'Visual Merchandising'

What is "visual merchan-
dising?"
Ask Luke and Nina.
Luke and Nina help to coordinate visual merchan-
dising for Hugo Boss. And that means they keep a steadfast eye on the look, the sound and the feel of every Hugo Bass store from the outward appearance of the store to the sound environment inside, the placement of the clothes, the colors, the lighting and everything else that you see and/or hear. We chatted with Luke and Nina and they told us that it all comes under visual merchandising. Nothing is left to chance and everything is geared toward eye appeal.
Last night the visual merchandising at the Hugo Bass store in the mammoth King of Prussia Mall included Phillies star pitcher Cole Hamels (pictured) and beautifully prepared treats from the Mall's California Cafe. It was a lovely evening that also featured wine selections and drinks prepared with Bluecoat gin.
A word about Cole: he is one of the most articulate, polished, and gracious athletes I've ever met. This San Diego native is not just The Pitcher From Central Casting, he's also an appealing ambassador for his team and for major league baseball. I watched him interact with some of the youngsters who came out to see him last night and he was attentively kind and natural.
A winning night for Hugo Boss and (we hope) a winning season for our Fightin Phils!

Blucoat Bartender Battle

We attended the Bluecoat Bartender Battle last night in the dreamy Millennium Ballroom at Loews Philadelphia Hotel.

It was a great evening with a young crowd cheering on their favorite bartenders from throughout the area, gathered to mix drinks with Bluecoat American Dry Gin. While there we chatted with Andrew Auwerda, the President of Philadelphia Distilling, the makers of Bluecoat.

Bluecoat is distilled in Philadelphia in a custom-built, hand-hammered copper pot still. A true batch distillation, the process calls for extremely slow heating of the pot, which allows for maximum separation of alcohols. Impurities are discarded, leaving what Bluecoat calls "the purest, most flavorful alcohols producing a spirit that is intensely smooth and invigorating."

When the Philadelphia Inquirer's Craig LeBan assembled a group of discriminating imbibers to judge the aroma, smoothness and flavor of gin brands he discovered that Bluecoat came away with the top honors. "This locally-made spirit was the big winner with a softness and pronounced botanical, citrus aromas that appeal to less hardcore gin drinkers," LeBan said. "It was the group's decisive favorite for gin and tonics and also the all-purpose favorite."

With its distinctive blue bottle Auwerda says Bluecoat takes its name from the American bluecoats who won the revolutionary war. "Why should we drink British gin?" Auwerda argues. "Didn't we win the war?"