The week in pictures
Rich Woods of the Duck and Waffle saw off stiff competition from five other bartenders at the UK final of Bombay Sapphire’s Most Imaginative Bartender competition, which took place in front of a 100-strong crowd at Shoreditch House, London, on Wednesday night.
Three of the hottest talents on London’s bar scene have joined forces to launch a new destination cocktail bar – Made in the Shade. Opening its doors for the first time this week, the brains behind the new venture, Jim Wrigley, Jeremy Thompson Jewitt and Peter Lewis are busy preparing for the official launch next Wednesday.
Icelandic vodka brand Reyka introduced its first bitters to the British on-trade this week with a signature serve of vodka, tonic and bitters with a slice of grapefruit.
Whisky brand J&B this week released 25 bottles that had been individually tattooed to look like real skin. The collection was released exclusively in Paris and is thought to have taken tattoo artist Sébastian Mathieu, owner of Le Sphinx tattoo studio in Paris, approximately 20 hours to complete.
SB‘s news and web editor Amy Hopkins ventured north this week to The Glenrothes Speyside distillery to immerse herself in all that is Scotch and learn the ins and outs of the distillation process from the ever-knowledgable Ronnie Cox, brand heritage director for Berry Bros & Rudd.
The distillery was something to behold. From mash tuns and fermentation tanks, to giant copper stills and a cooperage warehouse, viewing the inner workings of Scotch whisky distillation was a fascinating experience.
After a hard day distillery dawdling and dram drinking, guests at The Glenrothes were treated to a bit of light off-road driving and clay pigeon shooting in the midst of the breathtaking Highlands, courtesy of Sporting Scotland.
Jägermeister revealed it will debut its inaugural TV commercial next month during England’s friendly football match against Denmark which will air on ITV1 on 5 March.
Diageo’s 2014 Reserve World Class Global Travel competition is back bigger than ever this year as the company announced its partnership with Royal Carribbean International and Celebrity Cruises., bringing the total number of bartenders entering up to a staggering 5,500.
Luxardo has named its first ever UK brand ambassador as mixologist “G” Franklin, who will work with bartenders to perfect classic maraschino cocktails and create new recipes.
Battersea’s Italian pizzeria Bunga Bunga launched a new weekly night called The Roman Empire of Bunga Bunga, which will take place every Thursday and crown whoever takes the best Roman-themed selfie as the “emperor” or “empress”.
Chivas Brothers’ employees toasted their four charities of the year that will each receive a donation of £7,000: Movember (London and Plymouth regions), Scottish Autism (Dunbartonshire region), Crohn’s and Colitis UK (Paisley, Glasgow and Ayrshire regions) and The Archie Foundation (Northern Scotland region).
Harrods kicked off the first in a series of exclusive semi-acoustic music shows, called The Wine Vault Sessions, with British singer songwriter Katie Melua on Thursday, in a bid to promote the store’s wines and spirits section. An intimate crowd of just 80 guests were treated to 11 of the singer’s songs while enjoying bespoke cocktails created by Snow Queen Vodka and Thai and pan-Asian canapés.
