This week's headlines can be enjoyed with a steaming cup of Irish Coffee as today is National Irish Coffee Day and this last week of January is Irish Coffee Week.
Cocktail Competitions:
- Shake It Up! 2012 - This is a tight deadline as I heard about this just the other day. You have until Friday to enter a drink to be considered in this year's Night Club and Bar Convention (March 13) cocktail challenge. Full details are on the website and the grand prize is $15,000. Tip: the drink should grab the attention of the best in the business.
- The Moët Oscar Cocktail Contest - Moet & Chandon returns as the exclusive Champagne of the Academy Awards and this is your chance to create the signature cocktail for the Governors Ball along with backstage access to Oscar night for you and a guest. Tip: this needs to be a star-studded drink. Browse Champagne cocktails for inspiration.
- PAMA Home Bar Star - Here is a contest for the amateur (no pros allowed). PAMA liqueur is looking for the best original drink using their liqueur created by home bartenders. The prize is a trip for two to the Food & Wine Classic in Aspen this June. If you're interested, check out my PAMA profile and collection of drinks for inspiration.
New Spirits:
- Cedilla Liqueur de Açai - Leblon Cachaça has released an açai-flavored liqueur using its Brazilian rum as a base.
- Naga Chilli Vodka - This one is for the daring and comes with strong warnings on the bottle (reported here). It is billed as the world's hottest Chili vodka, hitting a far too spicy 100,000 scovilles. Why, you may ask? I cannot answer that as I'm a firm believer that too much spice in a drink is downright dangerous. Please, please, head the warning and do not try this stuff straight.
- Windmill Rye Whiskey - This new rye will be launching February 3rd and adds to the line-up of products from the new LeClaire, Iowa distillery Mississippi River Distilling Company. If this one is like its small-batch whiskey predecessors in the state (Templeton Rye and Cedar Ridge Bourbon), it will be some very good stuff and worth hunting down.
- Old Smokey Expands - The Tennessee legal moonshiners behind Old Smokey Distillery are expanding to a second distillery. If you haven't heard or tried this shine, check it out at their website. Products include Original Moonshine, White Lightnin', Moonshine Cherries, and Apple Pie Moonshine.
- Concannon Irish Whiskey - This should be an interesting Irish whiskey when it is released (U.S. market in February). It is a blend of malt and grain Irish whiskies that is aged in both used bourbon barrels (like normal) and (this is the kicker) used Concannon wine barrels.
Spendy Spirits:
- Ron Bacardi de Maestros de Ron, Vintage, MMXII - It's a mouthful, I know, but it is a commemorative, limited edition bottling for the rum giant's 150th anniversary. The $2,000 crystal decanter of 20 year-old cognac-aged rum will be available at 'select international airports and premium retail spaces around the world.' It is certainly going to be harder to find than the myriad of Bacardi parties scheduled throughout 2012.
Canned Whisky Adds Recloseable Lid - This is an update to the "Scotch in a can" news from a few weeks ago. According to Packaging Digest, the makers of Scottish Spirits in a can have addressed one of the issues raised about their new product and have integrated a resealable lid on their cans. Okay, so that takes care of the opened container of 122 ounces of whisky issue, but it is still Scotch in a can and I for one cannot get over that thought.
Starbucks to Add Wine at More Cafes to Lure Evening Diners - The coffee giant is expanding into bar territory again (see short-lived Starbucks liqueurs) and will be offering beer and wine at select (larger) locations. To me, a more logical way to go would be spirits, specifically whiskies and rums, to take advantage of the long list of coffee cocktails available.
Tested: A Chemical Time Machine Makes Whiskey Taste Older, Faster - Terressentia owner Orville Tyler, a retired chemist from South Carolina, has developed a process for aging whiskey faster than the normal barrel-aging process. It's an interesting concept, though I don't think it will take off industry-wide and I'm skeptical about its ability to completely replace the finer nuances of the natural way of doing things.
Decoding the modern cocktail menu - CNN's Eatocracy blog series 5@5 takes on the cocktail menu with tips for navigating today's cocktail menus from The Hawthorne's owner Jackson Cannon.
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