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2012: A Year in Review & Christmas Message

Soon we’ll be turning the leaf on 2012 but before we do, we’d like to take the opportunity to review the best of times in the Gourmantic world.

Travel

We kicked off the year with a series from an unlikely travel destination, Iran from our guest contributor who featured a series of photographs depicting life in the city of Tehran. We toured the Celebrity Millennium cruise ship followed by the Celebrity Solstice and enjoyed a city break and pampering experience at the Shangri-la Sydney.

Food

While the Sydney restaurant scene kept us busy with openings, themed nights and new menu launches, it was the connections we made with the producers and chefs that made a big impact on us with events such as the Producers Lunch Forums and Oysters at the House, just to name a couple.

Food and fashion came together with the Pepe Saya exclusive feature we ran with sexy models licking butter. And a highlight of the dining scene was a three Michelin star experience  with Chef Heinz Beck of La Pergola in Rome when he visited Sydney.

Drink

This is a difficult category from which to pick favourites and highlights. There were simply too many. We were very fortunate to meet a number of prominent people behind the wines, spirits, and champagnes we enjoy. The Glenmorangie Secret Society Dinner will always be unforgettable, as well as the afternoon at Jack’s House with Jeff Arnett from Jack Daniels.

In 2012, we partied twice with porn star Ron Jeremy when he was in Sydney for the launch of Ron de Jeremy rum. He may have even signed his initials on one of us but the photographic evidence remains deeply archived.

Our involvement and support of the bar industry continued to grow and we covered several bartender competitions including the World Class Australia.

Events

2012 had some amazing events and if we were to pick the unforgettable, we would start with the magic of Diner en Blanc followed by the seaplane ride to Peats Bite for the launch of Brancott Estate Flight Wines.

The Hendrick’s Gin Theatre of Curiosities was (literally) mind-blowing and the Ardbeg Day Islay-lympics were the most fun you could have watching whisky loving men in their Speedos.

We also had the privilege of attending the GQ Men of the Year Awards 2012, the Bartender Magazine Bar Awards 2012 and the prestigious 2012 Vin de Champagne Awards.

Interviews

In 2012, we had the pleasure of interviewing Terry Durack and Jill Dupleix for the Kings Cross Festival, Patrick Macguire Master Distiller for Sullivans Cove, pastry chef Merna Taouk and went behind the coffee bean with Toby Smith of Toby’s Estate, an interview which had Gourmantic referenced in a NEW YORK TIMES article!

Other News

We stared a FREE monthly newsletter in 2012 to keep subscribers informed of news and updates. We also launched, Gallery Gourmantic,  a photo companion website to Gourmantic where photos can be purchased under licence. Keep an eye out for its development in the New Year.

In milestone achievements, we were thrilled to have Gourmantic was mentioned in a Sydney Morning Herald article following the NEW YORK TIMES reference. We were also listed as references for a USA Today travel article on Dubai, mentioned in the Montmartre Vineyards article in the NEW YORK TIMES (again) and even listed in a few instances on Wikipedia.

This time last year, we summed up 2011 as amazing. 2012 has been one incredible roller-coaster ride in a world of travel, food, drink, events and more so, the people behind them who make a difference.

2013

gourmantic-xmas-2011

To everyone who has read, commented, tweeted, liked, stumbled, shared, emailed and whispered in our ears, thank you for being part of the Gourmantic community. We wish you and your loved ones a Happy Christmas and New Year.

We will be taking a break from today, and while updates may get auto posted, we will return in a full time capacity by Monday January 14, 2013.

About the author

Corinne Mossati

Corinne Mossati is a drinks writer, author of GROW YOUR OWN COCKTAIL GARDEN, SHRUBS & BOTANICAL SODAS and founder/editor of Gourmantic, Cocktails & Bars and The Gourmantic Garden. She has been writing extensively about spirits, cocktails, bars and cocktail gardening in more recent years. She is a spirits and cocktail competition judge, Icons of Whisky Australia nominee, contributor to Diageo Bar Academy, cocktail developer and is named in Australian Bartender Magazine's Top 100 Most Influential List. Her cocktail garden was featured on ABC TV’s Gardening Australia and has won several awards. She is a contributor to Real World Gardener radio program and is featured in several publications including Pip Magazine, Organic Gardener, Australian Bartender and Breathe (UK). Read the full bio here.

3 Comments

  • Have a fabby Christmas break!! Reeeelax!! You most certainly deserve it!! Most importantly though….make sure you drink plenty Whisky!!!!:)
    I will see you over the holidays! Much love from me 🙂 x

  • Wow, you’re actually going to take a break?? 😉 What a busy 2012 you’ve had. Have a great Christmas and New Year and looking forward to seeing what 2013 brings for you.
    Julia and Barry x