The incredibly popular Bar Convent Berlin returns next week, and features a special focus on rum, as well as the regions where it is made. We highlight the brands visitors to the show should not miss.

Back for its 13th year, Bar Convent Berlin is an unmissable show for the global drinks trade, showcasing the latest trends and insights, and offering valuable networking opportunities.

There will be 430 drinks exhibitors at the event, while 14,000 global bar owners, distributors and producers from 80 countries are set to attend. Due to take place from 7‐9 October at Station Berlin and the adjacent Kühlhaus, this year’s show is putting the spotlight on rum, as the Kühlhaus becomes the ‘House of Rum’ in collaboration with global rum ambassador Ian Burrell.

There will be a special focus on exhibitors from Mauritius, the ‘official partner country’ of BCB Berlin 2019, which will see producers bring “rum diversity” to the annual event. Exhibitors from the island nation include Grays & Co, Rhumerie de Chamarel, Litchquor, House of Lords, Oxenham Craft Distillery, Rhumerie des Mascareignes and the Stirling Export House.

“The impressive growth of the rum category cannot be ignored and led us to make rum a key focus for this year’s show,” says Petra Lassahn, Bar Convent Berlin’s director.

“The show will showcase the versatility of the spirit, and give visitors the chance to taste rum from a number of different regions of origin, including Mauritius. A small island with a big rum tradition, Mauritius is known for its sugarcane cultivation and producing some of the world’s best rhum agricole.”

As well as rum, Lassahn says there will be an increased focus on the low‐ and no‐alcohol space, sustainability, and single estate and artisanal products. Coffee will also play a prominent role at the show, with Coffee Convent providing an innovative line‐up of products.

Stand and deliver: brands are out in force at the show

This year’s partner at Coffee Convent is the Berliner Kaffeerösterei, and The Coffee Stage will be supported by the Berlin School of Coffee. As with previous years, a focus on education will be central to BCB Berlin 2019, with eight stages presenting more than 120 hours of seminars, panels, tastings and demonstrations. Highlights of this year’s programme include a discussion with coffee expert Timon Kaufmann, who will explain how to mix the perfect cocktail with coffee. Fermentation, the rise of Greek brandy Tsipouro and the need for enhanced rum regulations will also come under the spotlight.

Alex Kratena, co‐founder of bartender collective P(our), and spice expert Erwan de Kerros will host a demonstration on pepper and its varieties, and how to use it in cocktails.

The Wine & Spirit Education Trust’s (WSET) product development manager for spirits and saké, Nick King, will offer a special tasting of gin, agave spirits and baijiu. His colleague Liam Scandrett will also host a cross‐category blind‐tasting on the scaling, techniques and descriptors of the systematic WSET approach.

Taking over two stands this year is German wine and spirits producer Henkell Freixenet, which will be presenting its coconut‐flavoured liqueur Mangaroca Batida, a special edition bottle design for its Wodka Gorbatschow vodka, herbal liqueur Kuemmerling, grain spirit Otto Korn and London Dry‐style Schloss Gin. Otto will have its own stand with bartending provider We Love Cocktails creating three signature serves for the brand.

Click through to the following pages to see which other spirits exhibitors are not to be missed at Bar Convent Berlin 2019.

Borco

Stand: 3/A21

A new juniper‐based spirit will be unveiled at Borco’s stand, which will be available in the German market.

The German spirits producer has launched a line extension for its Helbing Kümmel liqueur brand – Margaretes Feiner Doppel‐Wacholder.

The juniper‐flavoured spirit marks a “new chapter in the history” of the brand. The distillate is matured for six months in juniper‐wood barrels. It is then merged with organic wheat distillate before organic juniper berries are macerated in the liquid.

The new expression is named after Sophie Margarete Helbing, the widow of Christoph Heinrich Helbing, son of Helbing’s founding father, Peter Hinrich Helbing.

Borco will also present its Sierra Tequila range and brands it distributes in Germany and Austria, including Whyte & Mackay’s Scotch whiskies.

“BCB is indisputably an annual highlight for the spirits industry,” says Dr Tina Ingwersen‐Matthiesen, member of the Borco board and part of the Borco owner family.

“As a family business, we believe in the strength of personal meetings and we are also keen on enlarging our network; BCB being the perfect place for this. It offers us a unique possibility to show our diversified portfolio in all its glory.”

De Kuyper Royal Distillers

Stand: 7/C27

Dutch drinks group De Kuyper will reveal two new premium liqueurs in partnership with leading bar professionals at BCB.

Visitors can also try Rutte Gin and Rutte Genever, Cherry Heering liqueur and Muyu liqueurs, which are now available in Germany.

Launched in January 2019, Muyu is the result of a collaboration between De Kuyper and bartending luminaries Alex Kratena, Monica Berg and Simone Caporale. The range, said to “redefine” the liqueurs category, was inspired by the Amazon rainforest and is made with natural ingredients.

Kratena produced Muyu Vetiver Gris (22% ABV), Berg made Muyu Jasmine Vert (24% ABV) and Caporale created Muyu Chinotto Nero (24% ABV).

“BCB is the most important trade fair and platform in Europe for our industry,” says CEO Mark De Witte. “As well as opinion‐forming bartenders, decision‐makers, distributors and manufacturers come together in Berlin. BCB is the perfect platform to present news of our premium portfolio.”

Edinburgh Gin

Stand: 1/B30

Ian Macleod Distillers‐owned Edinburgh Gin is returning to Bar Convent Berlin with its core range of London Dry gins, fruit‐ flavoured gin liqueurs and the newly released Full Strength Flavoured Gin range.

The show provides Edinburgh Gin with the opportunity to present its “versatile” range. This year, the brand expanded its rhubarb‐and‐ginger‐flavoured spirits line with the launch of a full‐strength iteration (40% ABV).

This was followed by the launch of a lemon‐and‐ jasmine‐infused expression in response to the growing demand for citrus‐flavoured gins.

The 40% ABV product, described as the “next chapter” in the brand’s “flavour story”, combines the “juniper‐ forward profile of a London Dry” with flavours of “fresh lemon and aromatic jasmine”.

Joanne Motion, customer marketing manager at Ian Macleod Distillers, says: “After a great visit to BCB last year, Edinburgh Gin is excited to showcase our innovative award‐winning gins once again.

“We’re dedicated to guiding peoples’ discovery of the modern‐day gin experience, and encourage ongoing experimentation with our products – BCB couldn’t be a better placed atmosphere for that.”

Fentimans

Stand: 3/B11

Soft drinks manufacturer Fentimans is returning to BCB with a particular focus on its new mixer – Tropical Soda.

The expression was made for the rum market, and was developed by the Fentimans Botanical Collective, a group of bartenders from leading European cocktail bars.

Launched in July 2019, Tropical Soda joins Fentimans’ range of mixers for rum, including Curiosity Cola, Ginger Beer and Ginger Ale. It is available in 125ml bottles.

Fentimans’ export director, Piero Alberici, says: “We’re very much looking forward to attending BCB again this year. It will be the seventh year we’ve attended the show, and not only is it a great place to meet our growing family of export distributors from around the world but it’s a great opportunity to discover new trends and innovation in the industry.”

Fentimans’ marketing director, Andrew Jackson, adds: “As a premium brand with a growing consumer base around the globe, we’ve upgraded our stand again for BCB this year. We believe this new look and feel brings to life our botanical brand world.”

Fraternity Spirits

Stand: 7/D20

Mexico’s Fraternity Spirits sees Bar Convent Berlin as a “very important” show in its calendar. At the event, Fraternity will present its Ron Prohibido premium rum range (12‐year‐old, 15‐year‐old and Silver), its Reserva 22 ultra‐premium rum and Nobushi blended Japanese whisky.

Nobushi is made with a combination of whiskies from the Miyagi and Nagano prefectures, which are blended and aged for four years in American oak casks in the village of Kiyokawa.

The Mexican company will also present its popular Tequila Corralejo range and Mezcal Perro de San Juan. The show also allows Fraternity to consolidate business partnerships, distributors and potential markets, as well as stay up to date with the latest trends in the industry.

A spokesperson for Fraternity Spirits says: “BCB represents a special show for us, creating new opportunities for our portfolio range among the spirits community.”

House of Angostura

Stand: 3/B06

Angostura will return to Berlin with its portfolio of brands for the fifth successive year. Visitors will have the opportunity to sample Angostura’s bitters, rums and herbal liqueur Amaro di Angostura, which launched in 2014 to mark the distiller’s 190th anniversary.

Created using the Angostura Aromatic Bitters as its base, the expression combines additional spices and neutral alcohol to offer notes of dark chocolate, cinnamon and liquorice. Angostura’s brand ambassadors and leading bartenders from 12 countries will be running guest shifts behind the bar, offering signature cocktails made with Angostura’s range.

The stand concept is based on the heritage of Angostura’s homeland – the islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The stand will be designed as the lobby bar of Trinidad’s historical Queen’s Park Hotel – the birthplace of the Queen’s Park Swizzle cocktail.

“We see Bar Convent Berlin as a great opportunity to reach out to industry professionals, key opinion leaders and bartenders from all over the world,” says Lawn Davis, marketing manager, Angostura Limited.

Havana Club

Stand: 7/A10

Cuban rum brand Havana Club is set to unveil two new expressions in its experimental Professional Edition range, created exclusively with bartenders in mind.

Last October, Havana Club launched the first bottlings in the range – Professional Edition A and Professional Edition B.

Edition A was the result of a collaboration with the Cuban Bartender Association, while Edition B was created in partnership with cocktail authority Nick Strangeway. The next two releases – C and D – have been created by Alex Kratena, co‐owner of London bar Tayēr + Elementary (pictured), and Carina Soto Velasquez, co‐founder of hospitality group Quixotic Projects, respectively.

The expressions will be available exclusively to select cocktail venues around the world. Head to Demonstration Bar A for the ‘Flavour Revolution Meets Rum Tradition’ workshop, held by Kratena and Velasquez, to discover the challenges of Cuban rum‐making and for a tasting of the new variants.

La Hechicera

Stand: 3/D07

For a sneak peek at the latest innovation from the Colombian producer, head to rum brand La Hechicera’s stand. Visitors will also get a preview of future innovation in the pipeline from the family‐owned rum company, and some insight into what’s to come from its distillery.

For those who are partial to a rum Old Fashioned, La Hechicera will be serving up its signature Gold Fashioned paired with Colombian chocolate to “highlight the espresso and cacao notes of the rum”.

At the show, La Hechicera aims to “bring Colombia to the world”, and is “looking forward to seeing some familiar faces and meeting some new ones”.

The brand says: “It’s always exciting to see what other companies are up to and experience what brands they are bringing to the market. “The atmosphere at the show is vibrant and fun, and our stand will certainly be reflecting that – bringing the spirit and culture of Colombia to Berlin.”

Licor 43

Stand: 3/C27

It’s all about coffee for Spanish drinks group Zamora Company and its Licor 43 liqueur brand. Licor 43 will run masterclasses every day, with one of Germany’s leading baristas taking bartenders on a “dive into the world of coffee”.

Visitors can try signature serves on the stand, made with Licor 43 Original and Licor 43 Baristo, including the Carajillo 43 and Espresso 43.

Launched in June 2018, Licor 43 Baristo contains “rare” Arabica Typica coffee grown in the Agaete Valley, in Gran Canaria, Spain. The coffee plantation is said to be one of the few in existence in Europe. The expression offers a flavour of freshly roasted coffee with “botanic, citric, floral and vanilla notes”.

Licor 43 Baristo is the second innovation from the label, following Licor 43 Orochata in 2016.

“Coffee has always been in our roots, going back to the Café Asiatico in Cartagena and Café Barraquito in Tenerife in the 1950s. We’ll be bringing our modern take on this partnership to the global audience at BCB,” says Julian Fernandez Estevez, global marketing director of spirits.

Lux Row Distillers

Stand: 3/C09

Returning to Bar Convent Berlin for the fourth year is Luxco‐owned Lux Row Distillers, which will bring its Rebel Yell Kentucky Straight Bourbon, Yellowstone Select Kentucky Straight Bourbon and Minor Case Straight Rye.

Guests will be able to sample Lux Row’s first international release – Rebel Yell French Barrel Special Finish.

The expression was created “specifically to meet growing European demand for Bourbon”. It is finished in toasted French oak wine barrels for six months, with “oak, spice and a hint of chocolate and ginger on the rear palate”. Only 6,000 bottles will be released in the first year, priced at around €34 (US$38).

Lux Row says the German show presents an “ideal platform for senior buyers to sample [its] whiskeys and to learn more about their provenance and innovative distilling and blending methods”, as the producer seeks to drive listings and support its ongoing expansion throughout Europe.

Sliabh Liag Distillers

Stand: 5/B06

Heading to Bar Convent Berlin for the first time is Ireland’s Sliabh Liag Distillers, with four brands in tow. Donegal‐based Sliabh Liag will bring its Legendary Silkie Irish Whiskey, An Dúlamán Irish Maritime Gin, An Dúlamán Santa Ana Armada Strength Gin, and its Assaranca Vodka.

The Irish whiskey is inspired by the legend of the selkie, or ‘selkie seals’, that came ashore as beautiful sea maidens and charmed local men. It is a blend of double‐distilled, triple‐distilled and peated malts with soft grain whiskey.

Sliabh Liag Distillers uses 11 botanicals to create An Dúlamán Irish Maritime Gin, five of which are locally‐harvested varieties of seaweed. Assaranca Vodka is infused with berries from the rowan tree and gorse blossoms.

“We’re delighted to bring our brands to Bar Convent Berlin for the first time. Our spirits are now available across four continents and are performing well,” says managing director James Doherty.

“We are excited to build meaningful relationships with both distributors and, crucially, bartenders at the convention.”

Teeling Whiskey Company

Stand: 3/D19

Head to Teeling’s stand to sample some collaborative small batch products created with the likes of rum brands Plantation and Trois Rivières, and Finland’s Kyrö Distillery Company, as well as expressions influenced by Riesling and barley wine.

The Dublin‐based Irish whiskey maker, which opened its distillery in 2015, will also showcase its flagship Small Batch, Single Grain and Single Malt expressions.

A special Teeling cocktail will also be served at the stand. The serve was created by bartender Jarlath Gavin from Dublin bar Peruke & Periwig, who won a Teeling competition that challenged Ireland’s bartenders to create a cocktail that would appeal to the German market.

Teeling will offer visitors the chance to send a postcard to friends and family, inviting them to a complimentary visit to its distillery.

“We’re delighted to be back at Bar Convent Berlin once again,” says co‐ founder Stephen Teeling. “We’re looking forward to showcasing some of our exciting collaborations.”

Thomas Henry

Stand: 7/A19

Back for its fourth year is German tonic manufacturer Thomas Henry, which will be serving cocktails by 24 leading bartenders from around the world at its booth.

The bartenders will create drinks recipes using the Thomas Henry range, inspired by the countries they hail from. Visitors are invited to experience the “unique taste of different heritages” at the stand.

Thomas Henry will also introduce a new product at the show: Thomas Henry Essences.

The product will be presented during the ‘Essences – the compression of taste’ workshop at 5pm on 7 October.

Thomas Henry’s CEO of marketing and sales, Sigrid Bachert, says: “The exchange with an industry audience and bartenders from around the world provides impetus and ideas for the future, which makes Bar Convent such an unique and important fair for Thomas Henry.”

Wenneker Distilleries

Stand: 4/B39

Dutch drinks producer Wenneker Distilleries will be highlighting two of the company’s liqueurs during BCB: Wenneker 24 Carrot and the new Wenneker Red.

Wenneker Red will be launched at BCB and is described as having an “earthy taste of beetroot”. It is made with 100% natural beetroot juice, beetroot distillate and beetroot extract.

Wenneker said the new liqueur offers “great potential” for Red Velvet cocktails. Wenneker 24 Carrot, which launched in 2015 in a 500ml jam jar‐style bottle, is now available in a new 700ml format.

In addition, Wenneker will showcase its wider Wenneker liqueurs range, gins and genevers.

“Wenneker is a family‐owned, Dutch craft distillery with 326 years of history,” a company spokesperson says. “In all that time we have built a good reputation for producing a great range of cocktail liqueurs, premium gins and genevers, with a real passion for enjoyment.

“We invite importers and distributors to come and experience our passion for enjoyment and have a drink at our stand.”