The week in pictures

Mixologist Maxim Schulte has been named the world’s best bartender after thwarting the competition in this year’s BEEFEATER MIXLDN 7 Global Bartender championships.

Beefeater MIXLDN7 Global Final, London, February 2018.

At the final, hosted at The Bike Shed in Shoreditch on 8 February, the finals eight mixologists made their chosen signature cocktails, with members of the public given the chance to taste the creations and vote for their favourite.

Representing hong Kong and Macau, Hong Kong, Schulte clinched the title with his concoction – the Stack of Fortune, inspired by Macau’s reputation as the Las Vegas of Asia.

Schulte will take his creation back to his bar for friends, family and customers to sample, as well as partnering with Beefeater to create his own special edition gin, available to purchase from the drinks maker’s London headquarters.

Swedish vodka brand Absolut kicked the week off with a bang by convincing a large proportion of its employees to bare all for a new advertising campaign dubbed “Nothing to Hide”.

Running with the tagline: ‘The vodka with nothing to hide’, the short film features Absolut staff in the nude in a variety of settings related to its production, including a winter wheat field, the bottling line at the distillery in Åhus in southern Sweden, and even a musical interlude outside the still house.

You can watch the full video below:

London-born chef of the moment Tom Aikens is taking over west London, relaunching his flagship Tom’s Kitchen restaurant in Chelsea in order to focus on seasonal British sharing plates.

The venue, which opened on Cale Street off the King’s Road back in 2006 as an all-day brasserie, has been given a modern makeover by B3 Designers. The revamped venue will “allow the restaurant to be more innovative, modern and comfortable,” said Aikens.

“I’m excited to welcome back loyal faces from over the years, as well as introducing new guests to all that Tom’s Kitchen has to offer.”

Booze and exercise came together for a good cause on 4 February as dozens of beer-swilling amateur athletes took part in South London’s Craft Half Marathon.

SAMSUNG CSC

Organised by local brewer Hop Stuff in partnership with charity Street Child, participants headed to Wimbledon Common early on Sunday morning to run the track, where they were treated to a half pint of craft beer every two miles.

It’s a running joke in the City of London that, despite their size and influence, some of the biggest financial firms have to hold their Christmas parties late because all the restaurants are booked out well in advance, but delayed gratification isn’t just present in the Square Mile.

Glasgow Taxi drivers enjoyed an exclusive tour at the Clydeside Distillery as part of a belated Christmas Night Out on .

The whisky producer based on the banks of the River Clyde officially opened its doors in November, and drivers and office staff received a warm welcome at the distillery to bring them out of their winter blues.

While we’re still north of the wall, Scottish glass-maker Angels’ Share Glass has started selling a pig-shaped gin decanter after drawing inspiration from the story of the ‘gin pigs’ which reside at Brodie Castle in Moray.

The family-owned glass firm is drawing on a rather unusual element in gin’s history. Wealthy Victorian households often possessed a variety of bespoke decanters, each holding a different type of alcohol.

Two gin pigs reside at Brodie Castle, the ancestral home of Clan Brodie, which is now owned and managed by National Trust for Scotland.

South Africa’s William Kentridge is the latest artist to provide a design for Super Tuscan Ornellaia’s ‘Vendemmia d’Artista’ collection to accompany the 2015 vintage.

The artist created a site-specific piece for the Estate, customised a limited series of 111 large-format bottles, and designed a special label for the expression.

Thursday was no ordinary day for rum maker Bacardi. Every last one of the spirit firm’s 5,500-strong workforce set down their tools, left their desks and hit hundreds of bars around the world to celebrate the brand’s 156th anniversary.

The “Back to Bar” day is a new annual celebration Bacardi intends to keep to reignite the brand’s entrepreneurial spirit and culture.

Vintners, growers and oenophiles of Britain gathered in London’s affluent St James area on Tuesday 6 February for the 3^rd annual Vineyards of Hampshire Trade and Press Tasting, demonstrating just how far English wine has come in a short space of time.

Housed in the 300-year-old cellars of the Stafford Hotel, the event had an impressive turnout across the trade.

Meanwhile at Berry Bros & Rudd, the wine merchant is already gearing up for Chinese New year celebrations with a clever spot of window dressing.

The staff fashioned a dragon out of wooden wine boxes to tie in with a new seasonal offer which sees the vintner offering customers a chance to try a selection of wines from its Chinese producer, available in its enomatic machines until the end of the month.

A decanter of Dalmore Eos 59-year-old smashed its pre-sale estimate at auction after it went under the hammer at Bonhams last week for £83,640.

Named after the Titan goddess of the dawn, the 750ml decanter of Eos went on sale at Bonhams in Hong Kong last Friday and was snapped up for HK$ 918,750 (£83,640) by an unnamed buyer, going above and beyond its minimum sale price of £26,000.

Produced at Dalmore’s distillery in Alness, just 20 decanters of the Sherry cask aged elixir were released in 2011.

Over in Thailand, self-taught Bangkok chef Bongkoch ‘Bee’ Satongun was crowned Asia’s best female chef on Tuesday in Vodka Asia’s Best Female Chef 2018 awards.

Satongun took the title for her well defined traditional Thai cuisine, making her the latest addition to the 17 female chefs from around the world who have won the award.

On the other side of the world, LA-based wine importer and marketer Guarachi Wine Partners launched a tongue-in-cheek new wine called Bacon in honour of the much-loved meat.

Aged for a year in oak, the 15% abv wine is a blend of Syrah, Grenache, Mourvèdre, Merlot and Petite Syrah. Its label resembles a butcher’s chopping board.

Inspired by the American farm-to-table movement, Bacon was created to complement a range of dining scenarios, from barbecues to dinner parties.

We caught up with one of our all-time favourite winemakers this week, South Africa’s Bruce Jack, who hosted a dinner for his friends in (and out) of the trade at Vinoteca in Farringdon. Bruce introduced each of his wines, from his spicy There Are Still Mysteries Pinot Noir and his sour-cherry laced Gift Horse Barbera to his Moveable Feast red blend, with a story that took guests on a journey from Hemingway’s Paris to Odysseus’ bedroom.

He also revealed during the dinner that he plays the bagpipes to his maturing wines at his Overberg estate The Drift Farm as he believes the energy from the sound waves improves their evolution.

Keen to serve guests an authentic South African feast, Bruce flew over South African MasterChef judge Peter Goffe-Wood especially for the dinner. Among the delights he served us were venison tartare, perfectly pink ribeye and an exquisite savoury dessert featuring golden beetroot, goat’s cheese, hazelnuts and honeycomb.