Cocktail Experts Death & Co Want You To Have A Perfect Picnic

07.08.2023 - 20:25 / forbes.com

Don’t live near one of Death & Co.’s quickly expanding roster of perfect cocktail bars? No problem. After putting out gorgeous home barware and a line of perfumes inspired by their locations, the folks behind one of the best bars in the world have put together a collection of picnic gear, so you can evoke their eternally cool ambience in the great outdoors.

“We’re always being asked for tips on how to make/transport/serve cocktails on hikes, camping trips, picnics, [and] beach days,” Nick Fauchald, retail lead for the Death & Co. Market, wrote in an email. So they recently added a whole picnic collection to their online boutique, with everything from bucket hats and crew socks to a vintage cooler.

Products include a thick cotton picnic blanket decorated with Death & Co’s signature Phantom Floral pattern, a black metal cooler, a multitool and picnic knife from James Brand, and a High Camp insulated Firelight 750 flask and tumbler set in the brand’s signature gunmetal black finish.

“During warmer months, we do most of our drinking outdoors,” Fauchald notes. “We feel like you shouldn’t limit yourself to wine/beer/flasks just because you’re away from your home bar, so this collection makes it easy to enjoy cocktails wherever your adventures take you.”

The High Camp flask, which reportedly keeps drinks chilled for 24 hours, comes with a pair of double-walled 11-ounce tumblers, and it’s large enough to hold a full bottle of spirit or wine, but Death & Co’s mixologists love it for pre-batched cocktails. Matthew Belanger, bar manager, for Death & Co Los Angeles, suggests filling it with a spin on their Melonball, which is served carbonated at the bar. “This drink is very prep-intensive when we make it at the bar, but it can be easily adapted for a picnic setting,” Belanger says, adding that it would pair perfectly with charcuterie. “Prosciutto would be the most traditional with the melon,” he adds. Here is the recipe they craft at the bar, and one that you can batch for your next perfect Death & Co picnic.

Melonball

Matthew Belanger Death & Co Los Angeles

Method: Force carbonate / pour from draft

Glass: Collins with Kold Draft ice

Garnish: Lemon twist

Batched Picnic Melonball

Matthew Belanger Death & Co Los Angeles

To make one 750-ml. bottle's worth of cocktail (perfect for sharing!) combine the following in a glass bottle or other nonreactive container:

Chill in the freezer for at least an hour or ideally overnight, then pack it in a cooler on the way to the picnic (or pour into your new Death & Co flask). To serve, pour about 2 ounces of the frozen batch into a Collins glass, squeeze a lemon wedge, then top with four or five ounces of sparkling water. Garnish with a cantaloupe slice or ball of