Hive to Honey

Even inside the cocktail-conscious Edison in Los Angeles, some customers arrive a bit shy when it comes to esoteric products like absinthe. The bar stocks multiple brands, but to really educate and help guests get over their hesitation regarding the green spirit, management created a character who could bring the liquid to the masses.
Each evening, [...]

If you haven’t heard of agave nectar or stevia, chances are you will before the year is over. The two sweeteners are showing up in cocktails, bottled drinks and a host of other products. The market for both is exploding.
According to a report by the market research firm Mintel, sales of stevia were close [...]

No doubt, with upcoming events like the World Cup in 2014 and the Olympics in 2016, more and more people will become aware of Brazilian culture. That’s a trend that hasn’t been lost on the makers of cachaça (pronounced “ka-SHA-sa,”), the key ingredient in Brazil’s classic cocktail, the caipirinha (pronounced “kai-pur-EEN-ya”).
Several cachaça brands have [...]

A quick trigger finger on the soda gun and a bottle of commercial sour mix might have seen a bartender through in the old days. But today’s cutting-edge cocktail jockey is apt to wash bourbon with bacon fat, shake trendy raw-egg libations and prep a veritable garden of fresh produce.
The explosion of fresh, perishable ingredients [...]

For most fast-food companies, uniformity is key. But SPoT Coffee Ltd. (SPP.V) takes a different approach to building its brand.
Unlike its gargantuan and well-established competitors — Starbucks and Tim Horton’s — the tiny coffeehouse chain doesn’t make sure every location offers the same selection of gourmet brews, baked goods, and sandwiches. Rather, says director Alex [...]

During America’s Golden Age of Cocktails in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, it was common and even expected for bartenders to use different gins in different cocktails to assure synergy of flavors.
Though both Prohibition and the growth of the vodka industry after World War II squashed gin’s popularity, the resurgence of classic [...]

NEW YORK — An industry report (PDF) shows Americans’ love affair with top-shelf booze cooled last year as the recession took a toll on high-priced tipples.
The report by an industry group shows people drank more but turned to cheaper brands. They also drank more at home and less in pricier bars and restaurants.
Industry growth [...]

Mr. Achatz, the mastermind behind the award-winning restaurant Alinea, has been taking his molecular gastronomy skills from the kitchen to the bar—and he’s not alone. A growing number of chefs—including Restaurant Eve’s Cathal Armstrong, WD50’s Wylie Dufresne and Jean George’s Johnny Iuzzini—are embracing the cocktail as the latest frontier to flex their culinary creativity. Mr. [...]

Dave Herlong, creative mixologist for the Las Vegas-based N9NE Group, talks about brandy’s growing popularity as more than an after-dinner drink and shares a host of tips for creating brandy-based cocktails.
Are you seeing more interest lately in drinks made with brandy?
People are talking about brandies and cognacs as mixers now, and there are really no [...]

If you are the type who follows trends and tastes in spirits, you will no doubt have noticed that recent times have not been good to Cognac. In the face of economic uncertainty and robust competition in the luxury spirits market, sales of the famous French brandy have been hit hard of late, with dollar [...]