It’s the biggest night in fashion, aka the Met Gala, and that means three things: watching celebrities and their stylists create beautiful works of art, looking camp right in the eye, and serving up a fun, themed drink.
This year, liquor brand The Macallan and The Mark Hotel (where the stars are known to pass through) collaborated to create a signature cocktail to offer at the lobby bar after the event. Named Castle Garden, the alcoholic beverage features takes on the Costume Institute's new exhibition with its complex flavors.
The theme for the Met Gala this year is “Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion," and the official dress code is “The Garden of Time.” The exhibition will be shaped around three zones: land, sea, and sky. Andrew Bolton, Wendy Yu Curator in Charge of the Costume Institute, told Vogue that the theme is “very much an ode to nature and the emotional poetics of fashion.”
THE MACALLAN X THE MARK HOTEL
“The Macallan’s Castle Garden was inspired by this year’s exhibition theme, which honors the natural world,” The Macallan Brand Ambassador, Ryan Welliver, told Better Homes and Gardens. “As a brand with a 200-year legacy, we’ve always ensured we kept a reverence for nature at the center of all we do, so we wanted to create a cocktail that not only brought the theme to life, but also shined a light on our beliefs.”
Castle Garden is made with The Macallan Double Cask 12 Years Old, Jean-Luc Pasquet Pineau de Charentes, honey syrup, lemon juice, sparkling wine, and a garnish of baby’s breath and passion fruit “caviar.”
“The key ingredient, The Macallan Double Cask 12 Years Old, offers notes of orange peel, gentle spice with a sweet oak finish,” Welliver said. “These notes mixed with the honey, citrus, and effervescence of the cocktail, create a natural earthy and refreshing balance that can instantly create an elegant tasting experience for anyone recreating it at home.”
If you're throwing a watch party and want to toast alongside your favorite celebs and fashion icons, mix together 1 ounce of The Macallan Double Cask 12 Years Old, 0.75 ounces of Jean-Luc Pasquet Pineau de Charentes, 0.25 ounces of honey syrup, and 0.25 ounces of lemon juice in a shaker with ice. After shaking, strain into a champagne flute. Then, top it off with 2 ounces of Brut sparkling wine, and garnish it with a baby's breath flower for that pretty, special touch.
The final step to really enjoying this cocktail is watching the red carpet, discussing the looks, and deciding: Who wore it best?