The week in pictures
With the changing of the seasons often come new cocktail menus and on Wednesday, The Vault in Soho – hidden beneath Milroy’s of Soho – invited a select few guests to help formulate its Autumn drinks list. Visitors were asked to rate no fewer than 16 concoctions out of five and assign an original name to each tipple, with the 12 top scorers being guaranteed a place on the menu.
This week, The Glenlivet declared it has officially broken ground at its distillery following strong financial results for the year ending June 2015. Chivas Brothers ploughed ahead with investments and enhancements to the brand’s production facilities in an effort to “ensure that current and future demand for ‘the single malt that started it all’ continues to grow”.
Snow Queen Vodka hosted a lavish event at the Nantucket Beach Club in London this week to soak up the last of the summer’s rays before the colder months set in. It comes as the closing date for entries into the Snow Queen Martini Masters 2015 nears. With just a month left to enter, make sure you don’t miss out on the chance to win a three-night trip to Lapland and submit your best recipes here, or email marcus.clark@thedrinksbusiness.com.
On Wednesday morning SB was treated to the debut unveiling of the latest offering in Gordon & MacPhail’s Generations range – Mortlach 75 Years Old. Revealed at the Royal Opera House in London, the whisky was first laid down shortly after the start of World War Two. Just 100 bottles are to be released carrying a price tag of RRP £20,000.
Revellers gathered to enjoy Notting Hill Carnival in London last bank holiday weekend, which witnessed the launch of the Alizé Louder campaign – sponsor of the Rinse FM Rough But Sweet Sound System Stage. A pop-up Alizé bar was also in action on the day serving a frozen drink called Blue Rinse in celebration of Rinse FM’s birthday, as well as a Gold n’ Ting mix drink.
The London round of the Opihr World Adventure Cocktail Competition has been won by John Burns, of The Arch Bar at the Intercontinental London Park Lane. Hosted at Gin Bar Graphic, Burns blew judges away with his winning cocktail based on a flaming piece of parchment that disappeared in a puff of smoke to reveal a map of the Ancient Spice Route underneath. Forming the judging panel were Kate Meehan, from Shake Rattle & Stir and Kathryn Birch, Gin Queen.
Those watching Channel 4’s Sunday Brunch last weekend will have seen Quintessential Brands’ Thomas Dakin Gin making its debut appearance on national television. Olivier War, from Gin Foundry, led a tasting with three artisanal gins from top distillers with celebrity guests Anna Buring, of BBC’s Ripper Street, and singer Example. Having sampled the Thomas Dakin Red Snapper, the pair said they “loved it”.
Constellation Brands raise US$1 million for The V Foundation in support of Cancer Research – the firm’s largest contribution to the charity so far. The V Foundation is one of the leading cancer research funding organisations in the US.
The grand final of the Diageo Reserve World Class 2015 kicked off in Cape Town this week, where 54 global competitors were cut down to just six finalists. Bartender Alistair Reynolds, of Hawksmoor in Great Britain, was among those chosen to go head to head in the grand final having won marks on “solid performances” and “consistency and quality”. Bartenders Jack Scotti, of Boilermaker House in Australia; Viteslav Cirok, of L’Fleur Bar in the Czech Republic; Manolis Lykiardopoulos, of Theory and More in Greece; Ariel Leizgold, of Bellboy in Israel; and Michito Kaneko, of Lamp Bar in Japan also made it through to the final six.
SB attended Diageo’s Innovation Evening, where the group’s head of innovation Michael Ward revealed plans to target growth through creative releases. Journalists sampled some of the group’s portfolio which forms part of its innovation strategy, such as the Orphan Barrel whiskey series (pictured), and also tasted variants which are currently only available in the US, including Jeremiah Weed Cinnamon Whiskey. Diageo also unveiled its latest innovation during the event – Captain Morgan Cannon Blast.
Former warehouse and Hawaiian restaurant POND Dalston has re-launched with a three month residency from East London bar concept, The Manhattans Project. Their mantra is “classic cocktails, done right”, so favourites such as Sex on the Beach, Manhattans and Mai Tais are king of the menu.
Last night SB joined London-based tasting club Whisky Squad for an Old vs. New sampling session. Led by Billy Abbott, the blind tasting comprised three pairs of the “same” whisky – at least according to the label on the bottle – but with release dates separated by decades. Tasters were set the challenge of discerning which liquid was old and which was new. The session certainly stirred up debate and with the big reveal came some real surprises. Which expressions came out on top? Well, that would be telling…
