Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/142283
History Repeats Itself ST-GERMAIN CREATOR ROB COOPER BRINGS A FORMER FAVORITE BACK TO THE BAR WITH HOCHSTADTER'S SLOW & LOW ROCK AND RYE by Fred Minnick / photos by Michael Quiet S pirits makers are a lot like movie directors. After James Cameron delivered Titanic, the film-going world eagerly awaited his next blockbuster. A decade after Titanic won the Oscar for Best Picture, Cameron directed the highest grossing movie ever made—Avatar. There were no poor films in between his great pieces of work. Rob Cooper is the James Cameron of the spirits industry, not rushing products to market for profit's sake. Like Cameron, Cooper creates, tests, waits, creates again and does not release until the spirit meets his absolute expectations. Six years after Cooper's St-Germain Elderflower Liqueur became the in-vogue liqueur, Cooper delivers another perfected product, one of balance, history and widespread appeal—the same trifecta that made St-Germain such a winner. Cooper's latest gift to the bar is Hochstadter's Slow & Low Rock and Rye, a full-proof bottled cocktail—a rye Old Fashioned in a bottle—inspired by 19th-century Rock and Rye recipes. In the 1800s, bartenders served patrons a shot of rye whiskey; cowboys and pioneers added their own rock candy to the drink, calling it a "Rock and Rye." A bottled version of the product was eventually granted American patent No. 7,250 on June 2, 1905. 74 / the tasting panel / july 2013 TP0713_066-99.indd 74 6/24/13 5:48 PM