Four Seasons spotlights indie spirits brands
A new incubator programme called Four Seasons Cabinet: Tower Bridge Edit has launched to champion independent drinks brands.
The Four Seasons Hotel at Tower Bridge, London, will launch its incubation project on 27 October.
Curated by the hotel’s head of bars, Michele Lombardi, the Four Seasons Cabinet: Tower Bridge Edit is designed to support growth and visibility for brands with purpose, spanning alcohol-free, low-ABV and spirit-forward categories.
The programme offers brands one year’s placement on the five-star hotel’s menus – including The Rotunda Bar & Lounge, Mei Ume restaurant, and Ten Trinity Square members club. In addition, the brands will have the opportunity to host tastings and activations and benefit from sales data, feedback and guest engagement tracking to help fuel pathways for growth.
Lombardi said: “Leading on the curation of the first edit of the Four Seasons Cabinet is a career highlight. I believe in the power of backing brands with purpose and ensuring a menu has a diverse and inclusive offering. The cabinet will have pride of place in the Rotunda Bar & Lounge, and I look forward to introducing the brands to new audiences as part of the menu.”
Brands selected for the first edition include all-natural bitter honey apéritif Beesou, the ‘world’s first’ dedicated mid-strength ‘spirit’ Quarter Proof, non-alcoholic bitter brand Seasn, and handcrafted apéritif Sipello.
The cabinet initiative aims to break down the barriers to entry traditionally faced by smaller brands to land listings in hotels.
Rohan Radhakrishnan, co-founder of Quarter Proof, said: “It is not every day that accounts look to support and pioneer small, independent brands, let alone a luxury hotel group. It means a lot to know there is support from true visionaries out there, as these opportunities are fundamental for how we can build the brands of tomorrow.”
As part of the first edition of The Cabinet, Lombardi has created a menu featuring four creative twists on some of the most popular classic cocktails. The menu includes the Beesou Knees, made with Beesou, No.3 London Dry Gin, and citrus; A Quarter Of Rosita, crafted with Quarter Proof Agave, Sipello, and Asterley Bros dry and sweet vermouth; the New Seasn Cuban, made with Seasn Light, Takamaka dark rum, citrus, mint, and Champagne; and Spritzello, composed of Sipello, Champagne, and soda.
All cocktails are priced at £18 (US$25). Each has been designed to hero the selected brand, allowing it to ‘truly shine’. Guests will also be offered a complimentary sample of each cocktail on the list.
Beesou’s brand advocacy manager Alessandro Geraci added: “This initiative is invaluable, giving truly innovative products like Beesou the platform it needs to reach the right people. That matters to me, not only because it enriches cocktail culture, but because it helps shape menus that are more diverse, sustainable, and memorable in today’s highly competitive industry.”
The Tower Bridge hotel will launch the first edition of the Cabinet series, with plans for the concept to be rolled out across global markets.
Seasn founder Ben Branson said: “It’s wonderful to be working alongside Michele and the team at The Four Seasons, especially on a concept like this that champions the promotion of emerging independent brands within the drinks industry.”
Meanwhile, Tim Simmons, founder of Sipello, concluded: “Trying to build a luxury British brand in today’s world without deep pockets is challenging, so to be given a platform by the team at the Four Seasons is an incredible endorsement.
“In a world saturated by loud, mass-market campaigns, smaller, handcrafted brands often get drowned out. Every pour at the hotel becomes a tasting opportunity where getting liquid to the lips of such a discerning clientele is gold dust for a small producer like us.”
The Four Seasons Hotel at Tower Bridge has been working alongside Anna Sebastian Hospitality to build on its reputation as a destination for world-class mixology.
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