Joe Winger, Author at Vegas FlavRReport

DC is Searching for Love and Healing: The Orchid Book Conversation with co-authors Rocio Aquino, Angel Orengo

Vegas Knows this Secret About Loving Yourself: The Orchid Book Conversation with co-authors Rocio Aquino, Angel Orengo

By Joe Winger — 3 weeks ago

The Secret Behind Loving Yourself: The Orchid Book Conversation with co-authors Rocio Aquino, Angel Orengo

Rocio Aquino and Angel Orengo, co-authors of “The Orchid” are, as their website shares partners in life and spirit, wanderers who found home in each other’s hearts.

Their journey together has been filled with a myriad of cultures, beliefs, and encounters with both the ordinary and extraordinary.

The Orchid: The Secret Code of Modern Goddesses

The story focuses on five of these women, each wrestling with unique life challenges such as closeted sexuality, career pressures, spousal abandonment, sexual abuse, eating disorders, and manipulative behavior.

As they engage with the program’s curriculum, they peel away layers of self-deception, pain, and societal conditioning, discovering that the love and solutions they seek already reside within them.

The Orchid serves as both the setting and the metaphor for their collective journey toward self-realization and empowerment.

Today’s conversation has been edited for length and clarity. For the full, un-edited conversation, visit FlavRReport’s YouTube channel here.

Joe Winger:

We’re talking about The Orchid: The Secret Code of Modern Goddesses.

I go to a lot of book events, and a few weeks ago in Los Angeles, I went to The Orchid’s book signing. What I was amazed by was there was so much emotion in the audience. Big smiles, happy tears.

What are we missing in our lives that your book, The Orchid, helps us recognize?

Rocio Aquino:

How beautiful [of a] question. I think, to be honest, that we are perfect already. And we forgot.

Angel Orengo:

Yeah, I think we forget that at the core life doesn’t need to be that difficult. It’s not that complicated that we allow ourselves to be complicated by the things around us, by the things that we’re told, by the way we think our lives need to be, by the number of houses, clothing, shoes – everything right that we need to have.

The moment you bring it down to the basics and you’re like, yeah, life should be simple. We are okay. We’re just learning here. We’re back. We’re like in a school and the teacher wasn’t angry because we got it wrong. On the contrary, it was just like, Oh, don’t worry. I’ll teach you.

Joe Winger:

So what I’m interpreting is, people are having these emotional realizations because they’re remembering your message that they’re perfect already?

What do you think it is about that audience interaction that your book is giving?

Rocio Aquino:

I was in the front, so I was not as intimate like you and your perspective. But what resonates with me and what I see that can resonate for someone else is that they know and they understand that they are not alone on this journey.

The struggles they are feeling are real. They feel the difficulty. Everyone at some point is [feeling] who here has a difficult path? Everyone is like me. That connection is not superficial, but it’s more in a deep way when you are in a group setting after being so disconnected really to talk about the important things that matters in life has another connection.

Angel Orengo:

We’ve gotten large amounts of feedback by now. Some people are touched by the fact that someone has written a book selflessly to help them. I know there were people that were touched very much by that.

I think you understand what that means really, it was all about how do we help the reader get to a different place, right?

Go from point A to point B, right? There are people that for the first time find themselves in an environment where they can treat themselves with some kindness, where maybe they haven’t stopped to think about that before. Because we try to block it.

It’s easier to numb pain than to experience it and let it go.

Other people are [having the realization that] it’s not that complicated. I’m just so happy that I found this now. I think it’s just all of that energy.

The energy in the room that day was really powerful. When you’re in the presence of that energy and by presence, the collective – it wasn’t us. It’s we – emotions come to the surface, and that’s how we clear emotions, and that’s how we clear energy.

Thank you for sharing that because I didn’t realize that was happening.

Rocio Aquino:

We didn’t have any idea and remember, we have two teenage daughters. They bring us back to reality really quickly at our house.

Joe Winger:

Going to the actual book itself between the characters, the descriptions, their backgrounds.

What’s real? What’s fiction? And for fiction, what inspired it?

Rocio Aquino:

Everything happened, everything is real, but never happened all together.

Angel Orengo: And not to those people.

Rocio Aquino: We know that some of the places exist and all the situations exist.

The fiction is today there is not a place that you can go for free to heal in this way. But we hope that someone will open it. Let’s hope we can do it..

Angel Orengo:

Yeah, the characters, the book is absolutely real.

Every single thing that happens there has either happened to us or happened to someone we know, or we’ve read it in the news.

The story about the model and the sexual abuse that’s real, right? It’s happening in the modeling industry now where they have gone through their own “Me too” movement.

There is a scene in which “Olivia” is doing a silent walk and she has a vision of her mother near her. [to Rocio] That’s something that has happened to you, about your own mom who passed away.

There’s a scene in which “Olivia” is speaking to her father. It was a difficult relationship and her father wasn’t the best version of a father that he could have been.

That a lot of it is after my own experience with my own father, who I met three times in my life. One of which, the longest, was five hours. So we took pieces and through the help of everyone who collaborated in the book to construct these characters that brought together all these experiences.

We wanted to write the story of Rocio, who morphed into “Sophia”, and then we realized that we wanted to tell more that we needed that in order to be of service to the people who would be reading the book, we needed to tell more stories because there are so many things happening to women out there that we don’t hear about that we wanted to do justice by representing as many of them.

That’s where it all comes from.

Rocio Aquino:

The same happened to us when we were reading, not writing the book. We were crying constantly. At one point I put it down, we were crying [so much]. Then we did it first in English and after in Spanish and then we were crying in Spanish so was like, “Okay I’m continue to heal.”

The process for us was really intense

Angel Orengo:

The experience that you’re having [the audience and reader’s emotion], everyone is sharing similar things. It’s simple, but as I’m going, I find myself thinking about things that I’ve never thought about in my own life.

I need to put them down. Sometimes it takes me a little bit before I pick it up again. So it’s like peaks and valleys of intensity.

Joe Winger:

As authors, how are you feeling now knowing that so many people are having such extreme feelings and discoveries from your pages?

Rocio Aquino:

You never know how your work is going to be received, to be honest.

Even though we have a very strict culture of not judging anyone, being totally neutral, we are going to make suggestions.

Now that people are seeing the book, it’s a pleasure, it is humbling.

Angel Orengo:

There was intentionality in what we were writing. The book came after our first year of deep introspection into who we were and how we wanted to change our lives. [We studied] a lot of self help books. At the time that we started writing, it was about how do we share this with people who normally don’t have access to information

Also for people who don’t have resources to go and spend time in a retreat for a weekend or spend $5,000 or even $500. [We thought] we should do television because this is our background. But let’s own the intellectual property, the story behind it.

[We thought] we should do television [series], but let’s own the story behind it.

So when we sit down with the people who are going to help us craft the TV show, we have a say in how it’s made. Right now what ends up happening is that people don’t think that love is powerful enough to deal with the issues that you have around you.

We think that we have to combat anger with anger or force. That’s what we’ve been raised to believe. We’ve gotten to a point where love really does conquer all, but not in the way in which we were taught.

So when we approached a book, it was, “Let’s do it with a lot of love,” we said, and if we can help one person, it’ll have been worth it.

Everyone who we are connecting with is having similar reactions so it’s humbling. We’re filled with gratitude beyond belief that we were chosen, selected, inspired to write what we wrote and to put it forth.

Not just write it, but really now be the face of it and take it to as many places as we can.

Rocio Aquino:

That’s the main point. When someone says “Thank you”, because now that means I can continue to share with more people. If more people feel better about themself, that is incredible. That’s our main point to invite everyone to our party.

If more people feel better about themself, that is incredible.

And the part is really, if you are feeling better about yourself? Great! So it’s about that.

Joe Winger:

During your book event introduction, you mentioned one of your goals is to bring The Orchid to real life. Where are we today with that goal? How can the audience help you?

Angel Orengo:

Everything in your life begins with an intention. Waking up in the morning, getting off your bed, right?

Everything is intention after intention. The first and most important thing that we want is for people to truly enjoy the book because through the enjoyment of the book, there is a transformation that’s taking place.

We now understand that the way to change the world, and even though this is not the ultimate intention is the indirect intention, we can make this place a better place to be for all of us.

It begins by me feeling better about myself, and you feeling better about yourself. And it begins by all of the things that we create.

All these things these women are experiencing in The Orchid.

To your question, the first thing is for people – and it’s happening already – to say, wouldn’t it be awesome if this place really did exist and these transformations were taking place. If one person says it, it’s a big deal.

If a million people begin to think that way, or a billion people begin to think that way. Wow. It is about the power of what we have to manifest.

In terms of The Orchid as a retreat center, I think there are versions of it throughout the world already. There are many places that exist. I think those places will be inspired when they read our book to go to a different level. We can do more to expand the way we’re doing this.

There are podcasts down the line. There are television shows that we’ve mentioned. There’s a digital community that we would like to work on and develop. There is a nonprofit because there are going to be issues that will require that approach.

We’re going to continue building this community that ultimately is going to want to continue conversations as to how I deal with this.

Even though we attempted to do a very complete seven day experience at this retreat center, the truth is that the experiences can vary greatly.

There’s so much more out there.

We only depicted a number of healers. The number of healers and healing modalities out there are endless. I believe it will happen.

We have had initial conversations with certain people about it, but I would say it’s in early stages.

I would much rather encourage everybody who is already well advanced into a retreat center to look at themselves and see if there’s anything that can be learned from ours and create their own orchid so that we can help more people around the world.

Rocio Aquino:

Yes. Take the lessons, what you learn and it really is, “How I can begin to have a conversation with someone.”

Joe Winger:

As authors, can you talk a bit about what your writing process was like? What was the timeline going from idea to finished, published book?

Angel Orengo:

We began our process for the book at the end of 2021. So it took us about two and a half years.

We’ve come across a lot of people who say, ”Wow, that’s fantastic.” It took them nine years or 10 years and so on.

We were doing this 24 hours a day for two and a half years.

We relinquished everything else that we were doing and we dedicated ourselves to our growth, our personal growth and introspection, which in itself was the core of what’s at the book and to crafting putting on paper as many of the thoughts and ideas that we had.

The first step was Rocio and I basically went back and forth. We started thinking about which things worked. At first she was the guinea pig. She was experiencing things, a lot of healing practices.

Rocio Aquino:

It’s a process. Experiencing different things, and at the beginning you don’t have it very clear, but you begin, “Okay, this was my story.”

The main thing was to teach the lessons in a very original way. When you are relaxed, when you are in your house watching TV or reading.

You begin to question, is this serving me or not? The process of putting our learnings on paper.

Everyone is a creator. We can create and create.

No one is going to have our perspective. Angel was very clear [about] what he likes in life and has never spoken bad about anyone.

In my mind, I was not like that. I was speaking bad about people. But then I learned the power that [kind of speaking] represents and now I don’t want to do it.

But it’s those lessons that you begin to learn [from]. I grew up with that different paradigm, and now that I know another one, I prefer the new one.

Because it gives me more freedom, creativity, and everything.

We put everything in place. We worked hard to make this happen because our motivation was to do a book for [the younger version of] me 32 years ago when I tried to kill myself and I didn’t have the tools and I didn’t have anything.

So this is a book that I wish my mom had before she passed away 32 years ago.

The motivation was really to spread that another way of thinking was available. So we were in a hurry, like this needs to be available for those Rocio’s, for those Pepitas who were out there, who are out there and need to have something that they can grab quick, and they can begin to see a change.

Angel Orengo:

I would add, the process of writing the book was truly experiential. It wasn’t just spitting it out, we were living certain things.

There were times we stopped the book to have an exercise of releasing energy.

What we realized as we were writing, there were things inside of us that needed to be addressed.

Whether it was an experience that happened when you were a child…

I can’t tell you the times where we were crying, deeply moved by what we were writing and reading and how that was cleaning us inside and how that was changing us.

We went through different hurdles.

For example, we realized at an early stage that the book could not be judgmental about anything. if we were going to connect with readers, right?

We had no idea that we needed to ensure that the people at the Orchid, Mary and her staff. [They] never looked at anybody and said, “Oh, I’m so sorry.” It’s more, “We know we’ve been there. You too can heal from that.”

And so all of those things emerged as we were writing.

There was intentionality and some clear ideas as to how we wanted to proceed. The truth is that we were experiencing and adjusting as we went.

Rocio Aquino:

With a lot of respect.

Angel Orengo:

With a lot of respect for each other, the people we were collaborating with, and the reader.

Joe Winger:

The book is called The Orchid: the Secret Code of Modern Goddesses.

The color scheme, it’s primarily female names, from a traditional or direct point of view, it’s geared more toward a female audience.

As the authors, trying to get a guy in a woman’s life to read it. What would you encourage them to say to get a guy to read it?

Rocio Aquino:

#1, I’ve been a woman and reading many books about guys, written by guys and I love it.

So maybe it’s time for a guy to be open minded. I can do this and I can read a book about women.

#2, it’s incredible to go in the deepest way of thinking of women. So try to understand how they work and what they are thinking. This is a fantastic opportunity. It has so many good sides because you want to have a better understanding of your mom, of your sister, your girlfriend, your wife, your daughters.

Then you’ll have a better way of how women relate to each other, but how do they relate to themselves, and how you can be an ally in their process.

Angel Orengo:

Recently I was writing a brief article for a fraternity that I belong to and I was very active when I was in college.

Essentially the article is to inspire them to read this book. The issues that we talk about, whether it’s sexuality, limiting beliefs, the power of forgiveness, the power of gratitude or any of the other issues that the women who are there are speaking of, they’re universal.

They’re not gender based, right?

So any opportunity that you have or that you give yourself to relate to those issues, it’s an opportunity to grow.

I think for men for far too long, we’ve defined masculinity as “the absence of emotion” or perhaps the “existence of physical strength.”

More and more we’re finding out about emotional intelligence, right?

That emotions in general and our ability to share them to be vulnerable is powerful and can only enhance the people that we are.

I would say be open minded. The issues are truly for everybody. You can learn a thing or two, not just about yourself, but about the women in your life.

It’s and it could be really powerful. Plus let’s face it, the better we communicate with one another, the better we relate to one another across genders the better our community is going to be, and we need more community in the world.

I think if anything has shown us, and this is true at any time, right?

Every person you speak to, we’re all longing for community. We need connection. We need to connect more with each other.

Rocio Acquino:

Deep connection, not superficial.

Joe Winger:

The book is called The Orchid, The Secret Code of Modern Goddesses.

Wrapping up, for people out there who want to buy the book after hearing about it, Whether it’s websites, social media, how can we follow you? How can we buy the book?

Rocio Aquino:

There are so many ways right now. We have a website: TheOrchidBook.com

You can find the book in English and Spanish.You can buy it on Amazon, and Barnes and Noble, Apple, and we have the audiobook too.

And the exercise, if you want to do a book club with your friends, you can do some exercise that are on the website.

Instagram, Facebook YouTube, TikTok. All @TheOrchidBook_

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Food That Seduces: Daytime TV Star Thaao Penghlis Seducing Celebrities in his newest Project

By Joe Winger — 3 weeks ago

Daytime TV Star Thaao Penghlis Seducing Celebrities wants to Give You a Taste at his next dinner party. Read all about it in his new book.

Thaao Penghlis has starred in some of the biggest TV shows of all time – including playing on daytime TV’s “Days of Our Lives”.

Thaao Penghlis new book Seducing Celebrities: One Meal at a Time

Now in Thaao’s new book, Seducing Celebrities: One Meal at a Time he reveals seduction in the dining room by creating incredibly delicious for his famous friends.

Today’s conversation has been edited for length and clarity. For the full, un-edited conversation, visit our YouTube channel here.

Joe Winger

Congratulations on your new book. It’s a tasty read and a fast read.

Thank you for joining us for a conversation today.

Thaao Penghlis:

Thank you for inviting me.

Joe Winger:

You’ve done a lot of work in your life. We’re going to go to food and books as quickly as possible.

When you’re at an airport or in public, what is the most common thing people remember you from?

Thaao Penghlis:

Certainly Days [of our Lives]. There’s a big Armenian contingency out there who always comes at me at the airports, [Days…] was in 152 markets. Especially when you’re in New York and it’s an international port. When Mission [Impossible] was on. I certainly enjoyed that. I think it had a large male audience because of the action and that I liked it was interesting. That kind of prepared me for the masks that I did on Days [of Our Lives]. So it was a real challenge. Working in daytime; I think the biggest challenge is remembering all those lines and giving it some kind of conviction and taking those lines off the page.

And a lot of the time, because there’s too many lines, we’re just on the edge, and so because I have a certain intensity I’m able to cover. I think through all those years people, airports probably are the biggest. I’m going to do a PA [public appearance] at the Grand Canyon in August.

It’s a very special train ride through the Grand Canyon with just 22 fans. It’s going to be a very intimate affair. So over the years, you get the older people who are the real followers, because the youth today have different appetites.

Just like they do with food, they’re not always conscious about what they’re eating. Unless they’re educated about it or they’re raised on good food. And I think today food has become a convenience rather than a celebration.

Joe Winger:

You use wonderful words in your book. It feels almost like poetry. “Food is the magic of our universe.” Can you elaborate on that a little bit?

Thaao Penghlis:

We’ve been given such diversity as far as food is concerned, that we have that many choices, especially in countries that can afford food. But to me, once you’ve grown up tasting octopus – we used to hang it on the [clothes] line for three weeks until it dried out. There’s no blood in the octopus, therefore, it doesn’t rot – that was mouthwatering.

Some of the fruits you have in life, like mangos. When you can appreciate the way they’re being served. It’s not like eating an apple. If you eat a mango and you slice it, then cut it up in quarters, there’s a different texture to it. The flavor. To the eye it becomes attractive. I think food, when you think about what you can control in your life and you are blessed to have it. I think food is magical because of that.

Joe Winger:

One more line of food poetry from your book. “You discover your body’s secrets by the way you feed it and how it feeds you back. “

Thaao Penghlis:

When we who are in the Greek Orthodox church, we go through a fast to the last day [of holidays like Easter] before we go to the church and get the bread and the wine.

You start to appreciate the food that you can’t have because of its limitations in the religion. The last day you’ll have olive oil on bread with some sugar, things like that. So when you get to food and understand it, when you stop eating and cleanse your body, sometimes it just juices, you become hungry.

You get to understand what food does to the body by emptying it out. If you don’t eat well, or if you eat late, then the next day, you’re not going to feel great.

So you get to understand what the body can take and what, and when, are the limitations to eating and at what hour, if you drink too much wine.

As an actor, I don’t drink very much. But if I have wine, the next day, my eyes are going to show it. So it tells me something about the kidneys, because the eyes are connected to the kidneys. So it’s understanding how the machine you’ve brought into life carries your soul. How does that express itself in the best way possible?

As actors, we have a responsibility because of that body being presented on camera as a certain responsibility to the producers to the show and to your audience. So you get to understand. I would go through a four day fast with Bela’s broth, Celsius broth. I would find that would cleanse me through the days I did like a liver cleanse, which got rid of stones.

You get to understand what the organs are, that you can do things naturally without having to take all those dreadful medicines and those pills.

The body is all we’ve got. Why have I overcome certain things in my life? It’s always been through nutrition.

Joe Winger:

Your journey, the things you’ve learned, and you touch upon that in the book a little bit, lessons you learn from different actors and producers and people you’ve worked with, but that’s another great lesson is as far as using it as a medicine.

The book is called Seducing Celebrities: One Meal at a Time. It is an enormous undertaking: beautiful pictures, recipes, Hollywood stories, your family. There’s a lot going on.

What inspired you to write the book?

Thaao Penghlis:

The hardcover has all the colored pictures inside. So it has a different dimension to it when you actually see it, because let’s face it, presentation is very important.

So when you see color, when you see something displayed you want to get into it. If something looks like someone just piled something, it’s not attractive to the appetite.

My manager called me one day and he said, “You always talk about food. Why don’t you do a cookbook?”

I went, “Oh, I don’t know how to do a cookbook. Everything that I’ve caught has come out of my head.”

I remembered, I learned when I worked at the UN [United Nations] for a year when I was in the diplomatic corps. In my youth I went into kitchens where they had chefs. I saw presentation. I understood the etiquette of arriving there on time.

45 minutes later you’re having the hors d’oeuvres, maybe it’s champagne, maybe it’s some caviar or whatever they presented.

Then it was time to go into the dining room and sit there. It became a ritual. And so you got to appreciate the time, the presentation that someone put in.

So all these memories came into my head. I said how would you think? How do you think about food? I said it’s really seducing people, isn’t it?

By the way you create an atmosphere, by the way you look at a dish, and by the aroma. So I said, Let’s call it “Seducing.”

I said who have I seduced?

How about celebrities that I’ve met and worked with? That’s how it came about seducing celebrities. One meal at a time.

I always like to serve the first, second and the third course. But usually, I don’t join the guests on the first course, because I’m busy preparing the main course.

So I present the first course to them. Then I’m in the kitchen. The actor, Danny Kaye in the old days. He used to be an expert of Chinese food and around the counter in his kitchen is where his friends sat and he just fed them. That was something that was so gratifying for him.

So I understand if it’s done well, and your friends leave. They take it for granted.

People don’t cook these days, or they’re intimidated because of the way you’ve presented it. So therefore let’s take you out instead. So you don’t get that personal touch that I think is so important.

When you sit around your watering hole, as I call it, that “table”, which is something if when I leave this country eventually and go home to Australia, that is one thing I’m going to take with me is that table because it has a huge history to it.

To me the table and how you decorate it and how you present it is very important to the appetite of the person joining you.

Joe Winger:

I’m thinking of your table, sometime in the future when you do move, that could be a heck of an auction item. The amount of people who sat around it and heard stories and shared stories.

Speaking of those stories, you’ve named huge Hollywood stars like Tom Hanks, Rita Wilson George Clooney, amazing actors, Joanna Cassidy, William Hurt.

Your Hollywood life has been so many decades of work and amazing people. What was the process like deciding who makes it into the book and deciding who you had to leave out?

Thaao Penghlis:

You don’t like everybody you’ve worked with and everybody you’ve met, food is very personal

In the old days they serve you poison. In the French 18th century, you’d be sitting there and if you were an enemy, they’d serve you a dish with poison. That’s how they got rid of enemies. But I don’t know.

Dame Edna, who I was best man at his wedding, which is Barry Humphries. He was very particular. He was also a person who loved art. So he would walk around my house looking at what kind of a collection and made his judgment on it.

The same thing with the food, he would taste it. He would give you that quite qualifying look that he approves.

Omar Sharif was different. When I worked with him, we had champagne and caviar every day, because that’s the way he lived.

[He would be] telling me stories of Lawrence of Arabia and many of his other films and I think, because I look like his son, he was very taken not in the beginning. In the beginning, he was quite rude and quite distant. It wasn’t until I was about to start the first scene with him where he comes into the room and when I met him, he was distant, shook my hand and said, “Hello”.

So when he comes into the room, he’s supposed to slug me after something I say.

He says to me, by the way, “Please, when I hit you do not go over this 18th century table and break it. It’s very important that we are respectful about this table.”

And I said, Oh, I’m not going anywhere. And he says, what do you mean?

I said, “Oh, Omar. I said, if you hit me and I go flying off that table, where do you and I go for the next four hours?”

He says “What will you do?

I said, “I’ll probably adjust my tie.”

He started to laugh and that’s how it started.

How do you infiltrate a person’s personality who comes in defensive working with Bill Hurt in “Altered States”.

I had some very difficult dialogue because it was very technical. How do you make it real? I started to do this sequence and he says to me, “Is that how you’re going to do it?

And I said, “Why is that how you’re going to do it?”

And from that moment, he goes, “You’re an arrogant son of a…,”

And I said, “So are you.”

From that moment, we clicked. When we joined hands in Mexico, away from Warner Brothers, we had a good bond.

I never stood for his star attitude. You have to call it. So I don’t like it. When someone brings that, I leave that, I go outside.

Joe Winger:

Doris Roberts, after dinner once wrote you a note. I took that idea as an incredibly loving gesture.

if you could talk a little bit about that note, and then any other amazing gifts from you dinner parties?

Thaao Penghlis:

When I approached Doris and she would write the introduction, her comment was, “Oh, darling, why don’t you do that?”

I said, Doris, you’ve been coming here for dinner for years. So why can’t you just get in touch with your heart and write something pleasant?

And that’s what she wrote.

Because every time she came, it’s like my friends who come over always know they’re going to get a good meal. I never go cheap on the thing. I’ve seen people come in the house with daisies in their hand. I said, “Does this house look like it collects daisies?”

Or they’ll bring me Two Buck Chuck.

I said, are you bringing that so I can put it as a wine for the food, because it’s certainly not going on the table and things like that.

Where people are not experiencing you or contributing and also shows you how cheap it is. And even when Doris, who used to get crates of champagne from Dom Perignon for free, because she was connected to somebody who worked there, she would come in.

She would say “Darling, here’s some Dom Perignon, put it in the fridge.”

I said, “Oh, okay. Thank you.” I think, Oh, this is a person who understands quality.

Then five minutes later, she’s sitting at a chair. She says open the champagne for me, will ya?. So I realized it wasn’t for the house. It was for her. So she didn’t bring anything.

Here’s this woman who makes an enormous amount of money. I’ve studied with her for over 20 years with Katsalis, the director, and then she would come in and sit at the table and she would look at the flowers and then she would look at the presentation of everything and then she would smell the food and so through that experience – you don’t always get respect, you have to earn it.

With her, because of my work as an actor, and because of my success as an actor, and also now writing some people will say to you, “Are you writing another book?

But they say it in such a derogatory way.

Whereas Doris said, “I’m so proud of you.“

I went out with Doris, just the two of us went to movies because she always had to have company. She was like Joan Rivers. She had to have every night filled. She couldn’t stand just being on her own. So when she was invited to my home, she always remembered the presentation and the flavors of that evening.

Joe Winger:

Let’s talk a little bit about what was the process of writing the book like this time?

Thaao Penghlis:

Recipes are in my head.

So I had to cook in my head. For six months I started to think, Oh,I never wrote anything down.

I would call friends and say, “What was your favorite meal I cooked?”

Then I would say, Oh, okay, that’s good; and then I would just test my friends and they would tell me what they like the best.

So I got all these recipes that were still in my head. And I somehow remember what I put in it. My sister in law in Australia says to me, the difference between you and I as chefs is that I have to have a cookbook in front of me. You open the fridge and say, what are we going to eat?

I spent six months going through recipes.

Then finally I said, what did my mother cook? The Greek traditional foods or the Greek desserts. And my sisters are very good at cooking desserts.

Then slowly I collected the foods and started to make them.

Joe Winger:

That’s an incredible journey.

We’ve pushed toward the idea of an impolite or a bad dinner guest. How do we find an appropriate dinner gift? And then what would be a definite no?

Thaao Penghlis:

People will ask me, what can we bring?

It’s a silly question because you can’t bring food. So you, what do you bring wine? Or flowers? Or whatever enhances the atmosphere?

But something that’s not here, but sometimes when they keep asking me that, I say, bring cash. And that always throws them because they take it seriously.

So sometimes I won’t answer that question. I said, “Surprise me. But make it expensive.”

So I like to play with them.

I said to a friend of mine once, your hands are always empty. They never spoke to me for three years after that. They turned around and left.

There’d been guests who arrived when you had a seven o’clock dinner and arrived at 9:30. I’ll open the door and say to them, “I’m sorry, we’ve already had dinner. We’ll talk another time.” And then I closed the door because I find it disrespectful.

It tells you who people are and their consciousness. I don’t like unconscious people, but we’re going through a very difficult time in the world.

And it’s all because people are not conscious of others. It’s always about them. And so to me, the wonderful thing about serving food and expecting something in return, something.

Even if it’s – we used to write notes in the old days, a phone call – but texts now have become such a convenience.

Why don’t you just call me and tell me where I spent two days preparing this, that you can’t afford a five minute phone call, but you’ll text me in one sentence and that’s it.

Things like that I don’t approve of.

I think that kind of communication short changes [the memory of the experience]. I want to be at times where you want to cook again. If you’re not gonna share something about yourselves, call me the next day and say, I had such a wonderful evening. Some people think it’s enough when they leave, or they got here,

But they don’t understand how you complete things. Completion is very important. Just as an actor, you have an arc in your character, it’s complete.

The same thing with food.

When I serve food, it’s complete. I have an order: I have hors d’oeuvres. I have a first course. I have the main course. And then I have dessert and maybe some Greek coffee or tea or whatever people need and the wines.

But I just find people are unbelievable. They don’t understand what it takes to put an evening together.

If you don’t know how to treat me, I’m going to show you. So that’s what I said there.

Joe Winger:

Have you ever played with the idea of a cooking show? Is that something you see at all for yourself?

Thaao Penghlis:

It’s a lot of work. All that preparation. I’ve done it as a guest here and there.

Joan Rivers used to join guests and everything, she always made some wonderful jokes.

Dame Edna would make wonderful jokes.

I’m doing a book signing May 22nd at the Grove in Los Angeles at a Barnes and Noble. I’ve got to do a cooking show. I thought what are we going to cook? Something that’s not difficult.

So I’m going to do a vegetarian dish, which is not in the book, but it’s with shiitake mushroom, truffle oils, mint, basil heirloom tomato, raw peas and pine nuts. Then I will mix that in with the pasta and some olive oil and then some truffle oil and with some herbs and that’s about it.

That’s so convenient and it’s such a delicious dish with Parmesan cheese over it.

Joe Winger:

The book is called Seducing Celebrities: One meal at a time

You breezed over Joan Rivers for a moment and I wanted to touch upon it because In that chapter, you help us see her in a different way than what we always think of her as, especially being in the car with her daughter, Melissa as a young girl.

When I think of Joan Rivers, the stereotype, I think of outrageous, and you have one or two moments beyond her, Barbra Streisand, there’s a little bit of outrageousness there, are there any outrageous moments that you didn’t include that you thought about including?

Thaao Penghlis:

I don’t I don’t mind telling stories, or privately telling stories.

There’s got to be a borderline, just like etiquette. If I’m expecting for people to behave a certain way.

One time, there was a famous guest, which I won’t mention, who was having problems with their daughter, and they were sitting around the table. The phone rang in the middle of dinner, and he answered it, he starts screaming on the phone, and telling his daughter off.

I just lost it, I got up and I said, “If you don’t mind, take your bloody phone call outside, we’re not interested in your private business and how rude of you.”

Because I don’t like people bringing phones into the house.

The inner chatter that goes on with people’s minds, where they’re so distracted with life instead of just being there. Being present.

With Telly Savalas as well. There have been times also with people with Days [of Our Lives] and I couldn’t tell those stories because firstly, I have to work with him again. Secondly, I don’t think it’s everybody’s business.

There was a book that Hustler put out all the stories about those magnificent stars of the [1940s] and talked about their sexual proclivities.

Someone said, “Why would you do that?” Why would you betray your friends that way?

You smash the myth. They spent years creating a myth. But when you start getting into the nitty gritty, you make those people ordinary. And show business is not about being ordinary.

So I try to refrain from telling things that go beyond the norm. I want to be able to see these people later in some time, even though they’re gone,

I still believe we’ll see them on the other side that they did more good for me. Otherwise it’s a matter of respect and keeping someone’s dignity there.

Joe Winger:

Your book starts almost like a love note or a Valentine to growing up with your family. Your mother, your father, their first trip to L. A., to your grandfather George’s herrings and olive oil tin.

Thaao Penghlis:

Yeah, that was something to watch growing up.

To see my grandfather bringing his knowledge of food from the islands of Greece.

What I remember the most, even my grandmother, you’ve come down in the mornings and you can smell the cinnamon toast. She would be dipping wicks into wax and creating candles for the church.

Joe Winger:

Seducing celebrities one meal at a time.

Can you give us a tease about what you’re looking forward to in the future?

Thaao Penghlis:

I just finished exploring the Holy Families.

I did a two week trek up and down the Nile to these sacred places. So I’ve written a story because most of the things we see about religion are postcards or lovely paintings. What do we do when we explore it within ourselves and follow those routes? Something else happened.

I’ve written a teleplay. It’s very interesting the way it begins and where it begins and how it follows through into The Great Escape.

Find Thaao Penghlis’ new book on Amazon at Seducing Celebrities: One Meal at a Time

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Perfect Passover Wines for 2024, Revealed by Kosher Wine Expert

By Joe Winger — 1 month ago

Perfect Passover wines for 2024, Revealed by Kosher Wine Expert for Passover 2024

Passover starts Monday April 22 at sundown and ends April 30th. But today’s conversation is about the flavors of Seder dinner.

Jay Buchsbaum

Royal Wine and Kosher.com’s Jay Buchsbaum visits to talk about flavor, tradition, tastes for every family member and what’s exciting in the wine world for 2024.

This conversation has been edited for length and clarity. For the full, unedited conversation, visit our FlavRReport YouTube channel.

Joe Winger: Jay, welcome back. I appreciate that you’re returning. Last time was great and we learned alot.

Jay Buchsbaum: Thank you for having me. Wow. This is great. So getting invited back for a second date, that’s really cool.

Joe Winger: Passover is just around the corner and we want to talk about different over wines to enjoy during the celebration and some great wine pairings.

I wanted to start off with what might be one of the popular new bottles – Carmel Black Cabernet Sauvignon.

Jay Buchsbaum: It’s very hot and the reason it’s very hot is because people want something that’s rich and flavorful, especially the American palate, what we call the New World style.

Opulence, fruit forward, but they don’t want to spend a fortune like you’d have to from some fancy vineyard in Napa or from Judean Hills. When it comes to Israel or the Golan Heights, and this is one of those wines where they’ve put together this at the beginning of opulence, lots of fruit forwardness, 14 months in oak and about $25.

So it’s really one of those really wonderful wines. What I noticed, and they say they forgot to do it, but I noticed that it does not have an appellation specific, except for Israel. The reason I believe the winemaker did that – I don’t know for sure – he talks about it on the back [of the bottle] that they brought the grapes from some of the finest vineyards. He chose small amounts [of grapes] from the best vineyards from different places and put them all together, carefully crafting it so that it’s big and rich and flavorful and still under $30 bucks.

Joe Winger: That sounds amazing. What are some good food pairings that you’d recommend with it?

Jay Buchsbaum: A roast would be great. On the first and second night of Passover, we don’t officially roast anything because we don’t want people to think that it was a sacrificial lamb that was done in Egypt because we don’t have it today yet.

Until the reestablishment of the temple on the Temple Mount at some future time.

So people cook a roast in the oven, it’s not barbecued. That’s what they’re talking about from a historical, spiritual sense – but a delicious roast, maybe chicken marsala, where you have mushrooms and caramelized onions, you have a really rich flavor to go with that.

A lot of the Sephardic foods are like that too. We talked about traditional foods. Traditional foods from where? Sometimes it’s Eastern Europe, sometimes it’s Middle Eastern, and sometimes it’s Sephardic.

Lots of seders have a mix of all [cuisines] because you have melded families.

Joe Winger: Royal Wine currently has a wide roster of wine suggestions for Passover Something for every adult at the table, from Grandpa to 25 year old Grand-daughter and her boyfriend.

Jay Buchsbaum: That’s a great point. I’m going to give you the last one first only because I thought this was so much fun when I thought about it and I actually might do it.

Let’s say the boyfriend is coming over. He wants to bring you something and he doesn’t know what to get you because, he’s not that observant..

So I thought, why don’t you end the meal with something Sparkling. The Momentous Rosé. That might be fun. You go out with a pop, so to speak. There’s Vera Wang’s Prosecco Rose that’s also wonderful. Both around $20.

But if you want to go really high end, why not go with the Rothschild Brut Rosé from Champagne, which is magnificent. It’s 100% Pinot Noir, and about $100 a bottle.

So you have great diversity and accessible and quite delicious sparkling wines.

Grandpa, or if you have a real fine wine guy. You have beautiful wines from the Rothschild vineyards, the Haute Medoc. which is in the upper $30s, and then you even have Grand Cru’s LesCombes, Grand Cru Margaux as an example, and some amazing wines from the Herzog Winery in California like the Alexander Valley Herzog Reserve, or the Napa Valley Herzog Reserve.

We have a beautiful Lake County Reserve Cabernet from California. Big, opulent, delicious, mouth filling.

I start my Seder usually with a rosé. The reason for that is because you’re starting your Seder, having eaten nothing pretty much since the morning. So you’re on an empty stomach and the tradition is to finish at least the first glass. So I try to start with a rosé. It’s a little lighter, a little lower in alcohol, a little lighter in texture and, and I like to start with an Israeli wine first.

Joe Winger: Iis there a hidden gem as far as just high quality with amazing value?

Jay Buchsbaum: There’s a really wonderful wine from New Zealand.

It’s a white wine, not a red wine. It’s made by the Rothschild family, but it’s made in New Zealand, called Rimapere Sauvignon Blanc. Less than $30 for sure. Fresh, sweet lemons, but with enough acidity and structure, almost like a palette cleanser.

Joe Winger: Anything that you’re looking forward to in the next few months that wine lovers should be getting excited for?

Jay Buchsbaum: We were missing rosés from Israel for a whole year because of the sabbatical year. We skipped that vintage of roses, and so they’re back for the first time in 24 months for this Passover.

I love some of the new Italian wines. One of them to take a look at is Cantina Giuliano. it’s a boutique winery. They make 3,000 – 4,000 cases maximum. It’s run by a young couple and I just had them over at my house for Sabbath Shabbat. His wines blew people away.

I think the most exciting thing is our new winemaker and what our new winemakers is doing with our grapes. His selection and his final product over at the Herzog Wine Cellars. And that could be

Our new winemaker, his name is David Galzignato. He’s with us about three years and he has a background that is with some of the finest and smallest, medium sized boutiques.

He was going to be moving to France, going to go for his MW [masters of wine] and they asked him if he’d come and consider working with us and he did. He has been making literally blow your brains out wonderful wines so our Napa Cabernet, our Alexander Valley Cabernet are just up and down the line, the wines, especially the reds are just rich and opulent.

He got Joseph Herzog to buy a visual sorter, they range in cost between a $100,000 – 1 million dollar machine.

What they do is when the grapes come in [during harvest] and there’s something called sorting tables.

Done by hand [vineyard workers literally sorting through the harvested grape bunches, looking for] damaged or a little beat up or whatever, and they only allow the perfect grapes to go through.

This visual sorter does this electronically by computer, so nothing is missed, zero. As a result, the grape quality is much higher

Famously said in The New Yorker Years ago, “There’s only three things that matter in good winemaking. Good grapes. Good grapes. Good grapes.”

So, the fruit that we get and the fruit that we end up making wine out of is literally the most important thing.

By using these kinds of methods, which are not inexpensive. But the quality is through the roof. We’re looking to make a 100 point wine one of these days and I think it might we might get close this year.

Post Views: 468

Cocktails on the Vegas Strip! Now Madre Mezcal offers a Gateway to a Better Taste

By Joe Winger — 1 month ago

Cocktails on the Vegas Strip! Now Madre Mezcal offers a Gateway to a Better Taste

Today’s conversation is with Ryan Fleming from Madre Mezcal. The LA nightlife veteran reveals his time working behind the bar in some of Southern California’s hottest spots, as well as the inspiration that got him to travel to Mexico, discovering Mezcal.

The aroma, flavors, science and food pairings for Mezcal.

Love Tequila? Discover the Gateway to better taste with Madre Mezcal’s Ryan Fleming

This conversation has been edited for length and clarity. For the full, unedited conversation, visit our YouTube Channel.

“…I’ve been a big Mezcal lover before I ever sold it…”

Joe Winger: Can you share the behind the scenes or how the brand itself was created?

Ryan Fleming: I’ve been a big Mezcal lover before I ever even sold it or made a dollar doing that. So I got to actually meet Ron Cooper, who is the legend that started the Del Maguey label back in 2011.

I got to drink rabbit Pachuca with him and all these other amazing things. The reason I bring him up is he’s a kind of one of the people that we look up to, how to sustainably bring a brand and how to create culture that crosses boundaries in a sense.

He has a beautiful book that I recommend anyone to read if you haven’t read Ron Cooper’s book.

But we share a similar story. One of our founding partners, Tony Farfalla and one of my good friends, Stefan Tony’s an artist and he was literally traveling through Oaxaca doing documentaries and embracing the art and culture. He happened to meet Jose Morales, which is the first family we ever worked with.

If you have original bottles of Madre [Mezcal] before the labels have changed, it used to say Jose’s name on the bottle.

So Tony was bringing bottles back to Brooklyn in plastic water bottles and it snowballed. His friends in Brooklyn were like, this stuff’s great. Started out in plastic water bottles in 2014. I think it was 2016 when our first glass bottles actually came by and we became like of a more legit brand and company. But it started with Tony and Stefan; and they brought on our CEO and COO, Chris and Davide.

Chris actually is one of the founding driving forces in the electronic scene in the 90s in Europe. Chris comes from a very artistic, music based background. Then he went on to work for some bigger alcohol brands in the vodka world.

Davide, who is our COO, my direct boss, who I love, is Italian and his whole family built furniture and he got his big break by importing and bringing furniture over [to the United States]. He also works with a beautiful high end apparel line.

“…everyone has a very unique artistic background, which really reflects the brand and the label…”

So everyone has a very unique artistic background, which really reflects the brand and the label. Just not wanting to make a quick buck and actually make something we can stand behind and believe in.

As the families now blossom into four, we use three: the Vasquez family, the Blas family and the Morales family are our three main producers for our red and black label, which most people are familiar with.

We just brought in Moises and he’s actually from Santa Catarina Minas. That’s a little town where all they really make is their production. It’s a town known for nothing but clay pot distillation. So if you actually use a copper pot in, in Manera and Santa Caterina Minas, you’re looked at as what are you doing? That’s not what we do here.

He’s our last and newest producer and he may be the most cowboy of them all, and he’s my favorite.

When you get to Tlaxcala, you have to walk over like a little rope bridge over like a river and stuff into the hills of Minas to see his production, and he’s got his grandfather’s old still, and he’s got his mom’s little kitchen that he wants to reopen, and it’s like a restaurant. But if you and I were to look at it, it just looks like a backyard set of tables and chairs with a cooking center.

No, this is a restaurant for the village. It’s really beautiful down in Minas. I recommend everyone, if you get a chance to go down there, it felt like the jungles in Costa Rica, cause it’s up near the hills and it’s just so green and lush up there.

“…I’ve been working in the alcohol industry for almost 15 years …”

Joe Winger: What got you down there? Was it for a vacation or for Mezcal?

Ryan Fleming:

So I’ve been working in the alcohol industry for almost 15 years and I worked for the Houston Hospitality Group for over a decade, helping run programs and menus. I worked for a couple other restaurants, but I used to work for Stillhouse Whiskey, which many people remember the terrible flavored moonshine in a gas can.

Yeah I actually sold that. I did pretty well, there was always one flavor that someone loved. I had the mint chocolate chip and I would keep it in the freezer to take care of my sweet tooth when I didn’t have ice cream. So that’s how it started.

My buddy, Stefan, who’s one of the founding partners goes, “Hey, we got this Mezcal company.” I was just basically consulting for free lunches.

One day he goes, do you want to go to Oaxaca? And I went, absolutely.

I familiar with going down to Mexico city, but I’d never been as far South as Oaxaca. So I jumped at the chance.

[Meanwhile] we all got an email from Stillhouse saying “Hey, I know things are being shaken up right now, but trust me, everything’s fine. Don’t worry about it.”

That weekend, apparently the whole team got laid off, but I didn’t get the email untll I came home Monday. They’re saying, “Ryan, are you going to be okay? Do you need help finding work?”

So I went down to Oaxaca, met the families, broke bread with Jose Morales, got to meet his mother who blessed the roast and cooked us dinner. They offered me a job.

That was started my journey about six years ago with Madre [Mezcal ]and I’ve been with him since.

Fleming motions to tattoos on his arms and hands.

Discovering Madre Mezcal

I have it tattooed on my hand right here. I have it tattooed on my palm right here. And I think I have another one on the inside of my leg too. We do tasting events and we’ll have pop up tattoo artists all the time.

Tequila vs Madre Mezcal

Joe Winger:

You mentioned the tastings and the education. Are there quick lessons that you teach the most often?

Ryan Fleming:

Basic production, culture, financial, environmental and economic sustainability.

I don’t think people understand that Oaxaca is the second poorest state in Mexico. Everyone thinks the Mezcal boom must be bringing so many jobs, but it really only affects about 20 – 40,000 people that live in Oaxaca for the production,

Mezcal is great because it does bring some financial sustainability to the families. Jose started off driving a taxi to pay his bills and now he’s making Mezcal in his family’s tradition. His whole family, his cousin, his uncles, they all make Mezcal for a living now.

There’s so much culture behind it. Even the old argument of did the Spanish bring over copper stills and that started distillation or does it go back to the Aztecs and Mayans? Because they found distillate and pottery from 3000 years ago. It’s those little nuances.

People really like to talk about the environmental, but giving back to the people down there by not just buying product, but giving them some ownership, which Madre does do, so that everyone has a little bit of skin in the game.

So I think Sustainability, whether it’s environmental, economical, cultural, and production. Those are the things I really like to talk about.

Joe Winger: What is the basic difference between mezcal and tequila? Or is it more complicated?

Ryan Fleming:

You could say production techniques, additives, mass production are probably the three biggest differences.

Tequila can only be made with one agave. It’s a blue weber. Mezcal can be made with the other 47-ish varietals, and that number is always fluctuating, based on classification and family genius.

Production is the big one. Tequila is made in massive factories and made with either chemicals or steam for the most part.

Whereas mezcal is actually made by hand, roasted in an earthen oven. The biggest thing that separates Tequila and Mezcal is the 1% additive rule.

Tequila can have up to 1% by volume additives, and they don’t have to tell you. That’s why certain large brands will say 100% Agave, but it’s full of additives, because it doesn’t take much with modern chemistry. Just a couple drops of glycerin or vanilla extract to change the flavor and hide all the nuances.

Mezcal can’t have any additives by law.

Joe Winger: Can we walk through the roles and responsibilities between the families that produce Madre Mezcal?

Ryan Fleming:

Yeah, the four families. Let’s start with Jose Morales. Him and his brother both make mezcal. Now they produce for us in the US exclusively. We encourage all of our families to continue making mezcal to trade. They use it for a local economy.

Every time I go down there, [their operation is growing]. When they started, they had three stills. Now there’s 12 up and running and they have solar power. It’s just so crazy to see how much the transformation has happened.

The original recipe, the blend of cuishe and espadine at 90 proof, that’s his family’s recipe. So we expanded that and we brought on Carlos Blas and the Vasquez family. Unfortunately, Natalio the father passed away a couple of years ago.

His daughters are now producing in the family’s tradition and we take whatever we can from them.

But what we do, that’s a little bit different is, we started out when it was just Jose, he was making the blend himself. Now we have them make the espadine and the cuishe separately.

All three families are part of the process. Sometimes we just get cuiche from Jose. Sometimes Carlos makes all the espadine, but Carlos is like a master blender.

We blend a cold style like Scotch does. Even though it’s not the most traditional way, all the distillation and process is as true as it can be.

But by blending post distillation allows us to keep consistency, which was a huge problem because every batch with your wild fermentation, your wild yeast and all these beautiful nuances, it’ll be inconsistent as you grow as a brand. It was hard for us to keep consistency.

But by blending multiple terroirs and three different families’ production, we can keep a consistent product that tastes the same as well as expanding and bringing on more families to help instead of just going to a large factory house and not making what I would call “traditional Mezcal.”

Joe Winger: So focusing on your background, you mentioned that you’ve been a bartender in the LA nightlife. Any memorable adventures or lessons you can share?

Ryan Fleming:

There are some stories I could tell that I probably don’t want to share publicly. But there are some amazing stories I can tell.

One of the oddest experiences I’ve ever had, I worked at Good Times at Davey Wayne’s, which is one of the most famous bars in the Hollywood nightlife in the past decade.

Paul McCartney showed up at our door.

But because our staff is younger and our door guys are a little bit younger, they thought it was an old weird British man that just showed up and they turned Paul McCartney away from the door.

‘Holy crap, is that Paul McCartney’?

He was like, do you know who I am? The guys [were like] ”We don’t care.” Like straight up, blowing Paul McCartney off. One of our managers came out and was like, ‘Holy crap, is that Paul McCartney’? And they’re like, wait, the guy from the Beatles?!

My manager ran out, “Please come back,” and Paul had a great time at the bar. We got him a special little area to sit down. It was a packed Saturday. It’s not a nightclub where we have gated off [areas]. Even if you reserve a table, people are inches away from you where you’re sitting at your table.

Justin Bieber showed up one time and everyone went nuts. He comes in, walks around, does a loop, comes out and goes, “I thought this was a hip hop club.” and just left.

It was a 1970s themed bar and we played nothing but 70s music.

The dichotomy between the two different generations and to see them all melt into one location was one of the coolest things about working at that bar.

Joe Winger:It’s so crowded because it’s so popular. The Houston Brothers always do such a good job.

Ryan Fleming:

Yeah. The cocktails are still really good too. For as much volume as we used to do there, the biggest thing is how can I make a really beautiful cocktail that’s still cost effective and doesn’t take 12 steps. We got really good at batching stuff and figuring out how to infuse things. Luckily our back of house was just the most amazing. Mariano is the best barback I’ve ever had in my whole life. He’s still there.

He is just a workhorse that got all the infusions. He would cook, he would infuse all of our products and he was just great. Even if we just did a jalapeno infusion on our tequila, if it got too spicy, he could break down the ratio and water it down with more products so that we could keep the spice level approachable.

Joe Winger:

What is the secret to high quantity yet high value cocktails?

Ryan Fleming:

Batching is definitely the way to do it. Any of your alcohols that are shelf stable, you want to put all of those in the proper ratios in a bottle.

Instead of grabbing a modifier and your base spirit and another modifier, you’re grabbing one bottle with a special tape at the bottom, so you know which cocktail it goes to and then all your fresh stuff.

You can’t batch the fresh stuff. It has to be separated because you put citrus in something and it goes bad in three days. Now the whole batch is bad. So keeping your fresh stuff separated.

Joe Winger: Back to Madre Mezcal. Obviously the bottles themselves are where all the power is. So let’s talk about labels and taste profiles.

Ryan Fleming:

People love our labels. Our branding is top notch. It’s one of the first compliments we always get. “Oh my God, I love your branding.”

Madre Mezcal Artesanal

Looked at Oaxacan culture and some other like medieval culture and combined the art from the two.

As far as the red label it’s the woman on the bull. It’s a really beautiful message of Mother Earth coming down and starting to share humanity and move across the world to plants and spread love. That’s why she’s on the bull. It’s the combination of animal, Mother Earth, and humans.

Madre Mezcal Espandin

The black label is a beautiful logo of a woman on the ground. She’s planting and spreading the seed of life that gives us agave and flowers and fruit and vegetables and everything else.

Madre Mezcal Ancestral

The ancestral is this beautiful clay bottle with old clay vessels from Greece that carried wine with the fluid coming out and it’s supposed to celebrate the ancestral way of making mezcal and clay pots and clay distillation.

I always love telling the story of people who say mezcal is not supposed to be aged, which is a true-ish statement in my opinion. But back in the day, everything got transferred in barrels. So Mezcal would accidentally get aged in barrels because it would travel from town to town on horseback after the product was made.

So the idea that Mezcal was never aged is it wasn’t aged on purpose.

Mezcal was accidentally aged in wood. The traditional way that people would age Mezcal is in glass and they would hide it underground.

I always tell people, if you have a beautiful bottle of Mezcal, you should open it and take it out and put a wine cork in it, or at least crack the bottle and get some air because it really lets alcohol open up and aerate.

Mezcal benefits from a resting period. Pouring it in a nice open glass, like a snifter or a wine glass, letting it sit for about 5-10 minutes will really open it up.

Madre Mezcal tasting notes

Madre is designed to be less smoky. I really hate the term smoky. I like the word roasted because what you’re tasting is like barbeque.

You’re tasting the roasting of the agave and the charcoaling and the burning of the outside agave which will affect the sugars, the caramelization.

Madre really was designed to be a more approachable mezcal. We call ourselves ”The gateway to the category.”

We want to bring people from tequila over to Mezcal so you can explore what agave spirits also have to offer.

It’s bright, clean, and smooth. I always compare it to a really nice, made tequila.

Our Espadine is actually a close cousin of [tequila’s] Blue Weber. It tastes really bright, clean and smooth. But you’re going to get some of that minerality and smoke in the end.

Like easy drinking with some earthy aromas.

Joe Winger: That night when I met you, what you handed me was my first taste of the night. I love that it was so pure and smooth. It didn’t clog up my mouth for the rest of the night.

Ryan Fleming:

I’m like you. I want to have 2-3 cocktails a night. Not just one and my palette’s done.

Our Espadine to me is a 2-3 second palette. It clears up and you get like a breath and it’s fading. Our Ensemble goes on for 10- 12 seconds. From sweet vanilla to chocolate to mineral and then to smoke. Then the smoke fades and you get just a really beautiful, crisp. It’s viscous. You can feel the oil in your mouth when you swirl it around and it makes the best Negroni.

Joe Winger: Let’s talk about food pairings.

Ryan Fleming:

I want to know if this caught you off guard, but it’s Italian food.

Very rich foods. These beautiful Mezcals are light and almost floral and fragrant, It cuts through the richness and creaminess of food.

That’s why mezcal and chocolate are consistently paired together, but that was just way too easy. There’s always mezcal chocolate pairings, but like a really nice Italian dish, something creamy and rich, like an Alfredo or a really well done piece of pizza, like a margarita or a white sauce pizza.

“…I want to know if this caught you off guard, but…”

We are working on doing some [pizza] pairings with some places in LA. Do a different slice of pizza with three different cocktails of Madre and then have a tasting at the end.

Chocolate has a big part of Oaxaca too. You can’t not have some chocolate and mezcal at the end of the night.

Espresso martinis are so hot again right now. Try making one with mezcal instead of vodka and just [see] how coffee helps open up the agave and the notes, and you’re going to get so much more going on in your cocktail.

If you pair a nice espresso martini with beautiful, dark chocolate from Oaxaca. That is your final cocktail at the end of the night, it won’t let you down.

Joe Winger: You mentioned replacing Mezcal with vodka in a martini, are there any traditional or more common cocktails we should also try replacing Mezcal in?

Ryan Fleming:

When I tell you this, it may blow your mind. Most gin cocktails are a little bit better with Mezcal.

There are certain times you need botanicals, but a lot of really good classic gin cocktails, if you sub them for Mezcal, are absolutely fantastic.

Joe Winger: I’m shocked because most gins have such unique aromatics.

Ryan Fleming:

Which Mezcal has so many of those same unique terpenes going on that it changes the cocktail, but it works.

So instead of having botanicals, you have all these beautiful vegetal and mineral notes that just come from agaves.

Joe Winger: What are the biggest misconceptions in the world of Mezcal?

Ryan Fleming:

A lot of people have a misconception, especially on the trade side, that we have grown exponentially. It’s been a lot of hard work. People think we have this massive team behind us. There’s less than 20 of us on the whole team. That includes our team down in Oaxaca, who watches over manufacturing and production for us down there.

We don’t have an office. We have a little tiny apartment in Venice for meetings.

A lot of people don’t understand the hard work that goes into creating a small brand. It’s just a lot of people working hard to create beautiful Mezcal, especially the families.

People [unfairly comparing it to] tequila. What do you mean, we can’t get more? Why is it so expensive? We have people going out hand collecting wild agaves and harvesting espadine. All of that is hand cut, hand chopped. I’ve hand cut agaves with the families.

None of this is industrialized or mechanized like tequila.

Appreciate every drop of mezcal you have, because someone put a lot of love and labor into it.

Joe Winger: Ryan, as we wrap up, let’s talk about where can learn more about Madre Mezcal?

Ryan Fleming:

We have a beautiful Instagram. Madremezcal.com is our website.

We also have this Instagram called mezcal. Learning and it’s a little short videos and little blurbs to talk about production, families, history, and culture. It is focused on Madre, but it’s not just Madre, it’s Mezcal as a whole.

If you want to know more about our families who produce, where it’s made, you can find all that information on madremezgal. com.

Our bottles are in most of your nicer bottle shops, liquor stores. In California, we’re lucky enough to be in Trader Joe’s for the Espadine and Whole Foods has our Ensemble.

If you can’t find it, go to madremezcal.com and we ship bottles to almost every state in the U S.

We’re in nine countries, too. Australia. All over Europe, Costa Rica. We’re working on Japan and South Korea as well. So I’m just excited to see the culture of mezcal just expand beyond just America and see how excited because I, when I talk to people that are in London or, people in Australia, and they’re so excited about the idea of being able to get mezcal.

Joe Winger: What is the future for Madre?

Ryan Fleming: I can’t tell you about the big one.

But, [exciting things for] our Ancestral, which is pretty new and every batch of that’s going to be hand numbered and labeled.

We’re going to start doing small batch productions that will be very limited. Then the desert waters, which we have ready for summer.

To learn more about MadreMezcal, visit MadreMezcal.com. Find them on Instagram at MadreMezcal

Vegas cocktails just got cooler -- Bark and Barware Shows You How with Cocktail Smoker

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Vegas cocktails just got Sexier, Smokier — Bark and Barware Shows You How with Cocktail Smoker

By Joe Winger — 2 months ago

Vegas cocktails just got cooler — Bark and Barware Shows You How with Cocktail Smoker

Bark and Barware enters the cocktail market with their premium cocktail smoker, including 6 flavors.

Bark and Barware’s Harel Levy

Today, Bark and Barware’s Harel Levy joins us for a conversation about cocktails, creating your long-lasting drinking crew, picking the right flavors, the perfect pairings and more!

The below conversation has been edited for length and clarity. Find the full conversation at our YouTube channel.

Joe Winger: Can you tell us a little bit about your story? And what inspired you to create this cocktail smoker kit?

Harel Levy: I’ve been an entrepreneur for the last seven years. While there are no mistakes, I actually found [the cocktail smoker] by mistake. I was planning to buy something for my Dad. I usually won’t give something if it’s not 100%. So I’d rather not give a gift that I don’t really like. Because I really care about what the recipient is going to feel.

“I really love the idea of cocktail smoking kits. […] It’s another tool to have a great night.

I don’t want to give something cheap, because if you really love someone, you really want to make sure that everything is spot on, right?

Even on yourself, you will be more forgiven in terms of what you buy than someone else.

I really love the idea of cocktail smoking kits. It’s not that it’s only cool and it’s a great addition to having those nights with friends, with family. It’s another tool to have a great night.

I went to Amazon and I saw there is no one who actually sells it in a premium, wooden box. And with many flavors. I talked with [my company’s] CEO about it, what’s missing here.

Bark & Barware’s Smoker Kit

We came up with a wooden box. It came from my passion to give something that looks good.

For almost a year, we went back and forth with factories. The smoke. The flavor. Details with the box.

When we released it, we were very happy. We knew my criteria. If I can give it to my Dad, not being afraid he’s not going to like it. Then I know that other people are also going to enjoy it because I have high standards for giving a gift to someone that I love. That’s how we came up with the product and the product.

The second thing we are planning is to bring a mixologist, make it a more holistic experience.

Extend the journey with our customers, give them cocktails, give them recipes, give them ideas, The journey doesn’t end when the transaction happens for us. We want to continue to build trust and serve our customers.

Joe Winger: You have a very comprehensive website. Can you walk us through your Cocktail Smoker Kit? When we buy it what do we get?

Harel Levy: There are six different chip flavors, the culinary torch, the smoke lid. Ice tongs, whiskey stones. Unfortunately, we don’t include butane [gas for the torch] because shipping is very heavily regulated,

“In every smoker kit you get six different chip flavors, the culinary torch, the smoke lid. Ice tongs, whiskey stones.”

We have six flavors: cherry, oak, pear, maple, hickory and apple. Our plan is to listen to our customers and come up with new flavors based on what they ask for. It’s not a one-time product release. We’re going to offer refills, extensions, more.

Each taste is very delicate. The world of wine, flavor, alcohol is so wide and you can get very specific sometimes. When you do get specific, you get the best results, right?

Joe Winger: Has there been one or two major lessons you’ve learned?

Harel Levy: Initially we had more flavors. After we gave out samples and heard about which flavors were the favorite, we removed some.

Joe Winger: You mentioned flavor pairing. What’s your favorite cocktail pairing?

Harel Levy: It’s a tough question because taste is something that is extremely subjective.

We usually put it with scotch. That’s our personal preference. Our customers get very creative with their ideas. That’s why we initially started with those six flavors. But listening to customer feedback, it’s going to grow and change.

Joe Winger: Over a year of research and development, were there any unexpected surprises?

Harel Levy: A lot of people agreed with me on the wooden box. People started asking for smoke refills. They’re going through the smoke faster than I thought. When we launched, I was expecting this to be used for special occasions. But people are using it every week, all the time.

Joe Winger: In the past few weeks, I’ve been in Los Angeles, Brooklyn, New York, Philadelphia. All those places have bars where they’re serving smoked drinks. Now people want to have that experience at home.

Harel Levy: That’s going to make you the hero of the party. You’re the one who brings the cool stuff. I always like to do that.

We really advise [anyone trying this] to taste all of the flavors. Not just one or two. The spectrum of what flavors someone likes or doesn’t like is very wide. You’re probably going to really like 1-2 [of the flavors], and less like the others.

Those 1-2 that you really like, we’re going to offer you refills.

When I host friends [at my house], I drink scotch and it goes well with cherry.

But it’s like a game. You try a lot of things. You find out something that you’re really going to love.

“That’s going to make you the hero of the party. You’re the one who brings the cool stuff.”

Joe Winger: This first kit is a starter kit or a sampler kit. I get those six flavors and I get to decide, “Oh my gosh, I really like this one. Now I need a refill.”

Harel Levy: Exactly. It’s exciting me on a personal level because I’m curious […]. What’s going to make people upgrade a scotch that costs hundreds of dollars?

I can play with the flavor. That will upgrade an experience for the end customer cost hundreds of dollars. I did my part, right? And for them, they’re going to be over the moon. They’re going to be super happy. It’s just going to become one of their routine.

“What’s going to make people upgrade a scotch that costs hundreds of dollars?”

Joe Winger: There are smoking kits all over the place. Dozens of competitors on Amazon. Why should someone choose Bark and Barware?

Harel Levy: It’s the full experience that we offer. It starts with the package. Then the flavors. Most of our competitors offer four, we offer six. We tasted all of the competitors and our flavor is better. Otherwise I would not have released the product.

Our post-purchase [experience] the recipes. We’re working with a mixologist to just create a mini course to go with the kit, go with specific drinks. Customers are going to have access to all of it. How do I mix it? What should I mix it with?

Joe Winger: What does the future of the brand look like?

Harel Levy: We’re planning to release big packages [re-fills] of each flavor. Second thing is the mini courses. We really want to inspire because that’s fun.

The process of drinking with friends, the process of smoking. It’s a fun process. You sit on your balcony, with friends, you open a bottle of wine as well. That’s a fun process.

Our goal is to inspire. Someone [will realize they] like a specific cocktail. We will give them all of the information on how to make it, how to mix it, then we earn a customer for life.

Joe Winger: You mentioned picking a cocktail is like picking a favorite kid. It’s so hard to do. What is your favorite cocktail to use with your smoker?

Harel Levy: Yeah, so that’s a great question. I like the combination of the apple and scotch.

Joe Winger: Because you’re a foodie, are there any specific cocktail and food pairings that you really enjoy with any of your specific flavors?

Harel Levy: My favorite is having an apple flavored scotch with a ribeye. Someone I work with loves the hickory flavor. That’s the beauty of this world, every person has their unique taste.

Shop for Bark and Barware’s Cocktail smoker hit on amazon here: https://amzn.to/3P5c42g

Learn more at: https://www.barkandbarware.com

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1,000+ Artisanal Food, Beverage from around the World are coming to Las Vegas Jan 21-23! For the 48th Winter Fancy Food Show

By Joe Winger — 4 months ago

1,000+ Artisanal Food, Beverage from around the World are coming to Las Vegas Jan 21-23! Specialty Food Association’s 48th Winter Fancy Food Show

The Specialty Food Association’s 48th Winter Fancy Food Show will showcase thousands of artisanal products from more than 1,200 domestic and global specialty food and beverage makers and manufacturers.

1,000+ Artisanal Food, Beverage from around the World are coming to Las Vegas Jan 21-23! Specialty Food Association’s 48th Winter Fancy Food Show

Taking place across three days (January 21-23) at the Las Vegas Convention Center, the Show also features a variety of networking and educational events.

“The 2024 Winter Fancy Food Show marks the beginning of the food industry’s annual cycle

a pivotal gathering where innovation meets opportunity,”

SFA President Bill Lynch

“This show is not just an event; it’s the epicenter of culinary creativity and business acumen where makers launch and buyers discover the latest products and trends that will shape the new year.”

Show attendees will experience:

Artisanal food and beverage products from 1,200+ exhibitors.
Product pavilions dedicated to the hottest categories including Plant Based, Deli, Bakery/Confectionery/Snacks & Sweets, Beverage.
International Pavilions from Canada, China, Italy, France, Greece, Morocco, Spain, and partner country, Japan.
State and Regional Pavilions including Mississippi, New York, WUSATA.
Diversity Pavilion, with a nine-company cohort from (included): Barlow’s, Frescos Naturales, Funky Mello, Grumpy Ginger, Krack’d Snacks, Myles Comfort Foods, Sobo, Todo Verde, TUYYO.
Pop Up Pavilions including the Confectionery, Snack, and Bakery Pavilion Pop Up: Fancy a Bite?, and the Beverage Pavilion Pop Up: Flights of Fancy.
NEW NOW NEXT Pavilion featuring Incubators and Startups.
Insight into the hottest trends in specialty food courtesy of the SFA Trendspotter Panel: Patsy Ramirez-Arroyo, food and sustainability consultant, PG Consulting Group, LLC; Jenn de la Vega, chef, stylist, cookbook author, trends expert, Randwiches; Jonathan Deutsch, Professor and Director, Drexel Food Lab; Jeanette Donnarumma, producer, cook, recipe developer/tester, food lover, content creator, party-planner; Thomas Joseph, EVP, Culinary, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia and Sur la Table; Gary FX LaMorte, chef, consultant, and founder, Honest Hospitality; Sarah Lohman, culinary historian, author, and public speaker; Chef Clara Park, claraparkcooks.com, chef, teacher, consultant, and writer; Wendy Robinson, Senior Buyer, Market Hall Foods; Kantha Shelke, Ph.D., CFS, IFT Fellow, Corvus Blue LLC; Cathy Strange, Ambassador of Food Culture, Whole Foods; V. Sheree Williams, Publisher, Cuisine Noir, and Founder, Global Food and Drink Initiative.
SFA Junior Trendspotter Panel – UNLV William F. Harrah College of Hospitality under the guidance of Joseph Lema, Ph.D. Professor/Ph.D. Coordinator, Seyhmus Baloglu, Ph.D. Professor/Associate Dean of Research.
The Winter Fancy Food Show is open only to qualified members of the specialty food trade, industry affiliates, and media. For more information, please click here.

The Specialty Food Association (SFA) was founded in 1952 and is the not-for-profit trade association of the $194 billion specialty food industry.

Representing more than 3,000 businesses worldwide, SFA champions industry participation and success for a diverse community of makers, buyers, importers, distributors, and service providers by developing resources, information, education, and events that celebrate innovation and inclusivity.
SFA owns and operates the Fancy Food Shows—which are the largest specialty food industry events in North America—as well as the sofi™ Awards—which have honored excellence in specialty food and beverage annually since 1972.
The SFA also produces the e-newsletter SFA News Daily, the Trendspotter Panel annual predictions and Fancy Food Show reports, the State of the Specialty Food Industry Report, Today’s Specialty Food Consumer research, and the Spill & Dish podcast. Find out more online and connect with SFA on Facebook, X, Instagram, LinkedIn, and TikTok.

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New Years Eve 2024: Las Vegas Delivers Big Stars, Big Flavor, Fabulous Fireworks

By Joe Winger — 5 months ago

New Years Eve 2024: Las Vegas Delivers Big Stars, Entertainment, Fabulous Fireworks

New Year’s Eve in Las Vegas always promises a packed lineup of stellar entertainment. Fireworks will light up the desert sky while the world’s top entertainers take the stage throughout the destination.

Fireworks Fun

New Year’s Eve in Las Vegas will showcase spectacular fireworks with several resorts participating in the annual celebration. This year, a dazzling display will launch from the rooftops of:

Exciting Entertainment

From the music industry’s finest to world-class illusionists and hilarious comedians, the destination promises an impressive lineup to cap off an exceptional year of entertainment.

Late-night talk show hosts John Oliver and Seth Meyers join forces for a comedy show at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace on Sunday, Dec. 31.

Stand-up comic Gabriel “Fluffy” Iglesias plays The Chelsea at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas on Friday, Dec. 29 and Saturday, Dec. 30. Pop star Demi Lovato will perform at the venue for the year-closing show on Sunday, Dec. 31.

The Time of Your Life Festival offers performances by Beach Weather, Big Gigantic, Blackstreet, Craze, Eric Forbes, Kid ’n Play, Third Eye Blind, Tone Loc and Young MC at Fremont Street Experience on Sunday, Dec. 31.

Hip-hop artist Post Malone will be the first headliner at BleauLive Theater at Fontainebleau Las Vegas when he takes the stage Saturday, Dec. 30 and Sunday, Dec. 31.

Burlesque dancer Dita Von Teese continues her A Jubilant Revue residency at the Jubilee Theater at Horseshoe Las Vegas from Thursday, Dec. 28 through Sunday, Dec. 31.

Comedian Katt Williams takes the mic at Michelob ULTRA Arena at Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino on Saturday, Dec. 30.

Dancer and entertainer Derek Hough brings his Symphony of Dance production to Pearl Theater at Palms Casino Resort on Thursday, Dec. 28. Hip-hop band The Roots follow with a concert at the venue on Friday, Dec. 29.

Entertainer Bruno Mars is back for more residency dates at Dolby Live at Park MGM on Thursday, Dec. 28; Saturday, Dec. 30; and Sunday, Dec. 31.

Original American Idol Kelly Clarkson returns for additional residency dates at Bakkt Theater at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino on Saturday, Dec. 30 and Sunday, Dec. 31.

Country artist Luke Bryan continues his residency at Resorts World Theatre at Resorts World Las Vegas from Friday, Dec. 29 through Sunday, Dec. 31.

Actors and singers Seth McFarlane and Liz Gillies team up for a show at Myron’s at The Smith Center for the Performing Arts on Saturday, Dec. 30.

Hip-hop group Black Eyed Peas play The Venetian Theatre at The Venetian Resort Las Vegas on Saturday, Dec. 30 and Sunday, Dec. 31. Nearby at the resort, pop vocalist Christina Aguilera kicks off a limited engagement at Voltaire Belle de Nuit with shows on Saturday, Dec. 30 and Sunday, Dec. 31.

World-renowned illusionist David Blaine debuts his new IMPOSSIBLE residency at the Encore Theater at Wynn Las Vegas on Friday, Dec. 29, with shows continuing through Sunday, Dec. 31.

Noteworthy Nightlife

Las Vegas features some of the world’s most exhilarating nightclubs, where famed DJs routinely bring their talents—and the lineup only elevates on New Year’s Eve.

AREA15 presents its New Year’s Eve MasqueRave, featuring sets by Boris Brejcha, Ann Clue and Moritz Hoffbauer, on Sunday, Dec. 31.

JEWEL Nightclub at ARIA Resort & Casino presents a set by Lil Jon on Sunday, Dec. 31.

OMNIA Nightclub at Caesars Palace presents sets by Illenium on Saturday, Dec. 30 and Steve Aoki on Sunday, Dec. 31.

Commonwealth presents a set by Nick Bike on Sunday, Dec. 31.

Marquee Nightclub at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas presents a set by Jersey Shore: Family Vacation’s DJ Pauly D Sunday, Dec. 31.

Discopussy presents Defected Records’ “6 Degrees of Celebration” NYE, featuring sets by Harry Romero and Arielle Free, on Sunday, Dec. 31.

Hakkasan Nightclub at MGM Grand Hotel & Casino presents a set by Loud Luxury on Friday, Dec. 29.

The Grounds at Resorts World Las Vegas presents the Forever Midnight festival on Saturday, Dec. 30 and Sunday, Dec. 31. The resort’s Zouk Nightclub presents sets by RL Grime on Thursday, Dec. 28; Odesza on Friday, Dec. 29; Zedd on Saturday, Dec. 30; and Kaskade on Sunday, Dec. 31.

TAO Nightclub at The Venetian Resort Las Vegas presents sets by Whoo Kid on Saturday, Dec. 30 and O.T. Genasis on Sunday, Dec. 31.

XS Nightclub at Wynn Las Vegas presents sets by Gryffin on Friday, Dec. 29; Diplo on Saturday, Dec. 30; and The Chainsmokers on Sunday, Dec. 31.

Fabulous Fêtes

Visitors and locals alike will ring in 2024 on New Year’s Eve at rooftop parties with prime views of the midnight fireworks and unique, ‘Only Vegas’ celebrations.

The Beverly Theater presents Meet Harry and Sally at the Beverly, a special screening of the New Year’s Eve movie favorite When Harry Met Sally complete with concessions packages and a post-show reception with live jazz, charcuterie and a champagne toast.

Legacy Club at Circa Resort & Casino puts on a Sky High Celebration, complete with views of the fireworks from the resort’s 60^th floor. The event features passed hors d’oeuvres, photo-worthy cocktails, live music and fire pit seating.

The Ice Rink at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas presents its annual New Year’s Eve Fireworks Viewing Party, which features an open bar, DJ set, skate rentals and a complimentary midnight champagne toast.

Foundation Room Lounge at Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino offers sweeping views of the fireworks from the resort’s 63^rd floor. Nearby at the resort, S Bar puts on A Lavish Affair featuring live entertainment, food and beverage, a champagne toast and “surprises” throughout the evening.

Ghostbar at Palms Casino Resort offers views from the 55^th floor of the resort, indoor and outdoor seating and music from a local resident DJ.

Cabo Wabo Cantina at Miracle Mile Shops at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino will ring in 2024 with premium beverage packages and panoramic views of the Las Vegas Strip from its patio and loft.

Rouge Room at Red Rock Casino, Resort & Spa will host a New Year’s Eve party featuring live entertainment from Franky and the All-Nighters and a midnight champagne toast.

Eight Lounge at Resorts World Las Vegas will host football watch parties leading up to its New Year’s Eve Party, which features DJ Coffin Candy and a midnight champagne toast. Gatsby’s Cocktail Lounge, also at Resorts World Las Vegas, presents the day’s football action followed by a glitzy New Year’s Eve Party featuring DJ Kid Funk and a champagne toast provided by Moet & Chandon.

VooDoo Lounge at Rio Hotel & Casino puts on a Fireworks Viewing Party complete with an open bar, passed hors d’oeuvres and cityscape views from the resort tower’s 50^th and 51^st floors.

The STRAT Hotel, Casino & Tower will host a New Year’s Eve “Party at the Top” in its indoor Observation Deck, complete with views of the fireworks, party favors and live entertainment from local DJs.

Getting Around

The Las Vegas Monorail will be open round-the-clock for New Year’s Eve, offering locals and visitors the only motorized method of transportation along the Las Vegas Strip, which will be closed to all traffic in the hours leading up to 2024.

The Monorail will operate continuously from 7 a.m. Sunday, Dec. 31 until 2 a.m. Tuesday, Jan 2, 2024, for a total of 43 straight hours.

Locals can purchase $1 single-ride tickets at customer service booths located at every station (except Boingo Station at Las Vegas Convention Center) from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 31 with proof of Nevada I.D. For out-of-town guests, one-ride tickets are $6.

The Monorail also offers an eTicket discount on unlimited-ride passes starting at $13.45 for a 24-hour pass, which can be purchased online.

Monorail ticket holders looking for things to do in the destination over the holiday weekend are invited to take advantage of the “Show Your Ticket & Save” program, which provides discounts on shows, attractions, restaurants and more.

NYE Weddings in Las Vegas

With New Year’s Eve 2023 expected to be an extraordinarily popular wedding date in the Wedding Capital of the World™, the destination will open a pop-up Marriage License Bureau at Harry Reid International Airport (Terminal 1) from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. from Tuesday, Dec. 26 through Sunday, Dec. 31.

New Year’s Eve—or 12/31/23—includes the rare numerical sequence of 1-2-3-1-2-3, which is considered to be an especially appealing date for those planning their nuptials. Consequently, area chapels are experiencing high bookings for that date. This occasion marks the fifth time the Clerk’s Office will open a temporary Marriage License Bureau at the airport.

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ABOUT THE LVCVA

The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) is charged with marketing Southern Nevada as a tourism and convention destination worldwide and with operating the 4.6 million square-foot Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC). With more than 150,000 hotel rooms and more than 15 million square feet of meeting and exhibit space in Las Vegas alone, the LVCVA’s mission centers on attracting leisure and business visitors to the area. The LVCVA also owns the Vegas Loop at Las Vegas Convention Center, designed and operated by The Boring Company, and also owns the Las Vegas Monorail, an elevated 3.9-mile system with seven stops throughout the resort corridor. For more information, go to www.lvcva.com, www.visitlasvegas.com or www.vegasmeansbusiness.com.

Super Bowl LVIII: Las Vegas Encourages Excessive Celebration

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Super Bowl LVIII: Ochocinco and Tobe Nwigwe join Las Vegas to Encourage Excessive Celebration

By Joe Winger — 6 months ago

Las Vegas Launches Encourages Excessive Celebration at Super Bowl LVIII

Las Vegas, the Official Host City of Super Bowl LVIII, has launched a petition on Change.org urging football fans to encourage excessive celebration during the city’s first foray into hosting the Super Bowl on Sunday, Feb. 11, 2024. The petition was accompanied by a music video featuring former NFL All-Pro wide receiver Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson and Grammy-nominated artist Tobe Nwigwe.

The petition is a nod to the fact that while professional sports often restrict excessive celebrations, they are always encouraged in Las Vegas. “Whether you are on the Strip, in the stadiums, or just here for a good time, Las Vegas will forever be the home of excessive celebration,” reads the petition in part.

“Las Vegas is built for celebration,” said Steve Hill, president and CEO of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA). “People come to Vegas because they know that the excitement surrounding the game is just as important as the game itself. Whether they travel to watch the game in person or at a viewing party, fans know they will be surrounded by energy that is simply unmatched anywhere else in the world. As we prepare to welcome the Super Bowl for the first time, we are determined to show the world that when it comes to celebration, Las Vegas is in a category of one.”

Las Vegas is also partnering with late-night host Jimmy Kimmel to spread the word. The former Las Vegas local is supporting the destination’s initiative, including a special appearance by Johnson on Jimmy Kimmel Live! last night on ABC.

The 90 second music video—which will also be released in :30, :15 and :06 spots—includes re-creations of some of Johnson’s most iconic on-field moments, including his impromptu marriage proposal, river dance, and his unforgettable Hall of Fame jacket moment. The music video was shot in iconic locations across Las Vegas including Allegiant Stadium, Caesars Palace, Fremont Street Experience among others. The accompanying soundtrack includes an original track by artist and actor Nwigwe, who also was once a college football star being considered for the NFL Draft.

The Johnson and Nwigwe-led commercial spot will premiere on broadcast Thursday, Nov. 23 at 1:30 p.m. PST during the Thanksgiving Day game between the Washington Commanders and Dallas Cowboys.

The full video will also be featured on the Visit Las Vegas YouTube channel and all other social media platforms. The video and larger campaign were ideated and produced by R&R Partners, the brand agency of record for the LVCVA.

For more information about Las Vegas, please visit www.VisitLasVegas.com.

ABOUT THE LVCVA
The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) is charged with marketing Southern Nevada as a tourism and convention destination worldwide and with operating the 4.6 million square-foot Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC). With more than 150,000 hotel rooms and more than 15 million square feet of meeting and exhibit space in Las Vegas alone, the LVCVA’s mission centers on attracting leisure and business visitors to the area. The LVCVA also owns the Vegas Loop at Las Vegas Convention Center, designed and operated by The Boring Company, and also owns the Las Vegas Monorail, an elevated 3.9-mile system with seven stops throughout the resort corridor. For more information, go to www.lvcva.com, www.visitlasvegas.com or www.vegasmeansbusiness.com.

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Las Vegas Promises a Fast and Fun Weekend of Festivities During the Inaugural Formula 1 Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix

By Joe Winger — 6 months ago

Las Vegas Promises a Fast and Fun Weekend of Festivities During the Inaugural Formula 1 Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix

Las Vegas will celebrate the inaugural FORMULA 1 HEINEKEN SILVER LAS VEGAS GRAND PRIX taking place from Wednesday, Nov. 15 to Saturday, Nov. 18, with the race occurring at night on the legendary Las Vegas Strip.

Top-tier entertainment, opulent nightlife and exclusive dining experiences have surrounded the anticipated event. Here is a taste of what visitors can look forward to during the exciting weekend in the Sports and Entertainment Capital of the World.

OFFICIAL FORMULA 1 VIEWING EXPERIENCES

Grandstands, club and hospitality suites offer ticket holders complimentary food, beverage and entertainment from DJs and live acts throughout the race weekend.

Sports Illustrated’s Club SI will host an immersive, on-track experience with views of the high-speed action on Las Vegas Boulevard. The experience includes celebrity hosts Shaquille O’Neal and David Beckham, DJ sets, panels, passed hors d’oeuvres, food stations, cocktails and more.

Club Paris features Strip-side views of the race, food stations serving Alexxa’s high-end favorites and a menu of beer, wine and cocktails on Beer Park’s trackside terrace. The experience also features a bespoke lounge at Chéri Rooftop, complete with a DJ, live entertainment and passed bites and desserts.

The East Harmon Zone by Virgin Hotels Las Vegas features The Red Bull Energy Station as well as the Skybox, boasting views of along the starting grid and into the pit lane, an elevated food menu with Prohibition-era cocktails and access to the star-studded Opening Ceremony on Nov. 15 featuring all 20 F1® Drivers as well as performances by Andra Day, Bishop Briggs, J Balvin, Journey, Keith Urban, Steve Aoki, Thirty Seconds to Mars, and will.i.am.

Grandstands throughout the circuit offer varying viewpoints and assigned seats to ticketholders, who also enjoy complimentary water, soft drinks and food by Wolfgang Puck Catering. Grandstands are found in the East Harmon Zone by Virgin Hotels, West Harmon Zone by Chrome, T-Mobile Zone at Sphere and The Mirage Zone.

Located in the Pit Building just above the team garages, the Paddock Club™ includes 360˚views of the start/finish line, all-inclusive food and beverage, concierge services, exclusive experiences and more. A private area within the Pit Building, Wynn Grid Club is a stunning private hospitality experience that includes exclusive access to locations within the Pit Building, decadent cuisine, cocktails from expert mixologists and more.

The South Koval Zone by Caesars Rewards features views of the Koval Straightaway from Heineken House’s trackside nightlife experience complete with DJs, live entertainment, premium cocktails, interactive food stations and more.

The T-Mobile Zone at Sphere offers race attendees views of the racing action and electrifying performances from some of today’s most recognizable acts from the T-Mobile stage including Mark Ronson, Kylie Minogue, Nile Rodgers & Chic, A Trak, Major Lazer, J Balvin and more..

FESTIVITIES THROUGHOUT THE WEEKEND

Several venues in the destination will celebrate with special events, unique offers and more.

Bellagio Fountain Club at Bellagio Resort & Casino offers views from the hotel’s lake from Thursday, Nov. 16 to Saturday, Nov. 18. The experience is complete with live race coverage in Dolby Vision; live performances and driver appearances; open bar service; and culinary delights from several celebrated chefs including José Andrés, Christina Tosi, and Bryan and Michael Voltaggio. Also at the resort, Lío will take over Mayfair Supper Club from Sunday, Nov. 12 to Wednesday, Nov. 22. With the hotel’s fountains in the background, the cabaret dining experience from Ibiza offers live performances, exquisite costumes and a prix-fixe menu of Mediterranean fusion specialties.

Stadium Swim at Circa Resort & Casino transforms the pool amphitheater space on Saturday, Nov. 18 with racing décor and a display of an RB14 Static Car for fan photo opportunities. The venue will broadcast the race on its 143-foot, high-definition screen with full audio.

Boulevard Pool at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas presents AIOKA Race Weekend from Thursday, Nov. 16 to Saturday, Nov. 18. With views of the Strip, the rooftop event features live DJs, signature cocktails, culinary presentations and more.

Drai’s Beachclub & Nightclub at The Cromwell Las Vegas hosts VISTA Las Vegas, an experience in association with the McLaren Racing Formula 1 team from Thursday, Nov. 16 to Saturday, Nov. 18. The rooftop club offers fantastic Strip views and a live broadcast on LED screens throughout the venue. Hosted by Mark Wahlberg, the event also features live entertainment, DJ sets and racing commentary from F1 driver David Coulthard.

The Front Yard at Ellis Island Casino Hotel Brewery presents Turn 4 at Ellis Island from Thursday, Nov. 16 to Saturday, Nov. 18. The beer garden will have an outdoor platform and live race feed on over 20 televisions (including an 18-foot screen). The event is complete with food, soft drinks and Ellis Island’s brewed-on-site beer.

Mon Ami Gabi at Paris Las Vegas offers packages from Thursday, Nov. 16 to Saturday, Nov. 18, with seating options at its glass pavilion or famed Strip-side patio. The French restaurant will have monitors displaying F1 coverage and offer a special menu with thematic elements paying homage to the European countries that host F1.

Topgolf Las Vegas has more than 300 screens across its four levels, where guests can purchase a bay to hit the field while watching the action on television on Saturday, Nov. 18. The driving range-meets-entertainment complex also has a limited amount of tickets available for its Ferrari Champagne Bar on Level 4, which includes unlimited Ferrari Champagne from 9-10 p.m.

FOOD & BEVERAGE EXPERIENCES

Restaurants, bars and lounges are getting festive with special cocktail menus, wine lists and more.

Culinary Kickoff Grand Prix at offers a night of culinary extravagance at Allegiant Stadium on Thursday, Nov. 16, as the chef lineup features renowned talents like Todd English, Aaron May and Rick Moonen. The dining event features 14 to 16 interactive food stations, paired beverages, live entertainment and legendary guests from the NFL like Emmitt Smith and Charles Woodson.

Proper Bar at ARIA Resort & Casino will feature four cocktails themed to F1 drivers and teams from Thursday, Nov. 16 to Sunday, Nov. 19. Selections include the High Speed and Podium Paloma.

Caesars Entertainment presents several exclusive dining events with its culinary superstars. Gordon Ramsay will curate menus and make appearances at dinners at both Ramsay’s Kitchen by Gordon Ramsay at Harrah’s Las Vegas on Thursday, Nov. 16 and Gordon Ramsay Hell’s Kitchen at Caesars Palace on Friday, Nov. 17. Nobu Matsuhisa will lead sushi-making demonstrations at both Nobu at Caesars Palace on Friday, Nov. 17 and Nobu at Paris Las Vegas on Saturday, Nov. 18. Two special brunches are planned, as well: GIADA at The Cromwell with Giada De Laurentiis on Sunday, Nov. 19 and Vanderpump à Paris at Paris Las Vegas with Lisa Vanderpump.

The Laundry Room at Commonwealth will feature an automotive-inspired cocktail menu from Thursday, Nov. 16 to Sunday, Nov. 19. Visitors can enjoy libations including the Need for Speed and Checkered Past at the downtown speakeasy.

MGM Resorts International presents several exclusive dining events throughout the weekend. Chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten partners with Yamazaki Japanese whisky for a pairing dinner at Jean Georges Steakhouse at ARIA Resort & Casino on Friday, Nov. 17 before doing the same with Hundred Acre wines at PRIME Steakhouse at Bellagio Resort & Casino from Thursday, Nov. 16 to Saturday, Nov. 18. Also at ARIA Resort & Casino, Marco Carbone will curate a menu at a dinner paired with LOUIS XIII Cognac and Rémy Martin cocktails at Carbone. Also, at Bellagio, Le Cirque will feature a cognac experience with fifth-generation producer Bénédicte Hardy from Friday, Nov. 17 to Saturday, Nov. 18 and a dinner curated by James Kent on Friday, Nov. 17. Masaharu Morimoto will also curate a menu for an omakase dinner at Morimoto at MGM Grand Hotel & Casino.

Minus5° ICEBAR presents a Grand Prix-themed ice display and offers its GRAND PRIX ICE-P experience at The Venetian Resort Las Vegas from Thursday, Nov. 16 to Saturday, Nov. 18. The experience includes entry to the ice bar, cocktails, photos, souvenir items and entry to the sister location at The LINQ Promenade.

The Still at The Mirage Hotel & Casino and Tailgate Social Sports Bar & Grill at Palace Station Hotel & Casino will feature three F1 driver-inspired cocktails from Thursday, Nov. 16 to Saturday, Nov. 18, including the Verstappen Martini, Hamilton Highball and Ricciardo Refresher.

Piero’s Italian Cuisine will feature six sommelier selects of specialty wines honoring course landmarks from Thursday, Nov. 16 to Saturday, Nov. 18. Just off the Strip, the restaurant also will offer four cocktails themed to the participating countries, including Canada, France, Italy and the U.S.

The STRAT Hotel, Casino & Tower will feature racing-themed cocktails from Thursday, Nov. 16 to Saturday, Nov. 18, including the Flat Out and Pole Position. Participating bars include 108 Drinks, PT’s Wings & Sports, REMIX Lounge and View Lounge. The resort’s Top of the World restaurant will offer a “Circuit Tour” prix fixe menu, featuring four courses pulling inspiration from countries on the 2023 F1 calendar.

La Cave Wine & Food Hideaway at Wynn Las Vegas will feature a sommelier-select wine flight highlighting European regions along the 2023 race calendar.

Wynn Las Vegas offers a LOUIS XIII Cognac Pop-Up Boutique now through Tuesday, Nov. 28. The shop features an extensive selection (including The Iconic Collection, THE DROP Collection and RARE CASK 42.1), the brand’s bespoke accessories, and private appointments with a LOUIS XIII Ambassador.

MOTORSPORTS ACTIVITIES

Attractions throughout the destination offer automobile enthusiasts unique experiences, including the opportunity to get behind the wheel of a real racecar.

ARIA Resort & Casino hosts an Alfa Romeo Experience in its lobby, featuring the 2024 Alfa Romeo Tonale, the new Giulia and Stelvio, an Alfa Romeo F1 Team Stake Show Car, and a selection of racing gear available for purchase. On Wednesday, Nov. 15, the Alfa Romeo F1 Team Stake will unveil a unique vehicle livery to be used during the race, with special appearances by Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu.

Bellagio Resort & Casino presents a Ferrari Pop-Up Boutique from Monday, Nov. 13 to Monday, Nov. 20. The space will embody the retail concept under the creative direction of Rocco Iannone.

Dream Racing Las Vegas offers opportunities to experience driving on the world-famous Las Vegas Motor Speedway, where countless NASCAR drivers have proven their skills. Cars offered include models from Maserati, Ferrari, Corvette and more.

Four Seasons Las Vegas will feature the work of British artist and sculptor Paul Oz, known for traveling the globe to produce Formula 1-focused art. The exhibit runs through race weekend, featuring paintings and sculptures from his Formula 1 collection. Visitors can also experience Oz live painting in the hotel’s lobby throughout the weekend.

Las Vegas Off Road Experience offers a thrilling experience behind the wheel and off the track. Offerings include professional race trucks, dune buggies, Polaris RZRs and more.

Las Vegas Mini Grand Prix offers visitors a family-friendly approach to the racetrack. The go-karting attraction also features rides, slides, games and an arcade.

Palms Casino Resort will have four Ferraris on display in its lobby and valet from Sunday, Nov. 5 to Sunday, Nov. 19. Visitors can get up-close for a first-hand look at Ferrari models in pristine condition, including a red 333SP, a red LaFerrari FXX-K, a red Enzo FXX, and a black 599XX.

SunBuggy Fun Rentals Las Vegas offers off-roading rentals (including ATVs and dune buggies) and experiences that take visitors to locations throughout the Mojave Desert.

SPEEDVEGAS is a 100-acre motorsports complex where visitors can drive exotic supercars around a Formula 1-inspired racetrack with 12 sweeping turns, 15-degree bank turns, 60 feet of elevation change and a half-mile straightaway. Cars offered include models from Porsche, Lamborghini, McLaren and more.

The F1 Las Vegas Hub presented by American Express is open now through Wednesday, Nov. 22 in the Waterfall Atrium at The Venetian Resort Las Vegas. The state-of-the-art retail store features exclusive F1® merchandise and Las Vegas Grand Prix collaborations with some of the hottest brands in fashion, including Malbon Golf and UNDEFEATED. Available items will include eight Las Vegas Grand Prix collaborations for 2023, Formula 1® team gear and much more.

McLaren Experience Center at Wynn Las Vegas, Powered by O’Gara at Wynn Las Vegas offers an immersive brand experience for McLaren fans, enthusiasts and potential customers. The store features a rotating display of three McLaren supercars, opportunities for visitors to configure their own dream McLaren on the McLaren showroom vehicle configurator, and a racing simulator a professional driver coach.

ELECTRIFYING ENTERTAINMENT

Las Vegas always offers an impressive entertainment lineup including resident headliners, hilarious stand-up comedians and more.

Pop rock star Rod Stewart is back for more dates of his residency at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace on Wednesday, Nov. 15 and from Friday, Nov. 17 to Saturday, Nov. 18.

Rapper Jack Harlow takes the stage at The Chelsea at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas on Thursday, Nov. 16.

DJ Chris Lorenzo plays a set at the Downtown Las Vegas Events Center on Friday, Nov. 17.

Stand-up comic Bill Burr brings the laughs to Dolby Live at Park MGM on Friday, Nov. 17.

Country artist Keith Urban continues his residency at Bakkt Theater at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino on Wednesday, Nov. 15 and from Friday, Nov. 17 to Saturday, Nov. 18.

Comedians David Spade and Nikki Glaser team up for a show at The Venetian Theatre at The Venetian Resort Las Vegas on Thursday, Nov. 16 and Friday, Nov. 17.

Disco and funk artist Nile Rodgers and his band Chic play two nights at Voltaire Belle de Nuit at The Venetian Resort Las Vegas on Wednesday, Nov. 15 and Friday, Nov. 17.

WHERE TO KEEP THE PARTY GOING

Some of the world’s top DJs are bringing the noise around the clock to the destination’s luxurious dayclubs and state-of-the-art nightclubs.

Omnia Nightclub at Caesars Palace presents sets by Steve Aoki (Thursday, Nov. 16), Martin Garrix (Friday, Nov. 17) and Alesso (Saturday, Nov. 18).

Marquee Dayclub Dome at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas presents a set by Martin Garrix on Saturday, Nov. 18.

Marquee Nightclub at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas presents sets by Cedric Gervais on Friday, Nov. 17 and Mustard on Saturday, Nov. 18.

Inspire Nightclub & Lounge presents a set by Paul Oakenfold on Friday, Nov. 17.

Hakkasan Nightclub at MGM Grand Hotel & Casino presents sets by Fat Joe on Thursday, Nov. 16, Fisher on Friday, Nov. 17 and Steve Aoki on Saturday, Nov. 18.

Zouk Nightclub at Resorts World Las Vegas presents a performance by Travis Scott on Thursday, Nov. 16, and sets by Zedd and DJ Snake on Friday, Nov. 17 and Tiësto on Saturday, Nov. 18.

TAO Nightclub at The Venetian Resort Las Vegas presents a set by Lil Jon on Saturday, Nov. 18.

Voltaire Belle de Nuit at The Venetian Resort Las Vegas presents Amber Lounge, an exclusive afterparty experience following the race on Saturday, Nov. 18. The pop-up features a performance by Kylie Minogue and a DJ set from Jellybean Benitez.

Encore Beach Club at Wynn Las Vegas presents sets by Dom Dolla and Purple Disco Machine on Friday, Nov. 17; ESPN’s Official Pre-Race Party with Marshmello and special guest Tyga on Saturday, Nov. 18; and a set by The Chainsmokers on Sunday, Nov. 19.

XS Nightclub at Wynn Las Vegas presents sets by Marshmello on Wednesday, Nov. 15; Sports Illustrated Circuit Series with The Chainsmokers on Thursday, Nov. 16: Swedish House Mafia on Friday, Nov. 17; Calvin Harris, Diplo and Dom Dolla on Saturday, Nov. 18; and RÜFÜS DU SOL and Black Coffee on Sunday, Nov. 19.

GETTING AROUND THE DESTINATION

Offering seven stops along the Strip, the Las Vegas Monorail will operate continuously from 7 a.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 14 through 3 a.m. on Monday, Nov. 20, ensuring fans can conveniently access the race footprint. Attendees can plan ahead and find the closest station to each race zone via this easy to follow map.

Individual rides and multi-day passes can be purchased at a discounted rate here.

For more information about Las Vegas, please visit www.VisitLasVegas.com.

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Holidays 2023: Fresh Victor creates Fast, Delicious Craft Cocktails with Fresh, Organic and Full Flavor Mixers

By Joe Winger — 6 months ago

Holidays 2023: Fresh Victor Puts the the drinker in charge with Fresh, Organic and Full Flavor Mixers.

Fresh Victor is how you make fast, delicious craft cocktails and amazing mocktails — Every. Single. Time.

Fresh Victor is a line of premium mixers for consistently delicious and efficient cocktails (and mocktails too.)

H. Ehrmann knows his cocktails

H. Ehrmann is a bartender and drinks industry consultant who runs Elixir, one of the most influential bars in San Francisco. In the industry for 35 years, owned a bar for 20 years.

Recently he hosted a virtual mixer walking us through several cocktails using Fresh Victor as the mixer: from non-alcoholic, to low alc, to full alcoholic.

Cold-pressed juice-based cocktail mixers. They have added sugar, either organic cane sugar or agave nectar used to balance out citrus levels to hit the intended brix level for most cocktails.

Holidays 2023: Fresh Victor creates Fast, Delicious Craft Cocktails

For example, with the Lemon Sour, the base is known as a pretty simple flavor profile. You can add another layer of flavor complexity (like a liqueur). But the Fresh Victor mixer was designed to have more depth, a bit more bitterness to handle any additional sweetness added.

Fresh Victor +1 or +2

All of the Fresh Victor bottles are designed to make delicious cocktails, but simply and easier. How? The amount of cocktails that can be made by adding just 1 or 2 ingredients plus the Fresh Victor mixer.

+1 is agave and tequila. Lemon Sour and whiskey.

+2 might be carbonation, frothing, aromatics, like: tonic, soda water, champagne, egg white, bitters.

Fresh Victor creates Fast, Delicious Craft Cocktails

“2-3 pours and a lot of flavor”

– H. Ehrmann

With those 3 elements and Fresh Victor’s 9 flavors, you can end up with dozens of drinks. From classics, to a spin-off of a classics (including mocktails).

Mixing ratios: 1: 1 and 2: 1.

1 1 / 2 oz of spirit to 2 ounces of mixer

2 oz of spirit to 2 ounces of mixer

If the drinker likes the taste of the alcohol, they want that taste to “punch” through, then then 2:2 is better for them. If they want the flavor sweeter, iding behind the mixer, 2:1 is the answer for them.

Fresh Victor is a mixer, not a juice. So it’s meant to take on dilution as you build your cocktail. Right out of the bottle, it’s a bit more concentrated, more dense. Meant to be stirred, shaken, reduced down without watering down the flavor. It can dilute 15-20% without losing quality.

Using Fresh Victor, you can create a 32 oz, 64 oz or a gallon punch bowl for a holiday party in less than 5 minutes. And it’s not a simple, lame flavor. It’s complex.

Orchard Bliss Royale

Non-alcoholic. When you add Champagne or Sparkling, it’s called “Royale” and today’s drink is adding Sparkling Cider.

4 oz sparkling cider

2 oz Fresh Victor (Three Citrus and Mint Leaf)

Garnish with dehydrated apple slices

The nose is refreshing. Vibrant apple. Effervescent on the palate, from the Sparkling. A balance of lemon, lime, orange. Plump, but not overwhelming. Mint notes that bring a tertiary element.

Suggestions include playing with adding a shot of vodka, rum or tequila, any of which would work well.

Fresh Victor mixers give a fruit-forward base that makes it easy to play and experiment with.

Winter Spice Tonic

“When mixed well, Gin impacts the overall character of your drink, but doesn’t get in your face”.

1 oz Tanqueray london dry gin

1 Oz Fresh Victor (Cactus Pomegranate)

4 oz Fever Tree Tonic

Aromatic bitters

Garnish with vanilla bean, All-spice berries, Dehydrated Lemon

The nose is immediately the charming, floral aromatics you’d expect from the gin. Then slowly the baking spices express themselves. Deep character layers and complexity. A gush of tonic, then lingering vanilla and lemon.

Definitely a gin drink for someone who’s not a gin fan as it showcases the best of gin without being overwhelming.

H. Ehrmann with the Fresh Victor Winter Spice Tonic

Love a standard gin drink? Try Gin and Tonic with Fresh Victor’s Cucumber and Lime!

H. Ehrmann feels one the the reasons Fresh Victor is so popular is because people want to be able to make easy drinks at home that still have amazing flavor.

“I’ve taught cocktail classes for over ten years. As much as students love it and geek out over cocktail details at the bar. When they get home to their kitchen, they still prefer to have something easy. That’s a huge part of when Fresh Victor is.”

One of the keys to Fresh Victor is adaptability. The drinks are scalable and easy to experiment with. Having more guests than expected? Want stronger drinks? No alc of low-alc drinks?

“The 2 things that show us down when drinking cocktails, alcoholic strength and bitterness. Those are things that help us drag a cocktail out 10-20 minutes. Like, intentional speed bumps to keep you from drinking too fast. So removing the alcohol from a recipe, removes that speed bump. Adding more bitters, adds it back. It helps a non-alco drink feel more like a cocktail.”

How did Fresh Victor launch and grow during the struggles of the pandemic? Luck, hardwork and finding an audience that wants flavor. H. Ehrmann explains:

“Just before Covid, we decided to focus Fresh Victor on bars and restaurants. So Covid hits. We decided to re-package into a 16 oz bottle. Within 6 weeks we had these bottles available in 7 states direct to consumer. Within 2 months, we had 48 states direct to consumer. I shifted to selling cocktail kits from home and Fresh Victor was the perfect partner for me. Take a liter of tequila and a 64 oz bottle of Mexican lime and agave, you can make 32 margaritas. I was selling those kits like crazy. People were re-ordering every other day.”

Figtorious Celebrations

2 oz of Fresh Victor (grapefruit and sea salt)

2 oz VSOP brandy

1 / 2 oz fig syrup

Try thinking of Fresh Victor less as a mixer or a juice and more as an ingredient. Think of it as an ingredient where you can use as much or as little as you want to make a more complex drink.

Explore from a culinary point of view. What other flavors mix?

Fresh Victor is all about experimenting. Trying different flavors. Adding spirits, garnishes and mixers that might not be traditional.

“All the ways you can use Fresh Vector. I went through the lexicon of cocktails. What can I make with lemon sour? What can I make with Mexican Agave? Then I’d look at more unique flavor profile and ask myself what can I make with that?”

H. Ehrmann with the Fresh Victor Figtorious Celebrations

Fresh Victor Holidays Flavors

H. Ehrmann suggests a twist this cold, holiday season. Think like a Hot Toddy. Simply warm up your Whiskey Sour, Lemon Drop, even your sangria. Anything that would normally go with ice, this time heat it up warm and toasty.

Author

About the Author

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If more people feel better about themself, that is incredible.

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“…I’ve been a big Mezcal lover before I ever sold it…”

“…everyone has a very unique artistic background, which really reflects the brand and the label…”

“…I’ve been working in the alcohol industry for almost 15 years …”

Discovering Madre Mezcal

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“…I want to know if this caught you off guard, but…”

“I really love the idea of cocktail smoking kits. […] It’s another tool to have a great night.

“In every smoker kit you get six different chip flavors, the culinary torch, the smoke lid. Ice tongs, whiskey stones.”

“That’s going to make you the hero of the party. You’re the one who brings the cool stuff.”

“What’s going to make people upgrade a scotch that costs hundreds of dollars?”

The Specialty Food Association (SFA) was founded in 1952 and is the not-for-profit trade association of the $194 billion specialty food industry.

H. Ehrmann knows his cocktails

Fresh Victor +1 or +2

Orchard Bliss Royale

Winter Spice Tonic

Figtorious Celebrations

Fresh Victor Holidays Flavors

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