Archive for March 10th, 2006
This is a great time to be a bourbon drinker. In the past several decades, as the success of single-malt scotch has shown, it pays to distill a smoother, more interesting spirit–for which you can then charge a lot more money. One of the best and last of the independent distillers is family-owned, Louisville, Ky.-based Old Rip Van Winkle. “Pappy,” also known as Julian P. Van Winkle Sr., was the patriarch and the inspiration behind what is arguably one of the finest small-batch bourbons in the world. Like old Pappy, the 20-year-old, 90.4-proof Family Reserve is deep, smooth, powerful with a hint of fire and beautifully aged, not unlike Pappy himself.
March 10th, 2006
Cathay Pacific is the undisputed emperor of first-class carriers. This Hong-Kong based airline has only eight or 12 seats per first-class cabin (depending on the plane), and seats can be lowered the full 180 degrees, have adjustable arm rests and television screens, and have audio and video in-flight entertainment available on an on-demand basis. Seat amenities from U.K. super spa Elemis are tucked into every seat as well. Dining is on-demand too, and no pre-packaged dinners here: the airline was the first to have an actual rice cooker on board, and rice, congee, toast, eggs, cappuccino and espresso are all cooked to order. Cathay Pacific’s lounges in Hong Kong are among the finest in the world; first-class passengers can choose between The Wing and The Pier, order noodles cooked in front of them, enjoy wireless high-speed Internet and even take a shower or a nap next to a burbling indoor water display.
March 10th, 2006
London’s Old Master paintings sales have often been forced to survive on starvation rations of good pictures, but last week’s auctions were a feast for buyers.
The main course was the finest array of Italian view pictures seen on the international market for many years, with seven Guardis and five Canalettos, the record for the latter being broken twice in a breathless 24-hour period. This windfall was partly the result of the deaths of two major collectors but also reflected the greater willingness of owners to sell in a strong market.
The week got off to a lively start when Sotheby’s sold the collection of the late Bobby Wills, an eccentric English gentleman farmer and heir to a tobacco fortune, who had bought the pictures during the 1950s and ’60s. The appearance of a sensibly estimated country house collection, fresh to the market, ensured a packed room and furious bidding, with only two of the 50 lots remaining unsold and the sale totalling more than 8.8 million and breaking six artists’ records. Dealer Richard Green paid the highest price of the night when he bought Turner’s watercolour Lake of Lucerne for more than 1.8 million.
However, most of the top lots were bought by private collectors and this pattern continued at Christie’s when paintings, furniture and antiques collected by the late Antonio Champalimaud, Portugal’s richest man, fetched almost 39 million in a two-day sale.
A long telephone battle between two private bidders pushed the price of Canaletto’s The Bucintoro at the Molo, Venice, on Ascension Day to 11.4 million. This comfortably beat both the picture’s modest 4 million to 6 million estimate and the existing 10.2 million record for Canaletto paid by the composer Andrew Lloyd Webber for The Old Horse Guards, London, from St James’s Park in 1992.
Champalimaud had bought this spectacular painting for 280,000 in 1973. But the new record lasted only until the following evening, when Sotheby’s staged one of the most extraordinary Old Masters sales ever seen in London, and in the hardest circumstances. Ten hours after terrorist atrocities in the capital, Sotheby’s saleroom was almost full for the auction, and three quarters of the pictures were sold amid fiercely competitive bidding.
Once again, Canaletto provided the most dramatic moment of the evening as five people tried to buy Venice, the Grand Canal Looking North-East from the Palazzo Balbi to the Rialto Bridge. This was a more subtle Canaletto, with a wonderful provenance, having belonged to Sir Robert Walpole, Britain’s first prime minister, and recorded as having hung in 10 Downing Street.
Bidding narrowed to two contenders, one on the telephone to Alex Bell, Sotheby’s London head of Old Master paintings, while the other was dealer Luca Baroni taking whispered instructions from his colleague Stephen Ongpin, speaking on a mobile phone to a client. Baroni’s bidder made a last-ditch bid of 16.5 million before admitting defeat as Bell’s client raised the stakes by another 100,000. By the time Sotheby’s added commission, the Canaletto cost its anonymous new owner 18.6 million, beating the Christie’s picture by more than 7 million and becoming the sixth most expensive Old Master ever sold.
Although the evening ended on a subdued note, with another Canaletto and a Bellotto that was once thought to be a Canaletto both failing to sell, this did not reflect a remarkable auction which totalled almost 44.3 million, breaking 12 records. This was Sotheby’s second highest score ever for an Old Masters sale, beaten only by the 2002 auction in which Rubens’s The Massacre of the Innocents fetched 49.5 million.
Christie’s had a tough act to follow, but 76 per cent of the pictures sold, for a respectable total of 20.7 million. An anonymous telephone bidder paid almost 3.6 million for Jan Van de Capelle’s wonderful maritime painting A kaag and a smak in a calm, while the Getty Museum in California bought Guardi’s The Grand Canal, Venice, with the Palazzo Bembo for almost 4.4 million and a private buyer paid 3.7 million for Jan Van Huysum’s still life Green grapes on the vine. The London Old Masters market has rarely seen a week like it.
Price: $32.6 million
Date Of Sale: July 7, 2005
House: Sotheby’s London
March 10th, 2006
Address : 541 Lexington Ave New York, NY 10022 USA
Standing tall in the heart of New York City, W New York offers savvy travelers refuge in a hectic world. Inspired by nature and dedicated to service, W New York is a magical place where your every whim is within reach. Each inch of this 713-room oasis is bathed in soothing light and natural tones. And the amenities are unparalleled. Architectural designer David Rockwell has created a tranquil sanctuary inspired by nature’s elements - earth, wind, fire and water. Lose yourself in public spaces that feel private. And private places that define the sublime.
Location truly is everything. Within walking distance of anything you’d want to do in midtown Manhattan, W New York is where the traveler’s compass points. To the south there’s the newly restored Grand Central Station. To the north you’ll discover Central Park, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Guggenheim Museum and much more. To the west you’ll find Rockefeller Plaza, the Theater District, the Museum of Modern Art, Madison Square Garden and Penn Station. And the east side boasts the United Nations and numerous charming restaurants, and offers convenient transportation to the Hamptons and the vineyards of the North Fork.
ROOMS An urban oasis, our 713 guestrooms (including 61 spacious suites) provide a personal sanctuary where you can wrap yourself in luxury. We’ve come up with the ultimate bed for the dreamiest sleep - a firm pillow-top mattress with soft, 250-thread count linens, a fluffy goose-down comforter and pillows. To help you stay connected, each room has a high-speed data port and two dual-line telephones. And for entertainment, there is a 27 inch color TV equipped with Internet access, VCR, CD player, alarm clock and a vast library of CDs and videos available whenever you need them.
DINING Heartbeat - Sample refreshingly wholesome dishes created from fresh natural ingredients at New York’s hottest new restaurant by Drew Nieporent
Cool Juice - W New York’s sandwich and juice bar on Lexington Avenue, features quick fresh fruit and vegetable juices as well as wrap sandwiches. Orders can be taken to go, or lingered over in the always-welcoming living room. The adjacent Oasis lobby bar features the same fortifying juices and wraps as well as wine and tropical cocktails in the evening.
The Bar- New Yorkers don’t line up to get in just anywhere, so you know there’s a certain something about WHISKEY BLUE. Created by Rande Gerber, WHISKEY BLUE is the place to wind down after a busy day. And the place to stir things up. Maybe it’s time to see why this bar is considered one of the slickest around. If it’s coziness that you want, sip a Cosmopolitan or Velvet Rope at the OASIS, our living room bar. Watch. Wait. You never know what will happen next.
March 10th, 2006
