• Home
• About Us
• News +
  • Current
  • 2006
  • 2005
  • 2004
• Craft
• Products +
  • Classic Flavors
  • Seasonal Flavors
  • Custom Flavors
• Etiquette +
  • Sipping
  • Pairing +
    • Principles of Pairing
    • How to Serve
    • How to Taste
    • Flavor Pairings
  • Mixing +
    • Black Truffle
    • Candied Ginger
    • Celery Peppercorn
    • Chocolate Orange
    • Grapefruit Honey
    • Pear Lavender
    • Three Tea
    • Pumpkin Pie
    • Rose Petal
• Buy | Try +
  • Stores
  • Online
  • Bars + Restaurants
  • Distributors
  • Gift Packs
• Contact
• Events +
  • Current
  • Past
• Trade
• Newsletter
• Links

Member | Slow Food

Modern Spirits Brings Vodka Pairings to James Beard House
 

LOS ANGELES, 8.16.2007 -- Guess who’s coming to dinner? Vodka! Southern California-based Modern Spirits will host the first artisan vodka pairing dinner at the James Beard House in Manhattan on Monday, September 24, 2007.

“Three years ago, we introduced a portfolio of spirits for chefs and sommeliers to pair with small plates and rich, bold dishes,” says Modern Spirits co-founder and vodkamaker, Melkon Khosrovian. “Hosting a vodka-pairing dinner at the country’s most prestigious culinary institution is an honor and a signal that the dining table is ready for broader pairing options.”

Modern Spirits vodkas enhance the dining experience in three unique ways:
- They whet the appetite;
- Their complex, nuanced flavors complement or contrast a variety of dishes;
- They cleanse the palate so diners can experience each new bite the same as their first.

Also, because these vodkas are produced with only real ingredients, they’re ideal for natural tasting cocktails.

“The James Beard Foundation’s mission is to celebrate, preserve, and nurture America’s culinary heritage and diversity,” notes The James Beard Foundation’ Director of House Programming, Izabela Wojcik. “In the last few years we’ve witnessed a tremendous growth in hand-crafted and infused spirits, in cocktail menus, and a real excitement and interest on the part of the consumer. It’s a natural fit for the James Beard House to stage an exemplary dinner with a top notch chef who creates a menu revolving around artisan vodka.”

Teaming up with the chef and co-owner of Nic’s Beverly Hills, Larry Nicola, Modern Spirits will showcase a five-course dinner paired with both straight pours and natural cocktails:
 

Hors d’oeuvres	Vodka cured Scottish salmon on pumpernickel raisin crostini with caper dill aioli Cumin crusted black pheasant in Shiso leaf Chickpea fritter with Maytag blue and microgreens Paired with Grapefruit Honey Vodka mini martinis
1st Course	Verrine of tuna belly, Guajillo chiles, grapefruit and mizuna Paired with Candied Ginger Vodka
2nd Course	Organic gazpacho martini with peekytoe crab and Dry lemongrass soda Paired with Celery Peppercorn Vodka
3rd Course	Dandelion greens with burrata, pistachio, Asian pears and oranges with apricot vinaigrette Paired with Pear Lavender Vodka
4th Course	T-Bone of organic lamb au poivre with whipped Gorgonzola Paired with Black Truffle Vodka
5th Course	White chocolate semifreddo with Sicilian mulberries and cassis glaze Paired with tea and dark chocolate martini (Three-Tea Vodka)

About Modern Spirits
True love started Los Angeles-based Modern Spirits, maker of one of the finest lines of artisan vodkas available in the U.S. Husband-and-wife team Melkon Khosrovian and Litty Mathew founded the company in 2004 after friends and family began asking to buy the subtle, complex vodkas Melkon had created for his then-fiancée (who hated vodka) to sip at family meals. Modern Spirits uses only natural ingredients and small-batch production techniques to handcraft its growing portfolio of vodkas.

Photo

From Left: Melkon Khosrovian, Litty Mathew, Larry Nicola