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The week in pictures

05 May 2023 By Louis Thomas

This week, Douglas Blyde visited The Londoner to try a trio of tributes to King Charles III’s favourite cocktail, and db attended a speech from Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni about the future of Italy’s food and drink sector.

In homage to King Charles III, who is such a devotee of the Martini that he is rumoured to take a flasked version on his travels, Douglas Blyde headed to The Stage bar on the ground floor of Leicester Square’s plush The Londoner hotel to try a trio of iterations. Served with fine de claires oysters, the expressions, prepared by composed of face when shaking a drink, Dario Barresi (pictured left), bartender at the hotel since its opening, included the clear, vodka-based, Noilly Prat, Champagne and jasmine syrup rounded “His Majesty”, “Le Francais”, being a take on the French Martini, with a blackberry, pineapple and tea infusion, finished with Champagne foam, and “Homage” (to Queen Elizabeth II), a Martinez style drink promoting Dubonnet, gin, peach and Champagne. Two drinks and two oysters cost £40.

In further royal cocktail news, Kings House Chelsea has created a menu of regally-inspired drinks to mark this weekend’s Coronation. Among the cocktails concocted for the occasion are the Windsor Garden, made with No 3 Gin, St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur, ginger syrup, lime & apple juice, and His Majesty’s Mule, Grey Goose Le Citron Vodka with King’s Ginger and fresh lime, topped with Champagne. The Spare, a nod to Prince Harry’s bombshell book, is described in a press release as “a bitter mix of Campari, Reposado Cazcabel, grapefruit & lime juice”.

db staff writer Louis Thomas headed to the Italian embassy in London on Friday afternoon to attend a reception for the visit of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Minister of Agriculture Francesco Lollobridga, where the pair outlined their ambitions for the future of Italy’s agribusiness sector. To read about the occasion, click here.

Wine range Madame F partnered with Queer Britain on the Madame F Queer Britain Art Awards on Tuesday. The three winners, Beliza Buzollo (AKA Queergarden), Oliver Freeston and Stephen Appleby-Barr received their prizes at a reception held at the Queer Britain museum in Granary Square.

Panel chair of db’s Global Wine Masters, Jonathan Pedley MW, is delighted to see that his local Sainsbury’s is carrying a bottle of Kylie’s Provençal rosé sporting a Gold medal from the competition he oversaw with db last year: The Global Rosé Masters.

Last night, in London private members’ club Nikita, Mathieu-Roland Billecart unveiled the 2008 vintage of Nicolas François from Champagne Billecart-Salmon.

London’s Batman themed restaurant, Park Row, pours its Blue Boy cocktail from a picture frame – as db discovered yesterday, having held its Global Rosé Masters at the venue.