Crosby's Kitchen & CocktailCuvée La Boîte

Lior Lev Sercarz’s spice shop in New York City is called La Boîte (pronounced “la-bwat”), which simply means “the box.” Only the stuff in Lior’s boxes is not so simple. There’s a reason he is known in kitchens around the world. There was a time in Europe, hundreds of years ago, when spices were worth their weight in gold. Time hasn’t dimmed the evocative power of spice, but many of us don’t really understand what it can do. Lior is sometimes called “the spice whisperer” or the “the spice wizard,” but he prefers to be thought of as a chef (he spent years cooking with renowned chef Daniel Boulud) or even a spice therapist. When our brewmaster encountered Lior’s transporting, impressionistic spice blends, he knew that a kindred spirit had to be blending them. Once the two of them met, they started dreaming up beers by the dozens. For now we bring you Cuvée La Boîte, a Belgian inspired beer in the “Grand Cru” style, subtly infused with Lior’s unique blend of Mishmish N.33 (lemon, saffron, crystalized honey), fresh kaffir lime leaves, and rare Espelette peppers from the French Pyrénées. In his book The Art of Blending, Lior compares making a spice blend to organizing a party. He asks “whom do you invite?” Well, we invite you, of course!