Applications for Equal Measures’ Forming Foundations Programme first course, in April, are now open. Equal Measures, the organisation founded by Deano Moncrieffe to support marginalised and underrepresented people within the drinks industry, has announced a new programme that is designed to provide a route into hospitality for those of Black, Asian, and other minority ethnicities, or those who have faced other systemic barriers to employment such as gender non-conformity, sexuality, or neurodivergence. The ‘Forming Foundations’ programme is a touring three-day course aimed at educating, upskil ..read more

World Class GB reveals its list of 50 2023 competition semi-finalists Great Britain’s 2023 World Class field has narrowed, with the announcement yesterday of the 50 semi-finalists who go through to penultimate stage of the competition. Following a process of in-bar judging by the World Class team, the 100 bartenders who were invited to compete following the entry period has been halved, with those going through securing a place in the semi-final, which takes place at Birch, in Cheshunt, on April 17th. At the semi-final, each competitor will be assigned a challenge and spirit – either Don Julio ..read more

Nc’nean Creations Entry Deadline: Midnight, April 30th 2023 Nc’nean Creations, which made its debut last year, is one of our favourite cocktail competitions. We love it because the distillery make great liquids as sustainably as is possible, the prize is unique and extremely bartender-friendly, and because the final is held in a beautiful part of the world. So beautiful, in fact, it inspired what is probably the most lyrical paragraph Simon Webster ever waxed for BarLifeUK in his write-up last year: “At a break between rounds, I found myself alone outside the distillery eating home made nettle ..read more

Last week saw the most fun bar awards in the country take place at Bunny Jackson’s in Manchester… Award ceremonies can be dull affairs, an accusation that cannot be levelled at the Manchester’s Bar Awards. For anyone reading this who has been to Bunny Jackson’s (and if you haven’t it’s time to add another New Years resolution to your list) you will have a good idea of the sort of night you can expect. Fun was had by all… The evening kicked off with the absolutely superb Bunny Jackson’s House Band getting the room hyped as the tireless bar team made sure the drinks were flowing. Kicking off wit ..read more

Recuerdo and Zignum Mezcal Competition Entry Deadline: Midnight, April 14th, 2023 The debut competition for El Recuerdo Abocado Con Gusano and Zignum Reposado mezcals, hosted by Love Drinks, was one of 2022’s best comps. BarLifeUK toured the UK judging with the Love Drinks crew, and were knocked out by the quality of the cocktails and the effort that everyone put into their presentations at the heats – it’s obvious that bartenders are still very much in love with and inspired by all things agave. Last year’s comp was a double-header, meaning bartenders could create an entry for either or both ..read more

A transcript of BarLifeUK’s first interview with a non-human subject. Unless you have been living in an internet-free cave for years, you will have heard of OpenAI and its artificially intelligent chatbot, ChatGPT which, by way of sophisticated machine learning, can answer questions about anything from cookery, to computer code, to homework assignments. The informational quality and ‘humanness’ of ChatGPT’s response to questions is such that computer, social, and information scientists worry it will soon be impossible for us to discern whether content we read has been written by a human or a m ..read more

New research suggests our fondness for altered mental states may be an inherited evolutionary need. Most of the press releases I receive are requests for free advertising masquerading as news, destined for instant deletion. However, this week a release from the University of Birmingham arrived bearing a subject line that was impossible to ignore: “Dizzy apes give clues on human drive for mind-altering experiences”. Curiosity piqued, I read it and sure enough, the contents were interesting and somewhat relevant to a bar industry readership, as well as an opportunity to post a funny video of a b ..read more

The BarLife bartender-interview tour heads to the home of one of the UK’s biggest music festivals, as Connie Cain tells us what’s happening in Reading. It’s been yonks (that’s a good word, we should all use it more often) since I last went to Reading, and all I can remember about that visit is missing two trains back to London because Dan Bovey kept making delicious drinks for me to try. A lot has happened in the world since then, so I spoke to Connie Cain, now co-owner of landmark Reading venue Milk, to find out the current state of play. Connie Cain in Covid-safe action BLUK: Hello Connie, c ..read more

Fortunella Sour Competition Entry Deadline: Midnight, March 31st, 2023 The 2023 cocktail competition season officially opens today, with the announcement that Fortunella Golden Orange Liqueur has launched a Sour competition, offering a top prize of £500 in cash. Fortunella’s creator, Lukas Stafin, is challenging bartenders to create a classic Sour-style recipe that exemplifies the ‘simple yet complex’ approach that sits at the heart of both the Sour cocktail, and Fortunella Golden Orange Liqueur. Bartenders are invited to submit their creations by Midnight on March 31st, with the top 10 then c ..read more

Fightback Lager – A beer that’s helping the Music Venue Trust keep grassroots music venues open Pull 100 people off the street at random and ask ‘Is music important to you?’ and you would likely get a close-to-unanimous ‘YES’ in response. We turn to music when we celebrate, when we grieve, when we want to relax or psych ourselves up, to fill our bars with atmosphere or vibe, and those of us blessed with un-self-conscious souls dance to it as if no-one was looking. And, aside from the small fact that listening to music is a vital part of the human condition and for any Tories who might be readi ..read more