Dedicated to giving back this holiday season, iconic spirit brand Grand Marnier has partnered with three charitable organizations to help raise funds for their individual causes. World Wildlife Fund, one of the world’s largest nature conservation programs; WaterAid America, dedicated to transforming lives by improving access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene in the world’s poorest countries; and Cool Earth, an organization that helps indigenous communities halt deforestation one village at a time, will participate in an extraordinary holiday program – The Grand Giving Tree.

Live now on Grand Marnier’s Facebook page, The Grand Giving Tree Facebook application will allow users to select a holiday ornament representing their organization of choice and place it on a virtual holiday tree. The organization with the most ornaments by December 31st will receive a $10,000 donation. The giving will not stop there. Grand Marnier acknowledges the significance of the causes featured and will award a secondary amount to each of the remaining two organizations. In addition, all users who hang an ornament on the tree can enter to win $1,000 for themselves to spread holiday cheer to their family and friends.

“We are so excited to be partnering with such amazing organizations,” said Pamela Broyles, Marketing Manager for Marnier Lapostolle Inc. “The holidays should be about giving, and we are honored to be able to contribute to these deserving causes.”

Recognizing the importance of social media in our digital world, Grand Marnier is tapping into an audience of millions and encouraging them to give back in a non-traditional way.

“By utilizing a hugely popular platform like Facebook, The Grand Giving Tree will bring people together through social networking and the power of goodwill,” concluded Broyles.

Take a moment to get involved during the holidays by visiting The Grand Giving Tree on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/grandmarnier and choose your cause’s ornament today.

Grand Marnier Quintessence

Since its introduction in 1880, Grand Marnier has been an icon for French spirits and has been residing happily as a top-shelf liqueur ever since. A blend of true Cognacs and the distilled essence of bitter orange, the possibilities with Grand Marnier are endless.

Today, Grand Marnier has just announced the upcoming release of Grand Marnier Quintessence, their first new expression of Grand Marnier since the release of Cent-Cinquantenaire to mark their 150th anniversary in 1977 and Mutineer Magazine is here to breakdown this new libation. As said, Grand Marnier is a blend of Cognacs and the distilled essence of bitter orange, so let’s start with the Cognac.

The Cognacs used to create Quintessence are sourced from Grand Champagne, the most prestigious cru zone in the Cognac region. The age of these cognacs is from 25 to 100 years and have been carefully selected from the Grand Marnier Paradise. Specifically selecting our 1906 Grande Champagne and the 1955 Grande Champagne for the blend. Paradise is a special cellar where all our extra old cognacs are stored. In order to preserve absolute quality from the vintage, the cognac is actually taken out of the barrel after reaching maturity and put in large glass containers and then transferred to the Paradise Cellar. The oldest of our Paradise cognacs is 1875.

More than 20 lots of different Cognacs are included in the final product. Next, comes the orange perfume of Quintessence.

Grand Marnier has used the same bitter oranges selected for all of the brand’s marques. However, to produce Quintessence, a unique, exacting and time-honored Marnier recipe, called “double parfum,” has been implemented. This perfume is very delicate, subtle, fresh and richer than the traditional perfume. To create the “double parfum,” orange peels are macerated with the perfume of the first distillation. This is followed by a second distillation to further refine the flavor and produce the final result: an amazingly tantalizing and delicious flavor.

And lastly, Grand Marnier Quintessence goes to barrels to rest.

Finally, the Cognacs, “double parfum” of orange and sugar are blended together to create the perfect balance and elicit the most beguiling flavor. This is followed by the “marriage time” as the blend ages in small French oak casks. At the end of this marrying period (12 months), the cognac and the perfume are judged to have reached the perfect harmony.

Quintessence is a limited expression that will be on shelves in September selling for $799.99 a bottle.

When I moved from Seattle to Los Angeles, I was prepared for much higher real estate costs, though I did not consider the higher price of cocktails. Twenty dollars is not an uncommon price for a cocktail in a club, with bottle service starting at around $300 and going up to $40,000 for a 3 Liter bottle limited edition of 1998 Dom Perignon at the swank new Kress nightclub in West Hollywood. Bottle service isn’t the only way to spend enough in a club to buy a Vespa scooter, check out these cocktails for the affluent: Continue Reading »