#WeekInPictures: pies on Mount Street, whisky in Brighton and a Brits weekend in Manchester
From a carefully constructed lamb pie in Mayfair to whisky enthusiasts gathering on the south coast and musicians travelling north for the Brit Awards, this week in pictures offered a mixture of food, spirits and spectacle.
A pie for National Pie Week
For National Pie Week, under the eye of GM, David Nichter, Mount Street Restaurant’s Jamie Shears joined forces with Chantelle Nicholson of Apricity to create a pie for two built on lamb from Art Farm’s Durslade Farm, Somerset – a whole-animal expression wrapped in burnished pastry and finished with wild garlic liquor. In the glass, a rested Cahors from Le Combal, chosen by head of wine and Master Sommelier, Agnieszka Swiecka, poured by Loic Noel, brought lift, served amid priceless canvases.
Brighton Whisky Weekend launches
Brighton Whisky Weekend opened its festival season with a launch event at Cut Your Wolf Loose. Local journalists, bar teams and whisky devotees gathered to hear what the forthcoming festival will bring, the evening moving along with a handful of cocktails and plenty of conversation about the spirits due to appear later in the year.
Holi celebrations at The May Fair
Desi Daru Vodka marked Holi with a colourful evening at The May Fair Bar. Three cocktails were created for the occasion: Exuberance with Alphonso Mango Vodka, spices, jaggery and fresh mango; Royal Malai Colada combining mango vodka with coconut, Rooh Afza, lime and black cardamom; and Iced Chai built on the original vodka with masala chai and black pepper. Indian street food small plates accompanied the drinks, while music came from Wild Tabla and guests sat for live portrait sketches by Mush Studio.
A BRIT Awards weekend with Hennessy
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Warner Music and Hennessy invited artists and guests to Manchester for a weekend celebrating the BRIT Awards. The journey began at Euston Station aboard the British Pullman, the art deco train greeting passengers with Hennessy Paradis and a Henny Rita cocktail as actor Jaime Winstone offered tarot readings along the way.
In Manchester, The Cut and Craft was transformed for the afterparty under the theme Party Poodles, a playful nod to Manchester’s club history and to photographs of cultural figures with their dogs. Sets came from G2, Kim Turnbull, Gjin Lipa with Tommy Gold and Groove Armada, while Suns of Acid hosted a basement club.
Guests drank bespoke Hennessy cocktails, including a Hennessy X.O Espresso Martini and returned to London the following day on the Pullman with a relaxed Sunday lunch accompanied by Hennessy Ice Teas.
Young winemakers gather in Álava
More than 200 young wine professionals travelled to Vitoria Gasteiz for the first Wine Shapers conference, organised by EDA Drinks and Wine Campus with support from the Basque Government and the Provincial Council of Álava. The event brought together winemakers from countries including France, Italy, Argentina, Mexico and China for discussions around regenerative viticulture, generational change in wine and the growing importance of wine tourism.
Panels explored topics ranging from vineyard observation and regenerative farming to new approaches to communication and hospitality. The programme also included a tasting of wines from emerging Basque producers and a closing session led by Luis Baselga, recently named Best Sommelier in Spain.
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