The article has originally appeared in the Feb-March 2015 issue of Sommelier India Wine Magazine.
recent posts
- COCKTAILS ABOVE CAMBODIA SKYLINE: INSIDE SORA BAR AT ROSEWOOD PHNOM PENH
- JALISCO 2025 – WHERE THE WORLD RAISES A GLASS TO TEQUILA
- SOUTH SEAS: PERFECTING THE ART OF LUXURY INDIAN SINGLE MALTS AND SPIRITS
- AFTER DINNER: ANJUNA’S ULTIMATE LIVING ROOM COCKTAIL RETREAT
- BAIJIU, AI, AND A GLOBAL STAGE: FIVE HIGHLIGHTS OF THE 26TH SPIRITS SELECTION BY CMB
about
-
Sula Vineyards organized SulaFest, India’s first wine and music festival in 2008 with the sole purpose of entertaining wine lovers, especially the Sula enthusiasts. The event, which has become a phenomenon has now reached its 8th edition and will be held in Nasik on February 7th & 8th. Here are five reasons why you should be in Nasik this weekend.
Wine and Sprits
Sula’s wine portfolio offers an array of options to the visitors to taste not only the domestic wines produced from the surrounding vineyards, but also wines from the imported Sula Selections range (wines from Argentina, Chile, Australia, Italy and South Africa). Besides that there will be Asahi beer, cocktail bar by Remy Cointreau and a few new entrants like the wine and spirits importer Aspri spirits, the Irish whisky board etc. participating at the festival this year.
World Music Festival
With an enviable line-up of artists at SulaFest 2015 it is going to be all about music this year. Here is what you are going to get. YOUNG THE GIANT, GENTLEMAN’S DUB CLUB, WILL AND THE PEOPLE, NUCLEYA, YES SIR BOSS, CUBAN BEATS ALL STARS, SPEED CARAVAN, LUCKY ALI, SWARATHMA, BOMBAY BASSMENT, KEFAYA, SANDUNES, HAMZA FEAT. MANU IDHRA and RODNEY BRANIGAN.
At the ‘Atmasphere’ stage DJs will be spinning some house and techno music. You can look forward to Monkey Brothers (SP), Steve Rachmad (NL), Peter Schumann (DE), Sashanti & Mescalito (RU), Raimund (DE), Baba Robijn (NL) and Christ Burstein (ARG) amongst others.
Fashion and Food
The festival has off late gained the reputation as a place for the fashionistas. The fashion brand VERO MODA is back as the presenting sponsor and will be launching its Spring Summer Collection 2015 at the fest. There will also be a fashion show with some interesting surprises in store.
The food options this year includes Pop Ups from Café Zoe, Woodside Inn, Maroosh and Busago will be serving food to go with the wine. At the recently launched Soleil by La Plage, Sula’s fine dining restaurant, Chef Morgan has prepared a menu with organic produce from Sula’s very own farms, offering a sit-down gourmet dining experience for the first time.
The Crowd
If foot thumping music, unlimited drinks and doses of fashion and food are not enough, visit SulaFest to have a fun weekend with friends or to meet and mingle or socialise with like-minded people. The music lovers, the high-spirited ones, the models and wannabes in a fashion parade, the young ones who have just entered the legal drinking age and many more. With an expected number of 10,000 visitors this year, Nasik is going to be one happening destination this weekend.
A Memorable Weekend
If all these reasons aren’t good enough, you can always take a break and visit some other wineries in the vicinity. Or just relax in the Tent City – where you can camp out amidst the cool vineyards. Or else, take a stroll in the SulaFest Bazaar, or opt for foot massage, tarot reading, grape stomping. As a last resort, you have the Tasting Room and the new Tasting Cellar. Take a special tour and taste some wines in a quiet environment.
To book your tickets, visit http://www.sulafest.net/tickets/ or www.bookmyshow.com
Ticket prices: 1-day Regular: INR 1,900 2-day Regular: INR 3,000
VIP (Limited passes and only 2-day available): INR 5,000
-
One of the perks of Rohan Jelkie’s job is to taste the best champagnes and spirits in the world, and well, get paid for it. But, his role as the Brand Ambassador for Moet Hennessy India doesn’t end there. Read on as he reveals what it takes to do his job well.
Thorough knowledge of brands and the impending competition, a people friendly demeanour and mastery on all forms of social media—these are just some of the extended roles of a brand ambassador that Rohan juggles with ease. In conversation, he gives us a lowdown on his job, while widening our horizon of knowledge on Champagnes.
Here’s an excerpt from the interview.
What is the best part about being a brand ambassador for a luxury brands’ company like Moet Hennessy?
Ask my friends what I do and without batting an eyelid they’d say, ‘I get paid to drink and attend the most luxurious parties!’ While that is not entirely true, one can’t really complain when the job requires one to taste the best Champagnes and spirits under the sun. And the opportunity travel is only an added perk. However, the thing I enjoy the most about my work is that it is a people-friendly profile, and I get to meet people from the trade, as well as consumers, many of whom stay in touch with me over social media, IM and the phone. And this is not only for whenever they have a query on our brands, but also to say hello! It feels good when people remember you from a session that conducted in the past.
What are the basic rules of selecting, tasting and buying Champagne?
When buying Champagne from a shop, look for bottles whose label looks fresh and intact. A faded or a worn out / torn label usually indicates that the bottle has been poorly stored. While this may not be the case always, it is better play safe with your bottle of prized bubbly.
Before tasting, the bottle should be optimally chilled to around 7-8°C. Leave the bottle inside a refrigerator for at least 3-4 hours prior to opening it for consumption. Take care not to agitate or shake the bottle, else be prepared for fireworks when you open the bottle.
While tasting, it is always good to appreciate the light vibrant colour of the wine. Most Champagnes do not develop deep colour tones. They are supposed to look pale yellow in colour with a fresh vibrant appeal. Nose the wine to appreciate the aromas without swirling it vigorously. Once you sip the wine, swirl it in your mouth gently to appreciate the fine mousse (the creamy texture formed by the bubbles on the palate) and flavour.
Have you discovered any unique pairing of food with Champagne?
Champagne is a versatile wine when it comes to pairing with food. Not only does it complement classic dishes like caviar, scallops and cheeses, but also pairs well strawberries and cream. Champagne also pairs well with Indian food—as long as the dish is not overtly spicy, and not cooked in rich gravy. Champagne’s complex combination of aromas and flavours help it pair well with grilled white meats, vegetables, pastas, sea food, sushi, soft to semi soft cheeses and fresh fruit tarts.
What are the things to be kept in mind while opening and serving a bottle of Champagne?
Apart from the points already mentioned, while opening the bottle one must try to loosen the wire around the cork as much as possible before gently easing the cork off.
While serving, between drinks, make sure you always store the opened bottle in a refrigerator or a chilling bucket. A champagne stopper is a great device to close the bottle. But, to retain its freshness and fizz, the bottle should ideally be consumed within a few hours of opening it.
How important is glassware?
Very! A good tulip shaped glass with a long stem is the way to go for serving Champagne. Not only does the glass help preserve the bubbles in the drink, but the long stem also ensures you easily hold the glass by the stem instead of its bulb. Additionally, chilled glasses work better for Champagnes. Pop your glasses into the freezer for around five minutes before pouring the wine in.
Is it a good idea to saber your champagne?
Sabering is a dramatic way of opening a bottle of Champagne, best done for celebratory occasions. There are certain rules that need to be followed while sabering, and it is best done by an expert only.
Do you think there is a bubbly for every occasion?
Yes. For example, Moët& Chandon will always be the Champagne of success and glamour. It’s perfect for celebrating a wedding anniversary or your next big promotion at work. Dom Pérignon is the finest expression of a singular vintage. Truly, it’s a Champagne for special occasions. The best way to bring in the New Year could be by sabering a bottle of Dom Pérignon and savouring a glass. It is also suited for personal celebrations like a 10th anniversary, given that the wine itself takes nothing less than seven years to mature. Champagne such as Veuve Clicquot (VC) offers the boldest expression, both in taste and style. VC works perfectly for a poolside brunch or a Christmas dinner. For someone who loves to build a champagne collection, Krug is one of the best choices. The champagne, meant for special occasions, contains wines that are up to 23 years old upon release. It is perfect for a silver jubilee.
(This interview originally appeared on Luxpresso.com on 23/01/2015)
Here is the link. http://luxpresso.com/news-lifestyle/luxury-champagnes-moet-chandon-indias-brand-ambassador—rohan-jelkie/34551
-
Ayushmann Khurrana and Bhavesh Somaya at the launch of Smirnoff ICE 
To kick-start the party season the leading vodka brand Smirnoff last year launched it’s vodka premix ‘Smirnoff Ice’ in India.
The premixed vodka is available in two flavors, Smirnoff ICE Black and Smirnoff ICE Original. Smirnoff Ice has a strong, sharp taste with an ABV of 7% for 275ml. Smirnoff ICE Black is priced at Rs. 80 and Rs. 110 in Goa and Karnataka respectively. Smirnoff ICE Original with an ABV of 5% for 275ml, has a lighter lemon flavoured taste which is available for Rs 75 and Rs 110 in Goa and Karnataka respectively. However, for some reason the company has decided not to launch the brand in Maharashtra any time soon.
Speaking about the brand Bhavesh Somaya, Marketing & Innovation Director, Diageo India said, “Smirnoff ICE will revolutionize how every party starts in the country and consumers will love the great taste and convenience it offers. The premixed vodka is the ideal icebreaking drink to kick start the party and set the night for a great experience. We are very excited to bring this product to Bangalore after a successful launch in Goa and confident that the garden city will have a great time with Smirnoff ICE.”
It is worth noting that the RTD brand’s main rival Bacardi Breezer has 97% share in the domestic RTD segment estimated at over 2 million cases annually. It will be interesting to see how far ICE is successful in grabbing some of Breezer’s market share.
As the campaign says rightly, Wait no more, ‘Start the night, break some ice’…let the party begin.
-
The Australian wine brand Jacob’s Creek has a long-standing association with tennis players. Continuing the trend this time the company has appointed ace tennis star Novak Djokovic as the new global ambassador of Jacob’s Creek tennis sponsorship and associated marketing platform. The newly released ad campaign shows unscripted and raw side of the real Novak, recounting the never before told life stories from Belgrade, Serbia, celebrating the people, places and passions that have made him the tennis champion he is today. The ‘Made By’ films series has three chapters, Birthed by Serbia, Shaped by Jelena and Inspired by Dreams. Titled ‘Made By Determination’, the documentary style film series takes viewers back to the beginning of Novak’s journey, from growing up in war-torn Serbia, to the dedication and commitment of his first coach Jelena Gencic, to his pivotal Grand Slam wins in the Australian Open and Wimbledon. Commenting on the films at the Global Premiere, held in Melbourne, Australia last night, Djokovic said: “Everything I experienced growing up has led me to become the person I am today. Creating the Jacob’s Creek ‘Made By’ film series has allowed me to tell my story, in my own words and share it with the world. My path to success has by no means been easy, but the people, places and passions that have shaped me are integral to my success. These films have given me the chance to acknowledge what I am made by.” Derek Oliver, Global Marketing Director of Jacob’s Creek, said:”Novak’s ‘Made By’ story brings to life the authentic spirit that Jacob’s Creek celebrates. Novak’s ‘Made By’ story is powerful, and the determination, dedication and effort he has put into his career is similar to the craft of our winemakers and the people behind Jacob’s Creek. Our partnership has been truly collaborative, working together to create a film series that celebrates authenticity, and that we are truly proud to take to the world”. In a press communiqué Kartik Mohindra, Business Head – International brands, Pernod Ricard India, says “Jacob’s Creek has a long-standing affiliation with professional tennis and Novak personifies the authentic spirit that Jacob’s Creek celebrates. It is this authentic spirit that reflects the effort and dedication we invest in crafting premium quality wines.” The ‘Made By’ film series forms part of the new Jacob’s Creek ‘Made By’ global campaign which celebrates the people, places and passions that go into crafting every bottle of Jacob’s Creek wine. The ‘Birthed By Serbia’, ‘Shaped By Jelena’, ‘Inspired By Dreams’ and ‘Made By Determination’ films plus outtakes and behind the scenes can be viewed online at www.madebyjacobscreek.com
-
With Independence Brewing Company team. 
With Rahul Mehra, Gateway Brewing Co. 
In the last quarter of 2014 there were two interesting events that took place in Mumbai. The first Craft Beer Festival called TAPPED (on 2nd November, Wodehouse Gymkhana, Mumbai) and the 5th Bandra Wine Festival (on 15-16 November, D’Monte Park, Bandra, Mumbai). Both were consumer centric events organised with the sole purpose of popularizing drinking culture in the country and in the process to make some money for the organisers. The craft beer festival was a collective initiative of some of the craft beer producers based in Mumbai, Pune and Bangalore where as the wine festival was a third party venture. The spirit and passion in which this bunch of brewers organized the event truly speaks of the transformation of the beer culture in the country. TAPPED was a testimony of that. Though this, in no way, means that the wine producers are less passionate or not dedicated enough towards what they do. But what seems to be missing so far is a collective effort that could drive them to create a better, conducive environment for the growth of the wine industry. In India, the craft beer culture kick started in 2009 with the launch of Doolally, the first microbrewery in Pune. Founded by Prateek Chaturvedi and Suketu Talekar. Following which a number of microbreweries cropped up in Bangalore, Gurgaon and Pune. Mumbai got a taste of it in 2011 when three young, passionate professionals (Navin Mittal, Krishna Naik and Rahul Mehra) decided to launch Gateway Brewing Company (GBC) at a time when the first official brewpub in the city, The Barking Deer (founded by Greg Kroitzsh) was still waiting for a brewing license. The brewpub got the license to brew on premises in October 2013 after almost 3 years of constantly battling with the legalities to set up a brewery in the city. GBC set up the brewery in Dombivli and managed to sell their beers at a number of bars and restaurants in the city. According to the brewers, the state government did not even have a law in the first place to guide them or to let them brew for which they had sacrificed their well paying jobs, time and energy. After years of persuasion, long hours of waiting, doing many rounds of the excise and BMC offices and to an extent, actually helping the officials in forming a new law, they finally won the battle. Though things were much easier for the brewers in Bangalore and Gurgaon, this new breed of brewers somehow worked together exchanging technical know-how, skills; they even shared their brew masters and above all are constantly there for each other. So when they decided to put up a show this year, this group of enthusiastic brewers came together and created something unique. The Bangalore based microbrewery, Arbor Brewing Company, which does not have the license to sell its beers in Mumbai, tied up with Gateway Brewing Company and produced a special beer called BomBalore (an apt name for a Bombay, Bangalore JV). “We had to import four varieties of hops from the US for this beer and it was expensive, but we are happy that the beer has got such a phenomenal response at the festival,” said Gaurav Sikka, MD, Arbor Brewpub. Behind Pune’s Independence Brewing Company, the year old microbrewery, are some really interesting people too. A venture by Avanish Vellanki (based in California, Shailendra Bist and Greg Koch), when it took really long for IBC to get the brewing license, they started serving beers from GBC. The GBC beers are still available on tap alongside their own beers from the microbrewery. And interestingly, Riday Thakur, a partner of the beer importing company, Yeast India Co. was actively involved in organizing the craft beer festival. They all have one thing in common, the passion to brew good quality and authentic beers without making a dent in the beer drinker’s pocket and the collective interest in developing craft beer culture in the country.
Musical act at Bandra Wine Festival 
Visitors at Bandra Wine Festival On the first day of the 5th Bandra Wine Festival, the venue was swarming with visitors. There were too many counters at the entrance, the process was confusing, the place was crowded and most of the visitors did not have a clue about what was going on.Figuring out registration, the hand bands, the coupons, locating the PR person and finally entering the event took some time.
The total area for the festival had shrunk this time though there were some additions to the wine and food stalls. Constructed prominently in the center was the stall of the liquor retailer Living Liquidz (which also happened to be the sponsor of the festival) serving wines only from their portfolio, the range of Moksh, Raaya and other labels. That was also the only stall serving wines in wine glasses instead of the plastic glasses, which were used by the other wine companies. Sula, Grover Zampa, Charosa, Nine Hills, Fratelli, Good Drop, Reveilo, Chateau d’Ori, Turning Point, Myra, Riona, Fusion, Rhythm, Pause, Oakwood and Silk Route wines, by normal standards, a good number of wine companies were present at the event. Interestingly, I was told that there were a number of withdrawals few weeks before the event and many participants cited reasons such as poor turn out at last year’s event and high stall prices etc., however, the situation was salvaged at the last minute when some of the wine producers took the matter in their hands. These were the members of the newly formed IGPB Marketing sub-committee. Though this committee was formed two years back as a part of IGPB (Indian Grape Processing Board), it sprung into action in April 2014. The 13-member committee, to brand itself as ‘Wines of India’ currently includes Sula, Reveilo, Grover Zampa, York, Vallone, Good Drop, Pernod Ricard (Nine Hills), Fratelli, Chateau D’Ori, Turning Point, Charosa, Fusion (Kiara) and Myra. However, with just 13 wine companies as members of this committee, it does not really represent the entire wine industry. According to Ashwin Rodrigues, owner, Good Drop Winery and the person spearheading activities for the committee at the moment, “Marketing poses the biggest challenge for the wine companies at the moment. With retailers’ scheming the ‘one plus one case’ strategy, wine producers are left with no choice but to mend themselves. At the moment supply exceeds demand and the wine producers are forced to offer discounts to the consumers and ultimately they are not left with any budget for marketing”. The committee is creating various marketing plans for the member companies to promote the wines through several events. It may be a good start. But with no rules, regulations, appellations or production guidelines in place it is going to be difficult to achieve uniform growth for the industry in the near future. There is still no single-point information center for the wine industry when it comes to annual data and other factual details. Karnataka is emerging as a better quality wine-producing region and the Karnataka Wine Board is leaving no stones unturned to support the wineries in the state. The Indian wine industry is growing at 15%-20% at the moment and many of our wines are winning medals and accolades in several international platforms. Some are rejoicing this newfound love for Indian wines. However, until the industry joins hands to create a momentum with the sole agenda of improving the quality, sustainability of the wines, vintage after vintage, working towards building a constructive wine culture in the country, looking beyond individual interests, I would say, lets just keep that champagne on ice for the moment!
-
Stranded travellers at the Goa airport Delayed flights, less crowd and empty streets are all proving to be dampener to the party spirit of Goa this season. Despite being rated as one of the top ten destinations for Christmas and New Year celebrations, Goa seems to be missing its old charm. Speaking from my own experience, in the previous years, maddening traffic on the streets, on the beaches (Calangute, Candolim, Anjuna and Baga) and restaurants in Goa sometime seemed incorrigible, yet it was all taken in the spirit of celebration. But things are different this year.
Candolim beach Barring a few regular Indian tourists vis-à-vis many foreigners, most of the shacks are empty, shops aren’t selling much and even a popular place like Thalassa is seeing less visitors. With a beautiful location and a rare view, the Greek Taverna-Thalassa has in recent times become a favourite for the locals as well as tourists. However, despite two-mega music festivals-Sunburn and Supersonic happening in the city, Thalassa’s owner, Mariketty Grana doesn’t seem too hopeful. She says, “Things are different this year. This is the season when Goa gets maximum business, our economy runs on tourists and somehow we still do not have many this year.”
Thalassa evening 
Sunset at Thalassa Even Goa’s favourite, the Russian tourists have decided to give it a miss this year. The city every year attracts a large number of Russian and British tourists. However, Ruble’s depreciation against INR by 58% since January 2014 seems to have caused a significant drop in the number of Russian travelers to the city so as stopping of tourists charter flights from international destinations to arrive in the city.
Sunset at Baga 
Zanzi Bar, Baga Beach At the regular tourist hangouts, Zanzi Bar at Baga beach, Monico’s at Candolim beach, Infantaria and Britto’s, the service seems to have taken a toll too. Britto’s is surely avoidable. And, with all the shacks at Baga taking part in ‘who can play the loudest music’ contest; even Baga could be shunned. While many new bars and restaurants have come up in the city, the crowd seems to have gone missing. Well, at least from the city.
And to add to the woes, the terrible fog situation in New Delhi has caused 137 delayed and 14 cancelled flights disrupting travels to many major cities in the country, including Goa. The situation this year is so bad that there are rooms available everywhere in Goa in this peak season and tourism is bound to take a hit.
For related stories see the link below
-
There are two kinds of Indians, one that love mustard and the other that cannot stand it. If you belong to the first kind, 25 Parganas is a must visit for you.
Owing to Sahara Star Hotel’s owners’ bong connection, the Mumbai hotel recently launched an authentic fine dining Bengali cuisine restaurant named 25 Parganas that takes a cue from one of West Bengal’s districts-24 parganas.
With Chef Prasenjt Ghosh Since inception, Bengali cuisine has had influence on its neighbouring states, including Odisha. And, as an Oriya I have grown up with some of the typical Bengali-oriya dishes cooked at home by my mother most of them using mustard, posto, dishes prepared from poi or pui (a kind of leaf vegetable also known as vine spinach) and mustard oil used for cooking almost every dish. This was my chance to relive all those childhood memories. So, I jumped with the thought of dining at 25 Parganas.
The Décor
Glass walls, beautiful checkered floor, elegant seating and an open kitchen, 25 Parganas’s décor is minimal yet striking with just 44 covers.
Food
One look at the food menu and you know that it’s going to be a memorable meal. For starters, Bhaja aar Bhapa (fried and steamed vegetarian and non vegetarian dishes), main course includes Maach (fish dishes), Mangsho aar Murgi (Mutton and chicken), a section on Tarkari (curry dishes that includes a variety of authentic Bengali curry prepared by several types of vegetable dishes out of often rejected peels, stalks and leaves of vegetables), and then one of my favourites- Didimar heshel theke (innovative recipes from grandmother’s kitchen, mix vegetables with meat, prawns and fish). The dessert section can leave you wanting for more. Mishtis (sweets) such as Rosogolla, Mishti doi, Chennar payesh, Chenaar malpoa and Nolen Gurer Ice cream (dates jiggery ice cream) surely are enough to satiate a sweet tooth.
Starters Drinks
The restaurant surprisingly does not have a separate drinks menu of its own. Though it serves all the drinks that are available from the hotel’s drinks menu. I called for a cocktail- Cool Cucumber but settled with Grover Zampa Sauvignon Blanc for the rest of the evening instead. The wine paired really well with some of the -without mustard or not- so- over powering- mustard dishes.
Must try
Of all the dishes the ones that really worked well were, Pattay mora chingri bhapa, Gondhoraj murghi (Bengali lime with chicken preparation, the smell of that lebu is spellbinding), Motorshuti chennar chop (pan fried homemade cheese & green peas made into a mouth melting patties), Bhara potol bhapa(summer gourd steamed with a stuffing of spiced vegetables & nuts), Beet bora (delicious deep fried cutlet with signature beetroot filling along with other winter vegetables), a definite try and in the main course, of course, Kosha Mangsho (slow cooked mutton preparation with ground and whole spices served with rice or luchi or parota. If you like to experiment, should also try Chingri pui ghonto (pohi greens, known as climbing spinach considered to be high in protein & fibre, is combined with prawns & spiced with panchphoron). For vegetarians I would suggest Laabda (a vegetable medley, tempered with panchphoron). Palong saager ghonto(medley of spinach, cauliflower and other vegetables tempered with panchphoron & ground spices) and Narkel diye cholar dal (chana dal with crunchy fresh coconut tempered with whole spices) with luchis is just divine. Or with Gobindobhog chaal, the indigenous rice variety from Bengal tossed in Ghee and aromatic whole spices.
Mishti Doi and Nolen Gurer ice cream…yum! And despite a heavy-meal such as that, saving some space for the Nolen gurer ice cream was the best decision I ever made in a restaurant.
Verdict
The delicious, authentic and mouth watering experience could fill your appetite but will definitely leave you wanting for more. It is the first authentic 5-star Bengali restaurant in Mumbai. It is expensive understandably because most of the ingredients are sourced from West Bengal. And you also pay for the fine dining experience. Service is good, staff is prompt and knowledgeable. Chef Prasenjit Ghosh is doing a fabulous job of keeping the flavours of Bengal alive especially after working in New York for more than a decade. Even my hardcore north Indian food enthusiast, Punjabi friend loved it. So, go try it out, at least once.
Where
Sahar Hotel, Andheri (East), Mumbai.
(Meal for two without drinks will cost around Rs3000- Rs4000)
For reservations please call (91-22) 3890 7444 or email at info@saharastar.com
Operational Hours: 7:00 pm to 1:00 am
***The writer visited the restaurant on invitation and paid for her own drinks***
-
It is a known fact that the uber-cool spy Mr. Bond was an alcoholic. He probably drank more alcohol than any average tippler in the world. From champagne to cocktails, wines to vodka, if James bond is drinking it, the world knows about it. Of course, he has never shied away from endorsing these brands in his movies. Now that the cat’s out of the bag, we all look forward to the 24th bond adventure ‘SPECTRE’ where the handsome and charming Daniel Craig playing agent 007, will flaunt his latest passion- Belvedere Vodka.
The luxury vodka brand today announced its association with the upcoming bond movie ‘SPECTRE’ to be released in November 6, 2015. The vodka brand will release two custom-made and limited edition variants to celebrate Bond’s favourite poison- vodka martini ‘Shaken not stirred’. On the bottle, the Belvedere palace is being replaced by the MI6 Headquarters. Belvedere’s signature blue palette is now changed to green colour, which is also the spy agency’s colour of choice. This exclusive edition has only 100 bottles. With ‘007’ mark on each of this cutting edge, iconic silver saber bottle, it will be truly a collector’s item for bond fans.
According to www.jamesbondlifestyle.com the vodka brand’s marketing program to be launched in February 2015 will include a global advertising campaign and a wide range of activations and promotions around the movie. It will include on-premise establishments and retail stores across multiple countries. India being one of the major markets for Belvedere, we should expect a good allocation and heavy promotions of these variants in the market in 2015.
In a release, President of Belvedere Vodka, Charles Gibb states: “James Bond is recognized as the most admired and influential tastemaker in the world. We’re delighted that Belvedere will be partnering with SPECTRE, our largest global partnership to date.”
Dwight Caines, president of Theatrical Marketing for Sony Pictures, said: “James Bond’s cool attitude and stylish sophistication have always gone hand-in-hand with his choice of vodka martini. Belvedere is a perfect match.”
In the past, Bond has endorsed vodka brands like Absolut Red Label, Stolichnaya and Smirnoff.
Here is a list of some of the other alcohol brands that Mr. Bond has endorsed in the past
Spirits: – “Vesper” martini in Movie Casino Royale: Gordon Gin, Talisker whisky in The World is Not Enough (1999) and Die Another Day (2002), The Macallan whisky in SkyFall, Mount Gay Rum in Casino Royale,
Champagne: – Dom Pérignon Champagne has appeared in several James Bond movies like Dr. No, Goldfinger, Thunderball, You only live Twice, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, The Spy Who Loved Me etc. Also, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of 007’s appearance on screen and the Bollinger / James Bond partnership, Champagne Bollinger launched a limited edition special presentation box. The box includes a bottle of Bollinger La Grande Année 2002. This limited box is not available anymore. You will be lucky to find one. The champagne brand Taittinger features prominently in the movie From Russia With Love (1963).
Beer:- Heineken in Tomorrow Never Dies and SkyFall, Red Stripe lager in Dr No.
Wine:- In Casino Royale Château Angélus, Premier Grand Cru Classé Saint-Émilion ’82, Never Say Never Again-Château Cheval Blanc Premier Grand Cru Classé Saint-Émilion, in Diamonds Are Forever, Bond talks about Château Mouton Rothschild.
-
The orange liqueur brand Cointreau which is also known for it’s Cointreau-versial nights, international mixology competition and specially curated events for the ladies, recently introduced its #LaMaisonCointreau concept in the Asian market. In India, the Cointreau team has moved further ahead and introduced the first ever bar tending competition for the lady mixologists.
The three semi-finals that took place in New Delhi, Bangalore and Mumbai in November this year had in total 18 participants judged by 9 industry professionals (all women). The 8 finalists selected from these three city events are going to compete for the ‘Lady Mixologist of the Year’ title tomorrow (13 Dec 2014) in Gurgaon. I was honoured to be a part of the jury for the Mumbai round competition along side India’s first lady mixologist and wine and spirits educator, Shatbhi Basu and wine and spirits writer and trainer etiquettes- Suneeta Sodhi Kanga. The eight participants in the Mumbai round were asked to prepare classic Cointreau cocktails like the cosmopolitan, Margarita, Side Car, White Lady and Daiquiri. All the contestants were judged on the parameters such as knowledge of the recipe bar-set up, presentation skills, bartending skills and of course taste.
Mumbai round of #LaMaisonCointreau which took place in Hakkasan, Bandra, saw some great talents like Ami Shroff, Ngalaton (Amy) Chithung, Dhanashree Punekar and Priyanka Kandalkar who have made it to the final round. The list of finalists includes eight female mixologists, Amara Reshi of The Leela, Delhi, Ami Shroff (Freelancer), Ngalaton (Amy) Chithung of Grand Mercure, Goa, Ashuli Saini of OCLD, Dhanashree Punekar (Freelancer), Jenika Sapam of The Oberoi, Bangalore, Priyanka Kandalkar (Freelancer) and Shikha Purohit of The Westin, Gurgaon. According to the Cointreau India team, there are some twists and turns in the final leg of the competition. The contestants will have more than just one round to showcase their talents and woo the judges. After all, the winner gets to represent India in the International La Maison to be held in Bangkok, Thailand in January 2015. So, if you are in town, go cheer for the ladies tomorrow at the Leela Hotel, Gurgaon.
