Cigars & Spirits

News and reviews about latest luxury goods and brands in tobacco, ciggars and spirits area

Eckart Witzigmann Award 2015: the most influential players and trendsetters in the world of high gastronomy

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The International Eckart Witzigmann Award is one of the most prestigious honours recognising outstanding achievements in the art of cooking and fine dining. Austrian-born “Chef of the century” Eckart Witzigmann has awarded the ECKART for unique culinary achievements and special commitment under the broad spectrum of lifestyle since 2004. This year’s honours will go to … Read more

#Unplan with Domaine Chandon

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Wine house Chandon (owned by LVMH luxury giant), America’s leading sparkling wine producer, aims to be the sparkling wine of choice for informal, spontaneous occasions, a wine to be enjoyed in cocktails on the beach or at lunch with friends. In 2015, Chandon for the first time rolled out unified fresh and spontaneous campaigns for … Read more

D-Vine Gravity sommelier machine

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A sommelier at home? 

D-Vine Gravity sommelier machine - 2014 model

We too love wine in bottles, but why not exploring a new alternative… Meet D-Vine Gravity – a tasting expert, elegant with a strong personality. The wine chilling machine serving wine by the glass without opener or fridge is a new way of tasting wines developed by French company 10-Vins. D-Vine Gravity offers a glass of wine at home, at the perfect temperature and decantation. The wine lover’s personal at-home sommelier will be able to enhance it and reach the perfect serving conditions in less than a minute. There are no wine bottles or corks involved.

The machine offers a selection of various French wines in flacons of 10cl, patented by WIT, designed to preserve the flavours and product quality for a duration of 3 years. 10cl is the size of a glass of wine, nothing more, nothing less. The selection is based on 10-Vins wine subscription service – an at-home delivery program offering tubes of premium wines ranging from €2 to €16.

Wine lovers insert the flacon of their choice in the smart machine. Via an RFID (Radio-frequency identification) tag D-Vine detects automatically the wine temperature and oxygynation level and gets ready. The glass of wine is in your hand in less than a minute. A water cleaning cycle allows to drink alternatively white, rose or red wine.

To be launched in France on November 15, the aerating and chilling machine retails for €499 ($560 USD).

Frenchvineyard D-Vine sommelier machine-100ml flacon 1 glass of wine D-Vine sommelier machine D-Vine sommelier machine interior D-vine how it works D-vine 2015 selection 10-vins 2015 selection 3 10-vins 2015 selection 2

The Iconic Cuban Cigar: A History

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Cuba’s most famous and iconic export has a luxurious reputation and rich history. The Cuban cigar is one of the country’s most profitable exports and is arguably one of the most highly-regarded tobacco products in the world. The first origins of the prestigious Cuban cigar were in 1492, when Christopher Columbus landed on the Caribbean … Read more

The Eternal Reserve – the whisky that will, quite literally, live forever

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Royal Salute - The Eternal Reserve 2015 --

Royal Salute, considered to be the ultimate luxury Scotch whisky, unveiled an innovative blending technique creating a whisky that will, quite literally, live forever, says Pernod-Ricard’s luxury house. The Royal Salute Vault in Strathisla Distillery wants to create a smooth and voluptuous whisky with the unique Circular Blending process where the original blend will be used in every subsequent batch for decades to come. The luxury distillery selected its most precious whiskies with an exceptionally long finish. They are then blended together and married in 88 casks to form the inaugural batch.

Royal Salute Royal Salute - The Eternal Reserve 2015 casks Royal Salute - The Eternal Reserve 2015 - the whisky that will, quite literally, live forever-

Each time a new batch is released, half of the blend is re-casked, so that – even in two hundred years – you could still find a little of the precious liquid born in 2015. Thus, the original blend is forever preserved by this perpetual recirculation.

“A dedication to the art of true craftsmanship from every dimension,” Royal Salute The Eternal Reserve (priced $180 per 70cl) features a new porcelain flagon design.

“ Time is at the heart of Royal Salute – our youngest blend is 21 years old but we were born alongside a thoroughly modern monarch so we constantly blend tradition with the contemporary. The Eternal Reserve is inspired by artists, writers, and philosophers – all dedicated to understanding the possibility of continuity in the modern world. This superb whisky is our suggestion that eternity doesn’t mean living forever. It means timelessness – and it belongs to those who live in the present,” explained Vadim Grigorian, Royal Salute Global Brand Director.

Royal Salute - The Eternal Reserve 2015 - the whisky that will, quite literally, live forever

 

The future of food: from jellyfish salad to lab-grown meat

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What do tomorrow’s dinners look like, and how will you adjust? Our special feature sheds light on a world of algae, cowless beef, insect lollies and even an mouthwatering recipe for jellyfish salad…

Read more of our future of food special: