There's nothing better than lighting a candle and filling a room with your favorite scent, but what if your favorite candle scent was also your favorite cocktail?
Brooklyn-based fragrance company Apotheke was founded in 2011 by Chrissy Fichtl, and the soaps, candles and essential oils are all made by hand. Fichtl is passionate about creative scents, and for this years' holiday collection, she and Apotheke teamed with three internationally-recognized bars to turn their signature cocktails into delicious and cozy scented candles.
Dubbed The Bar Collection, Apotheke worked with Maybe Sammy, Attaboy and The NoMad's Elephant Bar to conjure festive spirits—all of which have been named the 11th, 12th and 13th best bars in the world respectively by The World's 50 Best Bars annual list. Mr. Black's coffee liquer and Absolute Elyx, who feature in the cocktail recipes, also helped with the scent creation process.
See also: 6 Best Scented Candle Companies
“At Apotheke, our fragrances provide sensorial experiences that evoke memory and feeling," Fichtl says. "In creating the collection, we wanted to offer lovers of these acclaimed institutions an opportunity to experience their signature pours ... in a new way, creating new memories from their own homes. As part of the city’s entrepreneurial fabric, I felt a kinship with these bars as a fellow creator who cares deeply about my craft and was thrilled to spotlight their work during a tough time in history.”
Maybe Sammy; located in Sydney, Australia; is a bar inspired by the glamour of the1950’s. The Espresso Martini is a signature drink and a fan-favorite made with vodka, coffee liqueur and espresso. The candle plays into those scents with hints of vodka and espresso, adding depth with vanilla, cedarwood, vetiver and musk.
Apotheke keeps things close to home with a scent courtesy of Attaboy, located in the Lower East Side of Manhattan in New York City. The beloved cocktail bar doesn't have a regular menu, which means each drink is personalized to guests' tastes. For this assignment, Attaboy chose the classic Penicillin made with whiskey, ginger, honey syrup and lemon juice. The candle for this cocktail is made with bergamot, lemon blossom, bitter orange, cognac, bourbon, smoked woods, musk and vanilla.
Third in the collection is a special beverage from the NoMad Hotel's Elephant Bar, a long-time favorite of customers in NYC's Financial District in New York City before the COVID-19 crises forced the business to shut its doors. The Elephant Bar had a signature cocktail called Nod to Nothing made with gin, wine, lemon, jasmine pearl tea, apricot, yuzu and sage. This served as inspiration for the scent, which comes together with bergamot, almond, thyme, green leaves, grey tea, rose, chamomile, vanilla and musk. Sadly, one can't currently visit The NoMad NYC, but you can celebrate its legacy with this Nod to Nothing candle.
Each candle in the Bar Collection retails for $28. To shop the collection and more scented wonders, check out the Apotheke website, then pair your candles with the cocktail recipe kindly provided by Apotheke and each partner bar below.
Ingredients:
Instructions:
Combine ingredients in the shaker with ice. Strain into coupette.
Ingredients:
Instructions:
Whip all ingredients together, pour into a large rocks glass filled with crushed ice. Garnish with a lemon wheel.
Ingredients:
Instructions:
Add all ingredients together (except the Islay Scotch) to shaker. Fill with ice. Shake vigorously. Strain into glass. Float the Islay Scotch.
Photography by: Daniel Schwartz
