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The week in pictures

Skyfall star Javier Bardem made a surprise appearance at a Spanish port this week to meet with Chivas Venture alumnus Sea2see.

The Oscar-winning actor met with the 2017 Chivas Venture winning start-up, which produces luxury eyewear out of ocean plastic that washes up on the coast of Spain.

Bardem also headed out to sea with fishermen and See2see founder, François Van den Abeele, to witness first-hand the threat plastic waste has on our oceans.

This week saw co-founder of the Isle of Raasay Distillery, Bill Dobbie, take to the West Scottish waters for the annual Scottish Islands Peaks Race.

The race transports participants around the west coast of Scotland and comprises of sailing and fell-running stints. Dobbie will be one of the runners and he will be joined by four intrepid team mates racing under the name ‘Raasay While We Wait’.

The boat’s namesake is Raasay While We Wait, the single malt whisky that the brand has created as a prediction of the flavours they hope to create on Raasay.

Rum liqueur brand Malibu has recruited singer Nick Jonas along with more than 30 global influencers for its inaugural Malibu Games.

Malibu’s summer tournament is a three-day festival taking place in Vietnam, which will feature “bold retakes” on summer games, including water fights and dance offs.

As part of the Malibu Summer Games, the brand will reimagine a range of summer activities, turning them into “unexpected, humouristic and over the top experiences”.

SB headed to Aqua Kyoto in London this week for the unveiling of Tanqueray Lovage, a new “savoury twist” on the classic Diageo-owned gin.

The new expression has been inspired by an original recipe created by Tanqueray in 1832, and is said to be the first gin created with the addition of English garden herb, lovage.

At the launch, guests were treated to a number of cocktails and signature serves made with Tanqueray Lovage.

World-renowned bartender Jason Crawley, who helped create the new expression, was at the launch and described the new expression as “a savoury style gin that is unique because it’s distilled with lovage, and that’s what gives this gin its funk”.

This week also saw luxury hotel Sanderson London celebrate the return of its Berners Terrace for the summer season.

Running until 30 September, the terrace has been created in partnership with Peroni and Martini Riserva Speciale, taking inspiration from an Italian summer.

Cocktails on offer at the Berners Terrace include the Fitz Garibaldi, made from Martini Riserva Speciale Bitter, Bombay Gin, Martini Riserva Speciale Rubino and orange juice, while a range of bar snacks and small plates will also be on offer.

Lee Jones of the Smokestack bar in Leeds has been declared the UK winner of this year’s Southern Comfort Southern Showdown 2018 cocktail contest.

Taking place aboard New Orleans-style riverboat Dixie Queen, which sailed down the Thames, Jones triumphed at the contest with his Whitesmith Cobbler, made from Southern Comfort 100 Proof, Absentroux herbal wine, gooseberry cordial and Champagne acid.

Jones will now compete against Southern Showdown winners from Ireland and Australia in July at the international final in New Orleans.

Silent Pool Gin showcased its first competition garden at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show in London this week.

The garden was unveiled on the first day of the show, with a number of famous faces stopping by the David Neale-designed grounds for a Silent Pool G&T.

Guests on the day included TV presenter Philip Schofield, actress Maureen Lipman and Made in Chelsea star Georgia Toffolo.

French elderflower liqueur brand St-Germain also made an appearance at this year’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show, where it has unveiled a pop-up bar.

The bar has been created out of a classic Citroën H Van, covered in flowers by London-based florist June in March.

Cocktails on offer at the floral-inspired bar included The St-Germain Spritz, a combination of St-Germain and sparkling wine, topped with soda and garnished with a twist of lemon peel.

SB was given an exclusive preview of the cocktails that will be served at Rake’s Bar in London when it opens its doors next week.

Each cocktail on the menu is inspired by a different painting in William Hogarth’s series ‘A Rake’s Progress’. Drinks include The Arrest, made from rum, Tequila, salted syrup and chocolate mole bitters; and The Gaming House, which combines Woodford Reserve Bourbon with Barolo Chinato, Campari, Hennessey Cognac and grapefruit bitters.

The bar also boasts three cocktails on tap and a changing secret cocktail, which drinkers can only get their hands on if they say they were sent by The Spirits Business.

 

On Wednesday, SB headed to Ten Trinity Square’s Private Members’ Club for an exclusive tasting of Talisker’s new 40-year-old expression – the first in its new Bodega Series.

Led by Donald Colville, Diageo’s global malts ambassador, and Diane Farrell, senior site manager at Talisker Distillery, the evening took guests through a tasting of key Talisker whiskies, including the 10-year-old, Distiller’s Edition and the 18-year-old.
The tasting culminated with a dram of the 40-year-old single malt, which has been finished in ex-amontillado Sherry casks.

This week, SB was taken on a journey through the history of gin by London-based distillery Sipsmith.

The Sipsmith Gin Library popped up in London for one day and gave a group of journalists the chance to taste ancient gin recipes, read through the pages of historical cocktail books and explore the different botanicals that can be used in gin production.

Sipsmith master distiller Jared Brown also led the group through a history of gin cocktails, which included a Sipsmith Proto-Martini, made from wormwood-infused Sipsmith, and a Sipsmith Sling, based on the original recipe for a Singapore Sling.

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