unto this point, the sommelier team at Michael’s has actively collaborated with a new wine producer each month to host a Wine Dinner, where we pair the guest brand’s best bottles with a five-course meal prepared by our executive chef to highlight the notes and varieties.
I would love to host something similar with local distillers. It’s very inspiring to see two experts in their craft come together and create a beautifully paired dining experience, and I’m eager to try my hand at it.
What are some of the popular cocktails on the menu currently?
Some of our most popular cocktails would have to be the Cocco Bravo, featuring coconut fat-washed Nosotros blanco tequila, pineapple, cane and lime. Its subtle flavors are refreshing and tart, making it agreeable to everyone regardless of the season.
Additionally, we offer an extensive Negroni section on our menu, with the Negroni Sour quickly rising to the top of our favorites. This cocktail includes housemade orange cordial, Grey Whale gin, Campari and Antica sweet vermouth, all whipped together with a fresh egg white and a splash of lemon. It ends up resembling something akin to an orange creamsicle and is quite delightful.
What’s your own current go-to cocktail or beverage?
My current go-to cocktail would have to be any tequila or mezcal neat, accompanied by an orange slice. I prefer to keep it simple and savor something slowly. Although, I also always enjoy a nice, bold glass of red wine.
Would you share one of your favorite drink recipes?
One creation of mine that sits close to my heart is The Dea Divina. As a woman in the bartending industry, I find it so important to support and uplift other women, so I decided to craft a cocktail made exclusively of spirits by female distillers. It’s smoky and earthy and delivers a hint of sweetness, all balancing the remarkable flavors of these inspiring distillers.
Dea Divina
Ingredients
- 1 oz. Amass Mushroom Reserve gin
- 1 oz. Gem and Bolt mezcal
- ½ oz. Amaro Nonino
- ½ oz. Americano Bianco
- Bar spoon of honey
Instructions
- Stir all ingredients and pour over a big cube.
- Light a palo santo stick on fire and fill a bell jar fill with smoke.
- Place cocktail in a bell jar and allow smoke to encase it.
- Garnish with an edible flower.