Spirits

The World’s Most Expensive Food review: ‘Escargot pearls’? The super-rich will eat anything if it’s pricey enough

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I’m enjoying television’s obsession with obscene wealth – the rich may as well amuse and entertain the rest of us, as well as themselves

Patron en Lalique: Serie 1. A beautiful spirit, both inside and out.

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Two masters, one masterpiece.
patron en lalique frostedcrystal

Patron en Lalique is the exclusive collaboration between Mexico’s premier tequila distiller and the masters of French crystal. The exclusive decanter design was inspired by Mexico’s indigenous Weber Blue Agave and handmade by Lalique. The Amber stopper is shaped to resemble the heart of the agave, the piña. The decanter showcases Lalique’s signature technique of contrasting clear and frosted crystal finishes to showcase its perfect detail and enhance the unique amber color of the tequila.

“At Patrón, crafting the world’s finest tequila is an art,” says Ed Brown, President and CEO of Patrón Spirits International. “This unwavering dedication to our passion inspired us to find other artists committed to their specific crafts, which led us to Lalique.”

patron en lalique patron en lalique - the Amber stopper pina patron en lalique - in the making

“The small batch of Patrón’s oldest and rarest tequila was created exclusively for Serie 1 and represents the pinnacle of the art of tequila making,” says Patrón’s team.

Inside each bottle of Patrón en Lalique: Serie 1 is an exceptional blend of the oldest and rarest Patrón tequilas, hand-selected from Patrón’s barrel aging room at the Hacienda Patrón distillery in the hills of Jalisco, Mexico. The extra añejo tequila is aged for at least four years in a combination of new American oak and new and used French oak barrels to achieve the right balance of agave and oak notes. This special series is limited to 500 bottles worldwide.

patron en lalique frostedcrystal patron en lalique decanter patron en lalique decanter-

 

Naturally Clicquot 3.0: champagne house transforms grapes into eco-packaging

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Veuve Clicquot presents eco-packaging from grapes.

Veuve Clicquot Naturally Clicquot eco-packaging from grapes-

French champagne Maison Veuve Clicquot unveiled the third version of the groundbreaking “Naturally Clicquot” eco-packaging made of a byproduct of its own winemaking process. Veuve Clicquot was able to create eco-packaging using grapes. 100% biodegradable and recyclable. This latest eco-responsible innovation follows two previous generations of biodegradable Veuve Clicquot boxes.

French champagne producer has since 1990 worked continually to reduce its carbon emissions and waste. This mindset led the celebrated House to invent 100% recyclable packaging. Made from potato starch, the first Clicquot containers developed in 2013 and 2014 were path setting environmentally-responsible innovations in packaging.

In 2015, Veuve Clicquot unveiled this exciting new sustainable development initiative that uses an unfamiliar material: transformed grape skins from the champagne-making process, mixed with recycled paper. The result is an elegantly discreet champagne container made in partnership with Italian agro-industrial waste-based paper producer Favini.

Veuve Clicquot Naturally Clicquot eco-packaging from grapes 2015 edition

“The innovative paper-production process designed by Favini takes the grape skins and residues left from the pressings and transforms what was nature’s own protection into the new product. This is now used to create a prestigious and protective presentation box for the resulting exclusive champagne. The entire grape is being used,” explained Favini.

After the pressing of the grapes, through an environmentally friendly process, the skins of the grapes are given a new life: they are dried and milled to become a raw material that can be used to produce a unique ecological paper that uses 25% less virgin fibre.

“Favini’s experience in the field of alternative raw materials combined with DS SMITH capacity to develop customer-specific packaging are the natural partners for Veuve Clicquot. It is the joint vision of this partnership and its unified focus on innovation; their constant desire to find new and environmentally friendly solutions which has enabled the creation of this unique fully biodegradable and recyclable pack,” added Favini.

“With four fresh designs for each of its four sides, the rectangular packages can be lined up to combine their shapes and the grape illustrations, or to display a sketch of the bottle inside. Understated yet revolutionary, the natural-colored package has a sole splash of color with the yellow Veuve Clicquot label,” explained the champagne house.

Veuve Clicquot Naturally Clicquot eco-packaging from grapes

 

Cellaring Made Simple: You’ll never misplace a bottle or find it when it’s past its prime

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How often does a bottle get forgotten about – until it’s too late? Which wines are in your collection, where they are located, and when they mature? A new wine management system from eSommelier does this job for you. When your collection exceeds 1,000 bottles, it becomes difficult to manage, says eSommelier. The wine management … Read more

Drink: go yo-ho-ho with a bottle of high street rum

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Rum is dark and seductive as the most handsome of pirates. So unleash your inner Jack Sparrow when you next go shopping

This is not a bottle! Homage to the bottle, source of intoxication

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“This is not a bottle!” at Mudac, Lausanne casts new light on wine containers. Mudac Museum and Valais Museum of the Vine and Wine are bringing together their collections to cast new light on wine containers. There are, and always have been, many possible variations upon the shape of a wine bottle. What stories could … Read more