The week in pictures

Campbeltown Scotch whisky distillery Glen Scotia announced it has adopted 100,000 bees in order to help “preserve the endangered species” and improve the company’s sustainability credentials.

Glen Scotia partnered with Scottish beekeepers at Plan Bee, which is an eco-innovation business that offers beehive adoption, to adopt the honey bees.

The bees will live on-site at the distillery and the honey they make will be available to purchase from the distillery in spring 2019.

Blended Scotch whisky brand Johnnie Walker hosted an exclusive tasting this week to celebrate the launch of its latest Ghost and Rare expression, which is made with whisky from the silent Port Ellen distillery.

The event, which was attended by a host of famous faces including Devil Wears Prada star Stanley Tucci, saw guests enjoy a sensory journey to explore the Scottish Highlands and Kilnaughton Bay on Islay, home of the Port Ellen distillery.

Tucci entertained the audience with a performance of Borealis on the Bay, an ode created for the occasion by Scottish poet Jon Plunkett.

Luxury hotel Pulitzer Amsterdam has unveiled the latest cocktail menu for its Pulitzer’s Bar, inspired by the life and times of author Ernest Hemingway.

Created by head bartender Andrei Talapenscu, the new menu is split into three sections, each referencing a different part of the writer’s career.

Pulitzer’s Bar has created libations centred around Hemingway’s time in Italy during the First World War, a visit to Cuba where he wrote Old Man and the Sea, and his time in Paris during the roaring ’20s.

This week, That Boutique-y Drinks Company unveiled its third independent bottling line, That Boutique-y Rum Company, during a launch event in London.

The event saw assembled guests sample all nine of the new rums unveiled at launch, including rums from the Travellers and Diamond distilleries.

Rum expert Peter Holland was on hand at the event to talk attendees through each expression’s origins, production and tasting notes.

This week, Campari-owned rum brand Appleton Estate hosted the first in its Crafted with Joy series of workshops.

The cocktail mixing spoon forging workshop took place at Blenheim Forge in Peckham, and saw bladesmiths Jon Warshawsky, James Ross-Harris and Richard Warner teach assembled guests the basics of forging metal.

Attendees also enjoyed an Appleton Estate cocktail-mixing masterclass.

Spiced rum brand Captain Morgan recruited former American football player Victor Cruz for its Halloween Happy Hour this week.

The event was a chance for rum fans to get outfitted like Captain Morgan ahead of their halloween parties this weekend.

Guests were able to meet the former New York Giant star and pick up an authentic Captain Morgan costume, participate a make-up session and enjoy spooky rum cocktails.

Last night, SB was lucky enough to get a sneak preview (and taste) of Craigellachie’s new 51-year-old single malt, which in a radical move will be given away to whisky enthusiasts for free, dram by dram.

During an event at Lyle’s in London’s Shoreditch, the Craigellachie team announced that the move aims to prevent a “typically collectible whisky” from selling for an “exorbitant price” only to “sit on someone’s mantel collecting dust”. Hear, hear

London cocktail bar Madison’s unveiled its latest drinks menu this week, featuring a number of ‘flavoursome twists on classic cocktail recipes’.

Created by head mixologist Fred Tartas and his team, the cocktail menu includes creations such as the Madison Sour, made from Rittenhouse Rye washed with roasted almond, egg white and Port; and the Fair and Square, a blend of Pusser’s Navy Rum, lime juice, homemade spiced syrup, grated dark chocolate and vegan vanilla foam.

This week, SB travelled to Bottles Wine Bar in Old Spitalfields Market, in London, for an exclusive tasting with Isle of Raasay Distillery.

The evening was a chance to sample the latest in the distillery’s While We Wait series of whiskies, which have been created to offer a glimpse of what the brand’s whisky will taste like once it is released.

At the event, hosted by co-founder of the distillery, Alasdair Day, guests were able to taste the new expression alongside Tuscan Cabernet Sauvignon, former casks of which were used to age the whisky. 

American cocktail bar The Sicilian Butcher has set a new world record for the largest Negroni cocktail.

The cocktail was created inside a 500-litre oak barrel using equal parts Antica Formula vermouth, Malfy Gin and Campari.

A Guinness World Records adjudicator was on hand to witness Sheldon Wiley, director of beverage for The Maggiore Group, fill the barrel with 14 cases each of Carpano, Malfy Gin Originale and Campari.

This is Wiley’s third Guinness World Records title and a first for The Maggiore Group and The Sicilian Butcher.

This week, the UK government hosted an event in New York City to promote homegrown products, which included the inaugural Great British Cocktail Competition.

A number of brands took part in the competition, which saw New York mixologists create cocktails using quintessential British ingredients.

The winner was Tim Harris from the Manhattan Cricket Club, who impressed a panel of judges with his Tea & Sympathy serve, which contained: No. 3 Gin, English lavender, crème du violet, lemon and Lady Grey tea.