Special cocktails at A Bar
23-4-2013
Last week the new bar named ‘A Bar’ of the InterContinental Amstel Hotel in Amsterdam opened. The bar has a chic and modern look with an in copper and marble executed bar. The terrace with several dining and sitting areas, has a splendid view over the Amstel. The bar serves cocktails with a 2.0 twist. The barrel aged cocktails like ‘The Negroni’ is served in a special way: when ordering, the guest will get a barrel of 1 liter and everyone at the table can tap their own drink. The classic ‘Gin Flip’ is served with an eggshell filled with an ‘orangebitter’, so guests can add this to their taste. Dutch distillates are the basics of the cocktails. They prepare components for cocktails like ‘syrups of flowers’ or ‘raspberry-strawberry shrub’ in the hotel kitchen. The menu is inspired by the Nordic Food trend. Traditional Dutch products and seasonal ingredients served fresh, pure and simple.
Be part of the Tiger Beer augmented reality campaign
23-4-2013
A nice example of augmented reality. An interactive Tiger Beer video wall ( of beer brand Tiger Beer) situated along the connecting walkway within Dhoby Ghaut MRT station detects passers-by through infrared motion sensors, displays the persons walking past and triggers speech bubbles to appear above their heads, as if they were thinking out loud. The speech bubbles contain quotes with excuses to not miss the football match. Fans can post their most original and innovative suggestions on how to make it in time for a match online. The best submissions will be featured on the video screen.
Sandwich with ice cream
22-4-2013
Why serving a scoop of ice cream in a cone or in a bowl, when you can also serve it as a sandwich? Chocolatier Pierre in the Netherlands offers this delicacy: a sandwich with ice cream. The sandwich is a light brioche bun with the sweet taste of cake and a hint of orange. Recommended is to fill the sandwich with “creamy” ice creams such as nuts and chocolate. The sandwich with ice cream is inspired by Sicily, where locals eat the delicacy regularly. Chocolatier Pierre sells this sandwich for the second year.
Whiskey brand puts music legends in the spotlight
22-4-2013
Last week Jack Daniel’s launched a global advertising campaign with the legends of the music industry in the Netherlands. The campaign shows classic images of Joey Ramone, Bad Brains, Franks Sinatra and Freddie King. The campaign of Jack Daniel’s shows the close connection between Jack Daniel’s and music over the years. The campaign will be shown on Discovery Channel and online via Youtube and Facebook, until March 2014.
Bavaria opens non alcoholic bar
19-4-2013
After about 15 years the non-alcoholic beer will return in the shelves of gas stations in the Netherlands. To celebrate the return of non-alcoholic beer, Bavaria will introduce their beers in a pop-up non-alcoholic bar in a Shell station near Amsterdam. In this pop-up bar visitors can taste the Bavaria 0.0% Original beer for free. With the introduction of non-alcoholic beer in the gas stations, Bavaria wants to create a new moment of use for Bavaria 0.0% Original, Lemon and White.
Lighting beer bottle of Heineken
18-4-2013
During the Milan Design Week Heineken introduced the beer bottles ‘Heineken Ignite’ that interacts with people and its surroundings, by shining. The interactive beer bottles have micro sensors and wireless networking technology to sense when people are clicking the bottles together to toast. The bottle also lights on when someone takes a sip and it responds to music. With this bottle Heineken is trying to get a greater range in the nightlife. The bottles are specially designed for the Milan Design Week, hopefully we see them in bars and clubs soon…
Spark The Hague opens its doors
17-4-2013
Today the new bar Spark The Hague opens its doors. The bar is part of the Hilton Hotel The Hague, but has its own entrance and address. The trendy bar is a location to relax with night entertainment like Funky Jazz Live, Ladies First and Sparks & Bubbles. At the Spark The Hague you can enjoy quality cocktails, wines and champagnes supplemented with Asian finger food and international snacks. The cocktails are made by bartenders Michael-John Straatmand and David van Panhuys who have a broad knowledge of cocktails and wines.
Pat & Mat water bottles
16-4-2013
The sustainable brand ‘Well Water’ celebrates its tenth anniversary with the introduction of a ‘Pat & Mat’ bottle. To get even the smallest children to drink water, their spring water is packaged in a handy bottle for small children’s hands, with a resealable cap. In addition Well Water works with Simavi to provide thousands of people in Malawi clean and safe drinking water in 2013.
Only Snapchat and Poke allowed
16-4-2013
Many dishes are photographed worldwide. There are more and more restaurants that no longer allow the use of instagram or camera’s. This is partly due to the inconvenience to other guests (flash for example) but also to the poor quality pictures that are spread across the net. Maybe the apps SnapChat and Poke are a solution to this problem. These apps enable users to share images that can only be viewed by the recipient for a few seconds before they ‘self-destruct’. As restaurant owner you can make a sign to indicate that you only allow your guest to take pictures with Poke & SnapChat ;-).
A bicycle drive-in
15-4-2013
By 2025 the number of cyclists is expected to double in Switzerland’s largest metropolitan area. Because of these staggering statistics, Zurich’s City Council has created the stadtverkehr 2025 program, which aims to improve the pedestrian and cyclist infrastructure, and reduce motorized traffic. Part of this initiative includes the opening of the Velokafi – a ‘drive-in’ for bicycles on the outdoor terrace of the Rathaus Cafe, which is a popular spot next to the Limmat river. Two wooden docking stations with tabletops enable cyclists to pull up and have some food and a coffee without getting off their bike. Nice gimmick but we prefer to drink our espresso at the terrace. But the initiative gives a lot of rumour around the ‘Stadtverkehr 2025 program’.
