The week in pictures

In parading, On Saturday 6 July, Aidy Smith, Helena Nicklin and Colin Hampden-white are teaming up with wine brand Barefoot to celebrate Ptide.

They’ve pledged to don rainbow tutus and angel wings alongside a team from wine brand Barefoot at the celebration in London, all the while will film a variety of videos interacting with the crowds to spread a message of inclusion and love.

The Three Drinkers will be on Barefoot’s float at Pride in London this weekend (which, if you’re heading down to the parade, will get moving at around 3:40pm on Saturday), and Smith told us why supporting the cause is so close to his heart.

“I walked my first pride parade in 2011 in San Francisco, surrounded by drag queens, leather and more glitter than I’ve ever seen,” he said.

“Helping me find the courage to accept who I was, it was my best friend who had organised the walk, a man who over the years was a vital voice for LGBTQ+ and raised £100,000’s for charities. Two years ago, our dear JP Leddy passed away – so now I take his baton and stride forward, to give confidence and courage to all those others who so desperately need it. I speak on behalf of everyone when I tell you, you are not alone.”

He continues “We are honored to support Pride and everything it stands for alongside our friends at Barefoot and I’m incredibly proud and overjoyed that my fellow two Drinkers will be right there beside me.”

Smith left us with this image: “You never know. We may even see Colin in some spandex…”

(Photo: Stephanie Mackrill)

AIX Rosé recently toasted a new partnership with the Royal Yacht Squadron, sponsoring their members’ regatta on the Isle of Wight.

AIX was poured at the opening reception on the Thursday night with a speech from Sir Ben Ainslie and Jaap Sonnemans, International Brand Manager for AIX, as well as from Bertie Bicket, President of the Royal Yacht Squadron. Friday morning through to Sunday afternoon saw the Royal Yacht Squadron race officers looking down from the starting platform, and the mighty brass cannon marking the start of each race with their booming voices.

Jaap and Mentzendorff Sales Director Justin Liddle, went out sailing with Yacht Juno in Class 1, the team looking resplendent in their AIX polo shirts and placing 4th after the six races. The racing was of course then followed by the prize giving with Jeroboams given to the victors, and Magnums to 2nd and 3rd places.

The dynamic bartending duo of Rich Woods and Matt Whiley have launched a pair of drinks menus at the two Zetter Townhouse venues, in Marylebone and Clerkenwell. db went to a party at the latter to try some of the cocktails, from the Cures and Curiosities line-up (Marylebone features Potions & Punches). The refreshing Vetiver & Peach Spritz featured vetiver vodka, clarified lemon, peach and soda, while Woodland Realm stars Cognac, elf oil and petitgrain (elf oil is a botanical – “no elves were harmed in the making of this drink”, we were assured), topped with Champagne.

In upcycling news, the team behind vintage vehicle-driving purveyor of non-vintage fizz, Bubble Bros, will take their new whip for a spin at the Henley Regatta this weekend – a restored 1971 German Opel Blitz fire engine.

The truck will serve as as the main dispense in the Temple Island Meadows hospitality area, and the sole stockist of bubbly.

On Monday db‘s Rupert Millar (left) made the arduous journey to Wimbledon to take in the first day of the Championships along with movers and shakers from the world of wine like Sunday Times critic Will Lyons (right) at the invitation of Lanson, the official Champagne partner of the All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club.

Paul Beavis, Lanson’s gregarious managing director, was naturally in attendance.

While db played away, Dougal Sharp of Innis & Gunn was busying away at Speyside Cooperage inspecting the barrels which will be used to make his widely exported range of oak aged beers.

He did manage to sneak a beer while he was there though.

In “lugjereh”, Bordeaux producer Liber Pater has announced plans to release its next vintage at a very reasonable €30,000 a bottle, making it the most expensive wine in the world.

But €30k doesn’t even get you an AOC wine these days.

Made from ungrafted, autochthonous varieties such as Castets, Tarney-Coulant and Pardotte that were once grown in Bordeaux, Liber Pater’s founder Loïc Pasquet claims he has recaptured the taste of true pre-Phylloxera Bordeaux. The wine was vinified in clay vessels with a two-month maceration and then aged for a further two and a half years, and has not seen oak, making it rather unusual in the Bordeaux world.

While Liber Pater’s wines are usually labelled AOC Graves, but because this one is made from grapes not found in the region’s permitted canon, it has been bottled as a Vin de France.

Just 550 bottles of the 2015 vintage have been produced from the Graves-based estate and only 240 are going to be released this September in batches of six, to no more than 18 per export market.

Irish whiskey Jameson held crowned the winner of its Barrelmen’s Homecoming cocktail competition at a packed out final last week.

Some 28 bartenders from 28 countries competed in the contest, which saw more than 120 guests head to Dublin and Cork to watch the action from 23-26 June.

The theme for this year’s competition was ‘Farm to Glass’. Using ingredients from both their local communities and the fresh Irish produce available at Ballymaloe House, the top five bartenders created three new serves each, with two of the judge’s choice to be tasted. Ania Kulak, representing Norway, was crowned champion, with her menu including ‘In The Green’, ‘High on Life’ and ‘Goosebomb!’.

Drinks packaging specialist Sparflex invited db to Shoreham airport last week for a once in a lifetime event which saw company owner Michel Soutiran, team leader Aymeric de Valance, and Rankin Brothers and Sons owner Jim Rankin take to the skies in a bespoke jet.

(l-r) Stephen Leeke, Rhys Mallows, Andy Mallows and Mike Fowler outside Hensol Castle.

Spirits company Bottlers and Distillers Wales (B&D Wales) announced a partnership with Vale Resort this week to open a full-scale distillery and visitor experience at Hensol Castle as part of a £7 million investment into the structure.

The venture will comprise a distillery, bottling plant, bonded warehouse, visitors experience and gin school, along with the development of the Hensol Castle branded portfolio and a white labelling function.

Healthy Hospo founder Tim Etherington-Judge has revealed plans to run 42 consecutive marathons in 42 days in the USA, Netherlands and UK this year to raise money for drinks trade charity The Benevolent.

The bartender-turned mental health advocate will  officially launch his challenge on 20 July at Tales of the Cocktail in New Orleans.

Etherington-Judge suffered a breakdown in 2016, caused by a lifelong battle with depression and spurred on by the toxic lifestyle many in hospitality often face. During this time, he attempted suicide in a hotel room. Luckily, he survived and now dedicates his life to stopping others from following the same path.

“After surviving a suicide attempt in 2016 I’m lucky to be here,” he said, “and I wanted to take on a life changing challenge to inspire others to take action to improve their own mental health and to raise money for projects to improve mental health for all of us in the hospitality industry.

“I’m hugely grateful to colleagues who will be travelling from as far afield as New Zealand, India and Canada to run with me. If you fancy joining me for part of my run I would love you to.”

All donations will go to The Benevolent for projects directly related to mental health within the drinks industry, using Kindlink.