Flowery Wine App
Rissa Sandman, who runs the Etsy shop theCoastal, produces these hand-painted ceramic coasters for Whitney Adams of bottlestockshop.com. Available in black and white “deco wave” or a gold palm pattern with recycled cork backing, they’re $30 for a set of four.
MouthA Brooklyn shop specializing in artisan products made in New York State, Mouth has expanded its focus to the US in general for its online portal. The site provides one-stop shopping for the latest US-made spirits from tiny distilleries such as 35 Maple Street, Black Rock, Industry City and Catoctin Creek, plus small-batch bitters, cocktail-hour snacks and boozy confections from Brooklyn’s Butter & Scotch and Sweeteeth in Charleston, South Carolina. If you’d rather not choose, sign up for a subscription at mouth.com, with themes ranging from gin to jerky and cocktail treats.
Petite Chile
Jolene Collins sources chile peppers from local farms and blends them in her Brooklyn kitchen to create Jojo’s Sriracha. For two of her recent sauces, she worked with Ravenswood Winery to add wine to the mix. What could be a mere gimmick turns out to be pretty delicious stuff, warming and flavorful but not painfully fiery. Her zinfandel version is the tangier of the pair, while the petite sirah sriracha leans toward deep, sweet berry tones underneath the heat. Try them with barbecue or bánh mì. $14 at lovehardinc.com
Techniques of the Cocktail Trade
The Bar Book: Elements of Cocktail Technique may not be ideal for the novice, but it’s an essential addition to any mixologist’s library. Written by bartender Jeffrey Morgenthaler, the book follows in the vein of the blog he’s written for the last ten years, focusing on technique instead of drinks recipes. Most chapters are devoted to the bartending that happens before service: juicing, infusing and creating syrups, sodas, ice and even dairy products to mix into drinks; other sections delve into basics like shaking, measuring and garnishing. The book stands out for the precision and detail of its instructions, including practical advice on which lemons to use for juicing and which for zesting; the importance of blanching herbs before making syrups (so they don’t turn brown), implementing the Japanese stirring technique and creating a MacGyver Centrifuge out of a salad spinner and a food processor. There are also seven pages devoted to playing with fire for anyone who wants tips on how to make a Blue Blazer without burning yourself, your house and your loved ones to the ground. The Bar Book: Elements of Cocktail Technique by Jeffrey Morgenthaler with Martha Homberg (Chronicle Books, San Francisco; $30)
Designers Michael Schunke and Josie Gluck make these striking hand-blown decanters at a repurposed dairy farm in Chester County, Pennsylvania. The name of their studio, Vetro Vero, means “true glass” in Italian. $495 each at vetrovero.com
Angle 33’s attractive wine thermals use the insulating properties of concrete, rather than ice, to keep a bottle of wine cool. The Montana-based company claims that the thermals will maintain an even serving temperature for up to 90 minutes. The thermals come in 12 earth-tone colors and three sizes. $65 to $70 at angle33.com
This story was featured in W&S August 2014.
This story appears in the print issue of August 2014.
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