A trendy bar with trendy people, trendy music and great deco, before entering your favorite club later in the night this is a great ‘NYE starter’ …

We would be delighted to welcome you, please register yourself by simply writing a mail to drings@jjwhotels.com!
Vienna´s NYE Vodka Night @ Drings Flyer (PDF, 1.2MB)

1. Please try to describe yourself in 10 words!
Courageous, stubborn, creative, bored, innovative, witty, angry, skeptical, un-impressed, punchy

2. Why did you decide to develop and produce your own vodka?
We had the chance to try it out. It´s fun and magic to produce your own spirit even though it can be very challenging especially in the beginning.

3. What is so special about ‘Wodka Wanessa’ and why should people drink it?
We always say it´s made with love, by hand, not by computers. If you drink wanessa you drink love. You don´t only taste the difference, you feel the difference.

4. Describe to us the best vodka cocktail made of ‘Wodka Wanessa’

Because Wanessa as a lot of creamy, grainy aroma that derives from spelt, it is not suitable for every cocktail and certainly too precious to mix it with energy drinks. Martini cocktails work well with Wanessa, or Moscow Mule. Since mixologists like to work with Wanessa, we are curious of up-coming signature cocktails.

5. What is your favourite vodka and why?
Wodka Wanessa! Because I know what´s in it! It is smooth, soft on the palate and does good.

6. What is your goal with ‘Wodka Wanessa’ What do you want to achieve?
That people like and drink Wanessa feels great and is all we can wish for.

7. Do you know any typical ‘vodka bars’ and if yes, which ones and could you describe these?
I have been to a few. Best thing about vodka bars is the excitement of the barkeepers to use different vodkas for different drinks. Barkeepers are aware of the many differences between different vodkas. I am sure people will acknowledge these differences more and more

8. Any comments you would like to share with us?
No, thank you for inviting me for this interview!

Visitors to Vienna are usually presented with a hefty list of destinations that take them deep into the bowels of the city: The Imperial Crypt and the Third Man Tour through the city sewers are staples of most Vienna travel guides. However, you and I both know that to really get to know a city you have to experience it after dark, when another sort of subterranean city emerges from the shadows. The (literally) underground clubs and late night restaurants come to life, so read carefully because here’s your chance to be party to some of Vienna’s best-kept secrets.

FLEX

One of these hidden pleasures is right out of sight downstairs from Schottenring, on the Danube Canal. The pulsating bass-pumper FLEX is an institution. Once a paradise for squatters, the joint has matured into slick and well-run club. It boasts an incredible body-moving sound-system, which has been rumored as being one of the best in Europe. The new Flex Cafe extension is clean and modern, replacing the longstanding picnic table and beer bottle decor. Regardless, the Flex is still massive and well worth a visit.
www.flex.at

Another hotspot hang-out for locals is further out of town through the 9th district to the half circle Viadukts (Stadtbahnbögen) under the U6 Subway line. These stone archways house numerous bars, nightclubs and cafes and an explosion of energy into the late hours.

Q[KJU:]

One popular dance and cocktail location Q(kju) bar attracts a bouncy young crowd out for a good time. House beats pound out onto the Gürtel and the place gets rammed on weekends, but it’s popular with good reason. Bar tenders mix cocktails with considerable visual flair and every night girls and guys hit the dance floor with true Red Bull- fired engines. Not the most stylish of Vienna bars, true, but in terms of party spirit, one that wins hands down.
www.kju-bar.at

B72

For the more alternative palette the live music venue B72 is a good bet for a laid-back evening or jump around concert fun depending on seating and performers. The 2-story layout allows for uninhibited band enjoyment on the ground floor and a quieter area to relax upstairs.
www.b72.at

CHELSEA

Another similar but more established joint is Chelsea, with international bands and an impressive dj line-up, they are also a great venue to get a taste of local musical talent. In the three-room club that takes up two arches of the Stadtbahnbögen they also serve a wide array of English beer and whisky brands.
www.chelsea.co.at

FLUC

For the underground feeling without having to venture too far out of the center of town, the sub-highway club Fluc Wanne shakes it up at the entrance to the Prater amusement park. The club is situated in a former underground pedestrian passage, underneath the traffic between Praterstern and the park itself. Mostly electro-acts, but also occasional live musicians take over the stage at this grungy but instantly cult club.
www.fluc.at

OST KLUB

Another venue close to town is Ost Klub, right off Schwarzenbergplatz, next to the Russian war memorial. This establishment has based its philosophy on Vienna’s history as the center of a multi-cultural Empire – a melting pot of orient and occident. The musical offering is a wonderfully eclectic mixture of styles from central and Eastern Europe, which have found great resonance with the Viennese audience. The club claims to have made a significant contribution to the creation of so-called Balkan Beats, Gypsy-Swing, Klezmer-Punk, Speed-Folk and Turbo-Polka. Need I say more?
www.ost-klub.at

ESTERHAZYKELLER

Dancing for hours can work up a decent appetite and there are some very special and authentic restaurants hidden underground, one is a hop skip and a jump from Stephansplatz. The Esterhazykeller has been around since 1683 and it’s a great place for good Austrian food and wine both a la carte and from the typical Heuriger-style buffet kitchen at the entrance. The network of caves and long rooms give it a very personal feel despite it’s hugeness so it can cater large parties or more intimate dining – a central alternative to Heuriger dining in the vineyards, however they close at 11:00 p.m.
www.esterhazykeller.at

SHANGHAI TAN

If you’ve just been shopping on Mariahilferstrasse, the cellar of Shanghai Tan is a great place to re-fuel on Thai, Chinese or delicious sushi or just have a few or their enticing cocktails. The room is lit by red lamps and candlelight and set up in two rows of low tables, one for larger groups of 3 or more and the other for couples. As in an opium cave, the tables rest on “beds” for a relaxed or romantic meal or drink á deux.
www.shanghaitan.at

Goodman´s

As an absolute last resort, but a good choice as such, there is the legendary Goodman’s on the Naschmarkt. They serve food until 10 a.m. and the downstairs club is perhaps the most notorious after-hour location in Vienna. (Rechte Wienzeile 23, Wien 1040)

Thus, our notes from underground. On a rainy day or just to be an insider for an evening, it’s worth the plunge. It’s bound to be a night to remember.

The most important “10 Festival” dates:

June 4^th : VIP Party@Drings / The Ring, Vienna´s Casual Luxury Hotel (only by invitation)
June 7^th : Festival & Guerilla Store Opening at Liska
June 8^th : Vernissage “Eight Views” at Contemporary
June 10^th : “Cinema Photographique” party at the Pratersauna
June 12^th : Azubis 01-party at “The Loft”
June 14^th : “departure fashion night” at the Semperdepot
June 14^th : “Sand People” a multimedia art fashion event by Andreas Waldschuetz
June 15^th : Show Liska by Thomas Kirchgrabner “Apokalypse” at the Semperdepot (only by invitation)
June 16^th : “Awards 10 – AFA Austrian Fashion Awards”-show at the Semperdepot (only by invitation)
June 16^th : “Awards 10 –Afterparty” “The Black Lodge Party” at Celeste
June 16^th : “peng!” party at the Pratersauna?

The Ring Hotel, Vienna´s Casual Luxury Hotel, is partner of the 10 Festival for Fashion & Photography in Vienna.

The result is definitely a vodka like no other. A rare spirit that ranks among the finest and smoothest in the world, Elit! Guest that attended the 1^st “Elit Night @ Drings” discovered this remarkable combination of elegance and mystique. Nobility and purity. Prestige and pleasure.

The bar ‘Drings’ at The Ring, Vienna’s Casual Luxury Hotel is very proud to present Ed Hardy Vodka, a new vodka within the present exclusive collection of vodkas at Drings, presented next to popular vodka brands like Roberto Cavalli, Absolut, Diva, Puriste and many more.

Distilled and filtered five times for purity first, this vodka is completed with the infusion of proprietary natural flavorings for a distinct character. Offering vodka fans a smooth unmatched taste of their favorite liquor, this vodka from Ed Hardy is sure to be a big hit.

Every bottle is hand made by skillful glass makers who bring to life the concept and designs of the brand. The tall, rectangular distinct bottles with the signature Ed Hardy tattoos are already fetching $30 on eBay (what’s more, they are completely empty bottles)! Imported from France, this exquisite vodka promises to offer your taste buds an experience like never before. For vodka-lovers definitely a new experience, for Ed Hardy fans: a new product for their collection? Sit back and Enjoy Pure Pleasure.

Visit www.edhardybeverages.com

1. Who are you?

In the recent past, I participated in various exhibitions in Austria and abroad; in 2009, I was nominated for the “item-art prize for painting” in Ulm, Germany, I took part in group exhibitions in Frankfurt/M. and St. Christoph, Austria, and in the near future, some of my works will be shown in the course of the “14. Art Auction” in Berlin under the patronage of film director Fatih Akin as well as at the 7th “Biennial of Contemporary Art” in Florence.
Additionally, I held a number of shows in Vienna, the current one, titled “Hunting now”, at Gallery Steiner.

2. What do you like about what you do?
In my paintings, I aim to display our present life, the daily life with its sometimes very special moments. Facing our fast-moving society, I think it’s necessary to conserve our current visual impressions, that’s just what painters have always done, and I enjoy depicting today’s lifestyle the way I see it.

3. What don’t you like about what you do?
Being a freelance artist is always connected with pressure – financially and artistically. Sometimes it’s pretty annoying, especially if it’s only a self-made problem caused by one’s own perfectionism, on the other hand, being under strain can be really necessary for creating good and interesting works. So it’s quite an ambiguous thing, you hate it, but you need it, too.

4. Please tell us about your paintings and your aims?
Being inspired by the permanently changing urban lifestyle, I trace the ambivalent mixture of cultural tendencies and individual concepts of today’s people in my realistic paintings. Modern human beings are viewed against their social background, always ‘living under the lens’; and in the obtrusive, revealing style of close-ups and snapshots, complex situations are reduced to an exemplary detail or a fleeting moment while the circumstances remain untold.

5. Are you working with blogs and if yes, which ones and why?
No, I’m not working with blogs.

6. Is there a gallery where you can find your paintings?
From 18.8.-14.9.2009, Gallery Steiner (Kurrentgasse 4, 1010 Vienna, open Mo-Fr 11-20h, Sa 12-17h, Sun closed) shows my current solo exhibition titled “Hunting now” – at the same time, selected photographs by Stavros von Kazinyan can be seen there.

7. Which painting do you admire the most and why?
I admire Gottfried Helnwein’s work, and I guess “Mouse I” is my favourite – disturbing, overwhelming, just amazing.

8. Any comments you want to share with us?
In 2008, I really enjoyed working together with “The Ring Hotel“, Vienna – apart from two exhibition cooperations, I painted a commissioned work for the bar “Drings” which was a great and challenging task because the product had to meet various requirements: it should thematically and visually reflect the bar’s focus on extraordinary vodka brands and cocktails, and additionally, a neutral colouring was needed because it should not disturb the great effect of the ‘mathematics art’ installations by artist Markus Mooslechner, especially the spectacular “Drings”-eyecatcher, the wide bar front. At least, I created a photorealistic work with soft restrained colours, corresponding to the unique and very special atmosphere of the cosmopolitan, stylish, and highly fashionable “Drings”-bar.

European Business Express delivers a detailed report about The Ring Hotel in their September issue.

Quintessentially magazine´s visit to The Ring Hotel yields an explicit recommendation. Quintessentially is first and foremost a club, a club for those who believe that life is too short to waste time on the mundane or second-best.