If your idea of a good time involves a tropical paradise like Bali and “four days of warehouse, club, boat, pool and beach parties featuring some of the world’s biggest artists,” then you might want to stop by the website for new festival Forgotten Island Bali and pre-register for tickets for their inaugural 2015 event.

The festival – scheduled for 6 to 9 April 2015 – has just dropped its first line-up announcement with a DJ set from DNB legends Pendulum (featuring MC Verse) leading the charge, while fellow West Australian bass head ShockOne, local champ Kilter and Aussie hip hop star Allday wrap up the first round announcement. Further details are scant for the minute, but check out the poster below and hit the Forgotten Island Facebook page for more information in the meantime.

To find out what you’ll be drinking this year, we asked bartending legend and Liquor.com advisory board member Dale DeGroff to share with us the biggest cocktail trends he’s forecasting for 2014. Here’s what he’s predicting. Cheers!

FLAVOR FATIGUE:

2013 might have been the year of the flavored spirit. There are literally hundreds of flavored spirits and even more in the works. (Not to mention a rash of bars serving bacon-flavored and -infused booze. Care for a bacon chocolate Martini?) I have to admit, my heart sank whentequila fell prey to this trend. I hoped for some restraint in the agave category, but just Google “flavored tequila,” and you’ll weep. Then I tasted Avión Espresso Tequila, and life was good again. That is until I saw the recipe for a concoction called Red Hot Saturday Mix calling for sweet and sour mix, flavored tequila, grenadine and triple sec. All that sweetness with nothing to balance it! Listen, this is all good clean fun, but the market will sort things out in the end.

THE FIFTH TASTE:

Oh mama, it’s umami! Make way for the fifth taste, savory, which is breaking down cocktail barriers. For example, the charming Colin Field, head bartender at Paris’ famed Hemingway Bar in The Ritz, popularized an Italian Martini, which is made with olive oil and grated Parmesan cheese. He’s not alone. I’m seeing more drinks utilizing umami-heavy tomatoes and even soy sauce. As for Colin, he has another year of exile before The Ritz finishes its extensive renovation.

THE ART OF ARTISANAL:

Distributors, liquor stores and bars are all expanding their artisanal-spirits selections. In New York one store, Whiskey & Wine Off 69, has even gone locavore, dedicating several shelves to locally made spirits.

White dog (new make spirit), rum and vodka are still the leaders in the craft-spirits world, but that’s changing, with more and more gin being produced. My fellow Liquor.com advisory board members Allen Katz of The New York Distilling Company and spirits author David Wondrich even collaborated to recreate a colonial gin from an 1809 recipe. Their Chief Gowanus New-Netherland Gin is distilled from a base of rye, hops and juniper berries.

KEEP IT SIMPLE, STUPID:

For years, cocktail ingredient lists were growing to outrageous lengths. Fortunately, many craft-cocktail bartenders are paring down recipes to include only things that actually contribute to the balance and the flavor of a drink. This trend will lead to the creation of new classic cocktails that future generations will look back on as gems from the Second Golden Age of the Cocktail.

Moscato d’Bali

Bali Winemaker Sababay Wins Award for its Delightfully Delicious Moscato d’Bali Wine at Singapore Wine Show

(5/25/2014)

A gathering of friends and media was held at Sababay Winery in Gianyar on Saturday, May 24, 2014, to celebrate the triumphal win of a Silver Award by their newest vintage Moscato d’Bali at the Wine & Spirit Asia Wine Challenge 2014 just held in Singapore.

The evening was hosted by the visionary mother-daughter founding team of Mulyati and Evy Gozali with delicious amuse bouche prepared by Bali’s own celebrity chef Mandif M. Warokka – owner of Teatro Gastroteque.

Made from Muscat grapes grown in cooperative vineyard of 65-hectares in Buleleng, North Bali,Moscato d’Bali is naturally sparkling by combining fermented juice with natural juice of the same grape resulting a fruity sweet wine with low alcohol and sparkling sensation.

Reminiscent of the wines produced by the Piedmont region of northwest Italy, we’re predicting sweet and effervescent Moscato d’Bali will become a runaway success in the Asian wine market now discovering the enjoyment of wine and the wine’s suitability as a pairing for Asian cuisine.

Drunk young while the sparkle is at its most bubbly, Moscato d’Bali is best consumer very chilled. It has a straw color with persistent bubbles. Look for a sent of white flowers with mango overtones and hint of lemon zest.

Sababay wines are processed and fermented in a spotless state-of-the-winemaking-art winery located on Jalan I.B. Mantra – a short drive from Bali’s capital of Denpasar. Produced under the watchful eye of French-born winemaker Vincent Desplat, the winery produced five wines produced from Alphonse-Lavallee and Belgia grapes grown in Bali.

The five wines are:

• MOSCATO D’BALI – A sparkling, effervescent sweet wine produced from Muscat wines.
• LUDISIA – A red wine made from grapes grown in the dry season. A sweet red style wine that can be served at room temperature or slightly chilled.
• PINK BLOSSOM – A Rose style wine best drank young that keeps excellent company with Indonesian cuisine.
• BLACK VELVET – A wine with dark rub tones and complexity imparted by contact with French Oak during the fermentation process.
• WHITE VELVET – A white wine that develops some complexity with age, bets served very chilled. A fresh and lively fruity wine well suited to entertaining in tropical climates.

Sababay Winery has a strong sense of its role in striving to retain Bali’s endangered agricultural character. Revolutionary cooperative efforts in the growing process are helping farmers in Bali retain ancestral land and derive a future rich with promise from working the land. Following sustainable best practice at each step of the growing and wine production process, Sababay strives produce a quality product that nurtures its partners and consumers.

Courtesy of: balidiscovery.com