Now here’s what we call a real mugshot. Party favors go to new heights with Steamboat’s SipMi, a new offering in the fancy/schmancy party world which prints out photos on “edible paper,” allowing custom images — of guests, hosts and more — to grace foam-topped cocktails. The patented technology is the brainchild of former Hollywood actors Josh Rosenthal and Priscilla Sommer, founders of event beverage company Grand Bevy. Working a side gig catering, Rosenthal noticed guests mingling with cocktails and came up with the idea to present them better. From their home office in Steamboat, where they moved in 2017 to raise their kids, they now provide the service for parties across the country through a contracted staff of 180 people in 14 cities.
Earning mentions by The New York Times and Martha Stewart, they’ve provided their customized drinks for more than 2,000 events, including product launches, celebrity birthdays, high-end weddings and more. While it offers a range of drink services, from smoked cocktails to champagne towers and ice luges (and “branded” ice), SipMi goes a step farther, placing an edible hi-res image or logo on a beverage’s foam via food-grade ink. In short, it transforms table-setting names, logos and photos into images topping the foam on such cocktails as its vodka-based Miss Scarlet, rum-riddled On Holiday, bourbon-infused Bee Hugger or tequila-based Hello, Sunshine. The key is its vegan, fully FDA-compliant edible ink and foam “paper” that resides on top until you slurp it down. The company also offers the service interactively, taking guest photos onsite via a booth or roving photographer and turning those images into a personalized cocktail in under a minute.
The trick, says Rosenthal, is in the foam. “We’ve spent years along with countless chemistry to hit the optimum solution that allows our images to remain in place without distorting for over an hour even while drinking the drink,” he says, adding they’ve had to develop four specific cocktails to pair perfectly with the technology and the foam. “People absolutely love it.”
Info: www.thegrandbevy.com
