The Spirit World

I like Champagne but I really like to mix with it, so you know what I’ll be doing on New Year’s Eve. I’ve been gearing up for the holiday by collecting a few new Champagne cocktails, which are far more interesting than the average Bellini and Mimosa - these are truly elegant and perfect for […]

Not that bubbly isn’t exciting enough, but if you’re in the market for a lily-gilding champagne cocktail, check out this Charles Baker creation.
Ile de France Special
Build in a champagne flute:
.5 tsp simple syrup
1 oz good cognac
Stir, top with champagne (or any white sparkling that you like), then cap with two or three dashes of yellow […]

Love Champagne but want something a little more stimulating? Something with a little bit of color? Something with a little flavor? You’re in luck because Champagne is a fantastic cocktail ingredient.
The Champagne Cocktail is a stunning drink that epitomizes the elegance possible when mixing Champagne and spirits. Not only does this classic drink have a […]

An Organic and Biodynamic Wine Cellar Created by Scott Pactor of West Chelsea’s Appellation Wine & Spirits
Bright, Modern, and white, it’s exterior wall of glass, Appellation Wine & Spirits – in eco chic, delightfully designed West Chelsea, is the first Biodynamic Wine Boutique in New York City.
Opened in September 2005, Appellation has established itself as […]

It’s not often that a major Champagne house releases a new champagne but Bollinger have done just that with the release in London of Bollinger Rosé.
The creation of this non-vintage rosé has been long in the making and a dream of the House for almost a decade. This wine has evolved not as a curiosity, […]

With the newest season of Top Chef back on BravoTV, premiering last week, cookbook author Padma Lakshmi is front and center.  In her newest cookbook, Tangy Tart Hot and Sweet, Padma shares what she calls her “sexiest cocktail.”  Given my own admitted penchant for “girly drinks,” this just might make our next get-together.  Who says champagne […]

I wonder if 2008 will be as good as 2007 was for English Wine?The year has certainly started well with the lifting of the European Union planting ban. This was put in place in 1999 to compensate for the excessive volumes of low quality wine being produced elsewhere in the EU. It prevented the UK […]

A quick cocktail recipe for the weekend. But, bloody ‘ell people, this is a stunner!
I’ve never had PX (that’s wine speak for the Pedro Ximénez sherry) in a cocktail before but this blew me away. It has got to be my fave cocktaill of all time. After all it has champagne in it too!
It came […]

The Bar Room at The Modern, at The Museum of Modern Art, is a study on how to place the Bauhaus and twenty-first century Danish design pieces found in the museum in a contemporary, chic, and comfortable setting. 
Several doors east of MoMA on East Fifty-Third Street in New York, a serene white curving tunnel leads […]

It seems we are all in a Champagne or sparkling wine mood this week and I’m going to continue that theme for Happy Hour at Home. You may have a bottle or two left from holiday celebrations or perhaps received a bottle as a gift or it might just be a good time to […]