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The week in pictures

One of North Yorkshire’s newest drinks venues, The Ticket Office, celebrated its first 100 days with a round of charity fundraising.

Through sales of its Rhubarb Triangle cocktail, the bar in Ilkley is making a donation to local cancer research charity, Ilkley Candlelighters.

Since opening in December, the bar has sold more than 500 of the cocktails – which has resulted in a £250 donation for the charity.

Premium mixer brand Fever-Tree has signed its first title sponsorship deal as it partnered with The Queen’s Club tennis tournament.

The brand has signed a three-year partnership with the Lawn Tennis Association to become the title sponsor of The Queen’s Club, a major grass tennis tournament taking place from 18-24 June.

The Fever-Tree Championships will see top players Andy Murray, Rafael Nadal, Marin Čilić, Grigor Dimitrov and current British number one Kyle Edmund compete.

SB‘s editor Amy Hopkins made a short journey across the Thames to attend the fifth anniversary celebrations of the City of London Distillery (COLD).

At the event, COLD unveiled its new-look range of bottles, and also a limited-edition gin created specially for the evening – Lord Mayor Gin. Only 330 bottles of the gin, which features a more prominent pepper note, have been released.

The bottle was presented to the Lord Mayor Charles Bowman himself, pictured above. Guests also enjoyed a range of bespoke cocktails created by COLD’s bartenders.

Premium French vodka brand Sauvelle launched the first in its series of nature-inspired bar takeovers this week.

Each pop-up will boast its own exclusive Wild Beauty menu, offering a number of vodka-based creations.

Kicking off this week, a new menu of Sauvelle cocktails will celebrate the first day of spring, otherwise known as the spring equinox, for one week only at Henson’s Bar, Mimi’s Hotel in Soho.

Yorkshire-based distillery Cooper King has partnered with the Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust to plant more than 400 new trees in the region over the next year.

England’s smallest distillery has made a pledge to plant one square metre of native woodland for every bottle of gin sold, in order to reduce its carbon footprint.

The distillery will partner with the Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust to plant 4000-5000 square metres of native woodland within the first year.

Skylight at London’s Tobacco Dock has announced details for its upcoming summer season, which will include live entertainment, croquet, DJs and an unrivalled view of London.

Skylight’s bars will be serving an all-new seasonal cocktail menu, including spritzes, pitchers, bubbly and wine, while street food trader Yiro will serve the ultimate summer dishes with a focus on world-flavours.

The rooftop bar will host special events and one-off parties throughout the summer season, including DJ residencies and rooftop yoga sessions.

American bartender Bethany Ham from Los Angeles was crowned the champion of this year’s Ti’Punch Cup, hosted by Rhum Clément.

Fourteen bartenders from around the world travelled to Martinique in the Caribbean for the final of the competition, which saw them create a signature Rhum Clément cocktail, have their rhum agricole knowledge tested and were challenged on their knowledge of the history of the brand.

After triumphing over competitors from China, Germany and Spain, Ham will become an ambassador of the Ti’Punch competition and will hold the Ti’Punch Cup trophy in her bar.

The Wine & Spirit Trade Association showcased a range of British gins and English wines at an event in Hong Kong this week.

Sarah Heller MW led a Best of Britain tasting of still and sparkling wines from six English wine makers and products from seven different gins distillers

The masterclasses were attended by a variety of buyers, importers and journalists, keen to quench the thirst for all things ‘Brand Britain’ overseas.

Durham Distillery has launched a new programme, allowing whisky fans to purchase bottles, cases or casks of its spirits – which will be ready to drink in 2021.

The new distillery, which will enter production later this year, has launched a range of specially designed packages named after the city’s famous bridges – including Prebends and Elvet.

Those who purchase one of the ‘unique’ packages will receive a bottle of Durham Distillery’s single malt whisky drawn from first fill Bourbon and Sherry casks and featuring an exclusive label design.

SB’s deputy editor Melita Kiely headed to London whisky bar Black Rock on Wednesday for the grand unveiling of the latest The Glenlivet release: The Glenlivet Code. But this was no ordinary launch event – leading Team 1, Kiely and her team mates were tasked to answer a series of whisky questions from The Glenlivet on Twitter to progress to the next test, where each contestant was required to nose and taste the new whisky and mark the aromas and flavours detected.

The Glenlivet Code is set to launch this month in 28 markets globally, and buyers will also be able to put their senses to the test through a virtual reality experience online in a bid to “crack the code” behind the Scotch.

SB‘s Owen Bellwood went along to the opening of Glenmorangie’s Spice & Rye pop-up bar, which celebrates the launch of its new expression – called Spios.

The pop-up bar is a vibrant speakeasy cocktail bar designed to celebrate the golden age of American rye whiskey.

The launch night included a number of classic whisky-based cocktails given a Glenmorangie twist, as well as a chance to taste Spios, the brand’s 9th Private Edition release and the first expression fully aged in American rye casks.

Premium vodka brand Black Cow has launched a new food pairing experience at Mark’s Bar at HIX Soho.

Throughout March and April, a number of small plates showcasing the best British produce will be paired with a signature Black Cow-based cocktail.

Dishes on offer include a Black Cow Dirty Martini paired with oysters, and Black Cow Rhuby Rocks cocktail served with shrimp gyoza.

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