Cocktail – Keep It Overproof!

Ex-Made in Chelsea star Spencer Matthews wins US$2 million investment for low ABV ‘spirit’

Former Made in Chelsea star Spencer Matthews, the founder of low ABV spirit brand The Clean Liquor Co, has raised US$2 million from Lightspeed Venture Partners. Spencer Matthews attending his launch of The Clean Liquor Company, at The Trading House in London last year. Clean Liquor was selected from a group of 50 international producers to get backing from the US investment firm. Nicole Quinn, partner at Lightspeed Venture Partners, which has stakes in social network Snapchat and Goop, said the firm seeks out businesses that are “not just disruptive but rather represent a generational...

Top drinks marketing campaigns and news in January

Posted in Beer, Spirits, Wine.

Diageo launches Seedlip’s first ad campaign Drinks giant Diageo has led the fight to keep sales buoyant during January by launching its first advertising campaigns in the UK and US for non-alcoholic ‘spirit’ brand Seedlip. It is the first time that Diageo has set up an ad campaign for Seedlip, after upping its investment in the popular non-alcoholic brand to a ‘significant’ majority stake in August 2019. Developed by Seedlip’s EU marketing director, Ben Thomson, alongside creative agency And Rising, it features the strapline: ‘Drink to the Future’,...

Amuse-bouches: The latest restaurant news bites

Posted in Beer, Spirits, Wine.

We round up the week’s restaurant-related news, from the opening of wine bar and restaurant Peckham Cellars to Pied à Terre’s launch of the ‘£100 Club’. Image: Peckham Cellars Openings Peckham Cellars: A new neighbourhood restaurant and wine bar has opened in Peckham this week, under the guidance of friends Helen Hall, Luke West-Whylie and Ben McVeigh. Close to Queens Road Peckham station, Peckham Cellars will boast a wine bar, restaurant and wine shop, providing an informal dining experience with a carefully curated music selection. The 80-bottle wine list...

Top 10 food and drink trends for 2020

Posted in Beer, Spirits, Wine.

Zero waste restaurants Silo in Hackney claims to be the world’s first zero waste restaurant Last year saw the rise of the closed-loop cocktail, with bartenders like Duck & Waffle’s Rich Woods and Dandelyan’s Ryan Chetiyawardana making use of ingredients most chefs and bartenders would throw away, from avocado stones and burnt toast to lemon husks. Cub champions closed-loop cocktails This year chefs will be following their zero waste lead in a movement pioneered in the UK by Doug McMaster, head chef of Silo in Hackney, which markets itself as the world’s first zero...

12 London restaurant openings to watch in 2020

Posted in Beer, Spirits, Wine.

Oklava Bakery + Wine Selin Kiazim and Laura Christie are turning their Turkish Cypriot restaurant Kyseri in Fitzrovia into a bakery by day and wine bar by night, which is set to open in January. Located on Grafton Way in Fitzrovia, Oklava Bakery + Wine will feature the kitchen and bakery at the front of the venue, alongside a shop and takeaway kiosk. Open from breakfast until dinner, the site will serve quality coffee and a plethora of pastries with a Turkish-Cypriot twist. Among the yeasty treats on offer will be simit – a bagel topped with sesame seeds; börek pastries with a variety...

Top 10 drinks trends in the US on-trade for 2020

Posted in Beer, Spirits, Wine.

The low to no alcohol trend will expand Non-alcoholic ‘spirit’ brand Seedlip’s Mr McGregor cocktail In the coming year, expect to see an increase in ‘spirits’ with no alcohol in the US, with a greater variation in products to appeal to different drinkers. On-premise creativity will continue to fuel alcohol-free cocktail menus and bars across the country. The rising popularity of drinks like spritz-based cocktails has helped this category grow. New takes on classic drinks may emerge, highlighting the emergence of low-alcohol Sherries, vermouths and saké options.

The biggest drinks acquisitions of 2019

Posted in Beer, Spirits, Wine.

As 2019 draws to a close, we round up a year of acquisitions which has seen two prominent British brewers snapped up by foreign investors, Constellation Brands agree a wine sale worth over US$1 billion, and the break-up of retailers Naked Wines and Majestic. Constellation Brands has certainly been one of the most active in the acquisitions scene this year, taking both majority and minority stakes in a number of companies. Its sale of just under 30 wine brands to E&J Gallo, however, was one of the biggest in the drinks industry this year. In the UK, if 2018 was the year of the Conviviality...

The best low- and no-alcohol drinks to serve with dinner this Christmas

Posted in Beer, Spirits, Wine.

The low- and no-alcohol movement has been rumbling on for a while now, with dozens of booze-free ‘spirit’ brands hitting shop shelves since the launch of Seedlip in 2015. And now, the drinks manufacturers want to break into the space that was, until relatively recently, reserved for wines: food pairing. A recent survey published by Drinkaware found that 20% of people feel pressured to drink on Christmas Day, while another survey conducted by “alt-gin” brand Ceder’s claims that 40% of Brits are planning to stay completely sober. If you are one of those 40%, there...

db Eats: The Grill at The Dorchester

Posted in Beer, Spirits, Wine.

db’s resident gourmand, Lucy Shaw, indulges in one of the most decadent dinners of her life at The Dorchester’s new look Grill, where she is charmed by a lobster thermidor tart. The concept: Once the preserve of septuagenarians in red trousers and kipper ties dangling dangerously close to the oxtail soup, the humble grill, with its often questionable interiors and uncouth carpets, is having a moment in the capital. Back in 2015 The Savoy made history by employing Kim Woodward as its first female chef in the institution’s 126-year history, and just last month The Connaught announced that it...

Veuve Clicquot launches new concept store in Selfridges

Posted in Beer, Spirits, Wine.

Veuve Clicquot has become the first Champagne brand to launch a fizz bar and ‘concept store’ in upmarket London department store Selfridges. The new bar and shop lies within the store’s new Beauty Workshop on the ground floor and comprises an “intimate” ten-seater, floor-to-ceiling ‘bar in the shape of an old fashioned Tram, alongside a display of Champagnes, where customers can enjoy a glass of Veuve Clicquot Champagne or buy personalized Veuve Clicquot Arrow gift box (RRP £58.99) created by the in-house team. Bertrand Steip, managing director at Moët...

Tag: Cocktail