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What’s on this weekend

SMWS’ virtual pub

This evening (7 May), the Scotch Malt Whisky Society (SMWS) will host a virtual pub for its members, featuring BBC Radio Scotland presenter Vic Galloway.

The SMWS has collaborated with avid whisky fan Galloway, who has paired his favourite music with SMWS whisky flavour profiles.

Galloway, who is also a member of the SMWS, has selected different genres to match with certain whisky profiles.

Whisky fans can view Galloway’s full SMWS pairing list here.

The SMWS will host a number of events in May, including a ‘Welcome Back to The Vaults’ tasting, as well as a whisky festival tasting, which brings exclusive festival bottlings to The Vaults, the SMWS’ home in Edinburgh.

Cazcabel pop-up

Cazcabel Tequila has partnered with burger restaurant Perk’d Up to host a four-day pop-up at Milroy’s Spitalfields in London.

Today (5pm-9pm BST) and tomorrow (1pm-9pm BST) guests will be able to pre-order and collect burgers and Cazcabel Honey Tequila cocktails.

A burger and cocktail is priced at £12 (US$16.70) and subsequent cocktails are available for £5 (US$7) each on the day.

Jigger & Pony to host guest shifts

Singapore bar Jigger & Pony will kick off its new Better Together series of guest shifts this weekend, featuring leading bartenders from across the country.

This Sunday (9 May), Jigger & Pony will welcome Diageo World Class winner Bannie Kang, from Mu bar in Taipei, and Yinying Leow from Live Twice.

On 26 May, Juan Yi Jun from No Sleep Club and Andrew Yap from The Old Man in Singapore will guest shift at Jigger & Pony.

From May to June, Jigger & Pony will also collaborate with four international bars to offer signature cocktails through a special menu, called Together Apart.

From 11 May, Dark Side from Hong Kong and Shanghai’s Sober Company will each present two core drinks for Jigger & Pony guests.

Grey Goose cocktails to-go

Bacardi-owned vodka brand Grey Goose has teamed up with select bars across the UK to provide takeaway canned cocktails.

Grey Goose is aiming to tap into the cocktails to-go trend by providing ‘bar-quality’ serves that can be made and canned on the spot by bartenders and sipped at home, on the go, or at the park.

The first bar in the partnership is Clapham’s London Cocktail Club site, which will offer three Grey Goose serves in cans.

Guests can choose from the Grey Goose Le Fizz, Grey Goose Tropical or Grey Goose Berry, which can be purchased from a window hatch at the bar.

Each can is priced at £7.50 (US$10) or two for £10 (US$14) as part of a happy hour deal.

Grey Goose will also partner with Oxo Tower (London), Never Really Here (Edinburgh) and Science & Industry (Manchester) on the initiative this spring.

Clynelish Distillery reopens

Clynelish-16

Diageo has reopened its renovated Clynelish whisky distillery in Scotland to the public. Consumers can now book tours to visit the site, which features a new visitor centre with an interactive story room, ‘modern’ retail space and a terrace bar overlooking Brora’s hills.

The multi-sensory, interactive visitor experience will feature secret rooms, accessible using hidden keys, designed to help visitors ‘unlock’ the story of Clynelish and Johnnie Walker.

Clynelish was given an extensive overhaul as part of Diageo’s £185 million (US$258m) investment in its Scotch whisky visitor experiences.

Avallen’s sustainability webinar

Calvados brand Avallen hosted the seventh instalment in its Positively Charged webinar series over Zoom this week, which is available to watch on YouTube.

Avallen co-founders Tim Etherington-Judge and Stephanie Jordan were joined by Paul Gabie, CEO at Eco Spirits; Roel Drost PhD, chief value officer at Ecochain Technologies; and Sam Boex, co-founder of sustainable packaging company Flexi-Hex; for a webinar that looked at best practices for the spirits sector.

The panel discussed what drinks brands can do to reduce their CO2 footprint, including conducting a life cycle analysis, and looked at innovation in packaging and distribution.

Watch the Avallen webinar here.

Diageo Bar Academy masterclass

The Diageo Bar Academy will host an online whisky masterclass with whisky journalist Becky Paskin and the WSET’s Charlie McCarthy next week.

The session will help participants understand the flavour profile of whisky and what influences it. Special guest Ervin Trykowski, Diageo global Scotch whisky ambassador, will provide top whisky serves.

In addition, the masterclass will feature a live whisky tasting of Johnnie Walker Black Label, Bulleit Bourbon and Roe & Co Irish whiskey.

The one-hour masterclass will be held on 12 May at 3pm UTC. To sign up for the masterclass, click here.

Discus webinar on DTC shipping

US spirits

The Distilled Spirits Council of the US (Discus) will host its Direct-to-Consumer webinar next week, which will look at the benefits of shipping spirits directly to US consumers.

Discus said the increased demand for convenience has boosted consumer interest in direct-to-consumer shipping of many products, including spirits.

Moderated by Christine LoCascio, Discus’ chief of public policy, the panel will comprise: Philip McDaniel, CEO and co-founder of St Augustine Distillery and chairman of Discus Craft Advisory Council; Erik Owens, president of American Distilling Institute; and John Beaudette, president and founder, MHW.

The panel will discuss how expanding distillers’ ability to shipping spirits directly to adults will benefit consumers and the three-tier system.

The webinar will be held on Wednesday 12 May at 12pm ET. Register for the Zoom session here.

Our Whisky Festival

Our Whisky Virtual Whisky Festival

The virtual Our Whisky Festival returned this year with five themed sessions centred around whisky. This year’s event will run from 29 April to 27 May.

The third event in the festival will be held at 7pm BST on Thursday 13 May, called The Ryesing Tide.

The 90-minute online session will look at the innovative distillers producing rye whisky across the world.

A ticket costs £30 (US$41.50) and includes five 30ml whisky samples. To buy a ticket, visit ourwhisky.com. Samples can only be sent to those living in the UK.

Malt Whisky Trail distilleries reopen

As restrictions ease across Scotland, a number of distilleries on the Malt Whisky Trail have reopened for tours, tastings and shopping.

Glenlivet, Strathisla and Glen Moray Distilleries have reopened their retail shops and are offering new outdoor tastings for visitors.

The Glen Grant Distillery has also reopened its retail store for guests to purchase their favourite whiskies.

Dallas Dhu, Strathisla, Speyside Cooperage, Benromach and Cardhu will reveal their reopening schedule soon.

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