“The best part of exploring is getting to taste the weird stuff.”
So proclaims Playboy writer Jason Horn, in his 50-state roundup of The Strangest Spirits Made in Every State.
Horn recognizes Toulouse Red as the “obvious choice” to “fit the tastes…of New Orleans.”
We couldn’t agree more. Come by this weekend to get a bottle and find out for yourself!
You wander through the liquor store, idly glancing at the labels on the multitude of bottles. While searching out your selection, did you ever wonder what’s involved in creating these labels? While the design process for a liquor package can be a long and winding road, some of the final steps can be the most difficult.
Specifically, every spirits label must be approved by the Federal government’s Advertising, Labeling and Formulation Division (ALFD) of the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB). The end result is a COLA. No, not the kind you drink; that’s a Certificate of Label Approval. Wow. That’s a whole lot of bureaucracy in those names alone.
While meeting with spirits writer Allison Alsup on another matter, the topic of spirits labels came up and I mentioned a few of the requirements. Intrigued, Allison proposed a story exploring the sometimes-maddening minutiae of the spirits label approval process.
“…while slapping on a label might seem like a simple enough aff air, getting a prospective label through the ALFD’s plethora of requirements often takes months, multiple edits and re-do’s. At least that was the experience of Jedd Haas, founder and one-man operator of the New Orleans craft distillery Atelier Vie.”
Look on pages 21-22 of the Summer 2016 issue of Edible New Orleans, or read the full article online.
When in New Orleans, put on your mask. Or so it went with some of this lively group from California that visited this past Saturday. Our visitors enjoyed our free tour and tasting, and left with some bottles for their ongoing cocktail experiments back in the Golden State.
We enjoyed a visit from Bryan Dias and his wife Sylvia this past weekend. Bryan, representing NOLA Drinks, took a deep dive into the production process at Atelier Vie and explored the taste panorama of our spirits in his Visit to Atelier Vie’s NOLA Distillery.
“We tasted the two current versions of the gin – ‘Euphrosine Gin #9’ – both the regular and the barrel-finished reserve. Both were very nice. Neither had a preponderance of juniper and were just well-crafted, enjoyable, and approachable gins. The barrel-finished was very nice, golden in color deriving from the finishing in American Bourbon barrels, and rounded. It was very nice for ‘sipping,’ as Jedd put it.”
Taking measurements and readings of the Euphrosine Gin.
Photograph by Bryan Dias, NOLADrinks
Read the full article at NOLA Drinks and come visit us during the weekend to taste for yourself.
Benjamin, Thomas, Quintin, and Devon stopped by the tasting room this past Saturday. They arrived just in time to enjoy a tasting and a lively discussion of our spirits and the distillation process.
Come see us next weekend to get in the picture!
Following on the news of our Mississippi distribution, we appeared yesterday on Tim McNally’s Wine, Dine & Spirits Show. We kicked off the discussion with an exploration of spirits distribution and why selling spirits in Mississippi, which is the closest state to New Orleans, took a very long time.
We followed up with some discussion of Atelier Vie spirits and an upcoming experimental release.
August 16, 2016 – New Orleans. Atelier Vie, home of Real New Orleans Spirits, is pleased to announce that the distillery has expanded distribution to Mississippi and has released an initial list of Mississippi retail accounts.
“Mississippi is right next door to Louisiana and we’ve been working on getting into Mississippi for a long time,” said Jedd Haas, President of Atelier Vie. “We’ve had numerous visitors from Mississippi come to the distillery over the years. They all ask when they’ll be able to buy our spirits at their local stores. We’re pleased to inform all our friends in Mississippi that the time is now,” Haas continued.
First “Control” State for Atelier Vie
While distribution in many states, including Louisiana, is handled by private distributors, Mississippi is a “control” state where the state purchases and distributes spirits to private retailers. Atelier Vie has appointed Steve Tonore & Associates as their Mississippi broker to solicit orders from retailers. All Atelier Vie spirits are now available from the Special Order Desk of the Mississippi ABC.
Initial Mississippi Retail Outlets
The first stores in Mississippi carrying Atelier Vie spirits include:
• Bulldog Package Store, 301 Mississippi 12, Starkville
• Ferdie’s Discount Wine & Liquor, 721 Hwy 19 N., Meridian
• The Liquor Store, 2080 S. Frontage Rd., Vicksburg
• Maisano’s Fine Wine & Spirits, 1622 Bienville Blvd., Ocean Springs
• McDade’s Wine & Spirits, 1220 E. Northside Dr., #320, Jackson
• Village Package Store, 1805 Lelia Dr., Jackson
• Vintage Wine Market, 1000 Highland Colony Pkwy., Ridgeland
Photos by JR Thomason and Brian Perkins
Atelier Vie’s Spirits
Atelier Vie distills Euphrosine Gin #9, a flavorful American gin; and also distills a barrel-aged version of Euphrosine, called Barrel-Finished Reserve, which is aged in American whiskey barrels. The Atelier Vie line-up also includes Toulouse Green, Absinthe Verte, a traditional-style absinthe based in part on French recipes from the 1800s and distilled with Louisiana wormwood; and Toulouse Red, Absinthe Rouge, a “new school” American absinthe colored red with hibiscus and excellent for cocktail mixing. Atelier Vie also sells Buck 25 Vodka; an overproof cane vodka designed for creative mixologists to craft their own spirits flavors through rapid infusion.
Visiting Hours at the Distillery
The distillery is open for tastings and discussion of the distillation process every weekend from 10-2 on both Saturday and Sunday. There is no charge to visit the distillery and the company’s full line of spirits is available for retail purchase during these weekend hours. Visitors should see the company web site for directions and additional details.
The Company
Inspired by our renowned culinary culture, Atelier Vie creates flavorful new spirits in one of the greatest drinking cities of the world. “Liquor is art you can drink.” Atelier Vie was founded in 2011 by Jedd Haas.
Contact:
Jedd Haas
504-534-8590 (distillery line, leave message)
jedd@ateliervie.com
“Real New Orleans Spirits” is a registered trademark of Atelier Vie, LLC.
A high resolution version of the image included in this release is available for print use on request.
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George Yatchisin, one our our visitors during Tales of the Cocktail, included us in Tales Day 2 blog roundup, “Set ‘Em Up and Knock ‘Em Down.”
After the trials of an early morning run, George came over to the distillery, where he notes that “nothing wipes the smug healthy glow off your face like sampling gin and absinthe well before noon.” Indeed George: it’s all allowed in New Orleans!
Visit this weekend for your tasting session during our Bottle Sales Hours.
We hosted a bunch of lively visitors this week during our participation in Distillery Day with Tales of the Cocktail. Visitors from the local area, around the USA, and foreign lands (France & Australia represent!) came by to learn about our distillation process for absinthe and gin during our Founder’s Tour.
Of course, no visit would be complete without a lively time in the tasting room. At left, Pete Bignell from Belgrove Rye Distillery in Tasmania, Australia, shares a laugh with spirits writer Beth McKibben. We have enjoyed professional discussions with Pete on a distilling forum for several years, so it was a pleasant surprise to have him pop in for a visit and join the fun. We also obtained a sample of his rye whiskey, and it’s excellent!
Beth’s husband is in the middle; he was a good sport and we didn’t have to twist his arm too hard to partake in the tasting. At the far left, we would be remiss not to mention the hand of spirits writer Rachel Burkons from Tasting Panel magazine, who overcame flight cancellations and made it to the distillery.
No Bottle Sales Hours on Sunday, July 17, 2016. Visit on Tuesday, July 19th, during Tales of the Cocktail Distillery Day.
