The week in pictures

Her Royal Highness the Princess Royal was on hand to officially open the Lake District’s newest distillery, The Lakes Distillery in Cumbria, this week. Welcomed to the distillery by its founder and managing director Paul Currie, Her Royal Highness Princess Anne was taken on a tour of the facility, the result of a recent £7 million redevelopment.

Opening to the public in December 2014, the distillery produces Cumbrian whisky, gin and vodka and has a visitor centre, shop and bistro.

Italian wine producer San Simone celebrated its 100th anniversary last week, marking the occasion with a fruity feast at its vineyards.

Chiara Brisotto (President San Simone), Anna Brisotto (Global Sales Director), Antonio Brisotto (Wine Maker).

Chiara Brisotto, president of San Simone, Anna Brisotto, global sales director, and winemaker Antonio Brisotto address their guests ahead of a buffet dinner marking the milestone.

William “Bill” Hardy and Darren Lehmann, trainer of the Australian Cricket team, celebrate with a bottle of Hardys, the official wine of England Cricket, at Lords cricket ground ahead of a dinner to mark the start of the Ashes series.

Max Warner, Masa Urushido, Josh Reynolds and Ago Perr

Josh Reynolds of London’s Hawksmoor Restaurant was named the winner of this year’s Chivas Masters cocktail competition following the global final in New York, where he impressed judges with this signature cocktail The Black Dizzy Tea. His win was announced during the celebrations of the Chivas Regal Gala Dinner at Tales of the Cocktail in New Orleans.

db stopped into London’s latest brunch spot, Hotel Chantelle, to check out its cocktails and enjoy a performance by the very dapper jazz singer Dandy Wellington. The little sister of Hotel Chantelle in New York, the restaurant is tucked away off Oxford Street and serves up a selection of signature cocktails and all-day breakfast delights including lobster benedict and an artery-busting marscarpone French toast brioche.

We were particularly fond of its graffiti-style decor, with murals painted throughout the restaurant by New York street artist Bradley Theodore.

Gruppo Campari’s Wild Turkey Bourbon announced the nine finalists for its third annual UK Cocktail Competition. The group will go on to compete in the global finals for a chance to win a visit to the home of the world famous Kentucky brand, before making a pit stop in New York City to sample some of the world’s best bars. Finalists include Stefano Chila, Novokov, Dan Bovey, Be @ 1 Bristol, Jamie Jones, No Fixed Abode, Adam Binnersly, MOJO, Robin Honhold, White Lyan, Jamie Moran, Tiki Bar and Kitsch Inn.

A collaboration between French sparkling wine producer Luc Belaire and New York designer Jon Burgerman was marked with a sky-high picnic overlooking the London skyline at Coq D’Argent’s rooftop bar on Wednesday. The partnership will see the artist launch two limited edition, luxury woven picnic blankets with Luc Belaire….

… as modelled by these two here.

Cocktails in the City launched its new summer edition last weekend with more than 2,000 cocktail-savvy Londoners gathering in Bedford Square Gardens to sample the products of 25 London’s best bars. Some 7,724 cocktails were shaken, stirred and blended with London bartenders battling it out for the title of Best Cocktail, Best Stand and Best Bar team. 

The unanimous vote for Best Cocktail went to Coq D’Argent with their exotic Far East Cocktail, which brought together U’Luvka vodka with a rare green Shochu, finished with coloured spices and an edible flower. The weekend’s top-selling drink was the Rivoli Bar at the Ritz’s champagne cocktail.

Te Awa Collection’s winemakers Richard Painter and Ant Mackenzie take a break from the vineyards by partaking in a spot of fish-on-paint brush duelling. Commenting on this year’s harvest at the Te Awa Estate in Hawkes Bay, Painter said: “The leaves have all gone now and the vineyard is occupied by sheep quietly grazing amongst the rows and by our pruners, who have started work on the vines setting them up for the next vintage. Of the wines from our estate this year, the Chardonnay is quietly finishing up its natural ferment, and the reds are ticking their way through malolactic fermentation. Three in a row? It’s early, but the wines are well balanced and have a lovely understated refinement about them. They promise great things.”

To encourage biodiversity among the vines in Chouilly, Champagne AR Lenoble has recruited in a swarm of 70,000 bees from which they make honey. Every year a few hundred kilograms of honey are produced from the beehives on the estate.

“Bees have a tremendous symbolic value for us as they directly contribute to preserving natural equilibrium”, export and communications director Christian Holthausen told db.

Veuve Clicquot and Scuderia Ferrari have come together to offer shoppers at Heinemann Duty Free Shops at Frankfurt and Hamburg airports a unique shopping experience. For a limited time, shoppers will receive exclusive gifts when they buy Veuve Clicquot products which will include leather weekend bags and matching gloves. Rare Veuve Clicquot vintages will also be on show, including the Veuve Clicquot Vintage magnum 1952: the year when the Italian Scuderia Ferrari team won its first Formula 1 championship.

(L-R) Zeren Wilson , Helena Nicklin, Matt Walls, Richard Hemming and Nathan Nolan

The official Mr Vine tasting panel enjoyed more than a few glasses of Riesling as they tasted through a selection during 31 Days of Riesling.  Mr Vine is a new app that showcases independent wine merchants to help consumers find the wines they love.

Jose Cuervo bartenders have been out on the road this summer showcasing the brand’s pop-up “Tequila Shack” to festival-goers at Lovebox, Citadel and Wilderness. Creating a colourful, Mexican themed “Tequila Town”, the pop-up is designed to transport festival-goers to “a mini Mexican hacienda” serving up Mexican street food and Jose Cuervo cocktails.

Jose Cuervo’s Tequila Shack will be popping up at the Wilderness festival, set to take place from 6 to 9 August. 

South Africa triumphed against Australia once again at the Tri Nations Wine Challenge – a competition held each year between Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. The most recent event saw South Africa go up against Australia with 65 consumers taking part in a blind challenge with wines matched to a six course Michelin-star dinner hosted by Roger and Sue Jones of The Harrow at Little Bedwyn. Proceeds from the night went to the Benevolent Fund. The series now continues with New Zealand up next against South Africa, which will be hosted by The Vineyard Hotel in Cape Town.

… and finally, we headed to Pennethorne’s Café at Somerset House this week to try out its new summer cocktail menu, which includes the Basil & Mint Martini, made with citron vodka, white wine, elderflower, basil, mint, lemon; and the English Mojito, which blends rum, strawberry, apple, mint and sugar.

Finally, this week saw the launch of Bacardi’s first trolley cocktail service at Virgin Atlantic’s Heathrow Clubhouse. For one month only, guests using Virgin Atlantic’s London Heathrow Clubhouse will be treated to a luxury cocktail experience courtesy of Bacardi Martini and luxury hotel group Edition, working in partnership with Virgin Atlantic. The “at your table” cocktail trolley service will feature Star of Bombay gin, Bacardi Ocho Años rum and Grey Goose vodka.