The week in pictures

db‘s Andy Young looks on as Alasdair Dickinson, brand ambassador with Morrison Bowmore Distillers, takes guests through a Bowmore tasting at The Whisky Shop in Piccadilly, central London. The tasting included Bowmore’s Tempest 4, 18-year-old, 25-year-old and the newly released 23-year-old, which has been fully matured in Port casks.

Dashing and debonair young Italian, Manuel Soro, bar manager of Aqua Shard took time out of his busy schedule this week to give db a tutored tasting of new blood orange liqueur Solerno.

While we were at it, we thought it would be rude not to try some of the cocktails on offer at the sky-high bar, housed on the 31st floor of Europe’s tallest building – The Shard. Among the tipples we tried were an Aviation using Harry Craddock’s original recipe and a Devonshire Cream Cup (right) made with gin, Aperol, lemon curd, crème de fraise, tarragon balsamic vinegar and Earl Grey “air”.

Aviation in hand, it was time to kick back and enjoy the jaw-dropping view of the Big Smoke

Ed Tizer, a top London graffiti artist visited Brighton’s Hobgoblin pub to paint a specially commissioned mural over two of the pub’s beer garden walls. The mural was commissioned by Grolsch in celebration of the launch of the Grolsch Swingtop Challenge.

Following a £400,000 refurbishment by local independent Ossett Brewery and pub owner and brewer Greene King, The Old Peacock opposite the Leeds United football ground reopened. This peacock checks out a pint of Ossett as part of the celebrations.

Sophie McLean of new Camden-based online wine merchant dropwines.com models one of the wines on show (a Bulgarian Chardonnay) during a dinner to introduce journalists to the company at The Pembroke pub in Earl’s Court, London.

The glamourous Ailish Besley and Jo Seymour-Taylor of Stir PR treated db‘s Lucy Shaw to cocktails in the courtyard garden at Home House this week, which is gearing up for its summer ball tonight, due to run with a festival theme. The toffee apple martini comes highly recommended.

We’re not sure what our vegetarian readers would have to say about this quote, snapped during dinner at charming seafood shack Bonnie Gull in Fitzrovia, London.

England cricket star Stuart Broad with the Weston’s Stowford Press Man. Weston’s is the official cider of England cricket.

Exmouth Shanty Men raise their mugs of Pusser’s Painkiller and Pusser’s Grog as they remember Black Tot Day at London’s Floridita Rum Shack.

How Grapes Are Made by husband and wife artist team Akiko Ida and Pierre Javelle.

On Wednesday db brought together some of the UK’s most respected sommeliers and on-trade wine buyers for a Chablis tasting at Notting Hill’s Bumpkin Restaurant. Left to right: Gearoid Devaney MS (Flint Wines), Xavier Rousset MS (Texture/28-50), Rebecca Palmer (Corney & Barrow) and db‘s Patrick Schmitt.

Following the tasting we conducted a “round table” discussion on the strengths and weaknesses of Chablis in the Bumpkin’s clock room. The table is based on the face of Big Ben and gathered round it were Beverly Tabbron MW, Stuart Grundy, Rebecca Palmer, Xavier Rousset MS, Gearoid Devaney MS, Joan Torrents and Patsy Griffin.