An Art-Deco Barware Set So Chic We Created Two New Cocktails For It
No one likes a bad drunk or a lame host. You can avoid at least one of these stinging humiliations by having the right collection of barware. The Manhattan collection from the luxury crystal house of Saint-Louis is the French brand’s first dedicated cocktail line. It was created in collaboration with Experimental Cocktail Group, the game-changing trio credited with invigorating the Paris cocktail scene via elevated drinks in chic speakeasy settings.
While a complete barware set is essential, Céline Sanchez, brand director for Saint-Louis tell us that the era of overly formal, highly elaborate drink-making at home has shifted. “In 2018, the trend is for cocktails to be more widely accessible, offering the freedom to create and compose,” she says. “Cocktails are no longer consumed all on your own but with friends, or exclusively in a bar or a restaurant, but at a dinner party, at home, or around a swimming pool. Cocktails are an art of living. Enthusiastic amateurs create some quite elaborate recipes at home. It’s very satisfying and definitely celebratory!” This new collection kept those feelings in mind. “We wanted Manhattan to exalt both mixology and conviviality in a private setting. To allow individuals to take cocktail-making into their homes and imagine themselves as bartenders, mixing and enjoying their favorite cocktails at home, amongst friends,” says Sanchez.
The Art Deco–inspired 13-piece series includes glassware, bar tools, and more. But it’s not all bevel cuts and 1930s allure. ECG believes a good drink needs the right glass, so it heavily influenced the set’s shape. “Each form helps reveal the ingredients used in cocktail design,” ECG cofounder Pierre-Charles Cros says. “The shape can influence taste and perception. For instance, the open coupette increases the nose of the drink and makes it sophisticated and elegant.”
As for what to serve, we’ve got you covered. ECG concocted two original recipes for us. “The In the Shade cocktail we created for Robb Report is a meeting point between Paris and New York, which inspired the glassware collaboration with Saint-Louis, with a classic whiskey and a little audacious, oh-so-French touch of blue cheese in an elegant coupe,” Cros says. Destined for the highball glass, Purple is a cocktail cri de coeur: “Champagne can be and should be used in cocktails.” Here’s to a season of exceptional entertaining and hazy memories!
In the Shade
Ingredients
1 3/4 oz. olive juice
1 oz. oloroso sherry
1 oz. single-malt whiskey
Dash bitters
Directions
Combine ingredients with ice in a mixing glass, and stir. Strain into a coupe, and garnish with a blue-cheese-stuffed olive.
Purple
Ingredients
3/4 oz. pear and cassis syrup
1/2 oz. lemon juice
1 oz. gin
Champagne
Directions
Combine the syrup, lemon juice, and gin in the shaker, and shake well. Fill a highball with ice, and strain the drink into a glass. Top with Champagne, and garnish with flower pollen.
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