Drinking Red and Seeing Straight

Valentine’s Day has passed, but that’s not an excuse for your love interest to stop treating you special. Hennessy VS (yes, it really does stand for “very special”) is a key ingredient you’ll need to keep those love embers burning. The Hennessy VS I Love You Berry Much is a perfect way to relive your Valentine’s Day. It can be served before or during dinner and is sure to impress your special someone.

The iconic Italian brand, Martini & Rossi, has been a longtime standard-bearer for special occasions and (pardon the pun) setting the bar for indulging in the finer things in life. 

Martini & Rossi Sparkling Rosé

This pink-hued, effervescent, sparkling wine recalls the joys of Italy with its aromatic notes of wild roses and delicate blend of subtle spices. The enticing flavors are best enjoyed chilled and served in a champagne flute for a celebratory toast. This favorite of the masses has been a mainstay for trendsetters and a must-have for the savvy and knowledgeable wine collectors bent on impressing guests while indulging themselves.

Martini & Rossi Rosato

A modern apertivo, Italian style: A blend of red and white Italian wines perfectly spiced and perfectly balanced. Enjoy on the rocks or with pomegranate juice. For the bold and the beautiful people, those in the world of fashion, the cultural change makers and those who just appreciate a good thing, try one of the more colorful versions of this exquisite wine, and let us know what you think. –roz edward

Atlanta's Elite Mix and Mingle at Loews Eleven in Atlanta

When visitors approach Atlanta's nighttime skyline from the north, the "Capital of the South" looks like Emerald City, a dazzling array of colorfully lit skyscrapers outlined in garnet green, ruby red and diamond-hot white lights. It is a breathtaking display, even if it does border on gaudy. But so what, it's spectacular.

Stay on course, and you're bound to arrive at Peachtree Street and find that it is literally jammed with great prospects for nightlife, dining and entertainment.  One of the latest and most spectacular of those is the Atlanta Loews Hotel at Peachtree and 11th streets and its jewel inside – Eleven, one of the hottest  clubs in town. Located in the hotel's lobby with dramatic story-high windows that entice passers-by to come in for a cocktail at its stunning bar, featuring a beautifully lit wall of bottled libations from every corner of the world.
 
 "It's not just a bar. It's a venue that spotlights exactly what Atlanta has," explains Loews entertainment director, DeMarco McMillan. "The point is really to become a part of the community and bring [people] together, regardless of race or class or ethnicity. It's a comfortable, vibrant and inciting environment. It's what we call a 'guestination.' "

On Thursday nights, Eleven hosts free jazz concerts featuring performers from both the national and local music scenes. While the well-heeled soak up the sounds, the well-versed indulge in signature drink concoctions and top-shelf cocktails. –roz edward

Where: Eleven, in the lobby of Atlanta's Loews Hotel at Peachtree and 11th streets. 

What: "Music and Mingle" event every Thursday. First Thursdays of the month feature industry headliners, which have included Ledisi and Norman Brown.

Guests rush the bar at Eleven where expert bartenders make every effort to accommodate the enthusiastic crowd with superbly mixed drinks and top-notch service.

Signature Cocktail: The Lavender Drop Martini is Eleven's twist on the popular lemon drop martini. Of course, this is with lavender. The color is subtle, but the drink is potent.

 

Whiskey, Rye and a Bottle of Bourbon

While faux chic and pretentious trendsetters would have us believe that red liquors are out and anything white — including distillery altered cognacs and silver tequilas, is in, the cocktail landscape is not nearly as monolithic as it appears. There is a whiskey resurgence going on, and the first liquor is retaking its rightful place. 

On Monday, March 7, Bulleit 95 Straight Rye Whiskey moved into the spotlight and took center stage at Door 44 in Atlanta's Midtown area, affectionately known as the "Betty Ford" corridor, not just because of the number of bars, but also because of the frequency with which the A-listers (attorneys, architects and accountants) visit them. While cocktail connoiseurs mingled on the patio with complimentary cigars and Bulleit Whiskey cocktails, the crowd inside the speakeasy-style bar reminiscent of the days of flappers and Prohibition, listened to jazz and watched the mixologists face-off on massive video screens.

But the evening's real stars were the Scofflaw-inspired cocktails prepared by expert bartenders who kept this very special bourbon coming all night long.

I sampled a number of the potent concoctions and here are my top picks:

The Scofflaw

1 ounce Bulleit 95 Straight Rye Whiskey

1 ounce dry vermnouth

.75 ounce grenadine

.5 oz lemon juice

1 dash of orange bitters.

Kentucky Red Eye

2 ounces bacon-infused Bulleit Rye

1/8 ounce brown sugar coffee syrup

2 dashes whiskey barrel bitters

1 dash Peychaud's bitters

1 pinch salt

Spring and Branch Cup

1 ounce Bulleit 95 Straight Rye

2 barspoons rhubarb jam

1 lemon wedge

1 cucumber slice

3/4 ounces Martnia Bianco

1 sprig of thyme

And for the more adventurous (I just couldn't handle the raw egg) ...

Minted Rattlesnake Fizz

2 ounces Bulleit 95 Sraight Rye Whiskey

1 ounce simple syrup

.75 ounce lemon 

1 egg white

1 dash absinthe

mint

caraway seeds