Hair of the dog – Dave Broom

Unlike visiting many wine exhibitors, who visibly blanch when long-haired journos hove into view, you can be guaranteed a welcome at the Spirits Zone

BACK IN THE days when I wrote more about wine than spirits I found myself wandering slightly aimlessly around the Olympia Wine Trade Fair. It was one of those moments when you feel slightly stunned after a day or so of interviews, tastings, missing some people by five minutes, then hanging around for half an hour while your target talks to someone not nearly as important as you.  I had been welcomed (by Australians, South Africans and the Spanish) and rebuffed (the French and the snootier wine merchants who seem to resent people having long hair). Anyway I found myself upstairs when I heard the unmistakable sound of samba music.

Crammed into a forgotten corner were a collection of stalls all offering spirits. There was Irish distiller Cooley, Malcolm Cowen and more Brazilian cachaca producers than you could bang a surdo drum at.  Caipirinhas were flowing while scantily-clad hostesses (or maybe hosts, sometimes it’s hard to tell) were dancing with a selection of distinctly ruddy-faced pinstriped merchants, among whom were the very merchants who had ignored me downstairs. People having fun? At a wine fair? Strange, but true. The sore feet were forgotten, the aimless wandering ceased as I tried every glass that was pressed into my hand.

Things have moved on since then. For starters, the event is now called the London International Wine & Spirits Fair.   This year the Spirits Zone will have a record 38 exhibitors, spanning the globe from Mongolia to Mauritius, Mexico to East Kilbride. 

The Drinks Company is launching Varadero rum from Cuba, Talea Amaretto cream liqueur and, like most other exhibitors has a new vodka to show off: Arctic.   Almost half of the participants will be showing vodka and eight new brands are being launched including Sprit Bal Buram from Mongolia, Zandora (Finland) Svedka (Sweden) and, from Canada, Pearl which claims to be the fastest-growing vodka brand in the US. "We’re a new brand and this is the ideal place to launch a product, talk to the trade, do some research into the pack and find a UK distributor," comments Paul Finch, Pearl’s international development director. "It’s also handy for meeting competitors and doing some intelligence gathering."

Also launching this year and looking for UK representation is Blue Bay rum from Mauritius. "The London fair is the door to the European market," explains Alexandre Oxenham at Blue Bay. "This event has human dimensions and is not limited in terms of product. Since we’re based in Mauritius, we have very few contacts and feedback from the market place. Trade fairs are a huge opportunity to be in the heart of the action and obtain precious information on the perception the consumers have towards the product, as well as helping us to understand their needs. 

For Burn Stewart this will be Year Two. "Last year we wondered if we should be in the main hall," says Catherine Service at the firm, "but we saw the advantages of being in the Spirits Zone. It offers a focal point for the firm, our existing brands and is a chance to introduce brands which people might not have seen before." This year, in addition to the Burn Stewart Scotches the firm, which was recently bought by CL International, will be showing a selection from its new parent’s portfolio such as Cruzan rums from the US Virgin Islands. It is also launching Sobieski vodka, which is owned by Belvedere in which CL has a stake.

There will be familiar faces as well, like Neil Mathieson of importer Eaux de Vie, recently appointed UK agent for Churchill’s Port. "It’s a great show," Mathieson says. "We see lots of clients, introduce people to new products and, because we are biased towards retail, meet lots of see a lot and because they want greater knowledge and, seeing as we are showing 40 Bourbons, our stand is pretty handy for them!" 

You see, unlike visiting many wine exhibitors, who visibly blanch when another posse of Oddbins managers (and longhaired journos) hove into view, you can be guaranteed a welcome at the Spirits Zone.  "We welcome Oddbins managers," says Mathieson.

"That’s where our business is.  Where else would a small firm with niche products be able to talk to 100 managers?  Ultimately the Fair is a costeffective way of getting the firm and the products in front of people." 

In addition, the Spirits Zone is fun. Go there towards the end of the day and you’ll find exciting new products, welcoming people and an atmosphere which is as much about enjoying yourself assealing business deals. db

Dave Broom is a spirits writer and the Glenfiddich Drinks Writer of the Year 2002.