To ring in the new year, our friends at Sauza® Tequila has created some simple margarita recipes that are not only delicious but, most importantly, guilt-free.

Toast to the new year and new you these lower-calorie Sauza margaritas!

The Slender Sauzarita
Ingredients—serves 8:
10 oz. Sauza® Silver Tequila
3 oz. Fresh Orange Juice
3 oz. Fresh Lime Juice
3 oz. Fresh Lemon Juice
6 oz. Agave Nectar
Lime Wheel for garnish

Directions:
Combine ingredients in a pitcher with ice. Mix well. Pour into chilled martini glass and garnish with a lime wheel.

The Skinny-Sour Sauzarita
Ingredients—Serves 7:
8 oz. Sauza® Silver Tequila
4 oz. Cruzan Guava
8 oz. Fresh Lemon Sour
8 oz. Diet Lemon-Lime Soda
Lime squeezed for garnish

Directions:
Combine all ingredients in a pitcher with ice. Mix well. Pour into glass and garnish with a lime.

*Low calorie as compared to the traditional versions of similar cocktails. The lower calories are obtained through mixing with a no calorie or low calorie mixer. “Low calorie” or “Skinny” claims do not suggest that the consumption of a low calorie alcoholic beverage has any health benefit or is part of a healthy calorie reduction program.

There were two bottles that sparked my curiosity, mainly because it would be too risky to store them for another prolonged period of time, and that I couldn’t bare the thought of losing them either! So the date was set, my 1982 Dom Pérignon and my 1988 Château Mouton Rothschild were to be enjoyed prior to me leaving the beautiful city of Sydney.

We brought them along to Lotusbar for pre-drinks, followed by a wonderful degustation dinner.

The 1982 Dom Pérignon still had a lovely array of bubbles gently sparkling through the crystal flute. A beautiful golden color dressed with nice honey scents on the nose. The flavors are just bursting with a great chardonnay fruit, fresh, lightly creamy and incredibly toasty with some sweet nutty fruit and butter. Balanced and beautiful like a ballet dancer tip toeing gracefully on our taste buds.

The 1988 Château Mouton Rothschild was another bottle that needed to journey out of the cellar before my departure. Much to my dismay, the cork was slightly soaked through, and slightly pushed out (probably due to a sudden change in temperature during the buying process) and I was rather worried about possibility of a corked Mouton. I even brought the battered bottle over to the Ultimo Wine Centre for Jon Osbeiston, W.D.(wine doctor) to diagnose with a 55% chance to live, due to the heat damage. The thought of keeping it cellared for my intended event in 2012 would just be foolish, so a date was set for the unveiling of the Mouton. It was a gamble, where the odds were only slightly working towards our favour, fingers were crossed and we hoped for the best.

Peggy Lee Dampney, Amanda Ibrahim

After an hour of decanting by Frank (the cork crumbled and needed to be strained out), the familiar and eager Bordeaux flavors came out in a bout of earthiness. This may not be a perfect wine, but the quality is undoubtedly elegant. It’s rich and fruity, with loads of currant, truffles, roasted herbs and cedar on the nose and palate. Full-bodied, with invisibly silky tannins and an a long finish. I could go on and on, as we savoured every drop and exchanged and challenged tasting notes around the table, just ask my knowledgeable friends! (One of them being the Queen of hospitality - Peggy Lee, I can’t imagine sharing something so special with anyone else.)

When paired with Dan Hong’s roasted duck, still plump and pink in the centre, accompanied with beetroot, purple kale, olive and orange jus, it was a match made in heaven.

A toast to new beginnings! Stay tuned while I settle into the city that never sleeps – New York here I come.

We are by no means dissing the larger clubs out there, but it is nice to know you can have the same quality (if not better) of cocktails and food without adhering to guest-lists, dress codes, and that huge bouncer who knows your name… for all those nights when we are too tired to be fabulous

Little smitten – small bars winning women over

BY RACHEL OLDING

Raising jars to small bars … Amanda Ibrahim, 28, and Megan Khoury, 31, enjoy a drink after work at the Grasshopper Bar on Temperance Lane in the Sydney CBD.Photo: Kate Geraghty

Tired of being hassled by drunk men, women are ditching pubs and nightclubs for small bars.

For Megan Khoury, 31, the new small bars feel safer and are more civilised.

”Guys can’t get away with just swaggering up to you and making some bad call,” she said. ”I choose the small, funky, intimate bars to have that personalised experience with the staff, and to feel comfortable.”

Her co-worker Amanda Ibrahim, 28, said the friendly vibe was important: ”Larger places like the Ivy are not as casual and they’re almost a bit sleazy. In the small bar environment, it’s really just about the company you’re with and having nice drinks and food without pretentiousness.”

Their favourite bars are Sticky Bar, Balcony Bar and the quirky Grasshopper Bar where drinks are served in recycled jars.

Click here to continue reading on SMH.com.au

Armand de Brignac is the name of a Champagne brand produced by Champagne Cattier, and sold in opaque metallic bottles.

You may recognise Cattier as one of the most affordable French champagnes you can purchase from Vintage Cellars in Australia, but for the premium Brut Gold, just a total of 8 people are involved in making Armand de Brignac. The Cattier family have possessed vineyards in Champagne since 1763.

Or was its sucess due to the accidental endorsement by Jay Z?

Since Jay-Z’s spat with Frederic Rouzaud (managing director of Louis Roederer, which produces Cristal), the rapper vowed to boycott all Roederer’s products after reportedly accusing Mr Rouzaud of racism for saying that he “cannot forbid” hip hop stars from buying his champagne.

David Beckham and George Clooney are also among those won over to Armand de Brignac, which is referred to by drinkers as “Ace of Spades” after the image on its label.

The bottle’s ostentatious design also adds to the “bling” nature of the rap world, with it’s opaque gold bottle and pewter label and the engraved Ace of spades.

Brut Gold is comprised of 40% chardonnay, 40% Pinot Noir, and 20% Pinot Meunier. Complex and full-bodied, with light floral notes, a racy fruit charcater, with subtle brioche accents, and a long creamy finish.

The Brut Gold (Ace of Spades) was first launched in 2006, with the Rose and Blanc de Blancs following in 2008.

Becasse

While others are committed to “dry-July”, it’s actually my favorite month for drinking as it is laden with Champagne events. Last year, it was the fantastic events during Dom Perignon week, and this year didn’t fail to disappoint.

The Comité Champagne, together with Vogue Entertaining + Travel collaboratively held a dinner at Becasse, where Justin North created a modern French menu to match my favorite liquid indulgence – French Champagne.

Bollinger’s Australian brand manager, Paul Boothby mentioned that Australia still remains as one of the top 10 countries for Champagne consumption, with 3 Million bottles sold last year (that’s 140,000 bottles consumed more than other countries such as China), and that makes us a very strong Champagne market (with good taste!).

The selection for the night included some beautiful vintages, but we shouldn’t let them steal the show, as the NV’s are usually the harder blends to make. A good vintage comes around five times a decade, and 20% of it goes into the blends to make the non-vintage. The difficulty in creating a consistent flavour and quality in the NV release is far higher.

Justin North has put together a harmonious menu where each course complements and brings out the elegant characteristics of each type of Champagne. Due to the “micro climates” within each appellation, the different terrior and temperatures give each champagne its own unique characteristics, much like different regions for wine.

Canape

Amuse bouche

Escabeche of scampi with gazpacho granita
NV Moët & Chandon Rosé, Epernay

Entree

Raviolo of spanner crab with Champagne cabbage and lemongrass velouté
NV Ruinart Blanc de Blancs, Reims

Middle Course

Fricassée of calf’s tongue, marron and scallop, Jerusalem artichoke
1996 Champagne Lanson Gold Label

Main

Roast Breast and crispy spiced leg of quail with parsnips and dried cranberry jus
NV Larmandier-Bernier Brut Rosé de Saignée, Vertus

Dessert

Citrus tart with strawberry and vanilla yogurt sorbet
1999 Veuve Clicquot Rich, Reims

And to highlight one of my favorite vintages: 1996

Champagne (1996 Lanson)

For an unknown reason, the 1996 vintages are both high in acid and in fruit ripeness, whereas normally, only one of those characteristics shine through. We were served the Lanson – and the best thing? It was poured from magnums, known to have the best volume to liquid ratio, and a gem for the cellar.

 A cocktail normally takes around 2 minutes to make. That makes sense doesn’t it? A good cocktail requires good measures of spirits, sometimes a muddling of fresh fruit, herbs, puree or syrups. It is then shaken in a boston until the temperature is nice and cold, then strained into a chilled glass; and garnished. If you don’t make cocktails for a living, it would probably take you over 5 minutes.

So if you’re getting annoyed with 6 of your silly friends because you ordered 6 different cocktails, don’t complain that the service is slow, because guess what? 
a) you’re not the only person in the bar we’re serving and
b) it will take more than 12 minutes to make 6 cocktails

And if you’re arriving 10 minutes before the bar closes and you order a selection of cocktails – then you proceed to leave zero tip? That’s also going to piss the bartender off, when most of the fresh ingredients have been stored away, and ice is running low. How about a glass of champagne or a beer next time?

One more thing. Frozen cocktails are tacky. Save it for your next trip to Club Med. If you’re in a classy joint, don’t order s strawberry daiquiri, or anything with cream and chocolate in it. You’re not in highschool anymore.

There, I’ve said it. Something we’ve ALWAYS wanted to tell customers but can’t. /rant

Very interesting dinner where food is paired with Cognac. It was done beautifully, to my surprise!

Salt Cod & Rouille

Hennessy VSOP, Muscat Grape & Lime

Rock Oyster with Vadouvan Salad

Hennessy VSOP & Sparkling Water

Spring Lamb Samphire & Asparagus

Hennessy XO on the Rocks

Bouillabaisse

Hennessy XO Neat

Fresh Curd, Strawberry & Rhubarb

Kouign-amann & Pineapple Chocolate Truffle

Hennessy Paradis Neat

DOM PERIGNON WEEK 2008

EXPERIENCE MAGNIFICENCE

Dom Perignon Plenitude Experience

We are inviting you to experience the romance,

passion and luxury of the champagne that knows no compromise.

Accompanied by Dom Perignon’s Greg Williams, explore the three extraordinary expressions of Dom Perignon.

Dom Perignon Blanc, Dom Perignon Rose and Dom Perignon Œnothèque.

Enjoy these exceptional wines with expertly crafted delicacies which allow Dom Perignon

to express its seamless and sensual qualities.

This unique experience is available for 8 guests only

We did a series of three vintages:

Vintage 2000 – matched with Salmon Sashimi
Rosé Vintage 1998 – matched with acorn fed prosciutto
Œnothèque 1993 – matched with oysters in ginger and ponzu

The Œnothèque was beautifully complex, it is a volumptuous wine with a lingering creamy fullness. What makes it so special? Normal champagne vintages are only released after 7 years of aging. Though on top of that, a small portion of each vintage is kept on the lees even longer to continue the evolution and magnify its natural qualities. When a vintage is released for the second time, it merits the Œnothèque label. It indicates that a Dom Perignon vintage has reached either its second peak in maturity, with optimized intensity (15 to 20 years after harvest), or its third peak, with optimized complexity (after 30 years on the lees).

I’m officially Champagne’d out.