The week in pictures
The SB team was transported back to winter this week when Dalwhinnie sent a friendly but frosty delivery to the office: a bottle of new NAS release Winter’s Gold encased in an ethereal block of ice. The challenge was set: free the bottle from its glacial prison with an ice pick. Trickier than it looks, it took a good while to release the whisky. But the hard work was worth it: the liquid is inspired by the chilly climate at the Highland distillery. The colder the weather, the less contact the liquid has with copper when passing through the distillery’s traditional worm tubs, leading to a “sulphuric” flavour as a new make spirit and “honeyed” whisky after maturation.
International drinks group Quintessential Brands has expanded its international commercial team with the appointment of three new drinks industry professionals. Looking left to right, Nicolas Waymel, international commercial manager for Southern and Western Europe, who has worked with Moet Hennessy, Osborne and Maxxium; Margaux Maupate, international market development executive who joined from Rémy Cointreau; and James Barnett, international commercial manager for Northern & Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa, joining after eight years with William Grant & Sons, will join William Ovens (far right), commercial director, on the team.
Kingsbarns Distillery manager Peter Holroyd presents the recently opened site’s new make spirit, which has been bottled for sale at its visitors’ centre. The 63.5% abv spirit is the same as the liquid made from Fife-grown barley that will be used to make Kingsbarns’ single malt whisky.
The directors of Portobello Road Gin unveiled their new Directors’ Cut bottling earlier this week – which is thought to be the first ever London dry gin made using British asparagus as one of its botanicals. Director Paul Lane harvested (and clearly tasted) the asparagus, which was planted in Cambridgeshire.
The Famous Grouse Experience at The Glenturret Distillery has unveiled a single cask in homage to tennis ace Andy Murray as part of the distillery’s Bottle Your Own programme, which names a number of casks after Perthshire’s most famous residents. Previous honourees of the scheme include the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Hollywood star Ewan McGregor.
Earlier this week Bowmore unveiled the result of its #EastMeetsWest “experiment” – Bowmore Mizunara Cask Finish. Guests were treated to cocktails and canapés at the launch event, held fittingly at the Greenwich Observatory which is situated on the prime meridian where the Eastern and Western hemispheres meet. The liquid itself – finished for three years in virgin mizunara oak after maturing in both bourbon and sherry casks – delighted those present with its “spicy, mellow” character, the influence of the rare Japanese wood.
The team behind London’s go-to American hangout, The Diner, invited SB to drop by and sample a selection of new drinks and classic US dishes on the venue’s recently updated menu. From Hard Shakes – “milkshakes with a grown-up makeover”– to Hard Teas, classic cocktails reinvented with a tea twist, the menu offers something sweet to sip for imbibers of all kinds. Our favourite was the Diner G&Tea pictured – a combination of gin, ethically-sourced Diner Blend Tea, elderflower, and apple.
The founder of Lushice Soberts, Laura Lewis, invited guests to drop by and sample some cocktail-inspired desserts at a pop-up event at café-deli Kitchen Table Projects in Old Street station on Wednesday. The range consists of four flavours; Mojito, Piña Colada, Strawberry Daiquiri and Margarita, and each variant is made from real fruit and “a dash of premium liquor”.
Back to summertime and this week Stoli treated us to a Stoli Lemonade Kit as the marketing campaign celebrates a year of success in both the on- and off-trade. The initiative has seen a Stoli Lemonade Van tour round London and the UK serving up samples of freshly made Stoli Lemonade and Stoli Lemonade sorbet. In addition, the brand commissioned Italian gelateria, Gelupo, to create a Stoli Lemonade sorbet and Stoli Lemonade Mint sorbet. Delicious!
20th August is World Mosquito Day, an initiative commemorating Sir Ronald Ross’s discovery in 1897 that female mosquitoes transmit malaria between humans. To celebrate, and raise vital funds for Malaria No More UK, Maverick Drinks launched 1897 Quinine Gin, a London dry gin made with vacuum distilled cinchona bark, a source of the natural antimalarial quinine. At least £5 will be donated to the charity for every bottle sold.
The Wenneker Swizzle Masters was this month held at TwoRuba bar and restaurant at the London Hilton Tower Bridge. Judges Mike Sweetman, vice-president of the United Kingdom Bartenders’ Guild (UKBG); Armand Fasola, committee member of the UKBG; Nick Bell, manager of Amathus Drinks Soho; and Kristiane Sherry, editor of The Spirits Business, throughly judged each American Whiskey Dessert recipe before selecting the winning cocktail which will be announced in the September edition of the magazine.
