Hasta La Ideas

Stockholm’s first and only members bar, the recently-opened Safiren Apt 606 serves up Bombay Sapphire-based drinks. Hidden within Stockholm’s stylish Story Hotel, Apt 606 offers members an urban retreat that even guests aren’t privy to.

A gin heavily focused on quality both in taste and design (the brand has its own award for glass design), Bombay compliments the club’s smooth aesthetic well. Members can choose from a variety of top-notch cocktails including the tempting Bombay Sapphire Rose, the classic Dry Martini (favored by the late Queen Mother), and a take on Robert De Niro’s tipple of choice, the Bramble—with all the recipes published (with downloadble PDFs) on the Apt 606 site.

The bar itself, a low-key affair, mixes vintage curiosity items with modern luxury for a casually sophisticated feel, accented by fabrics in rich tones of oxblood, maroons and deep turquoise.

In keeping with the air of secrecy surrounding most bars of its ilk, Apt 606 doesn’t take applications. Instead, selected members receive a key to access the private bar. Tucked away from the main drinking space of the hotel, the slightly protracted entry process only makes for an even greater feeling of seclusion and privilege.

CMYK Cocktail, presented by Tasteologie and Droog design, interprets color into alcohol and other goodies with an experimental mixology presentation this coming 28 March 2010.

Five mixologists and five designers will use the CMYK colors (cyan, magenta, yellow, black and white) to create singular cocktails and accompanying treats at Droog’s Soho store, with proceeds from the event benefiting the Food Bank of New York.

Orson Salicetti of Apothéke, Mayur Subbarao of Dram Bar, Tomas Delos Reyes, Brian Sullivan of Method Lab Design and Mihir Desai will create the drinks. Designers Tobias Wong and curator Josee Lepage, Joshua Walton and James Tichenor, Renda Morton and Seymour Chwast will each present one of the drinks and how their representative color effects “how and what we consume.”

Guests will receive a limited edition, hand-screened CMYK gift bag. And no cocktail party is complete without an open bar. Visit Tasteologie to purchase tickets, which start at $60 each.

Kelpie Seaweed Ale

This Scottish brew uses fresh bladder rack seaweed in their mash tun to infuse the barley with a peculiar hint of briny plant goodness. The seaweed provides background hints of salt and peat that play with dark chocolate in this full roast, dark malt. Kelpie Seaweed Ale sells from Williams Bros Brewing Co.’s online store.

Morimoto Soba Ale

Introduced in 2003, this Oregonian draft won silver and gold at the World Beer Championships and continues distinguish itself with its full flavor. Made with buckwheat flour (like its namesake noodle), Soba Ale has a sweet, citrusy taste. Find a retailer near you to purchase or get a 22-ounce bottle for $5.50 from Wally’s.

Prima Pils

Heavy on hops, this brew from Victory Brewing Company makes a tasty, floral drink that’s perfect for summer (though we drink it year round). The spicy malt adds to the light body in this highly-praised, Pennsylvania-brewed Pilsner. Visit Victory for retailers or get a bottle from Wally’s for $1.50.

Laura Santtini’s Easy Tasty Magic collection of taste-enhancers stimulates the senses, both with refreshingly original flavor combos and beautifully clever approaches to packaging.

The range includes an assortment of Santtini’s inventions—latterday rubs, alchemical larders, seasonal salts, elixirs, umami paste and food bling—each as creatively delicious as the next.

Recently taking a break from the family business of running the London’s famed Santini restaurant, the successful writer and chef now focuses solely on Easy Tasty Magic products. The passion she puts into her work speaks for itself; opening one of her jars or tubes fills the air with the aroma of spices and savory delights. But Santtini’s remarkable talent for mixing simple ingredients into intensely mouth-watering blends is only half the story.

The playful packaging, designed by
We Should Coco, not only lends an entertaining spin on seriously tasty ingredients, but lends convenience to cooking. A few drops of the Taste No. 5 umami paste squeezed from a tube cleverly covers up any lack in cooking skills. Carnal Sin’s “heady Persian rose blend,” which comes in a wide-mouth glass jar, takes meat to a whole new level.

The thoughtful and imaginative range of flavors comprising Easy Tasty Magic currently sells at Selfridges stores in the U.K., at La Grande Epicerie in Paris, from Waitrose, and soon will be available online. Look for it in the U.S. in fall 2010.

With their delicious chocolate ganache bars and bonbons, Derry Church Artisan Chocolates mix chocolate mastery and intense flavor, making each creative combination as palatable as the next. The bars, their newest sweets, do not disappoint.

Standing out among the Pennsylvania-based chocolatiers’ collection, The Burlington bar pairs a flavorful blend of milk chocolate ganache, maple syrup and roasted pecans. All housed in a milk chocolate shell, the bonbon echoes a bite-sized pecan pie balanced out by mouthwatering chocolate.

Another of Derry Church’s triumphs is the Veracruz Ganache bar, a bittersweet chocolate filled with white chocolate ganache. While white chocolates are often overly sweet, the Veracruz instead plays up the subtle flavor of the cocoa butter itself, resulting in a perfectly-balanced bar that gushes with white chocolate.

Derry Church’s bon bons also offer an array of tasteful combinations; The variety pack includes flavors such as chipotle peppers in white chocolate (the Oaxaca) and butterscotch in bittersweet chocolate shell (the Edinburgh). Our favorites include the Kandahar—pomegranate molasses with white chocolate, the Cairo—date paste with balsamic vinegar reduction, and the aforementioned Oaxaca.

Mostly organic and handmade, Derry Chocolates sell online with prices beginning at $18 for a nine-piece box.