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The week in pictures

The Diageo Baileys Champion Dairy Cow competition is now open for entries from eligible breeders across the island of Ireland. The competition will take place on 23 August at the Virginia Show in County Cavan with a prize fund of over €10,000. Cash prizes are available across all categories including a new Junior Cow category for cows in their second calf.

To kick off the British Grand Prix weekend, Formula One veterans arrived in London for the premiere of Williams – the true story of Formula One’s Williams family – hosted by Martini, title sponsor of Williams Martini Racing. Martini vermouth and tonic serves were enjoyed by guests including Sir Frank Williams, Felipe Massa, David Coulthard, Valtteri Bottas, Damon Hill, David Gandy (pictured) and BAFTA-winning director Morgan Matthews.

On Tuesday SB‘s news, web & social editor Annie Hayes headed down to the RHS Urban Gardening Show to make harmonious music with cucumbers, courtesy of Hendrick’s Perilous Laboratory for the Absorbment of Natural Teachings – aka ‘PLANT’. The cucumbers in question were rigged up a piece of software which, when triggered, produced a selection of jaunty jazz jingles. After creating a masterpiece, guests were rewarded with a well-deserved Hendrick’s and Tonic. Meanwhile, a delectable selection of botanical cocktails complemented the activation – including the likes of Floradora, which contained Hendrick’s, lime and raspberry syrup; and Allotment Aperitif, comprising Hendrick’s, fine sherry, cucumber and asparagus syrup. If you missed out fret not, PLANT is set to tour the country to conduct a series of experiments with the on-trade.

On Tuesday, Hennessy hosted the 2017 Hennessy VS Limited Edition by JonOne launch event at Terminal 5 in New York City. Hennessy celebrated urban artist JonOne as the designer of the 2017 Hennessy Very Special Limited Edition bottle, the seventh in an on-going series of collaborations between Hennessy VS and several internationally renowned artists. Celebrities including rapper A$AP Ferg (pictured), DJ Mustard, model Chanel Iman and New York Giants player Sterling Shepard, attended the celebration.

Dewar’s has taken its Scotch Egg Club global, with a series of events which bring to life the tale of Tommy Dewar and his three passions: whisky, chicken and games. Popping up in major cities around the world, Dewar’s Scotch Egg Club will feature single malts Dewar’s, Aberfeldy and Craigellachie alongside whisky cocktails, chicken-inspired games and Scotch eggs with culinary twists. The global tour kicked off in Barcelona last night at Utopia 126, with a whisky and Scotch egg tasting menu developed by Michelin-starred chef Sergi Arola. The series will then fly off to Moscow, Berlin, Stockholm, New York and beyond.

El Dorado Demerara Rum has collaborated with The Edgbaston Hotel in Birmingham to create a cricket-themed cocktail menu to celebrate the tour of the West Indies cricket team to England this summer. Pictured is the Daisy Cutter, a combination of El Dorado 8 Year Old, pink port, hibiscus grenadine and citrus. In addition to offering the cocktail menu, brand ambassador Dean MacGregor will be hosting a rum masterclass for both customers of The Edgbaston and the bar team in advance of the first test.

The regional final of the Opihr World Adventure Cocktail Competition 2017 was held at the Guts & Glory Bar in Karlsruhe, Germany this week. The winner was Marius Köhne of Little Link Bar in Cologne, pictured with his two drinks which epitomised Opihr’s spirit of adventure: a variation on the Gin & Tonic, the Marinheiro (meaning sailor in Portuguese) and his mixology drink Commerciante (meaning trader in Portuguese). His cocktails were inspired by the story of a sailor travelling across the seas on the maritime spice route collecting spices and riches. He painted a vivid picture of the journey, creating a full sensory experience involving salt water spray to give drinkers an enhanced flavour. The global final will take place in Marrakech in September with 13 countries participating.

SB headed to Soho’s Swift bar this week to meet with Emiko Kaji, Nikka Whisky international business development manager, and Sakuma Tadashi, master blender, to learn more about their new Coffey Gin and Coffee Vodka expressions and sample them in a range of delectable cocktails.

Greenall’s Extra Reserve was displayed in a Mini at London Luton Airport to mark the official launch of Greenall’s Extra Reserve with Lagardere Travel Retail. The brand is also being activated at London City Airport.

German vodka Sash & Fritz has launched its first UK cocktail competition in London. The competition, which will take place on the 4 September in London, will see one bartender win an all-expenses paid trip to Germany and trade show Bar Convent Berlin in October. The winner will also host a bar takeover in Berlin where their winning cocktail will be served all evening. Deadline for competition entries is Friday 27 August. Entrants must submit their name, cocktail and ingredients to reservations@garnishcommunications.com.

London restaurant Quaglinos has launched its new summer drinks menu this week. Headed up by bar manager Fabio Pezzini, the bar team worked closely with executive head chef James Hulme to create a mini cocktail tasting menu, served in the Mezzanine Bar. The four-course tasting menu features four cocktails paired with Hulme’s signature canapés including Mandarin-infused elit vodka served in an ancient vase with gold edible glitter and paired with cured salmon and avocado; and Rittenhouse Rye Antica formula, Dom Benedictine, Galliano served in an oyster with a maraschino cherry and paired with spiced duck pastille.

Last night, SB headed to London’s Mayfair for William Grant & Sons UK annual Market Report, an insight into the latest trends affecting the drinks industry in 2017. Trends in the on-trade included venues responding to consumers’ shift in taste, moving towards a greater range of more natural flavours; as well as more bars championing zero-waste policy.

The Scotch Malt Whisky Society’s newly-opened Kaleidoscope bar in London has set up a ‘Murray Lounge’ pop-up on 12 and 14 July in the outdoor courtyard at Devonshire Square. Featuring tennis-themed décor, the pop-up bar will serve up a menu of tennis-themed whisky cocktails along with strawberries and cream, which guests can enjoy while lounging on deck chairs and playing swingball. Pictured is the Deuce Juice, which features a single cask whisky, Aperol and Martini Rosso.

Global hospitality collective Experimental Group has rolled out biodegradable straws across the group worldwide, starting with London restaurant Henrietta, in a bid to dramatically reduce its annual usage which is currently 500,000. The launch of the new eco straws across the group will make it the first independent to launch an initiative on this scale.

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