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The week in pictures

Blended Scotch brand Johnnie Walker has collaborated with seven creative artists from six cities in Indonesia who unleashed their creativity on life-sized statues of the Striding Man.

The whisky maker’s latest campaign, called Keep Walking, is centred around inspiring personal progress and hopes to celebrate the positive attitudes that are looking to bring about a better tomorrow.

Johnnie Walker’s Indonesian campaign focuses on the positivity, confidence, creativity and generosity that people experience everyday.

London Dry gin brand Bulldog was the official spirit partner of the 2018 VO5 NME Awards, which took place this week.

The London-based brand sponsored the Best Mixtape award at the ceremony, which was won by Avelino.

The awards ceremony in Brixton also saw Haim win the award for Best International Band, Baby Driver was named Best Film and Oasis singer Liam Gallagher was crowned this year’s Godlike Genius.

Orkney Distilling has appointed Louis Wright as head of production for its new Kirkwall distillery, due to open later this year.

Wright, originally from Kirkwall, previously worked as a tour guide at the Highland Park Distillery and is currently undergoing training for his new role at the Strathearn Distillery.

Production of Orkney Distilling’s Kirkjuvagr and Arkh-Angell gin brands will move to Kirkwall once the distillery’s new site is fully operational.

Diageo is inviting bartenders from across the UK to enter it’s Reserve GB World Class Competition.

The competition launched by asking bartenders to digitally submit cocktail recipes and will culminate with one of the biggest competition finals in the industry.

Bartenders have until 30 March to enter by submitting their cocktail specs for a drink that includes at least 30ml of any Diageo Reserve spirit from the World Class portfolio.

Ariel Sanecki triumphed at the National Cocktail Championships and Bartender Awards, which took place in Dublin this week.

The annual event saw bartenders from across Ireland compete at the event held during the Food & Bev Live event in Citywest, Dublin.

Sanecki, of Adare Manor Hotel, scooped the top award of National Cocktail Champion 2018 with his cocktail called Japanese Garden.

His creation combined Star of Bombay Gin with Sake, matcha green tea syrup, yuzu purée, lime juice and rice milk.

As part of the Fairtrade Fortnight, drinks producer FAIR has teamed up with a number of top bars across the UK including, Milk and Honey and the London Cocktail Club.

During the Fairtrade Fortnight, participating bars will be serving a range of cocktails made with FAIR spirits and 50p from the sale of each drink will be donated to the Fairtrade Foundation.

FAIR’s partnership with the London Cocktail Club will run until the end of March, with the bar donating £500 from the sale of its Flavour of the Month cocktails to the charity.

Botanically-brewed soft drinks manufacturer Fentimans launched a new super-premium mixer this week at an event in London.

Connoisseurs Tonic Water was unveiled at The Botanist in the capital during an event hosted by Eldon Robson, Thomas Fentimans great, great grandson.

The new mixer will launch in 125ml, 200ml and 500ml bottle sizes and will be supported by a host of digital marketing campaigns, ahead of a “major” above-the-line campaign this spring.

Vodka brand Grey Goose has partnered with a selection of London’s best bartenders to create the 2018 Awards Season Cocktail Collection.

The cocktails, created by Chris Moore of Coupette, Erik Lorincz from The Savoy’s American Bar and Rich Woods from the Duck & Waffle, pay homage to the themes of empowerment, romance and heroism in their flavours and aesthetics.

The Acorn Aperitivo combines acorn infused-Grey Goose with vermouth, elderflower liqueur, maple syrup and prosecco; Say It Again mixes Grey Goose with Picpoul, pear and bay leaf liqueur, tarragon and vanilla syrup and celery bitters; and True Story adds Ancho Reyes Verde, Champagne syrup, verjuice and coriander to Grey Goose vodka.

This week, SB’s deputy editor Melita Kiely flew to Ireland for a glimpse at the Slane Distillery. As lids were being drilled onto washbacks, and final equipment tests were taking place, Alex Conyngham, the Earl of Mount Charles and global ambassador for the Irish whiskey brand, took a small media team on the first tour of the distillery. Plus the group was treated to a Valentine’s Day-inspired cocktail masterclass, Irish Coffees, a look around Slane Castle and a good old Irish knees up at the local pub. Keep your eyes on The Spirits Business website next week for a more detailed look behind the scenes.

Diageo has partnered with Edinburgh Trams to encourage residents and visitors to the Scottish capital to travel by tram and sign up to the its anti-drink driving campaign, called Join The Pact.

Two trams which travel from the city centre to Edinburgh Airport will carry Johnnie Walker branding to encourage more people to drink responsibly and commit to never drink and drive.

Diageo launched the Join The Pact campaign in 2008 and over 5 million people have already signed up and pledged to never drink and drive.

Funkin unveiled its new range of kegged cocktails at the Pub18 trade show in London this week.

The fruit puree maker’s kegged cocktail range has been described as “ideal for nightclubs, arenas, outdoor events and high volume pubs and bars.”

Funkin’s premium draught cocktails includes four serves, Pornstar Martini, Piña Colada, Pink Grapefruit Gin Collins and Mojito. All four creations are among the UK’s best-selling and most recognisable cocktails.

Ahead of Valentine’s Day, Highland whisky distillery Tomatin created a red herring Tinder profile for one of its ‘single’ malts looking for love.

In its profile, the Legacy single malt described itself as having ‘a mature edge’ and enjoying being amongst friends.

Growing up in the Scottish Highlands, the malt lists loving the great outdoors and travelling as part of its interests and hobbies.

Marian Beke’s The Gibson bar launched its own limited-edition Copper Head Gin bottling this week.

Copper Head The Gibson Edition adds adds 14 pickling spices, including mace, pepper, all spice, fennel and dill seeds to the original gin, and is said to be a new savoury style gin.

Bottled at 40% abv, Copperhead The Gibson Edition is available to the trade via distributor 10 Degrees C, with a suggested retail price of £35 (US$49) for a 500ml bottle.

Four casks of rum from the Ironworks Distillery in Nova Scotia were loaded aboard the Picton Castle tall ship as it embarked on its final round-the-world voyage this week.

The rum will spend 15 months maturing aboard the ship, as it undertakes its seventh round-the-world adventure under the orders of captain Daniel Moreland.

On its return, the rum will form part of a limited-edition release from the distillery in May 2019.

 

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