‘The Playboy popup Club’ at Vanquish Lounge: It’s a Lifestyle

Vanquish Lounge, newly opened in Atlanta offers a striking picture of A-town celebrities and tastemakers living that coveted lifestyle and celebrating a cultural icon — the Playboy Bunny. We rolled up to Vanquish on a Wednesday night for pop up party promoting the “The Playboy Club” television series. There is probably not a better venue in all of Atlanta to reproduce the Playboy lifestyle. Planners hit the mark from the safari-chic decor, glamorous guests and top shelf cocktails in the perfect stemware. 

What we had:

The Glenlivet Scotch — first on the rocks and later neat. The pour is adequate, but at $12 a shot, I prefer the bartender use his own discretion. The Glenlivet is the best known of single malt scotches and the taste is so recognizable that preceding Glenlivet with “The” is totally appropriate.

Only 100 bottles of 70 year-old The Glenlivet 1940 have been released. Each is presented in a gorgeous tear-shaped, hand-blown crystal decanter. 

Club owner Michael Gidewon has spared no expense stocking the bar, which is a pretty tall order since the club is just across the street from Loew’s stunningly lit wall of alcohol. –roz edward

Upscale cocktails included:

Cîroc Blue Ocean To make a statement with your cocktail — color it.

1 ounce Cîroc Vodka  

1/2 ounce Blue Curacao

1/4 ounce grapefruit juice Splash simple syrup

Shake with crushed ice.

Strain into champagne flute.

Garnish with a white orchid.

Best served with: Cîroc Vodka

And in keeping with the theme of the evening, — the 1960’s when Playboy was king, guests were appreciating Old Fashioneds with a new twist:

The New Fashioned:

1 ounce Crown Royal® 

1/4 ounce Simple Syrup 

1/2 ounce Almond Liqueur 

1-3 dashes Bitters 

Stir the ingredients in a shaker of ice and strain it into a rocks glass. Garnish with an orange peel.

Lemon Drop 

And then there was the ultra-popular Lemon Drop. The great thing about this drink as they are as good as the first time, every time.  Enhance the citrus flavor by adding 1/4 ounce of Cointreau and only 1/2 teaspoon simple syrup. 

Ingredients:

1 1/2 ounces Smirnoff vodka

3/4 ounces lemon juice

1 teaspoon sugar syrup

lemon twist for garnish

Pour the vodka, lemon juice and sugar syrup into a shaker with ice cubes.

Shake well. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with the lemon twist.

Drink to the Future: Literally!

Would it surprise you to learn that the drinks of the future are available now? In some cases, they even look like a science project. From the iridescent cocktails popular in the Miami/South Beach area to the cutting edge stuff Chicago’s superstar chef-cum-mixologist Grant Achatz is infamous for.

It’s true, bartenders around the country are pushing the envelope and experimenting with mind-bending drinks. It’s called molecular mixol
ogy. Achatz created a cocktail-filled ice balloon that once shattered spills into an old fashioned rocks glass. But while most of these creations should not to be tried at home, here are a few we recommend. —roz edward

 





Neon Berry Caiprinha

The drink glows in the dark — or even better — under a black light, thanks to the interaction of the blue curacao and the green lime juice. You can also add Illuzoon a natural colorant with an amazing effect: it glows under UV-light.
1 ounce Ciroc Citron vodka
1 ounce Blue Curacao liqueur
1 ounce lime juice
1 splash pineapple juice
 Also hailing from the Windy City, are iNG’s “flavor-tripping” entries in the new cocktail milieu. The establishment uses a “miracle berry,” a pill or powder derived from an African berry that alters your taste buds and turns bitter to sweet.

 The Nitrous Oxide – not so much high-tech, but it takes skill all the same.
3/4 ounces Crown Royal
3/4 ounces orange liqueur (cointreau, grand marnier …)


 
Pour both ingredients into a brandy snifter. Tilt glass and flame the liquor. When flamed, cover it completely so no oxygen escapes (very important). You will feel a suction to the hand, pop your hand off, take the shot, and immediately cover the glass again so no oxygen escapes. Make a slight hole in between your index and thumb, and inhale as much as you can, and hold it. That is the Nitrous Oxide!


Gin and Tonic of the Future      

Cocktail is served in a flask with a frozen sheath of lime juice around the outside.



In the Rocks – A new fashion Old Fashion in which the cocktail is injected by syringe into a hollow egg of ice, which you shatter and drink. Really?