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Teimuraz Benidze is the founder and Flavor Architect of Ice & Instinct, a private mixology studio serving the New York metropolitan area and New Jersey. The first certified sommelier in Georgia’s history, he brings three decades of wine and service to a single discipline: cocktails composed in the room, for the room.

Teimuraz Benidze spent three decades in wine and service, the last ten of them in New York since 2016, before founding Ice & Instinct in 2024. The first certified sommelier in Georgia’s history, he holds four credentials: a Certificat in Wine & Sommellerie from Chateau-Arnoux, France; Leading Qualified Sommelier with the Georgian Sommelier Association (ASI); a Diploma in Wines & Spirits from Enotria Wine World, Moscow; and French Wine Studies with O.N.I.VINS.

Ice & Instinct applies that discipline to cocktails. The studio serves the New York metropolitan area and New Jersey by appointment, in four tiers from The Foundation at $650 to Omakase Improvisation from $3,000 - the no-menu evening the studio defined as its own niche, where the menu is composed live for the room. Every evening is poured over professional clear ice, arranged through the Concierge; the collection holds thirteen signature cocktails, and a team of trusted New York bartenders scales the service from a solo performance to a full bar team for weddings and galas. His title at the studio is Founder & Flavor Architect; it describes the work.