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The week in pictures

Kentucky Bourbon brand Jim Beam celebrated filling its 15 millionth barrel since the end of Prohibition this week.

The brand reached the milestone after filling one million barrels in less than two years.

The barrel was filled by seventh generation Jim Beam master distiller Fred Noe and his son Freddie Noe at the brand’s flagship distillery in Clermont, Kentucky.

The Spirits Business hosted its inaugural Spirited show in London this week.

The trade fair featured exhibitors from innovative spirits brands, as well as a selection of Taste Masters from our Spirits Masters blind-tasting competition.

A host of exciting new products were available to try, and guests were invited to attend a number of masterclasses, including ‘Mezcal 101’, a discussion on ‘Boundary-Breaking Whiskies’, and an educational seminar looking at the ‘Evolution of Flavour in Gin’.

To celebrate National Cereal Day in America, breakfast cereal producer Kellogg’s has created a range of cereal-inspired cocktails.

The cereal maker hosted a day of celebrations at its New York café in honour of the “national food holiday”.

The brand served up a Fruit Loop-infused rum cocktail and a Cocoa Krispies chocolate cocktail, alongside a range of cereal-infused snacks for guests – which included American singer and Academy Award-nominated actress Hailee Steinfeld (pictured).

Blended Irish whiskey brand Roe & Co will be hosting an exclusive series of bartender lock-ins to celebrate St Patrick’s day.

Hosted at The Bloomsbury Club in London, the lock-ins feature a cocktail menu specifically designed by bartender Brian Calleja to celebrate the Irish holiday.

Drinks on the menu include The Whitney, made with Roe & Co, Xante, Licor 43, tonka syrup, lemon juice and egg white; and The Farmer Collins, a mix of Roe & Co, mushroom vermouth, orange syrup, ginger syrup, and ginger ale.

As this year’s Summit of the Americas begins to approach, travel retail operator Waldemar Behn has announced it is saying goodbye to its US broker, George Sternberg.

Sternberg has been with the company for more than 10 years but has announced it’s time for his retirement.

Torben Vedel Andersen, global sales director for Waldemar Behn, said: “We thank George and Katrin for their invaluable support and friendship and wish them all the best for the future.”

Trade charity The Benevolent welcomed a record number of guests to its annual fundraiser, The Benevolent Ball, which raised more than £57,000 for the charity.
Hosted at London’s Dorchester Hotel, guests were welcomed by The Benevolent’s Chairman, Tom Yusef.

The event also saw the launch of the charity’s Chairman’s Challenge, which will see Yusef traverse several English wineries during the harvest season, helping to pick the new vintage at each location.

Dundee bartender Turtle Higgins has won a UK-wide vote to have his design minted as the UK’s 2018 Fernet-Branca Challenge Coin.

Higgins, bartender at Bird & Bear in Dundee, won the biggest share of the vote in the contest, organised by Hi-Spirits, UK distributor of Italian digestif Fernet-Branca.

The design theme for the contest was “what makes the UK bar scene so great?” with Higgins winning design showcasing the tools of his trade – bar spoons, a jigger and a bar top.

Texas-based Balcones Distillery kicked off its 10th Anniversary celebrations this weekend with RyeFest.

The event saw whiskey fans descend on the distillery for a weekend of live music and street food, as well as the launch of Balcones Rye 100 and Rye Cask Strength expressions.

Balcones Texas Rye is on sale now in American and will reach the UK market in Autumn.

Identical twin bartenders The Drinking Twins unveiled their signature coconut cocktail for the launch of The Smallest Gallery in London’s Soho this week.

The Dark Side of the Moon cocktail was created for the launch of the free art gallery and combines cherry chocolate gin with Aluna Coconut, cold brew coffee and vanilla syrup.

Located in a historic shopfront at 62 Dean Street, The Smallest Gallery is a destination to view free, creative and engaging art.

 

SB went along to the Punch Room at The London Edition for the launch of the latest instalment in its The Five punch menu.

The menu was created by bar manager Andy Shannon and head bartender Eric Van Oers and is designed to celebrate the history of Punch cocktails.

The Five: Volume II will highlight five key moments that have led to the Punch’s understated influence on the history of cocktail-making and the modern drinker.

On Wednesday, SB’s deputy editor Melita Kiely popped around the corner from our office to Borough Market’s Wine Pantry to join Glen Scotia on a ‘Grand Tour’ of Campbeltown. The tour included a tasting of three Glen Scotia expressions, led by distillery manager Iain McAlister, and culminated in a dram of a 2001 Glen Scotia cask shipped all the way from Scotland to London.

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