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Slideshow
The week in pictures
Joe Cole and David Beckham
Dry January? Never heard of it, pal. GQ hosted the closing dinner for the men’s edition of London Fashion Week at Selfridges’ new resto Brasserie of Light on Monday. Rhône wine brand Les Dauphins was on-hand to provide the drinks throughout the evening.
Hosted by GQ editor Dylan Jones and notorious wine geek David Beckham, the event brought together celebrities from the world of fashion, music, food, film, and even wine. Gordon Ramsay, Joe Cole and rubbed shoulders with Charlotte Kristensen (AKA The London Wine Girl), and Adrian Smith of the Three Drinkers.
Sovereign Brands isn’t the only drinks company courting the world of hip hop. Canadian rapper Drake has expanded his own boozy empire, teaming up with American drinks entrepreneur Brent Hocking to launch a Champagne range called Mod Sélection.
In a promotional video to announce the launch, Drake said: “The product is great, the presentation is great, and hopefully the representation is great as well. We’ll enjoy this run. It should be a long one and a strong one. I think the full package is there.”
It feels like rarely a month goes by that whisky maker The Macallan doesn’t break some kind of auction record. Last year, the distillery managed to shift a bottle of 1926 60 year old at Christie’s in London for £1.2 million (US$1.5m).
And this week, Whisky Auctioneer has said that its sale of The Macallan Lalique Six Pillars Collection set a new record for Scotch sold online.
The collection of four bottles of the 50-60 year old malts in Lalique decanters were sold across four lots for a combined total of £296,500.
This exceeds the £272,000 realised by four bottles from the same series sold by Whisky Auctioneer in November last year.
This week, in Seemingly Ageless Entrepreneurs, Lil Lovell, the owner of infamous stateside bar chain Coyote Ugly, joined her bikini-clad staff in posing for a calendar to mark the brand’s 25th anniversary.
Known for its western theme and scantily clad, dancing waitresses, the chain operates a strict “no frou frou” shaken or stirred drinks, with any serve that requires a blender or more than two ingredients to make barred.
The bar has long sold a calendar featuring the Coyote Ugly bartenders, typically aged in early to mid 20s, but this is the first time that its founder, Liliana Lovell, has joined them.
Lil Lovell, for those who are wondering, is 51. Diet, exercise, and bourbon, apparently.
In db news, our intrepid chairman Anthony Hawser popped over to Casa el Famós in Spain for “the best paella in Valencia” with the drinks business’ founding publisher, Charlotte Hey.
Hey, an old hand when it comes to the world of Spanish wine, began working in wine in the early 90s, and moved into publishing at the end of the decade when she joined Harpers, eventually becoming publishing director and executive director of the International Wine and Spirit Competition. She left Harpers in 2002 to launch the publication you’re reading right now. Hey left in 2012, and is now the director of Bespoke Drinks Media.
But what’s so great about Casa el Famós? It is one of the oldest restaurants in Valencia. Casa el Famós, which has been run by five generations of the same family of Valencians, began trading back in the 19th Century, preparing its paellas in the traditional manner over a woodfire. We don’t blame them for poking their heads round the back room to see where the magic happens.
January is usually a time when we try to get fit and undo the damage from Christmas, but a 250kg seal in Tasmania put us all to shame this month after it made its way 5 kilometres up river from the sea, and then another 700 metres to sit in the vineyard at La Villa Wines.
Speaking to The Advocate, winery owner Marcus Burns said: “He just dropped in to give us the seal of approval.” HA.
Speaking of undoing the damage from Christmas, a Dutch brewer is using discarded fir trees to make its latest seasonal IPA as part of its zero waste Lowlander Tree to Table recycling initiative.
Around 600 kilos of needles needed to produce the 2019 batch of Winter IPA. The brewery has already partnered with organisations such as the Amsterdam Botanical Gardens, Amsterdam’s RAI Convention Centre, and restaurants, who have pledged to donate their trees after the festive period. Lowlander is also offering to collect any unwanted trees from people who wish to donate, but needs is crowdfunding to help with the collection and processing of all the trees.
Flint Wines held its Burgundy En Primeur Trade and Press Tasting this week at One Whitehall Place in London as part of Bourgogne Week. The traditional Paulée dinner was held at Burgundian restaurant Cabotte to end the day in a very jovial and festive atmosphere. See the picture above for evidence!
Among those that attended the tasting, which featured 50 winemakers and 200 wines, was Bride Valley’s Stephen Spurrier.