THE INDIE SPIRIT
In a spirits industry dominated by multinational conglomerates, the rise of independent craft spirits, beers, and wines has been a revitalizing force, especially in the tristate area, where distilleries and breweries have popped up on just about every corner. Launched as a celebration of all things small, the Independent Spirits Expo is self-described as one of the largest and longest running gatherings of small, independent, family owned, handcrafted spirits and the distillers, importers, bottlers, distribu-tors, and representatives under one roof. The 2023 Expo, slated for Monday, June 12 at the Penn Club in New York City, is an opportunity for spirits enthusiasts to get to know indie brands from across the world and, maybe most importantly, taste a bit of everything. Past expos have featured indie distillers from as nearby as the Catskills to as far away as South Africa. By connecting small distillers the world over, events like the Independent Spirits Expo build community and allow for ever-vital word of mouth to spread. Who wouldn’t go for some true independent spirit?
THE REAL STEAL
The Tobacco Product Expo (TPE) trade show in Las Vegas has long been one of the cigar industry’s hallmark events; it’s a part expo, part network-ing extravaganza, and an opportunity for cigar companies to show off the wild projects they’ve cooked up over the last year. This year, luxury lighter manufacturer S.T. Dupont stole the show with the latest release in its Haute Creation line: the Tattoo Spinner, a Ligne 2 lighter with a custom gold-and-blue fi nish. The Haute Creation line was launched as an opportunity for the company to bring artistic vision to their projects by collabo-rating with top designers. The Tattoo Spinner is true to that mission, elevating the humble lighter from tool to art piece. (And this comes with an arty price tag: 88 of these are being released at a price of $10,854.55 per lighter.) The Tattoo Spin-ner features a loop that allows the lighter to make good on its namesake: you can spin this thing in your hand. The skull-patterned finish glows in the dark, and the lighter’s double soft flame is activated via a roller ball, as you’d expect with a Ligne 2. Releases like the Tattoo Spinner are a good reminder that it isn’t just what you smoke: it’s how you smoke it.
en.st-dupont.com
WHITE LABEL
2023 is the Year of the Rabbit in the Lunar Calendar, and cigarmaker E.P. Carrillo is celebrating the Lunar New Year and the Chinese Zodiac with its first-ever super premium offering: Aura E.P. Carrillo Shengxiao Limited Edition. Shengxiao is the Mandarin word for the Zodiac, made up of twelve animal personalities. Fittingly, Aura comes in a box of twelve cigars, each blended to represent the personality of a corresponding animal sign. No two cigars are the same, says E.P. Car-rillo, but all tobaccos are hand-selected by the cigarmaker himself and aged for a minimum of fi ve years. These cigars are rolled at the La Alianza factory in the Dominican Republic and come packed in a handcrafted mahogany box with a humidifi er and a set of cards describing the blends, fl avors, and characters of each cigar. Only 2,500 boxes of this release have been produced, making these a must-have for afi cionados who celebrate Lunar New Year or are simply interested in celebrating the rich iconography of the Zodiac. $1,000 per box, carrillocigars.com
Miracle Makeover
Next time you look for Cointreau at the store, be prepared to look for something a little different. It’s rare for established brands to get an overhaul: think of a familiar-yet-unique bottle of Disaronno or Jack Daniel’s. But Cointreau, the classic French orange-fl avored triple sec liqueur, is going modern with its new bottle, the brand’s fi rst major overhaul in 140 years. Why the change? Cointreau’s new look is designed to highlight the liqueur’s key ingredient, the orange, while demonstrating the company’s commitment to social and environmental responsibility. The new-look Cointreau bottle is made from two-thirds recycled glass and cuts down on wasteful secondary packaging. The design also pays tribute to Cointreau’s century-and-a-half history with an illustration of the brand’s original distillery. It’s a bright, fresh reimagining of a bar cart staple, a necessary compo-nent of any good sidecar, margarita, or cosmopolitan. Next time you go to replenish your Cointreau, expect something a little different. $24.99+
cointreau.com
AN UNEXPECTED DUET
Fans of bourbon know the industry is no stranger to collabora-tion. But when’s the last time you saw your favorite craft spirit distillery get together with an orchestra? That’s the premise of a new collaboration between Rochester’s Black Button Distilling and the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra. The idea is sonic-aged bourbon, a not-so-complicated process that involves simply playing music to a barrel of bourbon. (Crazy as it sounds, using sound waves to “agitate” bourbon as it ages isn’t a new concept.) RPO’s own performance of Beethoven’s “Egmont Overture” was played from a speaker strapped to bourbon barrels. The result, said Black Button, is a more vibrant and flavorful bourbon. “Composing and performing a great piece of music is not unlike producing and carefully aging a great bour-bon. Both take time, both take great care and practice, and both produce something worthy of a standing ovation,” said Jason Barrett, Black Button Distilling Founder and Master Distiller. We’ve always known bourbon and music went together. Now the science proves it.