Craft Cocktails by Design at Blu Dot’s NE Headquarters

If you’re a cocktail connoisseur and a design fan, here’s an event that will surely hit the spot. Cocktails by Design, a benefit for the University of Minnesota’s Goldstein Museum of Design, sponsored by Blu Dot and Duke Albert. The evening will demonstrate how the art of cocktail making is influenced by design elements that also impact furniture, fashion, and food.

“It really is a fun look at design in the world of cocktailing—from what [a cocktail is] served in and how it’s handcrafted to how you prepare and show it,” says Barbara Lutz at the Goldstein Museum of Design. Not to mention it will help guests see how design affects their communities and everyday objects. “Design is all around you. It’s in everything you touch,” Lutz says.

Eat Street Social, which uses modern techniques to redesign classic cocktails, such as The Old Fashioned and the French 75, designed five handcrafted cocktails for the event: The Old Fashioned, Four in Hand, Strange Cousin from the East, Armagnac 75, as well as a nonalcoholic cocktail.

These re-invented takes on the classics use a wide variety of ingredients to tweak the original recipes, such as the substitution of Dill Aquavit for gin in a Tom Collins, or the addition of angostura bitters in the Mai Tai. Mixology demonstrations during the evening will show guests how these unique cocktails are crafted.

No detail will go unnoticed, even the ice, crucial for maintaining the taste and visual aesthetic of the drink. The ice is provided by Minnesota Ice, a company that specializes in providing clear ice cubes that melt slower. Each type of ice, whether in the form of a cube, shard, or shave, is designed for the specific type of glass and drink, and is hand chipped and cut to ensure that each cocktail is styled correctly.

The event will introduce guests to the histories of the featured cocktails, from the 1860s, when the cocktail first originated, to the height of cocktail culture in the 1960s. What would you wear to a cocktail party in the 1860s? The 1920s? Digital images of items in the Goldstein’s collection will showcase 100 years of cocktail fashions, barware, and glassware.

To accompany the handcrafted cocktails, Natedogs, a designer food vendor recently voted 2017 Hot Dog Vendor of the Year for the United States, will provide a creative culinary experience. His wieners will be designed specially for the event, including a meat-free hot dog for vegetarians.

Blu Dot will host Cocktails by Design at its headquarters in Northeast, along with new gift shop, Duke Albert. Extra incentive to attend: Guest get an exclusive shopping opportunity at Blu Dot’s outlet store, normally open only on Saturday and Sunday.

Cocktails by Design: Thursday June 15 from 6-9 p.m. @ Blu Dot HQ, 1321 Tyler St. NE, Minneapolis. Tickets info at: goldstein.design.umn.edu

 

 

 

 

 

 

by Catherine Guden

 

Personal Designer

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