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News
The Week in Pictures: 1-7 July
This week saw the Global Beer Masters tasting, Bon Jovi and Gérard Bertrand hit the UK, a meal with Chilterns winery Hundred Hills, some new cocktails in the city, and a bartending competition.
Global Beer Masters
This week saw the tasting of our Global Beer Masters in London, as a collection of expert judges, including db beer editor Jessica Mason, sipped from the finest beers around the world. Look out for the results, but it looks as though there will be some good ones…
Bed of Rosé
Famous for songs such as Livin’ on a Prayer and Bed of Roses, Jon Bon Jovi, his son Jesse Bongiovi and French rugby and winemaker legend Gérard Bertrand landed in London to discuss their Hampton Water rosé.
You can find out all about the news through Louis Thomas’ report here.
Hundred Hills
“Uncorked” – the long-standing City wine merchant – hosted a Bacchanalian evening at Fitzrovia’s Michelin-starred Pied à Terre with Chilterns sparkling winery, Hundred Hills. Taking over the private dining room, which was once the bedroom of owner, David Moore, guests, selected by Uncorked’s public face, Theo Harrison, embarked on an eight-course menu. While the rare, oak bevelled, sarawak pepper scented Rosé de Saignée paired well with chef Asimakis Chaniotis’ assiette of rabbit – the wine of the night proved to be the Blanc de Noirs, which, with 18 points from Jancis Robinson MW, is amongst England’s highest-rated-wines.
Cocktails In The City
Andrew Scutts’ Cocktails In The City returned to leafy Bedford Square garden this week, showcasing the wares of 18 leading bars including Café Pacifico, Chotto Matte, Henson’s and Nightjar. Other attractions include a specialist tasting zone, duelling pianos, and even a silent disco… The event runs until Saturday. For tickets go here.
Art of Bartending
Selected from 22 contestants, Ali Polyakov, Senior Bartender at Bacchanalia, London, was named victor of the inaugural Art of Bartending Competition run by Scottish heritage barley vodka producer, X MUSE. Intended to push the boundaries of imaginative mixology as well as champion the technical precision and sophistication of even the simplest vodka martini, competitors were invited to feature at least 30ml of X MUSE in two drinks. Polyakov’s winning cocktails included his interpretation of the perfect martini.
The aptly named “Apollo Composing” featured silver birch bark-infused vermouth and eucalyptus syrup. Being art-inspired, ‘Light’s Drunken Remedy’, meanwhile, comprised a blueberry-basil cordial and crème de violette, paying a commanding visual homage to Anya Gallaccio’s The Light Pours Out of Me, whose amethyst-lined grotto exists on the grounds of X MUSE’s spiritual home, Jupiter Artland. Polyakov wins a lavish getaway in Paris to attend Paris+ par Art Basel with dinner at Château Voltaire with X MUSE’s founders, Robert Wilson and Vadim Grigoryan.
WhistlePig
WhistlePig brand ambassador Matt Uden hosted WhistlePig’s 4 July celebration this week at Stereo in Covent Garden.
More than 120 members of the UK drinks trade attended the afternoon to enjoy a bespoke whiskey cocktail menu – including a serve presented via the WhistlePig ice sculpture – and paired with delicious 4 July dishes. The event also offered guests the chance to taste WhistlePig Boss Hog VIII that launches in the UK later this month, as well as the multi-award winning range of WhistlePig Rye Whiskies.
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