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The week in pictures

On Wednesday, gin distillers Jake Burger, Portobello Road; Sean Harrison, Plymouth Gin; Jared Brown, Sipsmith; Tom Nichol, Tanqueray; and Ian Hart from Sacred Gin, joined Beefeater master distiller, Desmond Payne, as he celebrated 50 years making gin. The gathering took place at the The Ivy, overlooking the Tower of London where the Queen’s ‘Beefeaters’ (yeoman wardens) once guarded treasonous prisoners and now look after the crown jewels. Payne has worked at the Beefeater Distillery since 1995, having begun his career in gin at Seager Evans & Co, the Wine Merchants and Gin Distillers, in 1967.

On Tuesday, during the Toronto International Film Festival, Grey Goose vodka and Soho House Toronto hosted a private party to celebrate the world premiere of Professor Marston and the Wonder WomenDirector Angela Robinson and producers Terry Leonard and Amy Redford toasted the film alongside her cast with a collection of Grey Goose signature cocktails. Grey Goose has introduced a new Q&A format brunch series at Toronto hotspot Lavelle entitled Grey Goose Cocktails and Conversations – an intimate discussion series showcasing the vision, inspiration and creativity of the best in film. Grey Goose hosted one its conversations with Rachel Weisz and Rachel McAdams (pictured), as well as with In The Fade director Fatih Akin and the film’s star, Diane Kruger, who earned a Best Actor nod in Cannes for the role.

Meanwhile at Soho House Toronto, Grey Goose hosted a private dinner for the premiere of The Killing of a Sacred Deer on Saturday. Guests gathered on the club’s second floor Pantry restaurant and congratulated Nicole Kidman, Colin Farrell and director Yorgos Lanthimos as they arrived.

Guests enjoyed a collection of bespoke Grey Goose cocktails including Grey Goose Director’s Cut, the Star of Film Noir espresso martini cocktail and the signature Grey Goose vodka film serve, and Grey Goose Le Fizz.

SB was part of an international team of journalists that descended on Elgin in Scotland to celebrate the 120th anniversary of La Martiniquaise-owned single malt distillery Glen Moray. This image shows the happy bunch shortly after they had filled casks that will become Scotch whisky. Master distiller Graham Coull and former master distiller Ed Dodson led a tour around the distillery, as well as a deconstructed tasting of commemorative bottling Glen Moray Mastery. The festivities were concluded with a jovial Burns Supper.

The Sailor Jerry Living Ink at Jerry’s Parlour experience made its debut appearance at Bestival last weekend. Paying homage to Norman ‘Sailor Jerry’ Collins, guests entered the Sailor Jerry World via the new Living Ink experience, a virtual tattoo parlour. Visitors enjoyed in-built projections of Sailor Jerry’s iconic flash artwork mapped onto their arms. For those looking for something a little more permanent, there were transfer tattoos of some of Sailor Jerry’s most iconic flash artwork available. Guests also sipped on Sailor Jerry cocktails from the airstream, including Jerry Loves Ginger.

On Wednesday, SB‘s Nicola Carruthers headed to Antwerp, Belgium to celebrate the 125th anniversary of Mandarine Napoléon liqueur. To coincide with the anniversary, brand owner De Kuyper unveiled Mandarine Napoléon XO Gold, a new liqueur containing a drop of 125-year-old Cognac. The celebratory event, hosted by De Kuyper CEO Mark de Witte (pictured), featured an array of cocktails including the Mandarine Margarita and delectable dishes from Michelin star chef Viki Geunes.

Actors Richard Rankin, Cara Theobold and Sienna Guillory, plus Olympic gold medalist Nicole Cooke, attended the Beyond The Cask VIP event this week, where the collaboration between Glenmorangie and Renovo Hardwood Bicycles was unveiled. The Glenmorangie Renovo bike has been handcrafted from Glenmorangie ex-Bourbon casks. Those who attended the event at Behind the Bike Shed in London’s Old Street enjoyed whisky-inspired canapés and signature Glenmorangie cocktails made with Glenmorangie’s The Original. Guests also experienced exclusive whisky tastings with Dr Bill Lumsden, Glenmorangie’s director of distilling and whisky creation, and met with Ken Wheeler, founder of Renovo.

Modern London brasserie Balans Soho Society delivered us a little treat this week – a set of three miniature signature cocktails comprising their Lychee Gimlet, Blueballs Smash, and Passionfruit Martini – along with some exciting news. To tie in with London Cocktail Week, Balans has curated an exclusive menu of decadent Champagne cocktails based on the theme of ‘opulence’ at its Soho and Seven Dials sites. And once you’ve recouped from the madness of the festival, Balans will guide you through to Christmas with a set of boozy cocktail crackers. Priced at £50 for a box of six, each cracker contains a miniature bottle of a signature festive cocktail, from vodka-soaked Stocking Stuffer to Gin’gle Bells, with triple sec, lime juice and lychee pureé.

This week, supermodel Alessandra Ambrosio went behind the scenes at London fashion celebrations to provide an access-all-areas pass to the event as part of Ciroc vodka’s On Arrival campaign. To toast the week of fashion celebrations, Ciroc released ‘Front Row’, the second in a three-part series of images featuring Ambrosio captured by Ciroc global creative partner Mario Testino.

Maker’s Mark has recently launched ‘The Makers’, a bartender engagement programme hosted by Maker’s Mark diplomat Amanda Humphrey. The Makers consists of four workshops based on the four key elements of Maker’s Mark: wood, wax, wheat and paper. The workshops give bartenders the opportunity to learn more about Maker’s Mark, as well as teach valuable skills which they can take back to their bar with them. At the most recent workshop held at TT Liquor in London, bartenders had the chance to produce their own personalised wax seal stamp – allowing them to put their own mark on cocktail cards and menus.

Kentucky’s distilleries and cooperages gathered at the Jim Beam American Stillhouse in Clermont, Kentucky on Saturday for the inaugural Great Distillery BBQ Cook-off. Hosted by Jim Beam, the event crowned a top Bourbon industry pitmaster. Nine four-person cook teams, representing The Bardstown Bourbon Company, Barton Brands, Independent Stave Company, Jim Beam Distillery and Wild Turkey Distillery, competed in ribeye, St. Louis-style ribs and chicken legs. Fred Minnick, Bourbon expert and author, declared “The Smoking Barrel Boys” of The Independent Stave Company with the grand champion prize – a Deep South GC28 Smoker for future team use.

Auchentoshan has named Lachlan Rooney of Edinburgh-based The Voodoo Rooms and Charles Roche of London’s Scout as the newest members of its bartender collective, The New Malt Order. The duo competed in two gruelling rounds in the UK final of the competition, which took place in London on 5 September. Rooney and Roche will go on to join 10 other winners from across the globe at the home of Auchentoshan in Glasgow later this month to create Edition 2 of The Bartender’s Malt for release in 2018.

In celebration of the thousands of elderflowers harvested to create elderflower liqueur St-Germain, the brand has partnered with Harvey Nichols in a terrace takeover welcoming guests through its doors until 31 October. The takeover features St-Germain cocktails created in collaboration with Paulius Patumsis from the OXO Tower bar team and Camille Ralph Vidal, global brand ambassador. The Terrace is brought to life with a foliage wall, created by Emily Baylis, floral designer and founder of ‘June in March’.

Voted one of the ‘World’s Best Bars’, New York’s Dante will be popping up in London for the first time at Madison Rooftop Bar. The bar team will be hosting Aperitivo Hour between 4-9pm from 29 September – 4 October. The drinks menu features drinks from their original menu including the Garibaldi and the Italian Sour, as well as cocktails from the Negroni Sessions such as the Chocolate Negroni. In addition, the bar team have created two new cocktails inspired by Madison’s rooftop scene – Endless Summer and Rooftop Life.

Glenfiddich welcomed 350 members of the Scottish on-trade to its spiritual home of Dufftown for the inaugural Glenfiddich Festival Experiment. The private two-day festival was launched to thank the Scottish hospitality industry for its continued support of Glenfiddich, and to celebrate Glenfiddich’s Experimental Series. Attendees experienced a jam-packed schedule of homegrown musical acts including headliners Twin Atlantic, distillery tours, exclusive whisky tastings, live comedy, a silent disco, massages and more.

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