LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton - Essential Homme Magazine

As true believers of the work hard, play hard mantra, we present you with It’s Been a Long Week, a weekly column aimed at awarding some liquid appreciation to you for just being yourself, dammit. Make yourself a glass or two, on us — you deserve it.

Tequila cocktails might be the new Aperol Spritz, and we’ve got the LVMH version to up your game. Volcan De Mi Tierra is Moët Hennessy’s first tequila and a joint venture with the Gallardo family in Jalisco. With two expression – Blanco and Cristalino, Volcan is a newcomer to the scene here to disrupt the spirits world. Elegant and smooth, yet made in the traditional volcanic-stone tahona process which provides the extra clean endnotes. Ideal as a sipping tequila as well, Volcan is quickly rising to the helm of artisanal mixology with the following expression from Bluebird London.

Pst… Pro tip: you can substitute tequila for any spirit in traditional cocktails

Ingredients:

1.5 oz Volcan De Mi Tierra Blanco

1.5 oz Grapefruit juice

0.5 oz Fresh lime juice

0.5 oz Coconut nectar

1 spray Thai Chili Tincture

Kaffir lime leaves

Method:

Dry muddle 2 kaffir leaves in the bottom of a shaker

Add all ingredients except the Thai chili tincture

In a Collins glass, spray Thai chili tincture, and rub the rim with lemon and salt

Share and strain over ice

Garnish with a single kaffir lead and an edible orchid

Surround Collins glass with cedar chips and set aflame immediately before serving

SALUD!

Image: LVMH.

Every now and then, the creative titans from fashion’s largest conglomerate, LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, descend from their marble-finished-Parisian-thrones and assemble in the real world like the humans they claim to be. While the majority of these gatherings are overshadowed by flash (Fashion Week) and intimidation (again, Fashion Week), once a year it is to serve a nurturing purpose. This Spring, Creative Directors Nicolas Ghesquière (Louis Vuitton), Marc Jacobs (Marc Jacobs), Karl Lagerfeld (Fendi), Humberto Leon and Carol Lim (Kenzo), Phoebe Philo (Céline), Raf Simons (Dior), and Riccardo Tisci (Givenchy) join Delphine Arnault, Jean-Paul Claverie, and, Chairman and CEO of the LVMH Fashion Group, Pierre-Yves Roussel as the head jury for the 2014 LVMH prize. The award recognizes excellence of emerging designers and, as Arnault says, “reflects the vitality and diversity of young fashion today.” But if acknowledgement from fashion-royalty isn’t enough, the winner will also receive a grant of 300,000 euros, as well as personalized assistance from a special LVMH team in developing their company for a period of twelve months. To put it simply, it’s like Project Runway, except that Heidi Klum is now Chanel. While the winner won’t be officially decided until May, the 12-brand short list was just released last week and features some of our favorite designers—like Shayne Oliver from Hood by Air, who you can read about in our new February/March print issue. Meet the rest of the finalists below and check back here in May for the final winner!