been moved or is temporarily unavailable. return to your previous page.June is Music + Food Month at Tasting Table. You're not imagining it: It seems like every rock star these days has his own bespoke booze. Just like perfume, liquor comes in pretty bottles with plenty of space for stenciling in a celebrity name. Often it's just another form of brand extension. But there's good news, too. For every yawn-worthy bottle backed by a second-rate pop tart, there are plenty of other great bottles that just so happen to be affiliated with a celebrity. Although some claim to have input in deciding a spirit's flavor profile, for most, you have professional distillers and blenders to thank for the good liquor in your glass, and the celebrities contribute little to the final product beyond their name and investment capital. Here are five bottles to enjoy, whether you prefer bottle service at the club or spinning vintage vinyl at home. Blue Chair Bay Rum ($19) This lineup of rums from country singer/songwriter Kenny Chesney is mellow and sweet, just like his music.
The easy-sipping coconut spiced rum is just right for tropical concoctions. RELATED Action Bronson's Favorite Places to Eat and Drink in New Orleans » Conjure Cognac ($30) Props to rapper Chris "Ludacris" Bridges, who reportedly actually traveled to the Cognac region to participate in selecting the final blend of brandies. The end result balances caramel, almond and dark chocolate for a versatile cognac ideal to sip or mix. DeLeón Joven Diamante Tequila ($150) Owned by Sean "Diddy" Combs and Diageo, this splashy luxury line also includes a $350 añejo tequila and an $850 Distiller's Reserve finished in Sauternes wine casks (which tastes remarkably like Cognac). Mansinthe by Marilyn Manson ($44) Apparently, everyone's favorite creepy Goth rocker has a soft spot for the green fairy. It's jade green in the glass, louching to opalescent, with lots of mint and big, pure licorice flavor. We wouldn't expect anything subtle from Manson. Sauza 901 Silver Tequila ($30) Justin Timberlake teamed up with Beam (and dressed up like a lime to boot) for this blanco tequila.
Smooth and fleetingly sweet, brushed with honey, almond and coconut, it gets a thumbs up for margaritas. Kenny Chesney’s rum infused with country twang The bottle: Blue Chair Bay Rum (White, Coconut and Coconut Spiced), $18.99 (for 750 ml) The backstory: These days, nearly every celebrity seems to seek out an association with a spirits brand. Jay-Z has his signature Cognac). Justin Timberlake is getting into the tequila biz. And even Frank Sinatra has a beyond-the-grave partnership with Jack Daniel’s. Country star Kenny Chesney has joined the bandwagon with a spirit that fits his tropics-loving, “No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems” attitude—namely, a rum. Blue Chair Bay, available in White, Coconut and Coconut Spiced versions, debuted last year to time with Chesney’s tour. (And to give you an idea of Chesney’s popularity, consider the fact that he sold some $90.9 million’s worth of tickets for the 41-venue tour.) Kenny Chesney's beach-friendly new booze(3:38)
Country star Kenny Chesney has joined the celebrity spirits bandwagon with a rum that fits his tropics-loving, “No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems” attitude. Charles Passy has a sip on Lunch Break. Photo: Blue Chair Bay. Chesney’s folks say the difference with Blue Chair (the name comes from a Chesney song) is Chesney’s close association with it—this is truly his own spirit rather than simply a licensed product. “He wanted to create a rum he would drink himself and share with friends,” says Mark Montgomery, Blue Chair Bay’s chief executive. The process behind the creation: Chesney and his team partnered with a master rum blender, then they sampled their way through 30-plus rums before deciding on a blend recipe they liked. The final product is prepared for Chesney by a Barbados-based distiller—located just steps from the beach. (With the Coconut and Coconut Spiced versions, flavorings are obviously added to the mix.) Aside from the celebrity connection, there are a couple of things that make Blue Chair Bay stand out.
For starters, it’s positioned as a “premium” rum, but it’s under the $20 mark—in other words, it’s trying to be more than a mass-market mixing rum, but it isn’t trying to out-price itself, either. “We wanted to be available to the everyman,” says Montgomery. Additionally, the Coconut Spiced flavor represents something new to the market—there are other coconut rums out there, but apparently not a coconut spiced one. “It was a little piece of innovation that Kenny cooked up,” says Montgomery. What we think about it: Given the chill in the air this past week, we could all use a taste of the tropics. Blue Chair Bay fills that niche rather nicely. No, this is isn’t a serious, well-aged sipping rum—Ron Diplomatico is our favorite in that category of late--but it’s got a smooth sweetness that gives it a leg up over some of the harsh white rums we’ve tried (many of which are clearly intended for nothing more than combining with a Coke). And the Coconut Spiced is a charmer of a sip—it’s sweet but also sweetly exotic, with a nice hint of cinnamon and nutmeg.
How to serve it: The Blue Chair Bay team suggests any number of cocktails that make use of the product line, from a Pirate Flag (the Coconut rum with diet cola—a low-cal rum ‘n’ coke, essentially) to a Cinnamon Sun (equal parts Coconut Spiced and coconut water). But they also say the Coconut Spiced rum stands on its own over ice, which is exactly how we plan to enjoy it in the cold days ahead. This advertisement is provided by Bankrate, which compiles rate data from more than 4,800 financial institutions. Bankrate is paid by financial institutions whenever users click on display advertisements or on rate table listings enhanced with features like logos, navigation links, and toll free numbers. Dow Jones receives a share of these revenues when users click on a paid placement. Do You Have the Wrong Financial Advisor? Compare Financial Advisors in Your Neighborhood Mistakes People Make When Choosing a Financial Advisor Exclusive Travel Rewards from Luxury Card