A thing that gourmets with particularly aristocratic tastes have always missed: a bar hamper for when they were on the road. Unfortunately, it’s a bit late now, with New Year’s Eve just round the corner, but this is definitely something that should be taken along for the ride next year and particularly next summer. After all, the specimen on show here is an especially elegant accessory manufactured with a little modesty but a lot of love for the details. Apparently it takes eight weeks for the craftsmen to ready a single cocktail hamper from American root wood and finely-grained leather for its ceremonial hand-over. And in order to make sure that the hamper really contains all you need to make or shake classic cocktails such as a Screwdriver (you always need to have one at hand), a Bloody Mary (difficult to perfect) or the Vodka Martini a certain British secret agent prefers shaken not stirred, designer Sina-Maria Eggl specifically peeked over the shoulder of the barkeepers at the Dorchester Hotel in London.
On opening the lid, which comes complete with navy-blue leather covers, you can revel in the sight of everything one might ever need to mix and enjoy a good drink, automatically dipped in pleasantly warm light – which is, moreover, reflected by integrated mirrors as is to be expected of any classic cocktail bar. It may be a superfluous question, but yes every single piece has been custom-made and meets the highest practical and aesthetic standards. Which is what one should expect if luxurious products are not just to be an empty phrase. The paring knife, to choose one example at random, boasts a walnut handle with indents into which magnets have been inserted to make certain the cheeky little item stays safely in place during transport.
Oh, and I quite forgot to mention: You’ll yourself have to arrange the appropriate four wheels, chauffeur, and companion for whom you then conjure up the one or other cocktail from your hamper. Not that this is particularly difficult when it comes to the car and the bar hamper. Both are available from Rolls Royce. (tw)
