Inventory for January 11th, 2015

Happy 2015 y’all! In this year’s first inventory we investigate if the next 12 months are dedicated to the art of the aperitivo or the blue cocktail, we learn what we’ll be drinking in the coming weeks, a horrific accident kills three members of the Cachaça family, we take a closer look at the Mexican agave wars of 2011/2012, and in London’s Kentish Town a public toilet is turned into a cocktail bar.

If you’re anything like us you’ll have a lot of bits and bobs left over, now that the festive holiday season is done with. If you have not a clue what to do with aunt Sherry’s peach schnapps or your cousin Bob’s questionable homemade brew, look no further than Nils Wrage’s article on how to make the best of leftover spirits and wines. Happy mixing!

1) Is 2015 the Year of the Aperitif?

An aperitivo is traditionally a short, bitter drink which opens your stomach before a meal and usually enjoyed in France and Italy. Last week the Telegraph profiled Alex Kammerling, founder of the bittersweet spirit Kamm & Sons.

He “wanted to make something that was distilled like an English gin but inspired by classic Italian aperitifs like Campari” and is intent on showing the British drink culture what it’s been missing out on by not enjoying a nightly aperitivo. He began in 2011 with 1,000 bottles.

After a lot of hard work momentum grew and Kamm & Sons is now available in hotels such as the Langham and the Savoy, Hixter restaurants, and ocado.com. They now produce 7,000 bottles every few weeks. Kammerling is set for winter: his Hot Root cocktail is a spiced punch of crushed ginger, Kamm & Sons, cloudy apple juice and cinnamon. That should wet people’s appetite.

2) The Return of the Blue Cocktail

In late December the Huffington Post explored the world of blue cocktails, in other words: blue curaçao. Over the past few years it’s shown up here and there – first in the mid 2000s and in 2012 at the Tales of the Cocktail when a panel of industry experts discussed the effects of color on cocktails’ taste and aroma.

And it seems that the little blue wonder that could is set to make another comeback, as its been showing up in modern craft cocktails. Head bartender of The Oakroom in Louisville’s Seelbach Hotel Eron Plevan has created a blue cocktail which pays homage to a longterm hotel guest – The Lady in Blue.

Named after a ghost who is said to have thrown herself down an elevator shaft in 1931 and now haunts the hotel wearing a blue dress. Plevan variation on a White Lady is served as a gin-based coupe carries crème de Violette, with orange flower water and edible flower petals. The blue curaçao is “its crown jewel”.

3) What you’ll be drinking this year

There’s no end in sight for predictions on this year’s drink trends. Liquor.com took it upon itself to compile a list of “10 Revealing Predictions for What You’ll Be Drinking in 2015”. This list includes, but is not limited to: Lots of shots – mainly beer and shot combinations.

Mail order cocktails. Bottled cocktails. The rise of China’s answer to moonshine – Baijiu. Brothtails – on the heels of the broth boom we’ll be sure to see concoctions made with broth and spirits … can’t wait

4) Cachaça Family dies in Helicopter Crash

The Cachaça family suffered a horrible tragedy this week. The grandson of Companhia Müller de Bebidas, Marcelo Muller, his wife Lumara Rocha Passos Muller, their two-year-old daughter Georgia, and both the nanny and pilot died in a helicopter crash in Bertioga, Brazil.

The Spirits Business reports that as of yet, there is no official comment from the Companhia Müller de Bebidas.

5) The Agave Wars

In 2011 in Mexico two proposals were put forward which would have prevented small mezcal producers, who are located outside the GI area and thus already forbidden from using the word “mezcal”, from even using the word “agave” on their labels or in their marketing campaigns.

Instead, they would have had to use the scientific name “agavacea”. Matt Shipman tells the story of how distillers large and small decided to fight back and mobilized an array of Mexican activists, bartenders, academics, and consumer advocates who argued that the proposals threatened small and artisanal mezcal producers.

But they weren’t alone. The social media campaign caught the attention of a small group of US American bartenders and retailers who in turn petitioned the Mexican government to reject the agave proposals. In 2012 they were dead.

This is one of the first cases were a small opposition succeeded in the face of huge distilleries and multinational tequila and mezcal companies, highlighting the role the consumer can play in protecting small productions.

6) Public Toilet gets new Lease on Life as Cocktail Bar

While certainly not the first of its kind, Public Life just off Brick Lane immediately springs to mind, the Ladies and Gentlemen bar just opened its doors to a local outcry in London’s Kentish Town.

Owner William Borrell turned a former public toilet into a cocktail bar despite complaints from residents and businesses, who had their minds set on refurbishing the public toilet and keeping it for its intended use. The bar will still make its toilets available for public use.