The week in pictures
Wine and spirits fans alike flocked to the London Wine Fair at London Olympia this week, where SB hosted our first premium tasting zone featuring award-winning brands from The Global Spirits Masters series. Visitors were given the opportunity to sip and sample an array of medal winners, including Glengoyne Scotch whisky, The Cotswolds Dry Gin, Worthy Park Estate rum and Snow Queen Vodka.
The very first Black Cow Vodka Gold Top Cup London heat was held at Morden & Lea in Soho this week, where entrants were asked to create cocktails using ingredients that can only be found within the British countryside. Felix Cohen of Manhattans Project was crowned winner of the London round with his Tomato Cosmopolitan, while Tony Hogan of Hawksmoor was named runner up with his Salford Spring Punch. The final is set to take place in Dorset in July, where one winner will receive a weekend for two at Soho House’s Farm House and gain automatic entry into the brand’s first global cocktail challenge in 2017.
Chase Vodka took to Facebook this week and revealed Rosie Fox the winner of its April competition in association with Dubarry of Ireland.
“Gluten-free” and “sugar-free” Devotion Vodka was the exclusive vodka sponsor of the 43rd Annual Daytime Emmy Awards, hosted by The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS). Mike Calleja, COO of Devotion Vodka, was joined by Nicole Adelman, daughter of Devotion Vodka CEO Drew Adelman, at the awards ceremony.
Motorbike fans were given a special task at Speyside Distillery to choose the single malt whisky to become the toast of Europe’s largest Harley Davidson rally. The renowned Thunder in the Glens event at Aviemore is set to celebrate its 20th anniversary with a limited edition bottling of Scotch whisky of the same age from the Speyside Distillery. A group of Harley Davidson buffs dropped in on the distillery during the Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival last week to help choose just the right expression to mark the occasion.
The 2016 Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival came to a close last weekend, after thousands of visitors flocked to the region for a dram, or two. More than 500 events took place over the five-day event, offerings distillery tours, tastings, food and musical entertainment.
Jim Beam seventh generation master distiller Fred Noe and Kentucky governor Matt Bevin celebrated Jim Beam filling its 14 millionth barrel this week, a first for the Bourbon industry.
SB headed to Oriole on Tuesday to find out who out of 50 bartenders would be joining the Diageo Reserve GB World Class final. A day of challenges pushed bartenders’ abilities in what was the competition’s second semi-final, based on the theme ‘fruits and plants’. So tough was the competition that ties for fifth place saw six men put through to the GB final: Lorenzo Antinori of Dandelyan; Aidan Bowie of Dandelyan; Dominic Whisson of The American Bar at The Savoy; James Bowker of The Edgbaston Boutique Hotel & Cocktail Lounge; Jerome Allaguillemette of Sexy Fish; and Gordon Purnell of Panda & Sons.
Made in Chelsea reality TV stars Jamie Laing and Alex Mytton were recruited by London alcohol delivery service Bevy as brand ambassadors this week. The duo will make appearances at company events, marketing the brand through stunts and promotions, and even providing surprise deliveries to customers in person.
Bartender Aurélie Panhelleux from Copperbay Bar, Paris, soared to success in the French national heat of the Chivas Regal Masters cocktail competition this week, securing herself a place in the grand final.
Whisky and Alement owners Julian White and Brooke Hayman partnered with Kelvin Low, previously of Heirloom Restaurant, to create a pop-up bar in Melbourne, Australia, serving the country’s “largest” publicly available selection of Japanese whisky – Bar White Oak. Set to launch on 18 May for seven days, up to 150 different expressions are available from the pop-up, including rare variants from the Karuizawa distillery, unusual blends from the 1980s and award winning expressions such as the Yamazaki Sherry Cask 2016 release.
