Rima Suqi

I’m a long-time subscriber to and reader of Esquire magazine, and in the latest issue David Granger, the Editor in Chief, wrote a genius paragraph many of my friends will appreciate. I thought I’d share it.

Domaine Garrigon Cotes-du-Rhone

I love Appellation, my local wine shop, for many reasons. The discount I get with my gym membership (go figure), the pithy wine-related quotes on the sandwich board outside, and the great advice re new wines to try.  On my last visit I noticed this very chic boxed wine, inquired, and got this valuable information from Scott, the owner (of the shop, not the vineyard):

Domaine Garrigon is a Cotes-du-Rhone in a 3L bag-in-box.  The
Couston family has organically farmed the vineyards since 1919, and the
wine is a blend of Grenache (60%), Carignan (30%) and Syrah (10%).  The
bag collapses as the wine is consumed which slows down oxidation.  The box
will last 3 weeks once opened.  The box’s weight is another advantage–it
creates a much smaller carbon footprint than four bottles of wine.

Finally,  many customers use their boxes as bird feeders once they are
empty of wine!  One customer was buying the box at an alarmingly fast
clip–I found out later the emptied boxes were being used as an art
project in her daughter’s class.   We sell the box for $41.99 (ie, $10.50/750ml).

Arrived in Maui yesterday. After the initial shock of seeing things like Coconut bagels (so wrong, but maybe so right?) I settled in at the Grand Wailea. It’s a big hotel that feels like a big hotel. And its an old-school peachy color. Right smack on the ocean, though, with amazing views.

The thing about Hawaii is that many restaurants, even in resorts, close at around 9, so you’ve got to get used to eating earlier than you might normally. I headed down to Humuhumunukunukuapu`a (that’s really the name) for some Hamachi carpaccio (which was topped with an incredible celery ice).

And, of course, a little vodka. I try to go organic whenever I can, and was offered a local vodka, made right in Maui, distilled from Pineapples. I was skeptical – but was given a taste and damn, it was very very smooth. No taste of Pineapple at all.

Turns out Pau, as its called, is made in GLASS stills and reaches 95% purification with just one distillation, as opposed to the usual 3-7.

The only downside is that it is expensive – $99/bottle here on Maui. And only available in limited quantities in the mainland. Not sure I’d spend the money on the bottle, but if you’re into vodka, try it on the rocks if you get a chance.

These were sold at the Volcano Winery, where I did a tasting on my way out of Volcano, en route to Hawi.

Flip Flop coasters

Bottle cover, male version.

Bottle cover, female version

The first time I went to Megu and ordered a single malt it was served in a glass with one gigantic ball of solid, hand carved ice. LOVED that. But impossible to replicate at home. This mold, sold through Moma, comes close.$16. Buy it here (on back order until 8/20).

For those of you who whine about how you can’t drink gin, its too much, whatever, I have this to say — you’re drinking it the wrong way. Gin + tonic = mistake. The quinine in the tonic will totally overwhelm the gin. You should drink gin with water or seltzer and perhaps a lemon or lime. That’s it.

And you should drink this one  — 24 by Beefeater. Brand new and super-smooth.

From their official writings -

“Beefeater 24 is a new gin handcrafted with 12 botanicals including a rare blend of teas….it gets its name from the 24-hour steeping process.”

Blah blah blah. Just drink it.

Was at the Blue Owl having drinks with my friend Jason Rowan and  a lovely PR person whose envious job it is to see to it that we drink, and drink well. That night, the drink was gin. While Jason, the cocktail expert, was more adventurous, I opted for the simple Martini. Which I was offered with Dirty Sue. Dirty Sue is not a human (that I know of), it is a product that I wish I had thought of — bottled olive juice for the making of dirty martinis and, I’m sure, a lot of other things. Genius. $5.99/bottle. Buy it here.

Last weekend I took a class taught by Adour’s pastry chef Sandro Micheli. Now, I’m not big on baking, but my friend Peter is REALLY into it and opportunity knocked. So off to Adour Alain Ducasse we went for a two-hour class which involved making everything from Madeleines de Commercy to Absinthe Marshmallows. All told, we made — count ‘em — SIX items in that two hour period. This was made possible by Sandro, the human KitchenAid. Some pictures of our adventure are below.
Note that the next class will be on Saturday, September 26th and will focus on pies and tarts, include the ever-elusive perfect crust.
Cost is $75 per person, call Adour Alain Ducasse at The St. Regis to reserve your spot. 212-710-2277.

Here’s Peter – who was chosen to make the “Chouquettes.” Although experienced using that bag thingie, he seemed a bit nervous.

When finished, they look like this, and are super light and fluffy. That is not salt, by the way, on top. Those are candied sugar beads.

Making marshmallows or “Guimauve A L’Absinthe”

I don’t like marshmallows but these were incredible. I was tempted to lick the mixing tool -

Finished marshmallows and also the “Pate de Fruit a la Fraise” or strawberry jellies. Both incredibly delicious and not as sweet as you’d think.

Cape Indaba Sauvignon Blanc (2008) is gorgeously delicious and just $4.99 a bottle at Trader Joe’s.

Stoli is the official vodka of the TriBeCa film festival. Which means that, of course, they got a bartender (oh sorry, a MIXOLOGIST) to create a cocktail in honor of the festival. It’s called the “Darkened Theatre” and is a mix of Popcorn-Infused Stoli, Salted Coke Syrup and a Caramel Popcorn Garnish. Should you want to try this at home, and I’m honestly not sure you should, here’s the recipe:

2 1/2 ounces Popcorn-Infused Stolichnaya
½ ounce salted Coke Syrup
two drops of fresh lemon juice

Shake well with ice
Strain
Garnish with 3 skewered caramel popcorns

The result looks like this. Be afraid. Be very afraid.