Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/12827
NOSEABLES Medea is the Message M edea vodka held its “First Party Ever” cocktail event at Essex restaurant on New York’s Lower East Side in June, co-hosted by Essex owner Dave Pearlman. Like Medea co-founder Matt Sandy, Pearlman is a graduate of Columbia University, and both men serve on their alma mater’s Alumni Steering Committee. According to Sandy, the idea to hold the event at Essex, sponsored in part by the Columbia University Alumni Steering Committee, came after the restaurant owner fell in love with the libation’s “smooth” taste, along with Medea’s unique digital packaging—on each custom-made glass bottle is an LED ticker capable of displaying six lines of programmable text, with up to 255 characters per line. Sandy reports that from the beginning, Pearlman was “enthu- siastic about the potential of a brand that presents the best of both worlds—of what’s on the outside and what’s on the inside of the bottle.” Essex serves both dinner and Sunday brunch and is a key account for Southern Wines & Spirits, distributor of Medea vodka. In attendance at the Medea party were a number of Columbia alumni and students, which lent a decidedly “intellec- tual” atmosphere to the celebration. Judging from the popularity of Medea among the guests, clearly the vodka would have been voted Best in Class. —Ralph DiGennaro Essex Restaurant bartender Sarah Darling pours a Medea Martini for party guests. for the U.S. market. This is the first label for the Camarena family, which has been bottling tequila at its Arandas distillery since 1938. Mauricio Camarena, Director of Agave for the 7,400-acre Highlands estate, comments, “We are two families in partnership, and our Blanco and Reposado are the only ultra-premium tequilas in Gallo’s spirits portfolio.” Launched in California and Nevada in March, Camarena Blanco shows citrus Gallo Imports Familia Camarena Tequila T he Camarena Family, owners of the Tequila Supremo distillery, has developed a proprietary tequila brand, Familia Camarena, in partnership with E. & J. Gallo and honeysuckle aromas with peppery green olive and agave on the palate. The Reposado is pale gold with vanilla and coconut aromas and flavors from new American oak, with a spicy, faintly sweet attack. Familia Camarena Tequlia is being imported and distributed by Gallo’s Alto Spirits LTD with a SRP of $20 for 750 ml. —Deborah Parker Wong Mauricio Camarena introduces his namesake tequilas at Tommy’s Mexican Restaurant in San Francisco. 26 / the tasting panel / july 2010 mEDEa VODKa GOES TO THE HEAD OF THE CLASS PHOTO: DOUG YOUNG PHOTO: DEBORAH PARKER WONG