Wine & Spirits - Winter 2017 - 128

GET CARDED
What was the first cocktail invented in the US?
What's the minimum time required to age Scotch
whisky? Test your knowledge or stump the know-itall in the room with Ridley's Games Room Food &
Drink trivia cards-140 cards on all things edible.
$12 per pack at bloomingdales.com

SEND SNAIL MAIL
Taylor Knapp hatched the idea for Peconic Escargot
when he was working as a chef on the North Fork
of Long Island, and couldn't find local snails. This
June he opened his farm in Cutchogue, NY, raising
Petit Gris, a French heritage species, on wild foraged greens, and finishing them on a diet of acorns
and spent beer grains. Plump, earthy and nutty,
they are delivered to your door uncooked. Give the
unshelled version a bath in crushed tomatoes,
anchovies, garlic and chile flakes and arrange them
over crusty semolina bread with fresh mint; or dot
the in-shell variety with herb-garlic butter and bake
until sizzling.
¼ pound shelled, $25; ½ pound shelled, $40;
one dozen in shell, $15; four dozen in shell, $36 at
peconicescargot.com

THE
GOODS

SAY CHEESE
Soaked for five days in local lagrein wine, herbs, garlic and pepper, the Weinkase Lagrein cheese comes
from Italy's Alto-Adige region, along the Austrian border. Six weeks after the steep, the pasteurized cow's
milk cheese is transformed, meaty and creamy, with
a spicy bite around the purple-tinged rind.
$23 per pound at murrayscheese.com/
weinkase-lagrein

by Deanna Gonnella

BOTTOMS UP
Artist Laura Lobdell's storefront is located at
183 1 8 West 10th Street in New York City-yes,
18
. The space, just 4 by 16 feet, is fit for a fairy;
a Champagne fairy that is. The Champers Ring
is her little reminder to celebrate every day, and
just one of the many pieces from her whimsical
Drinks Champagne collection. Each piece can
be hand engraved or sprinkled with diamond
"bubbles."
Champers Ring, $498 at lauralobdell.com

TAKE IT FOR A SPIN
Mixing up cocktails? Do it with the ease of a professional by using the OXO spinning bar spoon.
Standard length, the spoon spins, keeping the back
against the glass and preventing the ice from chipping, which keeps the cocktail clear.
OXO Good Grips Spinning Bar Spoon, $15 at oxo.com

128

WINE & SPIRITS

BUYING GUIDE 2018

FOR THE DESIGNATED DRIVER
Inspired by the mention of non-alcoholic distillates
in John French's The Art of Distillation, published in
1651, Seedlip founder Ben Branson purchased a
copper still and began experimenting in his kitchen
in Buckinghamshire, England. So far, he's introduced two cuvées: Garden 108, an herbal and floral distillate of peas, hay and herbs grown on the
family farm; and Spice 94, a blend of distillates of
Jamaican allspice berries, cardamom, oak, cascarilla bark, lemon and grapefruit peel, bottled without sugar or alcohol. With a woodsy and refreshing
scent that recalls a clove-spiked orange, it makes a
complex nonalcoholic aperitif best enjoyed over ice
with tonic water.
Seedlip Nonalcoholic Spirits, $40/700ml
at food52.com

photo of Peconic Escargot by Katelyn Knapp

RING IN THE NEW YEAR

Oaxacans have a saying:
para todo mal, mezcal, y para
todo bien también (for everything
bad, mezcal; for everything good, the
same). Sarah Welch throws these ceramic
copitas for sipping-glazing and firing them in layers to create variation in each piece.
Set of six, $40 at sarahwelchpottery.etsythemeshop.com

http://www.bloomingdales.com http://murrayscheese.com/weinkase-lagrein http://murrayscheese.com/weinkase-lagrein http://www.peconicescargot.com http://sarahwelchpottery.etsythemeshop.com http://sarahwelchpottery.etsythemeshop.com http://www.lauralobdell.com http://www.oxo.com http://www.food52.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Wine & Spirits - Winter 2017