The week in pictures

Jameson celebrated St Patrick’s Day in style this year hosting a series of events and masterclasses across Dublin. On Sunday, up-and-coming Dublin-based band White Lies performed at the Jameson St Patrick’s live gig at Dublin’s Ambassador Theatre alongside the likes of Funeral Suits and Darling. The evening finished with 30 DJs broadcasting live St Patrick’s Live shows from the Old Jameson Distillery.

Elsewhere Ger Buckley, fifth generation cooper of Midleton’s distillery, gave a masterclass on cooperage at the Old Jameson’s distillery talking guests through the fine art of barrel making.

Bollinger chef de cave Gilles Descôtes (right) and president Jérôme Philippon introduce the house’s R.D. 2002 at Berry Bros & Rudd’s townhouse on Pickering Place, where Madame Bollinger unveiled the inaugural R.D. 1952 vintage 45 years previously.   

(L to R) Lindsay Posner (director), Peter Egan, Martha Plimpton, Sinéad Cusack, Jon Robin Baitz (writer), Clare Higgins, Daniel Lapeine and Kevin Spacey. Photo credit: Laura Linck

Hollywood actor Kevin Spacey was among the actors to attend the press night of Other Desert Cities, set to open at the Old Vic Theatre in London on Monday. Champagne Taittinger, the associate Champagne partner at the theatre, was on hand to help celebrate.

Edinburgh and St Andrews universities went head to head in a blind wine tasting challenge which saw Edinburgh emerge victorious. The competition was part of a trilogy of “Varsity” blind tasting matches, sponsored by Pol Roger, which saw matches between Oxford and Cambridge, Edinburgh and St Andrews and Bath and Bristol. Hubert de Billy, of Pol Roger, presented the winning team with their trophies.

New British spiced malt Albion Racing Club hosted its inaugural race last week from the distillery in Cambridge to Meribel in the French Alps via Burgundy. Dubbed Meribel or Bust, among the quirkier vehicles competing in the race, which culminated in a run down the Olympic bobsleigh course, were a vintage Land Rover and a Tiger Moth.

Team db travelled to Dusseldorf to attend this year’s Prowein trade fair where hundreds of producers and distributors were on hand to showcase their products to the industry. Here advertising manager, Marcus Clark, meets Marion Poullain from Cognac Tessendier.

Marcus made time to meet the glamorous team at Dictador Rum while working hard to promote team db during his time at Prowein.

db’s sales director Andrew Oliver makes a beeline for the Prosecco stands while taking a break from his duties at Prowein. Here he is enjoying a glass of the Italian Sprizzerò aperitif.

The Nino Franco Wild West Tour continued its tour of south west England this week with Nino Franco producer Primo Franco and importer Tim McLaughlin-Green travelling around Dorset, Devon, Cornwall, Somerset and Gloucestershire to host a series of Prosecco and food matching dinners.

As part of its tour of the west country, the Nino Franco team stopped by Rick Stein’s Cooking School in Padstow to host an evening of food and wine. A second Prosecco dinner was hosted by Nino Franco at Mitch Tonks’ The Seahorse Restaurant in Dartmouth which saw the producer’s Prosecco matched to the cured salmon with pink pepper and dill.

Christian Holthausen, Gusbourne head of communications, and Christine Hamilton

English sparkling wine house, Gusbourne Estate, were on hand to celebrate the Political Book Awards on Wednesday at the BFI IMAX in London. Guests were treated to Gusbourne Estate Brut Reserve 2009 and Gusbourne Estate Pinot Noir 2011. Hosted by Gyles Brandreth with the support of philanthropist Lord Ashcroft, the Political Book Awards were attended by more than 400 people, including Christine Hamilton, Hugh Dennis, Professor Mary Beard, Iain Dale and Lord Dobbs, the former Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party.

Adam Binnersley, second from left in the white shirt, Tom Higham, first on left in the blue shirt.

A collection of bartenders celebrate after competing in the Chairman’s Reserve Northern Restaurant and Bar Show cocktail competition in Manchester. Adam Binnersley, from Corridor Bar in Salford was named the winner, while Tom Higham of the Kosmonaut Bar in Manchester took second place. Both won a trip to St Lucia courtesy of St Lucia Distillers, makers of Chairman’s Reserve golden rum.

Richard Woods of London’s Duck and Waffle was crowned UK and Ireland winner of the Bombay Sapphire World’s Most Imaginative Bartender competition following an all-day competition at London’s Shoreditch House. The bartender fought off competition from 70 other competitors to win the competition which challenges rising bartending talent to create world class and imaginative cocktails. Richard impressed the judges with his winning serve named “The Royal Bounty”, inspired by the spirit of China, which was served to judges in a sealed box, or treasure chest, layered with lemon-scented moss concealing a thin layer of dry ice, and pumped with a cassia and liquorice smoke. Richard will go on to take part in the global final in June.

Spain came to London this week in the form of two of the country’s finest winemakers, Priorat pioneer Alvaro Palacios (right) and his nephew, Ricardo Perez Palacios, who works at his family estate, Descendientes de J. Palacios, in Bierzo. The pair were pouring the latest releases of their wines at Berry Bros & Rudd, which included a single vineyard Mencía, La Faraona, made from a half hectare plot in Corullón, and Palacios’ crown jewel, L’Ermita, of which only 760 bottles were produced last year.

Flying the flag for Argentina this week were Angus McNab of Barwell & Jones and Lucila Pescarmona, who gave up a promising career in law in New York to pursue her dream of working for her family wine estate in Mendoza. Founded in 1897, Largarde is one of the oldest estate in Argentina and its wines are made very much in the classic style. Among those on show at db towers this week was a delightfully fresh Viogner and a charming Cabernet Franc – a variety Pescarmona feels has great potential in Argentina.

And finally… db couldn’t resist an invitation to get punch dunk at the Punch Room at celebrity hotspot, the London Edition hotel in Fitzrovia. Guests were asked to bring their own base spirit – db chose the recently released Elephant Gin, which counts African wormwood among its exotic botanicals, in order for the bartending team to concoct a bespoke punch using the BYOB spirit, Martini and other ingredients. The team did a stirling job, and we whiled away the evening sipping from a silver punch bowl and nibbling on sliders to the sounds of live jazz. Future BYOB events will take place at the bar on the last Sunday of every month.