Wednesday, May 26, 2010 | 7:33 p.m.
We’re well aware that, like books and covers, you’re not supposed to judge the booze by the bottle. But they make the bottles so damn cool these days …
Take, for example, newly released Champagne Beau Joie. The first product from Henderson-based Toast Spirits (owned by the same folks who founded Effen Vodka), Beau comes in a bottle sheathed in a shiny suit of copper armor. It’s alcohol accessorized. It would make a lovely vase. Which, minus the vase part, is exactly what Toast owner Jon Deitelbaum is going for. “If you see a bottle of Beau, you’ll instantly say, ‘Oh my God, what is that?’ It’s difficult to evoke that experience with just a bottle.”
But this isn’t just any bottle. Both the copper and glass beneath are made from recycled materials, and untreated, the copper will also patina and turn colors over time. “We actually want it to. If you have a bottle of Beau and 10 years from now you pull it out from the cellar and it’s starting to turn green, that speaks for itself,” Deitelbaum explains.
Not to suggest that what’s in the bottle is of less import. The Chardonnay/Pinot Noir blend was developed with a local family in Epernay, France, and Deitelbaum says the finished product is crisp and clean without any sort of cloying aftertaste. Distributed by Southern Wine and Spirits with a suggested retail price of $79.99, he calls it “a Bentley for the price of a BMW.” Hmm. Looks more like a vase to me.
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