The week in pictures

To mark National Amaretto Day earlier this week, Italian liqueur brand Disaronno announced it was partnering with cocktail mixing lab Crucible for a series of masterclasses.

The cocktail masterclasses will run throughout the year with Disaronno’s UK ambassador Rod Eslamieh and Crucible founder Stu Bale.

The platform aims to identify the most innovative cocktail trends and champion the best mixology skills.

Donovan Bar at luxury London hotel Brown’s reopened this week after an extensive refurbishment.

The bar hosted an opening celebration to showcase its new look, created by interior designer Inge Moore and featuring the largest private collection of Sir Terence Donovan’s photographs in existence.

As well as a refurbishment, the drinks menu at Donovan bar has also been refreshed – with 16 cocktails created by Salvatore Calabrese and inspired by Sir Donovan’s photographs.

Premium mixer brand Fever-Tree has teamed up with Granary Square Brasserie to launch the Physic Garden Terrace – a botanical sanctuary in the heart of London.

The terrace will open on 1 May, having been transformed into an homage to the botanicals found in gin.

Fever-Tree gin and tonics will be served with a selection of herbal garnishes. The mixer brand’s Gin School will also return to Granary Square Brasserie‘s private dining room, offering ‘unique’ gin blending dinners.

SB was this week treated to an exclusive preview of the soon-to-be-released Temporis expression from Speyside distillery BenRiach.

The Brown-Forman-owned distillery unveiled its latest core range whisky, a peated 21-year-old single malt aged in four different casks, at an event at London’s Black Rock bar.

Temporis, which will be bottled at 46% abv, has notes of “pear and toasted spices fused with honeyed peat” on the nose, while the palate has “smooth, creamy peat” flavours, with “roasted orchard fruits, tropical pineapple and cinnamon”.

Pernod Ricard’s Irish Distillers has named Henry Donnelly as the new distiller for its Midleton microdistillery.

Donnelly will be based at the microdistillery, located adjacent to the existing Midleton site in Cork, where Jameson Irish whiskey is made.

As part of his role, Donnelly will be responsible for the day-to-day operations of the microdistillery and will work closely with master distiller Brian Nation to produce new Irish whiskeys for the existing Irish Distillers portfolio.

Liverpool-based Tequila bar El Bandito is travelling to London this weekend for a Tequila-based tiki takeover.

Taking over the bar at London’s Trailer Happiness, the night will kick off with a mezcal masterclass from Bruxo Mezcal brand ambassador Anne-Sophie Vacher.

Then from 8pm-12am the team from El Bandito will be behind the stick, shaking up Tequila and mezcal-based cocktails from a menu that has been curated especially for the evening.

SB had the chance to sample the latest caricature cocktail menu at Scarfes Bar at Rosewood London earlier this week.

The menu, called Paintings and Potions Volume I, has been created by bar manager Martin Siska and head bartender Greg Almeida.

Each cocktail has been inspired by events from the last 18 years, such as the premiere of British sitcom The Office in 2001 and the Oscar haul director Danny Boyle picked up in 2009 for his film Slumdog Millionaire.

Alongside each cocktail is a caricature from artist Gerald Scarfe, who worked as a satirical cartoonist for Punch magazine and Private Eye.

Luxury London department store Harrods this week opened its new Fine Wines and Spirits Rooms, which categorises spirits by flavour profile rather than brands.

The Fine Wines and Spirits Rooms were designed by Martin Brudnizki Design Studio and have been inspired by the glitz and glamour of the 1920s.

The Fine Spirits Room also features the first Louis XIII Cognac boutique outside of Beijing, where a ‘century wheel’ highlights more than 1,200 eaux-de-vie.

Hidden London bar The Natural Philosopher celebrated its third birthday party this week.

The party saw the bar debut its new list of spring cocktails – which includes cocktails with asparagus and rhubarb as main ingredients for “pure, zesty” serves.

On each table was a newly conceived cocktail cruet set that included bottles of homemade saline, sugar and citric acid, which may be added drop by drop by customers to tune their cocktails to taste.

SB headed to La Dame de Pic at the Four Seasons Hotel in London this week for a tasting with St-Rémy brandy, led by master blender Cécile Roudaut.

The Rémy Cointreau-owned brand recently overhauled the designs of its VSOP and XO expressions, and guided media guests through a tasting of both brandies, before demonstrating how each could work in cocktails and Michelin-starred canapés.

It was announced this week that a subsidiary of brewing giant AB InBev had acquired the parent company of Master of Malt, Atom Brands and Maverick Drinks.

ZX Ventures, which is the growth and innovation unit of AB InBev, announced this week that it had purchased Atom Group for an undisclosed sum.

Following the deal, Atom Group, which is based in Kent, UK, said the investment will enable it to scale up its global operations and “supercharge” its e-commerce platform

Following its successful masterclasses earlier this year, Islington’s Thai Square restaurant held its third cocktail masterclass, hosted by in-house mixologist Narongdet Chuaichunoo.

The latest masterclass saw guests use gin to create a Clover Club cocktail and the classic Singapore Sling.

Guests were also treated to a selection of bar snacks, including spiced cashew nuts with Thai lemongrass, chilli and coriander.

Team SB headed to newly opened London bar The Coral Room this week as it hosted its official opening party.

The bar, designed by Martin Brudnizki, features a vibrant grand salon bar that aims to reflect an “exquisite country house transported to the city”.

On the night, guests were treated to a number of cocktails from the bar’s menu, as well as a selection of English sparkling wines and canapés.