The week in pictures

Chivas Regal has crowned Arron Grendon from Tropic City in Bangkok the 2018 Chivas Masters global champion.

Grendon impressed with his leadership and collaboration skills during the final, which saw him host a sustainable pop up cocktail bar at London’s The Oval Space.

Grendon’s team created the winning bar, One Night in Bangkok, and was named 2018 Chivas Masters Collective – awarded for blending individual skill with an infectious sense of team spirit.

This week saw Smirnoff vodka team up with Queer Eye’s grooming expert, web series star and podcaster, Jonathan Van Ness, to make the brand’s float at the New York City Pride March bigger and louder than ever before.

The Smirnoff float featured more than 200 marchers and dancers, while Van Ness brought his own flavour of inclusive fun to the float by dancing with the performers, posing with attendees for selfies and leading the float in a strut to the judging stand.

On Saturday 23 June, a new Guinness World Record was set by online wine and spirits retailer, The Wine Drinker, for the Largest Alcoholic Drink ever made.

A total of 200 bottles of District Distilling’s WildJune gin were used to create 686 litres of gin and tonic.

The record-breaking attempt took place at Urban Food Fest, a once-a-week pop up food and drink market held at Euro Car Parks on Shoreditch High Street.

Premium vodka brand Grey Goose joined Django Unchained star Jamie Foxx, host of the 2018 BET Awards, for a late night fete at his LA home.

The evening hosted guests including Black Panther actor Michael B Jordan, hip hop artist Snoop Dogg and rapper Jermaine Dupri.

The crowd toasted to the best in black entertainment with a variety of Grey Goose cocktails including the Golden Goose, Foxx’s own twist on the Moscow Mule.

On Tuesday, Bacardi-Brown-Forman Brands brought its education programme Jigger Beaker Glass 2.0 to Liverpool.

Partnering with the team from London cocktail bar Super Lyan, guests learned how to commercialise a zero-waste ethos alongside real-life drinks demonstrations that reflect sustainable practice.

Hosted at Moloko Milk and Honey, the Liverpool session was titled Sustainability: Cut the Crap, featuring a panel that included Simon Difford.

In the latest instalment of Bacardi’s Sound of Rum campaign, the brand celebrated the summer solstice alongside dance music trio Major Lazer.
On the longest day of the year, Bacardi took over the streets of Chicago for a Caribbean-inspired outdoor fiesta, with performances from Major Lazer.
The musical trio performed a set that included their hits Lean On and Know No Better, while partygoers were served Bacardi rum-based cocktails.

Scotch whisky distillery Auchentoshan has partnered with four UK-based street artists to produce an art series around the city of Glasgow.

The series is part of the West End Festival and is made up of four murals in some of the city’s most iconic bars, including The Grosvenor Cafe and Bon Accord.

Auchentoshan has worked with acclaimed street artists Erin Bradley-Scott, Chelsea Frew, ‘Spenny Be Nice’, and ‘Baxter’ to transform inner-city wall spaces into exhibition pieces. The unveiling of the works coincides with the launch of The New Malt Order, the Scotch distillery’s global cocktail competition.

Elderflower liqueur brand St-Germain hosted the opening night of its second annual Maison St-Germain in New York’s Battery Gardens this week.

Hosted by Hollywood’s ‘most powerful stylist’ Kate Young, the evening showcased Young’s efforts to transform The Battery into a surrealist oasis, featuring a juxtaposition of flavours, styles and sensorial experiences.

Drawing inspiration from the lavish parties of the 1920s, as portrayed in F Scott Fitzgerald’s The Beautiful and Damned, guests enjoyed Fitzgerald-inspired cocktails crafted by St-Germain global ambassador, Camille Ralph Vidal.

American whiskey brand Jack Daniel’s hosted its very first NBA Legends Camps for two competition winners, as well as their friends and family.

Eric Stolz from Houston, TX and Christopher Ramirez from Los Angeles, CA and four guests spent two days at Jack Daniel’s Lynchburg distillery for a weekend of whiskey and basketball competitions, led by NBA legends Robert Horry and Muggsy Bogues.

The lucky winners had an opportunity to learn about Jack Daniel’s whiskey making and also took part in basketball coaching sessions with Horry and Bogues.

Quaglino’s in London is hoping to take its guests on a musical journey this summer, with the launch of a series of live music, special brunches and themed cocktails.

The summer series takes place from Wednesday 4 July to Thursday 30 August and aims to encapsulate the vibrant history of Quaglino’s throughout the years, dating back to where it all began in 1929.

Each week will welcome a new decade, from the roaring 20s, through to the swinging 60s and the colourful 90s, Quaglino’s will honour some of the best artists of each era.

Irish distillery Pearse Lyons unveiled is first Irish whiskey this week – a five-year-old expression.

Launched exclusively at the Irish Whiskey Collection at The Loop in Dublin and Cork Airport, the first release will feature 1,000 individually numbered bottles of cask strength whiskey. This will be followed by a limited release Pearse 5-Year-Old Single Malt Irish Whiskey later this Summer.

The development of the new whiskey began in 2011 when the late Dr Pearse Lyons transported two copper pot stills from Kentucky to Ireland.