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Slideshow
The week in pictures
Dom Shabbo, Naomi Roberts and Simon Allison at Mr Fogg’s 5th birthday.
They grow up so fast. Bohemian bar group Mr Fogg celebrated its 5th Birthday on Tuesday 16 January which took place at its Mayfair.
The evening saw guests including Marie Moatti, rugby player Dom Shabbo, Simon Allison, Hugo Chance and Inception Group founder Charlie Gilkes enjoying plenty of canapés and Hendrick’s Gin cocktails.
(Photo: Lost + Found A.BL)
UK independent brewery Lost + Found A.BL took over the Terrace Bar at Tate Modern, celebrating the launch of a new permanent production site in Sussex.
The Brighton-based producer, known for its contemporary beer cans and labels, is currently ranked 12th in beer community site Untappd’s ranking of UK breweries.
The Tate’s operations director,Andrew Downs, said; “I love Lost + Found beer! It’s really delicious. Beautifully balanced, generously hopped and full of flavour.
Lost + Found’s can and badge designs are striking, they are stylish and contemporary. Perfect for our outlets at Tate Modern.”
On Tuesday db was cordially invited to the Bourbon Bar at the newly-refurbished Grosvenor House hotel in Mayfair, which has recently bolstered its shelves, and is now home to more than 100 bottles types of rare, single barrel and pre-prohibition Bourbons.
We got to sample beverage manager David Lawlor and the bartenders’ favourites from the collection, including an extremely special Kentucky whiskey dating back to 1916.
Grosvenor House unveiled a major refurbishment back in 2016 worth £8m, which saw a transformation of the hotel’s Park Room. and public spaces.
(From left to right) Chris Porter, Ewan Murray and Nick Arkell.
During the Wine Trade Lunch held on Friday 12th January, The Benevolent’s Chairman Tom Yusef has launched the new mental health campaign of the charity called #NotAlone and a survey addressed to the UK drinks industry aimed at outlining the current mental health difficulties experienced by members of the trade.
The Wine Society was awarded with the Vintners’ Benevolent Awards, for his outstanding support to the charity.
#NotAlone aims to encourage members of the Trade to speak freely about mental health issues within the workplace, creating a stigma-free environment, reminding both employers and employees that The Benevolent is here with professionals at hand who can help you. for more information, visit the website here.
Back on the mainland Scotch whisky distiller Tomatin has discovered that 2017 was a record-breaking year for drawing tourists to the Highlands.
Almost 50,000 people visited the Scotch producer in 2017, earning Tomatin more than £1 million in turnover for the first time.
The distillery currently employs 58 people, including 11 visitor centre staff who work at the distillery all year round, increasing to 16 staff in the summer season.
De Rodez à Yateley, ces jeunes Français font vivre le partenariat entre nos deux pays. pic.twitter.com/o9YnGC6zzi
— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) January 18, 2018
Theresa May and Emmanuel Macron stopped off at a Michelin star pub co-owned by Sir Michael Parkinson and his son for a working lunch ahead of the start of the UK-France summit.
The kitchen at The Royal Oak, located in May’s Maidenhead constituency, is run by former Masterchef: The Professionals champion Craig Johnston.
The pub was opened by Sir Michael Parkinson and his son Nick in 2001. It was awarded a Bib Gourmand in 2008, before going on to win star-status in 2011.
Anchorman star Will Ferrel stayed classy during a visit to the Yarra Valley this week.
Ferrel, who travelled down-under for the Australian Open along with his wife Viveca Pauling and friends, took a trip Levantine Hill in Coldstream for lunch, before taking a tour of nearby Tokar Estate.
Tokar Estate manager Daniel Tokar told the Herald Sun he was “star struck” on meeting the Hollywood actor.
“He’s one of the nicest people I’ve ever met…softly spoken and a real gentleman.”
German specialist The WineBarn held its annual portfolio tasting on Monday this week and as well as presenting wines from longstanding producers, director Iris Ellmann was delighted to introduce two new additions to the portfolio: Jakob Schneider from the Nahe (above) and the sparkling wines of Griesel made by Nico Brandner (below).
Over in Mexico, mixologist Li Tong was crowned the winner of the 2017 Patrón Perfectionists Cocktail Competition.
(Photo: Patrón)
The Global Final took place last night at the home of Patrón Tequila, Hacienda Patrón in Jalisco Mexico, where the six finalists (including the UK’s very own Greg Almeida of the Rosewood Hotel’s Scarfes Bar) took to the bar to compete for the title.
The winning tipple, called ‘Dancing Bees’, is made with Patrón Reposado, yellow chartreuse, dried chamomile, yuzu purée, passionfruit syrup, lime juice and water.
(Photo: Patrón)
“The competition has been amazing,” said Tong. “I have met a lot of new friends and learnt a lot during the journey. The Patrón Perfectionists cocktail competition has been so exciting, I’ve been dreaming about seeing real agave and my dream has come true. I’m so excited to have won, and can’t wait to go back to China and tell my family.
(Photo: Northern Monk)
Perhaps the greatest underdogs in the drinks industry are the dogs themselves, which transform a tap house, vineyard or brewery into a warm, welcoming environment for visitors.
But Leeds’ Northern Monk Breweing Co. got the star treatment after being crowned the nation’s top office dog by recruitment site Workthere, which launched a competition back to find the UK’s best boys and girls back in November.
Over a quarter (28%) of UK workers say they would be more attracted to a workplace that allowed dogs, according to the website., and around one in four (24%) believe it improves their workplace productivity, according the our new research.
db’s Lucy Shaw hopped on the Eurostar and headed to the Vinventions HQ in Belgium this week to get the lowdown about the closures company.
While she was there she met with three key members of the team – director of global marketing communications Reka Haros (left), Caroline Thomas (centre) European marketing and communication manager, and Fabrice Chevallet (right) vice president of sales and marketing for Europe, who spoke passionately about the need for closures producers to respond to the needs of the market with new innovations.
During her visit Lucy was shown around the processing plant, and witnessed a closures’ journey from the raw material (pictured) to the final cork.
Vinventions produced 2.7 billion closures in 2017 and is planning to expand its production by 10% this year, primarily driven by organic growth.
Last October Vinventions unveiled new logos for its ‘House of 7’ brands – a portfolio of brands designed to support the diverse closure requirements of still and sparkling wine producers.
Vinventions accounts for 14% of the total closures market and is the second biggest closures producer in the world after Amorim. Its clients include Gallo, Woodbridge by Robert Mondavi, Kendell Jackson, Zuccardi, Fontanafredda, JL Chave in the Rhône and Mouton Cadet in Bordeaux.