Ever found yourself in a frozen room full of high end vodkas?  With sculptor/potter Peter Shire and a few friends?  And one of you – not sure which – is wearing a leopard skin pillbox hat?  Well, it happened to me a few weeks ago, in Beverly Hills.  Oh, yeah, I think I was the one wearing the Russian-style white fur coat with matching tall hat.  The (faux) furs — provided by the restaurant — are necessary when you enter the refrigerated VodBox for a tasting of luxury vodkas from around the world, some so rare even I had never heard of them.

I don’t usually have much of a tolerance for the cold, but my appetite for vodka seemed to go way up when I was in that fun room.  Sipping and tasting.  It was one of those “what’s not to like?” moments.

By the way, anyone can sign up for the VodBox experience, dreamed up by long-time L.A. restaurateur Larry Nicola for Nic’s on Canon Drive.

Have you noticed the beginnings of the molecular mixology movement trickling into bars in the US? Following the molecular food revolution that began in Spain, bartenders here are moving into their kitchens to concoct tinctures and other flavorings for their cocktail inventions. But these aren’t the fruit-based infusions of the past decade: these flavors are vegetable and even meat-based. And the cocktails are savory, not sweet.

Have we finally grown up and evolved away from childish things? Some of us have, finally. And the very grown up rye whiskey is one of best bases for these new cocktails, according to Jeff Hollinger at Absinthe Brasserie and Bar and Restaurant in San Francisco. He showed me a bartender’s new “Garlicky Tomato Tincture” so intense that the bartender’s wife told him to throw it away immediately. (He didn’t, but the bottle is still pretty full so I wonder how much of it is getting used?) Jeff himself is in the midst of creating a new perfect flavor: smoky bacon, to be used for an upcoming cocktail event. Is this a great idea?!?

Absinthe, to drink
And for the perfectly served Absinthe drink? Just ask Jeff — the elegant turn-of-the-century Absinthe Fountain and other paraphernalia are right at his elbow.