Independent Spirits Gather in New York
Great boutique spirits support good causes
Norwalk, CT (PRWEB) September 18, 2006
They dance to the beat of their own drum. They seek out quality where others make do with corporate mediocrity, they are independent importers and distillers of premium spirits brands.
In an industry full of mega corporations they are the Davids (two literally) to the industry Goliaths. Doug Loughran discovered a rum from Nepal (yes Nepal) Khukri XXX Rum at a local restaurant and decided that it was his mission to spread it around the U.S. Dave Catania aka Cachaca Dave spent time in Brazil on Business and discovered his love of the Brazilian culture and Cachaca, the Brazilian Spirit. He was amazed at the quality of Cachaca he found in Brazil compared to what was available in the U.S. Catania decided it was up to him to find the best Cachaca made in Brazil and import it into the U.S. That Cachaca is the Gold Medal Winning Fazenda Mãe de Ouro. Dave Schmier, now known as Orange Dave spent years running an award winning marketing company devoted to creating events for established beverage products, after creating several intense Vodka infusions at home, he set out to create a distinctly American Product using the finest ingredients, his search led him to distillery in Idaho utilizing super premium environmentally friendly grains and flavored this smooth environmentally friendly vodka with a unique blend of oranges from Florida. The result of his efforts is Orange V, The Orange Vodka.
While being independent allows these entrepreneurs to avoid corporate red tape and focus on bringing the best quality products to market, they lack the strong distribution muscle and marketing dollars of the big guys. In order to help spread the word, these three have gotten together led by Dave Catania aka Cachca Dave to spread the word about Independent Spirits. To that end they put together an independent Spirits Tasting at New York's Slate Billiards this past week.
Thanks to the cooperation and generosity of the team at Slate, spirits aficionados and the merely thirsty were able to sample the trio of independent Spirits and talk to the men behind the brands. The three entrepreneurs served their respective spirits straight and in a variety of signature cocktails. Cachaca Dave muddled his delicious and refreshing Caipirhinas, Doug 's Kathmandu Cooler was a huge hit. Orange Dave mixed his notorious Orange and White Cosmopolitans. All admissions to the event were donated to children's charities from the countries where the spirits originate.
About Cachaça FazendaMae De Ouro
Cachaça Fazenda Mae De Ouro is an authentic cachaça, from the state of Minas Gerais, just northwest of Rio De Janeiro. Using sustainable agriculture, natural processing and a traditional copper still, Fazenda Mae De Ouro is hand crafted from just the heart of the distillation; a small percentage of the production that is without impurities. Aged in Oak Barrels for 1-2 years just a little over 400 cases are produced per month, with each bottle being numbered by date and lot.
For more information about Cachaça Fazenda Mae De Ouro, please contact Dave Catania 646-258-5571; info@caipirinha.us
About Orange V
Orange V® begins with fresh spring water that flows from the Rocky Mountains through the Snake River in Wyoming and then to the Silver Creek Distillery in scenic Idaho. The pure spring water is combined with naturally farmed organic grain that has been hand selected for quality and taste. The resulting smooth and pure vodka is distilled through a modern four-column process and filtered through a state of the art reverse osmosis system yielding a smooth 100% organic certified spirit. The organic spirit is then infused with a proprietary blend of sweet Florida oranges that result in an extraordinary orange vodka.
The intense bouquet of Orange V® reveals the Mandarin, Valencia and Tangerine that are the core of the award winning Orange V® taste profile. Orange V has won numerous medals and last year was named Favorite Flavored Vodka by Liquorsnob.com; also described by self-proclaimed spirits guru F. Paul Pacault as “Monster Orange.”
For more information on Orange V, please contact Dave Schmier at Dynamic Beverages (203) 226-4181 info@orangev.com
About Khukri
The oldest rum in Nepal, Khukri has been distilled since 1959 using only the freshest water from the Himalayas. Khukri derives its subtle, complex nature from the balanced flavors of brown spice, dried fruit and butterscotch. It's matured in oak vats for at least eight months, which creates its distinguished lingering aroma of oak and caramel. With an aroma that is robust and generous, a rum that expands nicely in the palate, reinforcing the old factory notion of a well-rounded rum. Khukri Rum is named after a dagger-like weapon called a khukri or khukuri, which was used in Nepal by the elite Gurkha armed forces.
Coronation Khukri Rum, in a dagger-shaped bottle, was introduced in 1974 to mark the coronation of the King of Nepal, his Royal Highness Shri Biredra Bir Bikram Shah Dev. The unusual bottle was created to represent the country where it was made and to conjure images of the magnificent Himalayas and their history.
Khukri Rum has won several awards, including the Gold Award at the 1983 and 2002 International Rum Festival, a silver medal in the Monde Selection in 2004 and received a “highly recommended” Best Buy rating in 2004 by the Institute of Chicago. Most recently, Khukri won the Gold at the 2006 International Cane Spirits Festival in the Dark Rum category.
For more information on Khukri Rum, please contact Doug Loughran 215-646-0405.
About Slate Plus
Slate opened its doors in February, 2000 to critical acclaim. Noted for its sleek décor, an eclectic New American menu, and its 54-foot glass bar, New Yorkers were thrilled to finally have a space where they could lounge, eat, drink and shoot in style.
Slate is one of New York City’s largest and most unique venues. With over 16,000-square feet, the two floors are joined by a spectacular glass staircase in the shape of a pool triangle.
Slate features a full service restaurant, private VIP lounge, over 30 championship pool tables, a state-of-the-art sound system, and plasma television screens. The game of billiards has a long and illustrious past, originally a favorite pastime of medieval courtiers. Throughout history it has been played by kings and commoners, presidents, mental patients, ladies, gentlemen, and hustlers alike.
Slate is located at 54 West 21st Street, New York. (212) 989-0096.
###
