The week in pictures
Dustin Drankiewicz, bar director of Chicago’s 16” On Center, muses over Cocktails for Dingdongs – a satirical comic book cocktail guide that he created in collaboration with comic artist Alexandra Ensign, who is also bartender at The Promontory. Designed as a reference manual for six drinks recipes, the book will launch at all 16” On Center venues next week.
Sake no Hana in Mayfair has launched an exclusive whisky and chocolate flight. The experience features three hand-selected whiskies, paired with chocolates created by the restaurant’s pastry team specifically to match and complement the flavour of the spirit. The flight begins with Nikka from the Barrel paired with Alto el sol chocolate, moving on to Hibiki 17 paired with spiced kumquat and nutmeg ganache, and finishing with Nikka Yoichi paired with a smoked salt ganache. The flight is said to tell the story of one of the original masters of Japanese whisky, Masataka Taketsuru, who spearheaded the production of Japanese whisky and founded the brand Nikka with his first distillery in Yoichi in 1934, and follows Taketsuru through his life. The bar will also be serving a large collection of over 30 Japanese whiskies including some of the rarest Japanese whiskies in the world.
Two bartenders from London have been crowned champions of the Underground Punch Pong League – Monin and Plantation Bartenders Challenge Cup 2015, which was founded in 2013 by JJ Goodman and has become a firm annual fixture on the UK bar scene. The final took place on the opening night of London Cocktail Week in front of a packed house at the London Cocktail Club Shoreditch. After a hard-fought battle involving eight teams of two bartenders from across the UK, the ultimate winners were Robb Collins and Peter Lidstone from London Cocktail Club Goodge Street. Robb and Peter won tickets to an upcoming NFL game at Wembley Stadium, as well as the coveted UPPL trophy.
This month, Patrón Tequila partners with Assemble London and Moniker Art Fair to create a unique dining experience; The Art of Patrón Cocktail Cantina. In a banquet based on Patrón Tequila’s heritage of craft and creativity, the Cantina will see a carefully curated menu of premium Mexican dishes paired with five mini Patrón-inspired custom-made cocktails. The Art of Patrón Cocktail Cantina will exhibit canvasses from one of the world’s best street artists, Nick Walker, and two exclusive feature chandeliers by Cristina Guitan, which will also retail at the fair, and have been crafted using the iconic Patrón bottles.
This week, SB‘s senior staff writer Melita Kiely traveled to Sofia, Bulgaria, for the 64th annual International Bartenders Association World Cocktail Championship 2015. Following fierce competition in rounds including Flairtending, Before Dinner Cocktails, Sparkling Cocktails, Long Cocktails, Bartenders’ Choice and After Dinner Cocktails, six countries were selected to go head-to-head in the super final. Taking home the coveted crown of World Cocktail Champion 2015 was Ivanov Dosa of Sweden.
Between the cocktail competitions at this year’s IBA World Cocktail Championship, guests had the opportunity to take part in an array of masterclasses hosted by different spirit brands. Kick-starting the week’s masterclasses was Reàl Cocktail Ingredients, who recruited the talents of Georgi Radev, bar manager at renowned London watering hole Mahiki, to lead the afternoon’s tastings.
The House of Angostura Global Cocktail Challenge hosted its Asian final at the IBA World Cocktail Championships in Sofia, Bulgaria, this week. The competitors were tasked with creating two cocktails in the space of five minutes, one of which needed to include any Angostura rum and at least five dashes of Angostura Orange Bitters while the other was required to include at least five dashes of Angostura aromatic bitters and any base spirit. Following four strong performances, the judges’ scores resulted in bartender Seo Yong Won of South Korea being crowned the winner. Won walked away with a cash prize of US$3,000 and the chance to compete in the global final set to take place in Trinidad and Tobago in 2016, where the overall winner will receive US$10,000 and a paid global ambassador position with Angostura for two years.
The founders of Double Dutch Drinks, twin sisters Raissa and Joyce de Haas (pictured left), celebrated their Virgin StartUp Foodpreneur Award this week, awarded by British billionaire Richard Branson. Double Dutch Drinks, a premium, low-calorie spirits mixer brand, was named winner in the retail category of the awards and has received the chance to scale up and launch in the US.
Leading Scotch whisky distillers Dr. Bill Lumsden, director of distilling for The Glenmorangie Company; Andy Cant, distillery manager for Cardhu Single Malt Distillery; John Campbell, distillery manager for Laphroaig Distillery headed to George Washington’s Mount Vernon plantation to celebrate the launch of two unique whiskeys. The distillers teamed up with George Washington’s Distillery, based at Mount Vernon, to launch George Washington’s Distillers’ Reserve and George Washington’s Limited edition single malts – both made using Scottish barley, but distilled and aged at Mount Vernon.
Robert Anderson, CEO of the Tomatin Distillery, was inducted as Keeper of the Quaich last week during a biennial ceremony at Blair Castle. The Keepers of the Quaich is a Scotch Whisky society with membership by invitation only, founded to acknowledge those who have contributed to the Scotch Whisky industry.Fourty-two other new members from 19 countries were named Keepers of the Quaich, joining 2,457 others who have to title around the world.
Crystal Head Vodka celebrated the launch of its “bolder” brand extension at The Edition Hotel in London. Featuring a bottle design evoking the Northern Lights, Aurora swaps Crystal Head’s staple Canadian corn for wheat grown in England’s North Yorkshire for a “spicier” flavour. Guests at the launch enjoyed cocktails including the Aurora Puretini, Wheat Dreams and Red Pepper Sky.
The Balvenie’s malt master David Stewart unveiled the first chapter of the brand’s epic new DCS Compendium range at the Wallace Collection in London’s Hertford House. Said to bottle Stewart’s extension knowledge of the Scotch whisky industry acquired over his 53-year career at The Balvenie, the range consists of 25 single cask, cask strength whiskies which will be launched in five different “chapters”.
US distillery Balcones celebrated the arrival of a new still at its new Waco-based distillery. Balcones said the site, due to be operational by January, will enable it to meet “overwhelming” demand for its products and give its distillers the capacity and flexibility to create “new, cutting-edge” spirits.
Previous winners of the Hennessy Gold Cup along with the Channel 4 Racing team headed to Hennessy this week for an introduction to the Cognac brand in its 250th celebratory year. Oliver Sherwood, winning trainer of Many Clouds who won the race in 2014 and the Grand National in April 2015, was joined by Nicky Henderson, previous winner of the Hennessy Gold Cup three times and trainer to some of the Queen’s horses, alongside Channel 4 Racing’s Nick Luck, presenter of the Morning Line, for a full introduction at the Hennessy distillery and private Chateau de Bagnolet.
Last week Maxxium UK and MIXXIT hosted the Harveys Remix bartender competition at the home of Harveys in Jerez, Spain. The competition took place at the Harveys bodega and three finalists, Joe Macbeth of Rub Smokehouse & Bar (Nottingham), Robyn Wilkie of Mash (London) and Georgia Billing of Looking Glass Cocktail Club (London), treated to vineyard visits, historic town tours and Sherry tastings. Wilkie was named winner of the competition after impressing judges with his Caballo Cartunjano (Carthusian horse) cocktail.
