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The Classicist: The New Ritz-Carlton Bar Experience

Filed under: Dining, Luxury Travel & Hotels, Spirits, The Classicist

The Ritz-Carlton is rolling out a new "Bar Experience" at its luxurious properties worldwide, building on a tradition of elegant cocktails and catering to a new generation of patrons. Where once such bars were once noted for their high-end singles scenes and some serious drinking, the company's latest research shows they are now primarily visited by those more interested in socializing with friends and colleagues, and hence food is increasingly important. So is the whole concept of "comfort" as opposed to ostentation. The new Ritz-Carlton bar experience includes both new cocktails, new appetizers and even edible cocktails. The impeccable service remains as always.

The new bar menu features gourmet comfort food meant for sharing among a group. The final menu includes 30 snazzy snacks such as brie and parsley risotto balls, smoked salmon and arugula egg rolls, chilly water lobster flat bread and calamari in remoulade sauce. Each Ritz-Carlton property features a selection of these 30 in addition to some local specialties. The idea behind the whole project is to reinvigorate and reposition the brand, eliminating the "illusion of rigidity" and prohibitive priciness the luxe chain may have given off in the past and "creating a nice environment where you feel comfortable" in the bars and lounges.

We went down to the elegant bar at 2 West at the amazing Ritz-Carlton Battery Park in New York City to experience it firsthand the other night and got extremely comfortable, so we would say it's definitely working. On the cocktail front, among our favorites was the Sunsplash, made with Grey Goose L'Orange vodka, Cointreau, fresh lemon and orange juice, and cranberry. Another standout was the Ritz-Carlton Martini, made with Tanqueray No. 10 gin, simple syrup, peeled English cucumber, mint and lime juice. Food-wise we particularly enjoyed the Italian spicy sausage and artichoke pizza, the mini Black Angus beef sliders, and the plate of artisanal cheeses served with quince paste, honey comb and chutney.

Gallery: New Ritz-Carlton Bar Experience

Tags: bar, Bulgari, cocktails, Cointreau, Frette, Grey Goose, GreyGoose, hotel, Ritz-Carlton, Ritz-Carlton Battery Park, Ritz-carltonBatteryPark, vodka

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Tommy Bahama Bar Brings Island Style To Yankee Stadium

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining, Sports

Yankee Stadium has a wide variety of places to eat but there are also places to drink. Lifestyle brand Tommy Bahama has created the Tommy Bahama's Bar which overlooks the Great Hall that serves as the main entrance and a meeting place for fans. Yankee Stadium ticket-takers will be wear blue polo shirts or half-zip pullover sweatshirts with the New York Yankees insignia on the left chest and the Tommy Bahama marlin on the left sleeve. Select Tommy Bahama merchandise will also be sold at Yankee Stadium. The bar also serves drinks using the Tommy Bahama Rum making it a nice tie-in for the brand even if rum isn't the usual baseball drink of choice.

The Tommy Bahama bar is just one of the many branded areas in the stadium. For an interesting tour of the many sights to be seen check out this post from Retail Anarchy.

Tags: bar, tommy bahama, TommyBahama, yankee stadium, YankeeStadium

The Marcel at Gramercy Gets Set for Summer

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining, Luxury Travel & Hotels

Manhattan's The Marcel at Gramercy, which unveiled a luxe new makeover a few months back transforming the quaint 3 star hotel into a chic and stylish 4 star standout, is putting the finishing touches on its much-awaited rooftop bar in preparation for the warmer weather. We hear it's going to be open by June, and while the chic watering hole with a stunning view of the Empire State Building will officially only be open to hotel guests, we're told a select number of civilians will be allowed to pass the portals each evening as well. It should make a welcome respite from the extremely over-the-top Gramercy Park Hotel nearby.

Meanwhile, a new restaurant / bar has opened in the hotel's ground floor space with its massive windows affording a great view of the street scene. It now houses a branch of hip Lower East Side fave 'inoteca, the prized panini-and-vino specialist, with fresh-squeezed juice at the bar. The vibe is very Milan Fashion Week, and the wine list has over 600 selections representing every wine making region in Italy. Now housing 135 rooms, the Marcel's new amenities include Frette linens, marble bathrooms, iPod docking stations and LCD TVs. A spa and gym are also in the works.

Gallery: The Marcel at Gramercy

Tags: bar, boutique hotel, BoutiqueHotel, Frette, Gramercy Park, GramercyPark, inoteca, Manhattan, New York, NewYork

PX, Elegant Drinks In D.C.

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining, Spirits

If you are wondering where to find a good drink in the Washington D.C.area, the Washbiz blog has a piece on the lounge, PX, that will make you want to sidle up to the bar. PX seats just 32 people, eight seats at the bar are for walk-ins and the rest must be reserved. Drinks are steep too, $11 to $19 for a cocktail. But what you get is the equivalent of fin dining in a glass. Bartender Todd Thrasher makes even the simple sublime, using home-made cola for your rum and Coke, quinine is shipped in weekly from a health food store in Nevada for his homemade tonic. Juices are fresh squeezed and only top shelf liquors are used. Thrasher even makes his own bitters which change seasonally. The bar is small and intimate with a speakeasy vibe featuring warm wood and twinkling chandeliers.

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Tags: bar, drinks, lounge, px, washington dc, WashingtonDc

The World's First All-Organic Bar

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining

The world's first all-organic bar opened in New York City recently opened inside GustOrganic, an all-organic restaurant. The bar uses entirely organic spirits, beers, cocktails, wine, liquor and fresh organic fruit. It is the first bar to be certified organic by the USDA. Treehugger checked out the scene and reported that the fresh fruit cocktails were particularly memorable. In addition to organic food and drink GustOrganic has a wind turbine for power and e menus are made from 100 percent recycled paper and printed with soy ink.

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Tags: bar, cocktails, food, gustorganic, new york city, NewYorkCity, organic, wine

Stock Your Home Bar with Ralph Lauren

by Rigel Celeste (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Decor, Spirits

No home bar is complete without stylish glassware, trays, and other accessories (like this leather-bound martini shaker, $295) to enhance your presentation and round out the mood of luxurious relaxation. Ralph Lauren has quite the collection of home accessory items for the kitchen or home bar that utilizes classics like crystal and stainless steel and modernizes them with the rugged and sophisticated masculine energy of leather accents. Serving trays, glassware, decanters, a lead crystal ice bucket with leather handle ... there's something for everybody. $195-$395

I agree with what acquire had to say -- very 007.

Gallery: Ralph Lauren Home Accessories

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Tags: 007, bar, decor, drinks, glassware, home, home bar, HomeBar, martini, Ralph Lauren, RalphLauren

Lux Tip: Go Somewhere Fancy

by Annie Scott (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining, Lux Tips

I could be a really strong mojito. Who knows?

Feeling out of touch with the finer things in life? Head to the swankiest bar in town--we particularly recommend a hotel bar.

Safety first--tell a friend where you're going. If you're not going to a hotel bar, where it's perfectly normal to be alone, take the friend along.

If you're lucky enough to live in a town with a great hotel, enter the stunning foyer day or night with a good book and head for the bar. You can pretend you're a visiting prince or princess from Morocco, or that you're waiting for your European lover to meet you, whatever you like. Order yourself a club soda with lime. It's likely to be cheap and looks just like a gin and tonic. Who knows, your next drink might be free!

You can people watch or just sink into the lush decor, soft light, and meticulously planned ambiance and be transported.

It's just another easy way to make life more lux for cheap or free.

Tags: bar, drinking, feeling glamorous, lux tip

The Drink Station

by Rigel Celeste (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Gadgets, Spirits

These mobile bar systems are always interesting to me because everything is so condensed and cute, and I think if I had one I'd be having outdoor parties every weekend just so I'd have an excuse to wheel it out. This Drink Station by Opulent Items is imported from Germany and has features including a refrigerator, ice machine, flute holders, bottle bins, and wooden serving shelf. It comes pre-assembled (except for some of the minor side attachments) but heads up, the ice machine reservoir doesn't fill itself (you can't hook it up to a water source to fill automatically) and although you can wheel it around wherever you want, you'll have to stay close to a power outlet if you want the fridge to stay cold. It sells for $10,000.

Via Martini Groove

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Tags: bar, drink, drink station, DrinkStation, liquor, mobile bar, mobile drink station, MobileBar, MobileDrinkStation, opulent items, OpulentItems, spirits

Belvedere Launches Online Drink Buying Program

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Spirits

Belvedere Vodka has been trying to go for the cutting edge lately. First there was the racy ad campaign with art photographer Terry Richardson, shown at left, now the company is launching a new branded gift card program with BuyYourFriendADrink.com. This is the first time that a spirits brand has offered a branded gift card for on-premise purchase through the company. The way it works is that you visit the BuyYourFriendABelvedere.com website and purchase a gift card for any dollar amount. The recipient can redeem the gift card or a Belvedere drink at participating bars and restaurants. Of course it does require knowing the email of the person you want to give the drink to so it's not so great for sending a drink to that hot stranger across the room.

[via Wine & Spirits Daily]

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Tags: bar, belvedere, cocktails, drinks, vodka, website

Waterford Bar Trunk

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Decor

Waterford Crystal has created the ultimate bar in a box. Their bar trunk has brass latches, leather trim and a rosewood interior with drawers for your tools and racks for both wine and spirits. Inside the trunk is stocked with crystal stemware, barware, canape plates and sterling silver bar tools. The trunk sells for $16,000.

[via Liquor Snob]

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Tags: bar, barware, cabinet, trunk, waterford

Virtual Bartender

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Gadgets, Spirits

Here's what might be the ultimate gadget for your home bar. The My Fountain can store and dispense 16 chilled liquids. Put in your mixers, liquors and other beverages and the machine can dole out both single liquids or drinks based on recipes. The machine can also be password protected for different users. The machine sells for $2,500 and is available for pre-order now although it won't be out until next year. Combine this with an Enomatic for your wine and you could open your own automated bar.

[via Gizmodo]

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Tags: bar, bartender, drinks, gadgets, virtual bartender

The Leonardo Bar Trolley

by Rigel Celeste (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Decor, Gadgets

If you have reason to trolley your bar goods around, the Leonardo Bar Trolley will provide a uniquely stylish way to do it. Although it's not shiny or glitzy, this trolley definitely doesn't strike the eye as particularly simple either. Two storage surfaces of phenolic plywood are surrounded by concentric elliptical shapes on a stainless steel frame, with a result looking somewhat like the rings of a planet hovering around your glassware. And although the one wheel on the front and single T leg on the back design makes me think of a wheel barrow, this trolley is anything but farmy.

Via Wists

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Tags: bar, leonardo, trolley, trolly

Carl Martens Briefcase Bar

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Decor, Wine

The bar briefcase by Carl Mertens can make you the McGyver of the bar. The James Bond-like aluminum case can work as a briefcase and has compartments for files, business cards, pens and a cell phone but in a flash it can also function as a portable bar. It comes with a 14-piece bar set that includes a strainer, ice tongs, jigger, cocktail shakers, a knife, cutting board and even a pestle. The briefcase also has two combination locks. It sells for $650.

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Tags: bar, bar accessories, briefcase, carl mertens, cocktail shaker

"Bar" Does Not Mean "Sports Bar"

by Trey Evans (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining, Spirits

The omission of words can be just as powerful as the addition of them. So when I say that I'm going to go enjoy a cocktail at a bar while the college superbowl whatever-it's-called is going on, I mean exactly that. What a perfect time to go out and enjoy a nice glass of scotch and a cigar; the bars won't be crowded because Johnny Sportsfan will be watching some team that isn't UT play some other team. Meanwhile, it's the perfect time for me to sip a glass of Johnnie Blue Label and not be bothered. While it may seem like a superficial semantic argument, it also reflects on our society turning away from classic bars to hybrid drinking establishments - some with their 60" plasma TVs with the ESPN logo burned in to them, and others filled with loud techno music and females who apparently haven't paid for a drink in their life. Though the cocktail was born in either Boston or New Orleans (I'd prefer to think Boston) and was perfected in the time of prohibition, it's hard to find a quality bar in America these days. I can think of two (VBar, Cohiba) in this city, maybe a half dozen in the metropolitan area I'm originally from (the bar at Mac's is a personal favorite), but that doesn't really count for much. Sure, there are plenty of real bars in New York, but The City has plenty of everything. I was in Paris a couple of years ago, and it was hard to not find a nice bar. I just think it's sad that the place where the cocktail was born no longer honors it, and those who truly take pleasure in what they drink are forced to do so with people who drink for sport. So, do any Luxist readers care to share what real bars still exist that they frequent?

Tags: bar, club, lounge, sports bar, SportsBar

Inflatable Bars

by Nicole Weston (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Decor

I suppose that the purpose of an inflatable bar is so that you don't have to commit a lot of room to storing a more solid piece of furniture year-round when you really only need something to use every few months. Bubble Miami makes inflatable bars, buffets and coffee tables in a number of different sizes, shapes and colors. They can hold a substantial amount of weight, certainly enough for the bottles, glasses and any hors d'oeuvres that you might put on them, and are quite sturdy, too. The company both sells and rents the units, but you'll have to call for pricing information and to find the one that will best suit your needs.

[via cribcandy]

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Tags: bar, bubble, bubble miami, inflatable, inflatable bar, party

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