The Experts

Michael Adasko is a native Brooklynite and catering manager at Shiraz , a boutique New York event company. He has designed cocktails for Versace, Crate & Barrel, Google, Tommy Hilfiger, Microsoft, Target, Diane Von Furstenberg as well as Belvedere Vodka, Chandon and Johnnie Walker.

Duane Fernandez is a 7-year industry veteran who competed on the second season of NBC’s On the Rocks: The Search For America’s Next Top Bartender.  Currently the head bartender at NYC’s Donatella and D Bar, his drinks have been featured in GQ and the New York Times.

Ori Geshury is based in Philadelphia, and serves as the Head of Development, Training, and Research for the Mixology Wine Institute, a division of the Professional Bartending Schools of America.

John Lermayer is a New Yorker based at The Florida Room at Delano Hotel in Miami. He has created beverage programs for multiple properties in the Morgans Hotel Group, and has received numerous awards including Canton’s 2009/2010 Bartender of the Year.

Dean Phillips is CEO of Phillips Distilling Company, a family owned, Minneapolis based spirits company that produces a full range of distilled alcohol including organic and flavored vodkas, rum, whiskey. The company introduced the luxury vodka category in 1995 with Belvedere and Chopin, and now produces 70 brands across various spirit categories.

The Trends

Salt and Brine Are Catching On

A bacon flavored mixer is definitely different, but is it unusual enough to become a trend? According to many of the experts we spoke with, it is.

“We are seeing a lot of requests for kimchi, smoked salts, and pickled vegetables – the savory cocktail is in,” says Adasko.

Fernandez  notes “I notice that people are going for some spice in their cocktails recently. I am already working with Chipotle infused alcohol as well as incorporating other spices and peppers to play along with this trend. I see this coinciding with spring cocktails.”

Geshury attributes the more experimental drinks to an increase in communication between the bar and the kitchen. “My friend lives in Brooklyn and reported a New York trend of homemade pickle brine chasing a shot [of whiskey].”

In Miami, Lermayer isn’t receiving the requests for peppery or pickled additions, but has seen people “going back to spirit on spirit cocktails with more bitters. Essentially variations of classic cocktails. They are looking for drinks where the flavor of the spirit breaks through.”

When it comes to the decision of which flavors spirit makers experiment with, Phillips crowdsources inspiration, taking recommendations from distillery guests. “Weâ€re constantly experimenting with unusual flavors – many of which are suggested by visitors on a whiteboard in our laboratory. From indigenous honeysuckle and prickly pear to exotic mangosteen, our master distiller, Jim Aune, always has some interesting concepts cooking,” he says. “I just tried a caramel sea salt spirit in our lab that is begging to be bottled.”

In Brief: Cocktails have taken cues from desserts for a while. If you’re in the kitchen and have considered an unlikely ingredient, go ahead and mix it up because the main course is the next inspiration for mixed drinks.

This morning, the Golden Globes nominations for 2011 were announced by Josh Duamel, Blair Underwood and Katie Holmes; and with them the official start to the 2011 awards season. For film, the Golden Globes are seen as a predictor of Oscar success (at least nomination wise). For television? Well, there’s an open bar which normally makes for a pretty entertaining ceremony. Of course, we can’t forget the red carpet fashion, so without further ado here are the nominees who will probably be on the receiving end of some expensive designer swag next year.

BEST MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA

Black Swan
The Fighter
Inception
The Kingâ€s Speech
The Social Network

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA

Halle Berry in Frankie And Alice
Nicole Kidman in Rabbit Hole
Jennifer Lawrence in Winterâ€s Bone
Natalie Portman in Black Swan
Michelle Williams in Blue Valentine

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA

Jesse Eisenberg in The Social Network
Colin Firth in The Kingâ€s Speech
James Franco in 127 Hours
Ryan Gosling in Blue Valentine
Mark Wahlberg in The Fighter

BEST MOTION PICTURE – COMEDY OR MUSICAL

Alice In Wonderland
Burlesque
The Kids Are All Right
Red
The Tourist

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE – COMEDY OR MUSICAL

Annette Bening in The Kids Are All Right
Anne Hathaway in Love And Other Drugs
Angelina Jolie in The Tourist
Julianne Moore in The Kids Are All Right
Emma Stone in Easy A

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE – COMEDY OR MUSICAL

Johnny Depp in Alice In Wonderland
Johnny Depp in The Tourist
Paul Giamatti in Barneyâ€s Version
Jake Gyllenhaal in Love And Other Drugs
Kevin Spacey in Casino Jack

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MOTION PICTURE

Amy Adams in The Fighter
Helena Bonham Carter in The Kingâ€s Speech
Mila Kunis in Black Swan
Melissa Leo in The Fighter
Jacki Weaver in Animal Kingdom

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MOTION PICTURE

Christian Bale in The Fighter
Michael Douglas in Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps
Andrew Garfield in The Social Network
Jeremy Renner in The Town
Geoffrey Rush in The Kingâ€s Speech

BEST TELEVISION SERIES – DRAMA

Boardwalk Empire (HBO)
Dexter (SHOWTIME)
The Good Wife (CBS)
Mad Men (AMC)
The Walking Dead (AMC)

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES – DRAMA

Julianna Margulies in The Good Wife
Elisabeth Moss in Mad Men
Piper Perabo in Covert Affairs
Katey Sagal in Sons Of Anarchy
Kyra Sedgwick in The Closer

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES – DRAMA

Steve Buscemi in Boardwalk Empire
Bryan Cranston in Breaking Bad
Michael C. Hall in Dexter
Jon Hamm in Mad Men
Hugh Laurie in House

BEST TELEVISION SERIES – COMEDY OR MUSICAL

30 Rock (NBC)
The Big Bang Theory (CBS)
The Big C (SHOWTIME)
Glee (FOX)
Modern Family (ABC)
Nurse Jackie (SHOWTIME)

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES –COMEDY OR MUSICAL

Toni Collette in United States Of Tara
Edie Falco in Nurse Jackie
Tina Fey in 30 Rock
Laura Linney in The Big C
Lea Michele in Glee

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES – COMEDY OR MUSICAL

Alec Baldwin in 30 Rock
Steve Carell in The Office
Thomas Jane in Hung
Matthew Morrison in Glee
Jim Parsons in The Big Bang Theory

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A SERIES, MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION

Hope Davis in The Special Relationship
Jane Lynch in Glee
Kelly Macdonald in Boardwalk Empire
Julia Stiles in Dexter
Sofia Vergara in Modern Family

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A SERIES, MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION

Scott Caan in Hawaii Five-o
Chris Colfer in Glee
Chris Noth in The Good Wife
Eric Stonestreet in Modern Family
David Strathairn in Temple Grandin

Roger Sterling, a partner in the fictional agency Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce makes reference to a “Dr. Lyle Evans” when launching into a tirade against the Japanese executives of Honda, who his partners are trying to win as a client.

“Who the hell is Dr. Lyle Evans?” quips Pete Campbell.

Really Roger, who the hell is Dr. Lyle Evans?!

In this context, Dr. Lyle Evans is simply a subtle advertising play designed to get people talking about the episode, and one that’s worked out well.

Shortly after the episode, Dr. Lyle Evans became one of the fastest rising searches on Google as viewers tried to do a bit of digging to answer the question.

We’ll give credit to whoever is handling marketing over at AMC: the avatars for season 2 got plenty of people talking about the show online as they spread through various social media sites, and the faux historical references designed to get people searching and talking about the episode is a stealth, but very effective way to advertise the show without advertising.

But don’t worry — we’re not media zombies in the Twilight Zone just yet.

Faithful TV viewers lately are taking their style cues from shows like Gossip Girl and Mad Men, which have helped to democratize fashion by showing how “real people” can wear clothes.  Viewers are certainly aware of the fact that these characters aren’t real, but by relating clothing to palpable personalities rather than abstract circumstances like runway shows, they are more likely to understand how certain styles can work in their own lives.

Of course we don’t think you should go out and try to dress 100% like Blair or Serena, because personal style should never be a carbon copy of someone else.  Instead, use TV fashion as a set of guidelines — and a source of inspiration — that helps you develop your own look.

Read the full story {Associated Press}