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.

Answer: Alcohol. In an experiment that USA Today says could be the model for the future of coffee shops, Starbucks†Olive Way “learning lab” store in Seattleâ€s Capitol Hill section has recently reopened and will be the first to offer craft beer and local wines for sale after 4 p.m. in addition to an expanded food menu that includes local cheeses.

Starbucks said in a statement that the experiment “is in response to our customers telling us that they want more options for relaxing in our stores in the afternoon and evenings.” It is also likely a move to steal customers from the less-expensive competition in the super tight $15 billion coffee chain business. {CNN Money}

The coffee retailer is reportedly looking to change its image from modern, cookie-cutter chain store to an older, more eclectic coffee shop as well. The Seattle store will have a different look and feel than any Starbucks store has previously, as local cheeses will be served on china and the barista bar will offer seating for customers, much like in a traditional bar. {USA Today}

Weâ€re all for moves that advance businesses into the future, especially risky ones in this economy, so we have to applaud Starbucks for taking the lead here. They will likely be successful as well, but more because of the changed image than the beer and wine sales, as Starbucks could become more appealing to those who avoid it because they dislike the corporate atmosphere. We are wondering how much beer and wine from the notoriously pricey coffee chain will cost, though. If a Grande Pumpkin Spice Latte with whipped cream is $5.17, it’s hard to imagine what a craft beer or glass of local wine will run for.

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When you realize you never bought the host a gift.

Just breathe. The go-to gift in this situation is that nice bottle of wine you have lying around the house. It’s classic, it’s practical… it’s also a little boring.

So why not slip on an adorable Drink Me Tag on your bottle? With festive holiday versions and cheeky “It’s 5pm somewhere” catchphrases, these little gift tags are sure to make it look like you spent way more than 5 seconds thinking about this gift.

Or, alternatively, you could just buy a bunch as perfect little stocking stuffers for your hostess to use at her leisure. If you need some recommendations, here are our favorites:

Read More {Drink Me Tags}

Read More {Life in the Super Burbs}

Read More {Decorology}

She used it for the first time in August, but sheâ€s already bought at
least ten of them – one for a Pilates class, a wine tasting, she even
used one to tube down the Delaware River – and sheâ€s loved them so much
that sheâ€s gotten all her friends hooked on them too.

New York Vintners, photo by Vanessa Quirk

Thanks to people like Lorna, Groupon, a web site that offers daily deals or “groupons” to local restaurants, spas, stores, and more, has grown exponentially since its launch a mere year ago.

Read our review of 5 sites for can’t miss local discounts

The premise behind Groupon, and the secret to its success, is remarkably simple. Every day, they provide a deal that, in their words, is “something youâ€ve always wanted to try at a price that makes it impossible to pass up.”

However, unlike other online discounts, a Groupon only becomes available if a certain amount of customers commits to buying it. Once that “tipping point” is reached, and the business offering this steal of a deal has effectively neutralized the risk involved, the deal is on –until supplies last or midnight strikes.

Due to word of mouth, social media sites like Twitter and Facebook, and its savvy business model, Groupon has expanded to almost 30 cities (far surpassing any other collective buying sites), and its email list of subscribers has increased at a rate of about 40-50% a month.

Those kind of numbers aren’t just of interest to deal seekers and small business owners, but investors as well. Last week, Groupon announced a $30 million round of funding from Accel Partners, who’ve also invested in sites like Etsy, Facebook and walmart.com. Translation: we’re not the only ones who think Groupon’s on to something big.

Even before their holiday windfall, the “blogosphere” and “twitter-verse” have been all aflutter about Groupon in the last few months. I decided that it was time to see what all this fuss was about and find out if, as Groupon says, these deals really do feel “too good to be true.”

Read our review of 5 sites for can’t miss local discounts

I have my cupcake and eat it too

I asked Andrew Mason, CEO and founder of Groupon, to share what he considered the best deal theyâ€ve ever offered.

While he was adamant that all of their deals are great, two particularly notable Groupons stood out: 64% off a yearâ€s membership to the Art Institute of Chicago, and $20 for a $45 wine tasting at New York Vintners in Tribeca.

New Yorker that I am, I decided to check out New York Vintners and see if this $20 wine tasting would really be as good a deal as Mr. Mason purported. As I awaited the “Cupcakes and Dessert Wines”class I had signed up for to begin, I took the opportunity to chat with my fellow Groupon users.

“Oh, youâ€re definitely getting a deal.” Lorna and her colleague Wendy told me. Avid Groupon fans, they only had good things to say about the service. Groupon, coupled with the impact of the Recession, has encouraged them to change their old habits, try out stores theyâ€d never been to or even heard of, and, of course, save money.

Wendy used to pass New York Vintners every day on her way to school, but had never been inside before.

“There are so many wine stores,” she told me, “if it werenâ€t for Groupon, I never would have come in.”

Defying my expectations of what I assumed would be a sip or two of a few clearance rack wines, we were soon given a copious glass each of Prosecco, Rousanne, Shiraz, Zinfandel, and Sherry – and an even greater amount of information about the wines themselves.

Cupcakes from Butter Lane

Add into the mix delicious bite sized morsels of chocolate, raspberry, and banana cupcakes, courtesy of New York bakers Butter Lane, a company that uses local organic dairy and emphasizes flavor over sugar, and it very quickly became apparent that this wasnâ€t just a good deal, but indeed a steal.

Read our review of 5 sites for can’t miss local discounts

“Itâ€s had the single greatest impact on our business” said Shane Benson, co-owner of New York Vintners, about Groupon. Since advertising on Groupon, the store has seen an increase of about 60 people a day come through their doors, and the increase in business has allowed them to double their store hours.

Mason remarked  that an “appearance on Groupon validates these businesses as a cool part of their community” – Benson couldnâ€t agree more. He credits the impartiality and brand name appeal of Groupon with delivering a consumer base genuinely interested in what they do and the visibility they needed to make their business competitive.

Getting the Most out of Groupon

What you canâ€t know about Groupon until you try it is the genuine sense of community among Groupon users. For the moment, at least, being a Groupon user is kind of like being a member of a secret club.

You can of course go to Groupon events with already established friends, and Groupon encourages this with $10 coupons for referrals and Groupon gift certificates (around just in time for the Holiday Season). But, as Lorna told me, theyâ€re also “a great way to meet new people.”

Whether on the message boards, in which users share their knowledge about the value of the deal itself (and staffers answer your questions about the fine print of a deal), on Twitter, where followers can enter spur of the moment contests for Groupon credit, or at the events themselves, Groupon users are linked together by one common thing: a love of the deal.

And now that Iâ€m part of the club, I finally get what all the fuss is about.

Read the Full Story {Slashfood}