The week in pictures

It’s October. It’s raining. It’s cold. The bars shut early. The SAD is kicking in. Your mental health is about as sturdy as the Treasury’s balance sheet, and you’re one stubbed toe away from clubbing someone with the kettlebell you bought in April but never used.

Take a deep breath and look for some positives. For example, some great work has been done by everyone in the drinks sector this year. We dished out dozens of gongs to some very deserving people at our first ever Drinks Business Awards this week.

The Drinks Business Awards were conceived 17 years ago to celebrate outstanding achievements in drinks in an array of categories, from retail buying, marketing and drinks design to social media. We usually hold the ceremony at London Wine Fair, but this obviously couldn’t happen in the middle of a pandemic.

While it would have been easy to postpone our prize-giving until next year, we decided to power on, and we’re so glad you all did too, with more than 800 people logging on to watch editor-in-chief Patrick Schmitt name the winners.

Now here’s something to look forward to. London Cocktail Month is about to kick off.

Spirits group Bacardi has been working hard to promote its premium vodka label Grey Goose this year with bars and restaurants unable to stay open after 10pm.

Grey Goose is one of the brands that is partnering with on-trade venues during London Cocktail Month this October to bring consumers discounted drinks.

The vodka label has a selection of limited edition cocktails under £10  available from some of London’s top bars such as Bermondsey’s Chapter 72 and Coupette in Bethnal Green.

This weather surely calls for an espresso martini. The above serve will be on sale at Chapter 72 for just £6. Bargain.

Perhaps some retail therapy on entirely unnecessary but very pretty barware will help. Glassmaker Glencairn Crystal Studio has introduced a new core range of coloured glasses to celebrate the company’s 20th anniversary

The multicoloured range follows a special edition black tumbler that was launched last year.

Scott Davidson, New Product Development Director and son of Glencairn Crystal Founder, Raymond Davidson, said he was “blown away” (pun intended, we think) by the success of the limited edition black Glencairn Glass last year, so the new range is designed to sate luxury-loving consumers’ demands.

“Not only are the coloured glasses a fun addition to any drinks cabinet, tasting your dram blind is the perfect way to develop your senses and to learn all about the wonderful world of whisky.”

Drink Champagne just because you can. Ahead of the latest Bond film and 40 years as the official Champagne of the super spy franchise, Bollinger has released its Special Cuvée in a new limited edition gift pack.

With the up-coming release of the 25th film in the franchise, No Time to Die, the Champagne house is marking the double-barrelled celebration with a new edition of its ‘Special Cuvée 007 Limited Edition’ packaging.

The new gift box features Bond next to his most emblematic car, the Aston Martin DB5, in a colour scheme of silver, black and gold.

Some feel-good news. US-based chef José Andrés and UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak were named as db’s Hospitality Heroes at the 2020 Drinks Business Awards this afternoon.

Chosen from a shortlist of 10, Asturias-born, Washington-based chef José Andrés was named our US Hospitality Hero for his tireless efforts in helping the American on-trade navigate its way through the pandemic.

Since the start of the pandemic, Andres has provided over 25 million fresh meals in over 400 cities across the US to communities in need of support, including elderly citizens shielding from the virus.

His #ChefsForAmerica food relief scheme gave back to the struggling on-trade by purchasing over 7 million meals from over 2,700 local restaurants in need of revenue during the crisis to feed those most in need.

Distract yourself with a podcast. Champagne house Perrier-Jouët has launched an ‘artisans of wine’ podcast series to mark the retirement of its longtime cellar master, Hervé Deschamps.

This six-part series celebrates the legacy of Perrier-Jouët’s seventh cellar master, who will retire in October after 37 years at the house.

In each episode Deschamps chats with colourful characters in the wine trade who he has befriended over the years.

Among those to appear on the podcast are Serena Sutcliffe MW, the former international head of Sotheby’s wine department, who talks about prestige cuvées and her book on Perrier-Jouët that she co-wrote with Deschamps.

Get on a health kick. British chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall has launched a range of organic kombucha inspired by produce grown in his kitchen garden and orchard.

The River Cottage Organic Kombucha range was made in collaboration with Yorkshire-based organic kombucha brand Equinox.

Called Garden, Meadow, Orchard and Hedge, the flavours were inspired by the fruit and vegetables Fearnley-Whittingstall grows in his kitchen garden and fruit orchards at River Cottage in Devon, along with wild ingredients he forages for.

And one last thing to brighten the day of any fine wine lover, restaurateur Richard Caring has launched his own wine club.

Caring marked the occasion with a lavish dinner this week at Annabel’s, the nightclub Caring acquired with Harry’s Bar and Mark’s Club when he bought the Birley Group in 2007.