The week in pictures
On Thursday, some of sb headed East to be among the first to try out the highly anticipated Breaking Bad-inspired pop-up bar, ABQ. Located at The Old Bath House in Hackney Wick, the bar is located in an RV – similar to the one seen in the hit US TV series – and allows guests to “cook” their own cocktails, dreamt up by Fluid Movement co-founder, Tom Aske.
We had to do a double take when we walked past this uncanny Heisenberg lookalike at the launch of the Breaking Bad ABQ pop-up bar in East London. The doppelgänger of Bryan Cranston’s main protagonist in the show was on hand to pose for photos with guests as they sipped their freshly cooked cocktails.
This week SB hosted its monthly Swizzle Masters competition at South Bank’s picturesque OXO Tower. Head bartender, Daniel Wilkinson, tended the bar for our expert judging panel, recreating a plethora of Irish Whiskey Punch cocktail recipes sent in from bartenders across the globe. Congratulations to all the Swizzlers who entered – the winner will be announced in August’s edition of the magazine.
To celebrate the launch of batch four of Penny Blue Rum, the brand held an intimate tasting of the entire range at Milroy’s of Soho, led by Doug McIvor. The XO 4 Mauritian rum comprises expressions matured in both Bourbon a d whisky casks aged from four to 11 years, and is the combined work of McIvor, spirits manager for Berry Bros. & Rudd, and Jean Francois Koenig, master distiller at Medine Distillery.
We caught up with Ryan Chetiyawardana, AKA Mr Lyan, at Dandelyan on Wednesday as the award-winning bar unveiled its summer cocktail menu. In keeping with the modern botany theme, this season Chetiyawardana has expanded and explored pine, oak and birch flavour profiles through the new serves. The innovative, considered cocktails featured ingredients as diverse as whisky-infused cucumber and tequila produced with Iberico hams hung inside the still.
Jose Cuervo Tequila launched its “Tequila Shacks” at the Citadel Festival in London this weekend, designed to transport partygoers to a Mexican hacienda and showcase the Tequila’s new branding. Serving Cuervo cocktails and Mexican street food, the shacks will also launch at the Lovebox and Wilderness festivals.
Pop superstar Justin Timberlake, founder of Tequila brand Sauza 901, and brand partner Kevin Ruder enjoyed a cocktail on Sunday during the American Century Championship, where their Tequila brand was an official sponsor. Timberlake’s gold get up certainly makes a marked difference to his latest appearance as a giant green lime in a viral Sauza 901 video.
Cocktails in the City also revealed images from its Summer Edition London launch, where more than 2,000 cocktail-loving Londoners came together in the sun drenched surroundings of Bedford Square Gardens to sample the delights of 25 London’s best bars. More than 7,000 cocktails were shaken, stirred and blended by the capitals best bartenders. The unanimous vote for Best Cocktail went to Coq D’Argent with its exotic Far East Cocktail.
Her Royal Highness, the Princess Royal visited Cumbria’s The Lakes Distillery this week to mark its gran opening. During her visit, Princess Anne visited the stillroom where The Lakes Vodka, The Lakes Gin, and The Lakes Single Malt are produced before unveiling a plaque in the distillery’s courtyard. Following the tour, The Lakes Distillery founder and managing director Paul Currie and chairman of the board Nigel Mills presented Her Royal Highness with a sherry cask of The Lakes Malt to commemorate her visit.
New York’s The Dead Rabbit Grocery & Grog celebrated receiving one of the bar world’s most esteemed accolades. The cocktail bar was named World’s Best Bar during the Spirited Awards in New Orleans last weekend, the grand finale of the world’s foremost cocktail and spirits festival, Tales of the Cocktail. “We are elated and humbled to win World’s Best Bar and are filled with gratitude,” said Sean Muldoon, co-founder and managing partner of The Dead Rabbit. “It is the culmination of a five-year journey to bring to life our best hopes of what a bar could be.”
Meanwhile, The Merchant’s Hotel in Belfast, where Muldoon and his The Dead Rabbit partner Jack McGarry saw their careers take off, launched what is thought to be Ireland’s first “water menu”. With prices starting from £4.95 and up to £26.45, the 13-strong bottled water selection includes some of the world’s “purest waters”, originating from 10 countries including Italy, Iceland, Finland, the Faroe Islands and Fiji. The bar hotel has even hired two “water butler” to guide guests through the menu.
Pacify, the racing horse owned by the Price of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall, won the Greenall’s Gin Maiden Stakes at Newmarket on Saturday, cheered on by Prince William. The sponsorship of two races at the Newmarket July Festival organised by The Jockey Club is part of Greenall’s ongoing partnership as the Official Gin of The Jockey Club which runs 15 of the UK’s top racecourses, including Newmarket. Pictured is Carolyn Scott, the wife of Quintrssential Brands’ founder, with the trainer and jockey of Pacify and also Lizzy Johnson, global brand and marketing director at Quintessential Brands.
Gruppo Campari’s Wild Turkey announced the nine finalists for its third annual UK cocktail competition. The successful entrants included: Stefano Chila, of London’s Novokov; Dan Bovey, of Be @ 1 Bristol; Jamie Jones, of Leeds’ No Fixed Abode; Adam Binnersly, of Manchester’s MOJO; Robin Honhold, of London’s White Lyan; and Jamie Moran, of Edinburgh’s Tiki Bar and Kitsch Inn. The competition’s grand finale will take place on 12 August.
Glenmorangie – the spirit of the Open – celebrated the 144th Open last weekend at the home of golf – St Andrews – with its three brand ambassadors: Tony Jacklin, Sir Nick Faldo and golf photographer David Cannon.
Master distiller of Thomas Dakin Gin, Joanne Moore, signed the red brick wall ahead of its installation in the Thomas Dakin Distillery, which is set to be built in Manchester. Thomas Dakin Gin, first unveiled earlier this month, is a small batch gin that takes its name from the “forefather of quality English gin”.
