We start this week’s episode with a classic cocktail recipe and end it with a modern classic – a woman who is destined to be written about in cocktail history books… But first, our products, both a little bit different… We start with Tia Maria, not the coffee version but the more recent Matcha Liqueur, then move on to Charmed Circle Strong Waters from those clever folk at the Holyrood Distillery. Our bar review sees us enjoying the New Orleans-inspired goodies at the Alligator Bar at Louie London, and we dip into the archives for our book choice this week, Tom Sandham’s The World’s Best Cockta ..read more

Annnnnd, the results are in! The Top 50 bartenders going through to the Diageo World Class GB semi-finals can be found here https://www.instagram.com/worldclassgreatbritain/?hl=en. Congratulations to all of those who made it through, including Oskar Wozniak from Be At One Newcastle, this year’s Be At One ‘Best In Glass winner’*. The standard of this year’s competitors has been really high. For those who have not made it through, please see this as a learning process, every one of you has individual feedback available and Diageo hope to see ..read more

We’ve gone unashamedly female-focused in this episode. Why? Because there are amazing women doing great things every single day in the world of hospitality (and also, yesterday was International Women’s Day). Our first product is Appleton Estate 8-Year-Old Reserve Rum created by the legend that is Master Blender Joy Spence. That’s followed by Bombay Sapphire Premier Cru Murcian Lemon Gin, conceived by Dr Anne Brock at Laverstoke Mill.  Mallory O’Meara’s award-winning Girly Drinks – A World History of Women and Alcohol is our book of choice and we check out Giulia Cuccurullo’s first class ..read more

What better time to kick off the brand new season of The Cocktail Lovers podcast than the eve of World Bartender Day? To celebrate, we’re focusing on bartender-owned treats, starting with our choice of cocktail to kick off proceedings: the totally tropical, crowd-pleasing Porn Star Martini created in London by the late, very great Douglas Ankrah. Then it’s on to our two product choices – a non-alcoholic aperitivo called Amarico made in Italy and Orange Botanical Liqueur ‘Triple Sec’ from the Aperitivo Co based in Bristol. Our bar review finds us soaking up the good times and great cocktails on ..read more

Let’s face it, there are no end of clever, creative and downright mind-blowing initiatives in the world of drinks menu reveals. That said the one about to drop at Sexy Fish London and Miami is probably the most ambitious yet. Correct us if we’re wrong but have you heard of a cocktail menu launch which takes in six bars across six continents – all on the same day? Thought not. Bold? Yes. Crazy? Hmmm, just a bit. Exciting? You betcha. And we can’t bloody wait. Who As in who’s behind it. It’s the brainchild of Xavier Landais, Director of Bars at Caprice Holdings. The idea began to hatch [at the t ..read more

Not wishing to brag or anything but I’m not exactly a stranger when it comes to judging global bartending programs, PATRÓN Perfectionists amongst them. That said, sitting in front of a bartender, watching them do their thing, hearing their stories and tasting their drinks in person is totally different to doing the job ‘blind’. Don’t get me wrong, taking the face-to-face, liquid to lips element out of the equation was incredibly exciting – it got me engaged in a totally different way. For starters, I took much longer considering and contemplating every element of each submission. I could. I wa ..read more

As a bartender is there something that you feel really strongly about in bar culture? Something that, given the opportunity, you would like to change? Thanks to Altos tequila and the Tahona Society Competition that’s exactly what you could do. With an extraordinary prize of $50,000 to invest, as well as expert coaching, this could be your chance to make a genuinely positive impact. And who better to explain how it works than Altos tequila co-creator and the Tahona Society co-founder Dré Masso? We spoke to him about this life-changing cocktail competition and how you could be part of it. Dré, f ..read more

Drum roll please! It’s time to reveal the names of the bartenders who have made it through to the Top 100 of World Class GB 2023. Having deliberated and digested over this year’s submissions, the judges and World Class GB Brand Ambassadors, Pippa Guy and Jo Last, will be making the following 100 bartenders extremely happy and proud. To find out who has made it through to the first stage of the competition, click on the link here What happens next? Finding the Top 50: In order to determine who will be going through to the Top 50, the next stage will see the entry challenge judges travelling acr ..read more

Above: Hometown Hero cocktail, The Percussionist by Dash Tume Gabriel Pons, FranceDash Tume, CanadaMor Koral, IsraelAndrea Benvegna, ItalyDenys Cherkasov, Spain & PortugalAlex Boon, AustraliaAdam Alvarez, MexicoKristina Tubig, Philippines Logan Denny, USAMax Macauley, UKJayde Henderson, SwedenKaleb Barry, UAESabrina Traubner, South AfricaRose Manon Baux, Germany/Austria/SwitzerlandLola Lau, ChinaThe post PATRÓN Perfectionists Global Finalists 2023 first appeared on The Cocktail Lovers ..read more

An equivalent to the Michelin Guide has been a long discussed omission within the bar industry: why does such a clear, universally recognised system not exist? Well things are about to change. Hannah Sharman-Cox and Siobhan Payne reveal all The challenge felt like ours to take on. Creating a platform that speaks directly to discerning drinkers across the world, celebrating everything that is brilliant about cocktail culture, seemed such  an honour.  But here’s the thing, every way we looked at it the challenge was bigger than us. So rather than launch a fully formed business, all dol ..read more