Is hot wine hot again?
For Heaven's Saké
We lead off today with news in the world of rice wine. Warmed sake is making a comeback! As it turns out, warm sake is not just for your dad in an airport sushi restaurant. As the article explains, certain styles of sake really shine at temperatures ranging from tepid to pretty hot. In cities like New York where diners are currently huddled in yurts, consumers are searching for more warm beverage options. Fortunately for them, sake has a long history of being served warm and doesn't get all agro when you heat it up like most spirits do.
Pink-ey's Up
Did you know that rosé Prosecco was not allowed by the DOC until May of 2020!? We didn't either, but an article published in The Drinks Business this week brought it to our attention. The first export of pink Prosecco occurred in November of 2020 and boy howdy did the UK drink that shit up! England has a history of loving pink drinks. Remember pink gin? We don't either, but the British drank that shit up too. DOC pink Prosecco production is jumping from 16.8 million bottles it's first year to 50 million bottles this year. Hopefully we will get a chance to try some before the Brits drink it all up. We're looking at you Jamie Evans.
Kicking Aspen
We close our news week with a story about hotel bars and the creative moves they're making to stay afloat amid the pandemic. The article starts off with a story about The Little Nell in Aspen. Their once legendary shoulder to shoulder aprés ski bar, Chair 9 was anything but pandemic friendly. On it's busy days it looked more like a scene from the 1980's New York stock exchange floor than a 5-star hotel lobby bar. Every day in season, throngs of cashmere clad revelers descended on the bar holding up fistfuls of cash shouting for more Veuve Clicquot magnums and truffle fries. Not a good look this season. Rather than leave the bar shuttered or try and re-create the vibe with only 42 people (not gonna happen), they did some thinking and decided to reconcept the room as a reservation only high-end wine bar. The Wine Bar, as it's now called (go figure), is killing it. They specialize in luxury and exclusive bottlings that appeal to the Aspen elite and also happen to be highly profitable. The concept has been so successful, the hotel intends to keep The Wine Bar for the indefinite future.
Our Thoughts
If you scroll down to the third paragraph of the hotel bar article, you might notice a lovely write up about a super cool speakeasy in a tiny hotel room on the 9th floor of the Hyatt Centric in Las Olas in Fort Lauderdale. But wait... isn't Unfiltered popping up in a tiny hotel room on the 9th floor of a Hyatt? Yeah, we are! April 2nd and 3rd. We call our pop-up "Semi-Formal." It's an homage to our favorite old school drinks with decidedly new school techniques. We even bought tuxedos for it. If you're interested in reserving a spot for one of the evenings, email rehan@unfilteredhospo.com. Seatings are 2 hours and have a $50 F&B minimum per person. No ticket, no taco.
For more information on fun stuff we're doing or to find out how to work with us, follow Unfiltered on Instagram @unfilteredhospo or Unfiltered Hospitality on Facebook and LinkedIn. Until next time, keep getting better.
What Else?
Did you miss the video we posted last week on how to pour stuff? Well, don't worry, we've linked it again. Make sure to sign up on the Better Bar Basics page so you can get notified of updates and you can have access to these videos for the rest of your life.
