Radical electric vehicle concepts like Volkswagen’s new dune buggy or the insanely fast Rivian R1T pickup make headlines daily. What makes the Sondors electric car extraordinary—aside from the three-wheel chassis—is the fact that it costs just $10,000 and is set to hit public roads this spring. 

Even at that remarkably low price, you’re getting much more than a motorized trike in a shell. The Sondors, its gorgeous lines inspired by the likes of Ferrari, Lamborghini and Maserati, also has many of the basic features and creature comforts found in any modern car. They include air conditioning, heat, an AM/FM stereo, power windows, power door locks, airbags, an auxiliary port, regenerative anti-lock brakes, a push button start and traction control. 

The EV’s supercar inspiration isn’t even subtle: The resemblance to the Maserati Quattroporte’s streamlined front end is especially noticeable. 

Specs are a little vague, but Sondors says 170 horsepower will push the 1,800-pound car to 60 mph in 5-8 seconds. With a low center of gravity and two wheels in the front, it shouldn’t topple over in corners at reasonable speeds. 

Now for the topic that makes—or brakes (get it?)—all electric rides: range. The $10,000 base model Sondors is limited to 75 miles. Not great. But throw in up to $3,000 for upgraded lithium-ion batteries, and range increases to either 150 or 200 miles. 

CEO Storm Sondors, who launched a successful e-bike company of the same name, hopes the Sondors Electric Car Company will be a “game-changer” in the EV space. 

If you agree, head to Sondors website to preorder one now.  

When his father, King Henry IV, was assassinated in 1610, the nine-year-old Louis XIII ascended to the French throne. 

In the following three decades, “Louis the Just” lifted France to the apex of the continent by effectively vanquishing Spain, and was widely considered one of the most powerful rulers in all of Europe by the time of his death in 1643. He pioneered the wig as fashion for men, exiled his own mother for skullduggery, and reigned during the creation of the Académie Française.

Ironically, one reason his name lives on is not due to any of those accomplishments but rather because he is the namesake of one of the finest spirits in the world. 

Dating back to 1874 and introduced by Paul-Émile Rémy Martin—a scion who, much like King Louis himself, oversaw the explosive growth of his domain—Louis XIII Cognac originated as a blend of only the finest eaux-de-vie he could find in his cellars. And to this day, nearly 150 years later, Louis XIII continues to be the crown jewel for the House of Rémy Martin. 

Each generation’s cellar master handpicks the finest and most mature nectar to craft what will become Louis XIII. But the exclusive spirit is not only the work of the current cellar master. As the expression blends more than 1,200 eaux-de-vie—some dating back more than 100 years—it is literally the fruit of every cellar master before him: a legacy passed on from master to apprentice for nearly a century and a half and counting. 

Maxim recently visited the hallowed grounds of Rémy Martin’s sprawling Domaine de Merpins campus, and found ourselves in a most rarefied circumstance: exploring the cathedral-like barrelhouses with the brand’s current cellar master, Baptiste Loiseau. 

Like King Louis when he inherited his title, Loiseau himself is surprisingly fresh-faced, being the youngest cellar master in the history of cognac. An enthusiasm shines from his youth, but it also belies a quiet thoughtfulness and consideration. It was a bright autumn day, unexpectedly warm, yet inside the cavernous rooms the air was dark and cool. 

Loiseau walked us through the vast warehouses in an attempt to illuminate the work of a cellar master, from selecting only the best eaux-de-vie to the vigilant aging of the spirit in French-oak barrels. He oversees their meticulous care— there are around a quarter million barrels in this complex, worth well over $1 billion—and will handpick and blend the countless elixirs into what will one day be bottled and labeled with the Rémy Martin marque. 

What was the most important lesson you learned from your predecessor, Pierrette Trichet? 

As the first female cellar master, she was a pioneer herself. I credit most of my education to Pierrette Trichet, my mentor and former cellar master at Rémy Martin. Pierrette taught me to taste new eaux-de-vie, to recognize the Rémy Martin house style, and to always demand the highest possible quality from every stage of the cognac-making process. She gave me a clearer vision of the aging process and the confidence to take on the role of cellar master.  

Pierrette often told me I am a real enthusiast, with everything that brings with it in terms of passion and commitment, and I’ve always wanted to keep my own identity. The most important lesson, she was always telling me, was “Work for excellence; always be demanding.”

One of your distillers described the relationship between grower and cellar master as “like an old couple,” meaning there was great understanding and also possible disagreements. It’s a funny image. 

Of course, we agree on many points but our point of view can also be different. What’s important is to keep the passion, to work hard every year to adapt to the vintage and respect the style. Communication is key, like in all relationships. Ours is more like passionate friends.

The barrel we sampled in the cellar dates back nearly a century—it was barreled before my grandfather was born. That predates television, the rise and fall of the Soviet Union, etc. How do you stay appreciative of such amazing experiences? 

How couldn’t it be the case? The cellars are my playground—always evolving. Cognac is all about enjoying yourself, and I’m happy to be part of that. What drives me and motivates me are the joint tasting sessions, although obviously I am very attached to the solitary task of assembling the blends. 

Even today you are setting aside eaux-devie for future generations of cellar masters to select for future bottles of Louis XIII. What’s it like putting that much time into a product, knowing you will never taste the content of those final bottles, set aside to age for 70-plus years? 

It is this legacy that makes Louis XIII so unique. Created in 1874 by Paul-Émile Rémy Martin as a blend of his oldest and most precious eaux-de-vie, the inimitable style of Louis XIII has stayed constant to this day, honoring his act of genius and its precious blend. Each cellar master treasures and protects this legacy, passing on its secrets to the next in a vital lineage that links past, present, and future, thinking a century ahead. 

Over the years, the world has changed, and the profession of cellar master is no exception; it evolves with its times and embraces modern tools. But the roots of the cellar master’s art have stayed the same, ensuring the Louis XIII heritage lives on into the future.  

Water of Life

The raw clear spirit that will become cognac is known as eau-de-vie, or “water of life.” It is distilled from a wine never meant to be consumed, but rather crafted solely to be transformed into cognac. This wine can be fermented only from grapes grown in six regions, or crus—the best are considered to be Grande Champagne and Petite Champagne. 

What makes each cru unique is its terroir—that nebulous but singular combination of soil, climate, and light, with a dash of local savoir faire thrown in for good measure.  

The Cellar Master 

As any whisky enthusiast knows, the soul of each label is the distillery itself. Where the spirit is produced, be it the Macallan, Maker’s Mark, Ardbeg, or the Yamazaki, is where the heart of the brand lies. 

That’s because distillation plays a major role in the signature of a whisky, the artful process differentiating each house and its various expressions. In the top echelon of each brand, therefore, is the master distiller. But this is not so with cognac, where the individualization of each house is performed in the aging and then blending of various eaux-de-vie into the final spirit. 

This is where the alchemy happens, and why the cellar master is so revered. Nearly every imaginable variable can play a small role in how the eaux-de-vie transform into cognac: The master examines the wood type (usually made from Limousin forest oak) and grain size, and fixates on toasting levels. Once in the wood, factors like the barrel’s age, its location in the cellar, and even the type of cellar it is placed in all have an effect. 

The House of Baron Otard (a.k.a. Château de Cognac), for instance, asserts that its cognac possesses great singularity because of its cellar’s proximity to the Charente River. This is partly what makes its excellent D’ussé XO expression so unique, claims cellar master Michel Casavecchia. 

The thickness of the castle’s stone walls and distinctive humidity levels affect evaporation rates (in humid cellars, alcohol evaporates before water; in dry cellars, water evaporates first), which in turn affect the final product.

All these variables matter in the esoteric magic of the aging process, allowing the cellar o master to fine-tune his spirit to perfection.  

Forget LEDs: the future of ultra-bright headlights is lasers. 

That’s what a new report from Bloomberg predicts, and for good reason. With the assistance of Nobel Prize-winning team member Shuji Nakamura, a Cali-based company called SLD Laser has developed an automotive lighting system that’s 10 times brighter and 100 times more illuminating than the LEDs in use today. 

Autoweek has further details on Nakamura’s pedigree: 

The problem Nakamura solved was making white light, which requires red, green and blue light to create. Red and green were not that hard but no one could really make blue light, at least not the kind required for white-light LEDs.

Nakamura and two colleagues used semiconductor gallium nitride to do it. Voila, white light LEDs and Nobel Prize in Physics.

SLD Laser says that their design is capable of illuminating distances up to one kilometer (almost 2/3 of a mile) and offers “the highest luminance and intensity concentration of any white light source available.” 

Remarkably, it won’t blind oncoming traffic, either. 

“Because of the point source nature of the beam, you can pinpoint the light,” Nakamura told Bloomberg. “You can even shape it dynamically on the fly, so the beam will go down, or to the right, away from the eyes of motorists.” 

The technology has potential to be incorporated into increasingly prevalent driver-assistance programs, almost all of which rely at least partially on laser-based LiDar detection systems to scan the environment. 

While SLD Laser’s platform could appear on certain BMW models in Europe as early as this year, it could take longer to enter the mass market in the United States. Currently, off-road drivers are using them in endurance races, notably in the Baja 1000 competition that covers the length of the Baja peninsula.  

In the meantime, Nakamura also has plans to launch a toned-down U.S. version that complies with federal regulations.

“We are working instead on what we call a high-beam boost, where we add laser light to the high-beam headlights in a car,” Nakamura said. “Though we have to tone down the brightness for the American market, we are still three times brighter than LED lights.”

Visit SLD Laser’s website to learn more. 

Valentine’s Day is upon us, which means it’s time to up your game on all fronts to impress that special lady in your life. Sure, you can take her out to a fancy restaurant (or make a thoughtful home-cooked dinner), and shower her with flowers, chocolates, jewelry, and other obvious V-Day gifts. 

But whipping up a cool cocktail that’s themed for the Feb. 14 festivities could be the easiest way of all to put hearts in her eyes. Below, check out five simple cocktail recipes designed to set the mood for the most romantic of holidays:

Guilty in Rome

Created by Ivy Mix for Diego at PUBLIC Hotel, NYC

• 1.5 oz Aperol
• 0.5 oz Gonzalez Byass
• 1/2 quartered lime

Muddle lime in sugar in a shaker, add ingredients, and shake hard. Strain over crushed ice in a rocks glass. 

1-800-Sensual

Courtesy of Her Name Was Carmen, NYC

• 2 oz of Strawberry Infused JAJA Blanco Tequila
• 1/2 oz Raspberry Juice
• 1/2 oz Lemon Juice
• 1 oz Fino Sherry

Pour all ingredients over ice into a shaker and shake until cold. Double strain into a cocktail glass.

Turbo Lover

Created by Lauren Corriveau from Nitecap, NYC

• ½ oz Aperol
• ½ oz Mr Black
• ½ oz Ancho Reyes
• Dash of Cardamom bitters

Combine ingredients in a shaker, pour into a glass with ice, and top with tonic.

Mezcal Mama

Courtesy of The New York EDITION Hotel

1.5 oz Gem & Bolt Mezcal 
1.5 oz jasmine tea
.75 oz fresh lime juice
.5 oz Agave syrup
.25 oz Benedictine

In a shaker, combine mezcal, jasmine tea, lime juice, agave syrup, and Benedictine.  Strain over ice and garnish with 3 or 4 raspberries.

GM-P Collins

Created by Marshall Minaya at Valerie, NYC

• 2 oz Ford’s Gin
• ¾ oz Fennel Syrup
• ¾ oz Lemon Juice
• 1 dash Scrappy’s Celery Bitters
• Pinch of salt
• Soda

Add gin, fennel syrup, lemon, celery bitters, and salt to a small tin, add ice and shake. Strain into a Collins glass and top with soda and two dashes of Peychaud bitters on the top cube.