These days it’s nearly impossible to find a good martini. And it’s all James Bond’s fault. He popularized the vodka martini and gin became as unhip as a handlebar mustache. Cocktails, like clothes, are as much governed by fashion as they are by taste, so I am pleased to report, that the classic martini, “the elixir of quietude,” as E.B. White called it, is making a comeback. And here’s how to make it the modern gentleman way...[Read More]

It will come as a surprise to everyone except those that know me, that I still have not mastered every single talent that a modern gentleman must possess. Tie a bow tie? No problem. Properly clipping & lighting a cigar? Can do it in my sleep. Drive a golf ball 300 yards? I have witnesses. Open a bottle of champagne with a champagne saber? Utter failure.

We have been selling the Laguiole Champagne Saber for a couple of years now, and any gentleman would admit that it appears to be the coolest possible way to open a bottle of champagne. We published instructions from UrbanDaddy which take you step-by-step through the process. Those instructions in hand, I attempted with no less than half a dozen bottles and was unable to successfully open a single one. In my defense, the instructions clearly indicate that the bottle should be chilled, and mine were room temperature, and as a junk scientist, I will use that as my excuse.  

With the holidays approaching, the Champagne Sabers are flying out of here at a pace not seen since the days of Napoleon. I thought it would help to again look for a resource to help people actually use the product. A search on "the Google" yielded some video results from YouTube, and to my surprise, there was a video of a true "modern gentleman", Jason Tesauro, author of The Modern Gentleman, "beheading a bottle of champagne". Cheers! 

Even the box-wine connoisseur probably knows that there are different glasses for red wine and white wine. It has long been recognized that the stemware that is used to drink a wine or spirit can affect the experience of enjoying said wine or spirit. Certain sizes, shapes, curves, depths, and mouths can influence how aromas are released, and therefore, how a given wine or spirit is experienced.

But if you thought you were prepared with red wine glasses, white wine glasses, some cognac snifters, and rocks glasses, Enrico Bernardo's nose says you were sadly mistaken. In October 2004, Enrico Bernardo became the youngest ever World Champion Sommelier at the tender age of 27. The Italian-born Sommelier currently manages the coveted cellar of Le Cinq in Paris, which happens to be a Michelin 3 star restaurant.

Schott-Zwiesel has been making stemware since 1872, and has manufactured stemware for some of the leaders in the industry for decades. Recently, they spent months working with Bernardo on the most innovative line of mouth-blown stemware we have ever seen.

How hardcore is it? There isn't a single glass for red wine. Instead, there's a glass for "Soft Red Wine", "Mature Red Wine", a 22 oz. Red Wine glass and a 23.7 oz. Red Wine glass, and of course, a "Mature, Soft Red Wine" glass". Seriously. Five different red wine glasses depending on the characteristics of the red wine. There are 18 glasses total in the line -- barely enough to serve just your Reds, Whites, Sparkling and Dessert Wines.

The entire line of his stemware can be admired here, and we'll let you know when he releases the "Soft, Mature Box Wine Glass".

If you haven't seen Batman Begins, you really should; it's probably the best in the series. And if you see it after having read this blog, there are scenes in which you'll wonder why Bruce Wayne didn't call up Bacchus Caves. They could have helped with a certain DIY project.

Originally targeting large commercial clients like wineries, Bacchus Caves has recently seen a seismic shift (pun intended) in its business toward private client projects. Clients from coast to coast are putting home theaters, dining rooms, game rooms, libraries, and of course wine cellars, in secret underground lairs.

And why not? At $150 to $350 per square foot including all excavation and finishing, caves can be much cheaper than the $500/sq. ft. cost of aboveground construction. It is also usually easier to get permits for cave construction as they are subject to fewer technical regulations than additions or remodels.

Bacchus Caves is presently carving caverns into the hillsides of the San Francisco Bay Area, greater Los Angeles, and beyond. Caves range in size from 66 square feet to 42,000 square feet, and vary in function from music production studio, to art gallery, to dramatic dining chamber, to wine storage site. Anything is possible underground. Just ask Batman.

If you thought it was only fashion that went in and out with the seasons, think again. Our recent tour of the Niman Ranch facility sparked some interesting conversation about which beef/lamb/pork products are most popular at different times of the year. We thought we'd share this newfound wisdom:

January: New Year's calls for a roast like Prime Rib, Rack of Lamb or a Ham

February: Valentine's Day means a Beef Filet or Tenderloin

March: March Madness means Ribs, Franks, or Burgers

April: Easter Sunday can be Ham or Lamb ; Beef Brisket for the Passover seder

May: New York Steaks hit the mark on Mom's Day

June: Memorial Day marked the beginning of Grill Season; try Bill Niman's favorite.

July: Still Grill Season; try the Mixed Grill

August: Silence of the Lambs.

September: Labor Day marks the end of Grilling Season; despair.

October: Stews will keep you warm & toasty through April

November: Roasts are the most; in Beef, Pork or Lamb

December: Christmas brings Santa & Ham; Hannukah means 8 days of New York Strip Roasts!

If the price of gasoline is putting a strain on your wallet, the prices of single malt scotch are about to blow your mind as well.

Consider this: within the last year, the price of a bottle of Macallan 18-year-old, has risen from $76 to $110, while the Macallan 30-year-old has jumped from $349 to $560 in that same period. That's inflation on the order of 60% a year. Yet Fed Reserve Chairman Greenspan has done nothing to calm fears about single malt inflation.

One factoid that should scare you? Although Scotland's approximately 100 distilleries produce more than 10 million cases of scotch a year, most are blends; only about 2 percent ends up in the much smaller category of single malts.

We're not selfishly urging you to stock up on your favorite bottles of single malt scotch; we're just saying we think you should stock up on your favorite bottles of single malt scotch. Read the full article here.