This summer season, we launched round 250 new kinds of glassware to our Store. (Perhaps you’ve launched some to your house, too?) With such beautiful vessels for cocktails coming by means of our brand-new Brooklyn HQ, we determined to interrupt within the house and have some enjoyable whereas capturing these glasses in motion. So, naturally, we invited a couple of of our native Food52 neighborhood members over for a cocktail celebration and photoshoot.
The occasion was an opportunity for us to fulfill a few of our Food52ers in actual life, give them a tour of our 21,000-square-foot house within the Brooklyn Navy Yard, and naturally, take footage of our visitors making an attempt out our latest coupes, highballs, and tumblers. “That human factor provides a lot,” stated our Artwork Director Molly FitzSimons. “It brings a shot to life, actually.”
The shoot additionally gave us excuse to pattern cocktails made by our latest resident cocktail skilled, Harper Fendler, who flew in from Maine for the occasion. Food52 Founder Amanda Hesser even stopped by throughout her newest episode of Amanda’s Founder Information.
Utilizing Harper’s professional ideas, plus our playlist, recipes, and glassware suggestions, we invite you to steal a few of these concepts in your subsequent cocktail celebration.
Photograph by Mark Weinberg
First, it’s all about setting the appropriate vibe in your cocktail celebration. Our Studio Assistant Elvin Abril curated an ideal playlist heavy on ’70s and ’80s classics that you simply’re welcome to make use of as your personal. As soon as the playlist is queued up, you’re prepared to start!
Photograph by Mark Weinberg
Harper chosen 4 drinks—two that he developed, plus two traditional cocktails. Right here is how he paired them with our glassware:
Photograph by Mark Weinberg
Our Senior Meals Stylist Anna Billingskog assembled a lovely cheese board and ready a summery menu of small bites together with:
Photograph by Mark Weinberg
The Ice Breaker
To crush ice for a cocktail just like the swizzle, Harper recommends wrapping cubes in a kitchen towel, not a plastic bag that may break. Then go to city and smack the ice with a rolling pin, reserving somewhat ice to pile on prime like a snow cone. Don’t fear in the event you’re too busy internet hosting your celebration to pulverize ice for each drink—that is an easy-to-explain chore which you can hand off to a visitor who is raring to assist.
Photograph by Mark Weinberg
Do not Over Muddle
You’ve doubtless sipped many cocktails with herbaceous bits of mint or basil floating in them, however that form of aggressive muddling isn’t crucial (and even interesting). For Harper’s blackberry mint sparkler, you simply shake the basil and mint with the ice to specific these flavors—no muddling required. You can too launch an herb’s perfume simply by slapping the leaves in opposition to your hand. (Slapping and rubbing the leaves between your palms will solely unfold the essence in your arms, not the drink.) To coax the notes of mint into the Queens Park swizzle, he locations the leaves within the base of the glass along with the straightforward syrup and flippantly faucets them with a muddler moderately than pounding them to items. Harper reached for the French rolling pin that occurred to be available after crushing the ice, however you should use a traditional muddler at dwelling!
Stations, Please
When you’re going to serve a number of drinks, create stations for each. Additionally, make the meeting straightforward by batching drinks forward of time and setting out garnishes for visitors to DIY. That means not everyone seems to be crowding over the identical spot, and, stated Harper, “it retains you from being the designated drink maker.”
Say hey to our first neighborhood members to go to our new dwelling within the Brooklyn Navy Yard:
Photograph by Mark Weinberg
Elizabeth Lande, Food52 neighborhood member since 2018
What do you do? My ardour is appearing, however I do actual property.
Your favourite cocktail or mocktail: I feel a very good margarita goes a great distance.
Your favourite drink from the shoot: The Final Phrase. It was actually uncommon and sophisticated and it had elements I’d by no means had earlier than. And it didn’t look tough to make.
One of the best tip that you simply realized from Harper: To not be frightened about being daring along with your drinks. He’s not afraid to combine issues up a bit. I realized to have extra enjoyable with it and be inventive.
Photograph by Mark Weinberg
Your favourite snack from the shoot: That’s straightforward: the furikake Chex combine.
Your favourite glassware from the occasion: The primary one [the Estelle Sunday Collection Lowball]. I assumed that was actually lovely. Then somebody handed me a very enjoyable blue glass with white spots on it [the Zafferano Perle Tumbler]. I assumed this is able to be nice to have in your home in many alternative colours. It was colourful and didn’t take itself too severely.
Your favourite Food52 buy: The bread basket that I really like [The Guzzini Recycled Tierra Bread Box], the one with the wooden prime. It’s so lovely and effectively designed and helpful. The lid is a chopping board once you flip it over.
Photograph by Mark Weinberg
Bridgett Lindsey, Food52 neighborhood member since 2015 (although she started studying Food52 in 2010)
What do you do? My passions are meals and journey, and if I may have a job the place I mixed the 2, I might. I work for a communications and advertising and marketing company.
Your favourite cocktail: Caipirinha, my all-time favourite cocktail.
Your favourite cocktail from the shoot: I’m torn between the mocktail and the Final Phrase—it was surprisingly refreshing and so flavorful.
Finest tip that you simply realized from Harper: The muddling. I’ve been doing it improper all this time. You don’t need to smash it. I realized a lot in such a brief time period, the way you launch the flavors of issues in a sure means.
Your favourite snack: The Chex combine.
Your favourite glassware: The mocktail glassware. I really like the scalloped edge. The Store is so effectively curated, however it’s curated to be practical. I’m all the time discovering one thing new and it by no means appears out of attain or too valuable. (See all of Bridgett’s favourite glassware from the shoot.)
Photograph by Mark Weinberg
Duncan Fitzpatrick, Food52 neighborhood member since 2021
What do you do? I’m a meals stylist and chef. My ardour is meals. Cooking it, serving it to family members and buddies, and final however not least, consuming it.
Favourite cocktail: A Negroni. Any sort, kind, or variation. I really like all of them!
Favourite cocktail from the shoot: Bourbon Strawberry Spritz.
Finest tip that you simply realized from Harper: Muddling mint into the syrup first earlier than including the remainder of the cocktail elements. That means the flavour infuses with the entire drink.
Favourite snack: I LOVED the Chex combine!
Favourite glass: The coupe—they all the time elevate a cocktail.
Your favourite Food52 recipes: In the course of the pandemic it was the no-knead sourdough bread. However these days, I’m a sucker for the Rao’s Meatballs recipe and my spouse loves the straightforward brine for pork chops—we now have it nearly each week.
Photograph by Mark Weinberg
Which of those cocktails do you suppose you will be making? Tell us beneath!
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