Absolut New Orleans

Hardly.

The Wife & I went to the New York launch party for Absolut's new vodka: "Absolut New Orleans." Absolut has created a limited edition vodka (flavored with black pepper and, inexplicably, mango) to honor and celebrate New Orleans and all profits will go to some very worthy charities benefiting the Gulf Region. A great idea. The party was...

Awful. It was obviously concocted by some hipper-than-thou Marketing automaton as there was little to no New Orleans flavor. If you turned off the (admittedly cool) lighting effect pictured here, it could have been any party, for any purpose whatsoever. The space it was held in was very cool and I had very high hopes for the evening, but they failed. For instance, in the main room, they had a DJ spinning overplayed dance hits, NOT NEW ORLEANS MUSIC. They had a 3 person zydeco band tucked in a corner right by the entrance, playing to 6 people. There was some good post-Katrina artwork on the walls by a talented photographer and the food was very good, but only the crawfish appetizers were even reminiscent of NOLA cuisine. (The main caterer was Ruth's Chris which served great steak but it's more of a chain now, even though it got its start in New Orleans.)

There also was a silent auction with one item I bid on - a Tipitina's poster signed by Fats Domino. Thankfully the bidding for that was spirited. HOWEVER, the other items were a signed Little Steven guitar and a bunch of Absolut New Orleans bottles signed by such celebrities as Eva Longoria, Michael Imperioli, Will Ferrell, Brooke Shields, and Matthew McConaughy -- actors with LITTLE TO NO CONNECTION TO NEW ORLEANS!!

It was really dispiriting. The Wife & I left pretty quickly. We had such high hopes for the event, but it completely missed the mark. They had a real opportunity to make a statement and an impact, particularly as it was held on the 2 year anniversary of Katrina, but they failed utterly. With the ad budget I assume Absolut has, they could have hired nothing but impoverished & talented name New Orleans musicians to play (Mardi Gras Indians, brass bands, etc.), but instead held a bland and tasteless party populated by the soulless pretty-bots that frequent such events.

Boo. I was visibly distraught. The Wife kept asking me, "Are you okay? You seem... deep in thought." Yes. They really should have done this better. Again, particularly as it was held on the 2 year anniversary...