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The week in pictures

Buffalo Trace Distillery rolled out its seven millionth barrel produced since Prohibition on Wednesday.

The barrel was placed in the distillery’s Warehouse V by tour guide and third generation employee Freddie Johnson, where it joins the distillery’s other milestone barrels.

A private audience made up mostly of Buffalo Trace employees was there for the filling of the barrel, and distillery’s president and CEO, Mark Brown, spoke briefly to mark the occasion.

Prince Charles returned to the Bundaberg Rum Distillery for the first time in 24 years this week, as part of an official trip to Australia.

He visited the Diageo-owned rum distillery with Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk, where the pair were hosted by Bundaberg Distilling chair Kylie McPherson and the distillery’s visitor experience operations manager, Duncan Littler.

His Royal Highness enjoyed a guided tasting in the Bundaberg Rum barrel house and also had the chance to blend his own expression of Bundaberg Rum.

This week, Jameson Distillery Bow Street was named the most-visited whiskey experience in the world – with visitor numbers topping more than 350,000.

The distillery re-opened in March 2017 following an €11 million refurbishment and offers five different tours for whiskey fans to enjoy – including one that focuses on the brand’s history and another that looks into whiskey’s use in cocktails.

William Grant & Sons this week named Sasha Filimonov as the UK brand ambassador for its Hendrick’s gin brand.

Filimonov joins William Grant & Sons from Brown-Forman, where she worked on the company’s portfolio of premium American whiskeys.

In her new role at Hendrick’s, Filimonov will oversee all major activations for the gin brand across the UK and will also encourage bars to reduce their use of plastic and harness more ecological produce in their recipes.

Jamaican rum brand Koko Kanu hosted a party at the exclusive London member’s club Mortimer House this week.

To celebrate the launch of issue six of the Ingénue Magazine the coconut-flavoured rum brand served up its signature cocktails for the assembled guests, which included singer Nicola Roberts, model Morwenna Lytton Cobbald and model and contributing editor of Vogue Laura Bailey.

Guests enjoyed cocktails including the Koko Bellini and a refreshing twist on the Piña Colada, called a Koko Kolada.

Cognac brand Courvoisier has named Paul Lougrat from London as the UK winner of its third annual Toast of Paris International Cocktail Competition.

Lougrat triumphed against six other UK-based bartenders at the competition earlier this week, hosted at The Artesian in London.

The final, judged by Rebecca Asseline, Courvoisier global brand ambassador; Sandrae Lawrence, editor of The Cocktail Lovers; and Anastasia Miller, cocktail historian, saw bartenders tested on their skill and innovation, as well as how Instagram-worthy their creations were.

Kentucky Bourbon producer Heaven Hill Distillery also filled a milestone barrel this week, “bunging off” its eight millionth barrel of Bourbon.

The eight millionth barrel was sealed by master distiller Denny Potter and president Max Shapira during a ceremony in the distillery’s cistern room.

During the ceremony, guests toasted the milestone barrel before it was signed by Heaven Hill employees and left to age in Rackhouse Y, where it will be displayed alongside the distillery’s other milestone barrels.

Greek spirits producer Roots has appointed Oriole bartender Mihai Ostafi as its UK brand ambassador.

Ostafi joins the low abv spirits producer ahead of its Back to Roots week, a series of events and activations to champion sustainable and low abv cocktails in bars around the world.

Participating bars include The Savoy’s American Bar in London, Rosso in Rome, The Bank Job in Athens, Rita & Cocktails in Milan, Yaya in Paris and many more.

Tales on Tour returned to Edinburgh this week for a number of seminars, events and bar takeovers across the Scottish capital.

As part of the festival, Banks Rum teamed up with a number of bars in the city to host guest bartenders and exclusive cocktail lists.

At Panda & Sons, bartenders from esteemed Amsterdam-based cocktail bar Tales & Spirits were there for guest shifts and one of the cities newest cocktail bars, Kin, celebrated the versatility of rum punch.

London cocktail bar Callooh Callay this week announced the return of its ‘secret’ upstairs bar, called the JubJu.

Following a dramatic transformation, the JubJub will re-open in May as a members-only space.

Members to the bar will be either chosen through application, or by invitation from the bar team, and will be given a special JubJub key to unlock the door and give them access to the bar.

Specialist wine and spirits distributor Crown Cellars launched a new multi-platform, integrated spirits portfolio this week, called Distilled.

To mark the launch, Distilled hosted an exclusive on-trade community event in London’s Soho where more than 20 brand owners and ambassadors showcased their spirits.

Distilled will use insight from industry experts to produce a series of mini guides and has worked with the Thinking Drinkers to create a number of engaging and educational videos.

SB’s sister publication, the drinks business, is bringing the City Wine Show back to Stationers Hall in London from today.

Set to run until 14 April, visitors will have the opportunity to sample hundreds of wines from around the world, including award winning products from db’s Global Masters competitions.

As well as a range of free masterclasses dedicated to wine and Champagne, The Spirits Business team will be at the show hosting our own Gin and Tonic bar offering a range of different spirit and mixer brands.

Premium vodka brand Cîroc has partnered with Zuma London to launch a limited-edition cocktail menu in collaboration with bar manager Pawel Rolka.

The Sakura Cîroc Menu selection features six floral-themed serves, including the Yamazakura Martini, made with Cîroc vodka, ginger and yuzu cordial, and peaches poached in saffron and sake; and the Hanami Sour, made with Cîroc vodka, aloe vera, jasmine and rose yoghurt, almond syrup, yuzu and lemon juice.

The menu has been launched to coincide with the bar’s Cherry Blossom installation and will be available until 17 June.

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