Jersey City’s Natalie Jacob Pours Her Heart Out
Honey and Moon Photography is always looking for talent and opportunities to help you make your wedding the ultimate reflection of you and your soulmate! We reached out to Natalie Jacob to talk about the idea of creating signature wedding cocktails to make your day taste as beautiful as it looks. What does a mixologist who can claim mentors like Julie Reiner of Lani Kai and Dutch Kills with Sasha Petraske and Richard Boccato consider when crafting a personalized cocktail?
Natalie Jacob is so unique, I had to ask her several times what her official title is. In addition to her answer, “Creative Consultant” or “Beverage Consultant,” I’d like to offer this one: Sense Tantalizer and Extreme Satisfaction You Couldn’t Even Anticipate Deliver-er.
Her cocktails: gorgeous to ingest through the eyes, entrancing and hypnotic to smell, and so rewarding to taste…if there was an elixir or magic potion to make all your dreams come true, Natalie would know how to shake and stir and strain it.
With 15 years experience in the industry under her belt, Natalie is a wizard at combining essences, herbs, spirits and garnishes creating more than a cocktail. It’s like she’s making a statement. How can she bring out your personality on your wedding day?
“The first thing I would think of is, what season did they choose for their wedding?” say Jacob. “Season plays a very important role in how I develop cocktails and will dictate the type of spirits, citrus, and ingredients I will be using. Then I like to do a little thing called Bartender’s Choice with both of them. I ask them specific questions to help narrow down what exactly they like to drink, because I want the drink(s) to represent the couple accurately.”
Jacob prepared three absolutely satiating samples to demonstrate what type of signature cocktails she could create for your wedding. Her first concoction was designed for a couple with a light, bubbly personality getting married in the spring. The Thyme and Grapefruit Collins made with gin, elderflower, grapefruit, lemon, simple syrup, and thyme, topped with sparkling water had a light, pine-like scent, and reminded me of the first days of spring in the morning after a long winter. Even though I arrived at her studio with my winter coat on, I felt transported to early May with just one sip!
Natalie likes to work with the couple to create a cocktail that tells their story. “You definitely can take parts of people’s personalities or things they like and integrate those elements into a drink. For instance, if someone has a very outgoing and upbeat disposition, I’d probably make the drink light, citrusy, and with some champagne to compliment their bubbly personality.”
With a summer wedding in mind, Natalie divined a “Strawberry Honeysuckle” with rum, lime, honey, fresh strawberries, and champagne. The Strawberry Honeysuckle, served up in a coupe, reminded me of a summer wedding I shot in Vermont on a farm, with two horses grazing in the background. The cocktail itself was light, refreshing and bubbly.
According to Jacob, darker spirits are more moody, and work with spicier elements like cinnamon and anise creating a colder weather mood. Her Spiced Pear Cocktail with bourbon, Pear Liqueur, lemon, cinnamon, allspice and sage made me want to stay in and snuggle with someone to keep comfy. The scent of the sage complemented the bourbon and cinnamon so well, I couldn’t stop myself from second and third tastes before it was finally all gone.
When working with imminent newlyweds, Natalie Jacob is committed to their satisfaction. “I hope to achieve a drink that appropriately captures the couple’s tastes and personalities. I want them to remember how delicious it was and create a memory worthy of making it again in the future to commemorate their special day.”
