The week in pictures

Soon-to-open cocktail bar Cahoots Ticket Hall and Control Room has named Hattie Bee its honorary owner following an online competition.

The London bar, which opens in November, will welcome Bee to the team for its opening week, where she will sample cocktails for its menu, attend a drinks-making masterclass, host a private party and take home the bar’s takings from its opening week.

Bee said: “I was beyond excited when I saw the position advertised, and simply had to apply. I never dreamt that I would actually win, although I did think they would struggle to find someone more obsessed with the 40s than me. This is such an exciting opportunity and I cannot wait to see what’s in store as the new owner.”

London bar and restaurant 100 Wardour St has created a new list of cocktails inspired by political satire.

The bar’s latest menu features cocktails influenced by the actions of ex-prime minister Theresa May, Russian president Vladimir Putin and Cuban revolutionary Fidel Castro.

Head bartender Federico Pasian said: “Creating this menu and looking into the personalities of these renowned figures was a lot of fun. Being able to tease out the humour and satire surrounding the reputations of these political individuals has resulted in a daring and experimental cocktail menu, which I hope makes people laugh, especially in the current climate of uncertainty.”

Diageo-owned Bourbon brand Bulleit hosted its Bulleit Frontier Fair this week in celebration of the food, arts and culture of Kentucky.

The event saw artists, including Louisville-based Braylyn Stewart and local artist Unflappable Karl, showcase their work, while local food producers were on hand for a street food market and indie rock band Houndmouth brought the fair to a close with a set of their biggest songs.

Bacardi-owned gin brand Bombay Sapphire has partnered with 11 UK bars to create signature G&T serves to mark International Gin & Tonic Day (19 October).

Bars including Oriole in London, Bramble in Edinburgh and Below Stairs in Leeds have created their own interpretation of the classic G&T, and each will be available on the bar’s menu for three months – including on International Gin & Tonic Day tomorrow.

Drinks on offer include the Bombay Clover from Tariff & Dale in Manchester, which is made with Bombay Sapphire, clover soda, clover foam, spent zest and raspberry for garnish, and the Red from London’s Artesian, which combines Bombay Sapphire, sour cherries, olive and sake.

Johnnie Walker owner Diageo this week opened the doors to its new £6.4 million (US$8m) Innovation and Research Centre in Scotland.

The new facility was designed to drive sustainable growth in distilling and will be home to teams working on science, technology and innovation projects across the industry’s supply chain.

With a focus on the grain-to-glass sustainability of Diageo’s business, the teams based at the centre will “play a leading role in driving innovation in sustainability at every stage of the supply chain including distillation, maturation, packaging and logistics”.

London Cocktail Week (LCW) wrapped up its 10th anniversary celebrations this week, following a super-sized 10-day festival featuring parties, bar takeovers and immersive experiences.

At East London bar The Sun Tavern, LCW was all about bar takeovers and guest shifts, with the Bethnal Green venue hosting Two Schmucks and Present Company, Iain Griffiths from Toronto bar Supernova Ballroom and LA-based Yael Vengroff from The Spare Room.

To keep guests entertained during each takeover the venue welcomed guest DJs such as Blaine Harrison from Mystery Jets and Shiobhan Fahey from Bananarama.

As part of its Tennessee Calling IV competition, Jack Daniel’s challenged UK bartenders to recreate two “quintessential Tennessee dive bars”.

The contest saw Original Sin and Mint Gun Club in London transformed into the Red Dog and White Rabbit dive bars respectively. After visits from judges including bartender Erik Lorincz and Jack Daniel’s UK brand ambassador Cam Dawson, the team behind the White Rabbit were crowned the winners.

The team, which included Joe Brooke from Hedonist; Anna Gaglione of The Racketeer; Benji Davies of Little Mercies; Ryan Twigger from Kenilworth Hotel; Adam Hussein of Artesian and Kesia McHardy from Kelvingrove Café, will now be taken on a trip to experience the home of Jack Daniel’s in Lynchburg, Tennessee.

Scarfes Bar at luxury London hotel the Rosewood hosted a whisky masterclass this week, which invited guests to explore whiskies from the bar’s 400-strong collection.

The masterclass led guests across the five Scotch whisky producing regions, and included the chance to sample blended and single malt whiskies such as Chivas 18 and Auchentoshan Three Wood.

Led by the bar’s resident Scotch whisky expert, Craig Petrie, the masterclass offered guests the opportunity to explore the diversity of Scotch whisky and indulge in bar snacks such as black pudding scotch eggs.

This week, SB headed to London wine bar 67 Pall Mall for a chance to meet Hermitage Cognac founder David Baker and taste a selection of the brand’s aged releases.

Through the tasting, assembled drinks writers sampled Hermitage’s vintage releases from 1940, 1945, 1995 and 1893.

The tasting was a chance to find out more about the Cognac brand and its process of finding and bottling rare and vintage Cognacs.