A free peek around Drink Factory (Aka Tony C’s Big Lab)

Tony C

Many people will be aware of Tony Conigliaro, of 69 Colebrooke Row fame (and also his bar at The Zetter Townhouse). Some may be aware that he used to have a small (and I mean small lab above his bar).  Since then he’s moved to larger premises called The Drink Factory. It’s much larger than [...]

World’s Top 50 Bars – Says Who?

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It’s that time of the year where some bars have been deemed to be among the top 50 in the world. I’ve only been to a selection on the list but don’t doubt that the rest deserve to be highly rated. Though as ever such a list isn’t without controversy, from the way that people [...]

Sunday Catchup #2

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Welcome to the second Sunday catchup, here are some interesting links we came across this week. Let’s put off Monday by taking a read and finding something to drink. The future of cocktails “It’s not enough anymore to serve a drink and just to say that it tastes nice,” says Tristan Stephenson. “Bartenders are going [...]

Sunday Catchup #1

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So Sunday slouching on the sofa, not too sure what’s been happening this week? Been too busy with work and last night you imbibed too much? Then don’t worry, below are some of the highlights from what we have read this week. For the perfect martini, wetter is better If you’ve never had a martini [...]

CLASS Awards 2011 – The Winners

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Last night saw the CLASS awards and as ever there was some controversy over some of the winners. Take a look at the list below to see the full round up: Bartender of the Year Tristan Stephenson – Purl, Marylebone, London Other Nominees: David White – Tigerlily, Edinburgh Jon Hughes – Sygn, Edinburgh Susie Wong [...]

London Cocktail Week 2011

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Today marks the start of the second London Cocktail Week which runs until the 16th October. Whether you are part of the industry or just a consumer there is a lot going on. From Monday 10th there will be routemaster buses available to take you between the different areas of the London bar scene. To [...]

Professor Cornelius Ampleforth’s Bathtub Gin

Bathtub Gin

There is a new gin out from Master of Malt called ‘Professor Cornelius Ampleforth’s Bathtub Gin’, for brevity let’s just call it Bathtub Gin.  Though hopefully it will be a bit better than some of the historic ‘bathtub gins’ made when gin production was a bit more basic. Whilst I’ve not had the opportunity to taste it [...]

St George Spirits – Terroir Gin, Botanivore Gin, and Dry Rye Gin

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An American craft distillery St. George Spirits, based in California, are about to release three new gins their Terroir Gin, Botanivore Gin, and Dry Rye Gin (all 45%) For their first gin they wanted to make it place-driven and as such St. George Terroir Gin, has been inspired by the aromas of California’s Mount Tam. [...]

The Imbibe Debate: Gin

Morning Tonic Gin Botanicals

On reading Imbibe I came across the Gin debate, where the question was asked “Gin has seen plenty of innovation of late . . . but is the drink in danger of losing it’s personality in the process?” On one side you have Desmond Payne, current master distiller at Beefeater (and Plymouth previously).  There’s a [...]

YetAnotherGin & World Gin Day – In The Paper!

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As everyone should be aware, it was World Gin Day last month and as part of the lead up to the day I had a chat with the Birmingham Mail.  It also meant I cracked out my cheesy grin: BIRMINGHAM accountancy worker Neil Houston is hoping to give gin consumption a tonic with a worldwide [...]