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Top 10
The week in pictures
Singer-songwriter Jessie Ware and BBC Radio 1’s Clara Amfo surprised crowds in London’s Covent Garden with a secret DJ set at Grey Goose’s summer terrace.
The brand’s Live Like Summer Never Ends Terrace hosted the newly-named DJ duo Ware-Fo for a special gig for the unsuspecting crowd.
The pair sipped Grey Goose Espresso Martini cocktails as they performed in the heart of the Covent Garden Piazza
Edinburgh-based whisky brand John Crabbie & Co took over The Macbeth in London to celebrate its latest whisky release.
Yardhead, which was announced by the brand last week, was launched at the London pub where it was mixed into a host of signature serves that showcased its mixability.
Crabbie’s managing director David Brown said: “We want to encourage consumers to look at single malt differently, and for bar staff to use their skills to develop new ways of using single malt in long drinks and in cocktails”.
This week, Edinburgh-based Holyrood Distillery opened its doors for the first time, bringing single malt whisky distilling back to the centre of the Scottish capital for the first time in almost 100 years.
Founder Rob Carpenter and his team gathered to unveil the new distillery and welcome the very first visitors to one of its daily guided tour experiences.
Holyrood Distillery, which cost £6.7m (US$8.1m) and has created around 30 jobs, is the first operational single malt distillery in central Edinburgh since 1925 when The Edinburgh Distillery closed.
Eric Tinca from London cocktail bar Satan’s Whiskers has been named the winner of the inaugural Fentimans Summer of Rose cocktail competition.
The final of the Summer of Rose competition took place at Bar Disrepute in Soho, where Tinca impressed the judges with his Pink Parlour cocktail.
Tinca said: “I came up with the Pink Parlour to recreate the feeling of getting away from everyday life and having that holiday feeling, no matter whether you are in Ibiza or in the middle of London.”
This week, London restaurant bar Sexy Fish unveiled its latest drinks list, which features cocktails inspired by the cities and venues its team visited during a round-the-world tour in 2018.
The new menu features drinks inspired by bars such Saxon + Parole, New York; Devil’s Advocate, Edinburgh; and Topo, Lisbon.
On the menu, imbibers will find cocktails such as 7th Heaven, Inspired by Paradiso, Barcelona, and made with Heavensake, manzanilla Sherry, Mediterranean oil, olive and onion brine and tomato vine tincture.
New York’s Death & Co also unveiled an updated cocktail menu this week.
The Manhattan speakeasy, which recently reopened following its first “refresh” since launching in 2006, has created a menu of 32 drinks divided between six categories, named Rich & Comforting, Light & Playful, Fresh & Lively, Elegant & Timeless, Boozy & Honest and Bright & Confident.
New creations include the Powder House Fizz, which is made with Four Pillars Navy Strength Gin, Gardenia Mix, vanilla, lime, egg white and seltzer.
Scotland’s Isle of Raasay Distillery celebrated the release of its inaugural gin bottling this week.
The island-based distillery invited guests to its home on Raasay for an evening of gin, dancing and live music from Trail West.
The event was the first time the distillery’s new gin was tasted by the public. The spirit has been distilled in a Frilli copper pot still with 10 botanicals, including juniper berries, rhubarb root, lemon peel, orange peel, coriander seeds, angelica root, liquorice root, orris root, cubeb pepper
SB‘s Owen Bellwood travelled to London restaurant Cub for a showcase of the cocktails created by head bartender Simone Sanna.
The evening was a chance to sample the Sanna’s low-abv creations, which are served up as part of the restaurant’s 10-course dining experience.
Cocktails served over the course of the evening included a drink made with broad bean nectar, celery, Botanist gin, Tio Pepe Sherry and citrus, and another that combined Scotch whisky, apple cooked with koji and elderflower.
To celebrate the release of its new CBD-infused bottling, Halewood-owned rum brand Dead Man’s Fingers hosted its House of Hemp party in London.
The rum brand took over an Edwardian townhouse in central London and invited a host of models and influencers, including Raff Law (pictured left), Louis Simonon, Charlie Barker, Judith Lewis and Lily Bridger.
The private house party was said to have a Mr Nice feel as guests enjoyed signature serves and hemp-infused snacks.