The Nightcap: 11 October

Dig into The Nightcap this week for stories on a new Keeper of the Quaich, architectural awards, and a surprising amount of basil.

It’s cold. It’s officially cold. There have been laboured hints and knowing nods towards the weather turning, and while we’ve been staring cautiously at the amassed pile of knitted jumpers and fingerless gloves on that chair in our own respective bedrooms, there’s been the voice in the backs of our heads saying “No, not today.” We continue to walk outside without a jacket, as if trying to will the weather into staying at least tepid. But, despite our valiant efforts, it’s cold. While this may be disappointing to some, this does mean you can cosy up before the weekend kicks off proper with The Nightcap! Maybe wear some warm slippers or something.

The week the MoM Blog kicked off in style with a Cognac masterclass from Eric Forget from Hine. Henry also found the time to write about a triple-distilled new release from the English Whisky Company and learned all about Irish Coffee with John Quinn from Tullamore DEW! Where does he find the time? Meanwhile bartender Nate Brown didn’t like the dress code or the Martinis in a famous London bar, Annie visited the East London Liquor Company and we announced the lucky winner of our fabulous Mackmyra competition. Oh, and there’s a special offer on six sensational gins, buy one, get a second bottle half price. Bargain. Right, that was the week, now this is the news!

Dr Rachel Barrie inducted as a ‘Keeper of the Quaich’

Dr Rachel Barrie, the master blender for The GlenDronach, BenRiach and Glenglassaugh has received the prestigious accolade of being inducted as a ‘Keeper of the Quaich’. At a private ceremony held at Blair Castle on Monday 7 October, the first female Scotch whisky master blender to receive an Honorary Doctorate and be inducted into Whisky Magazine’s illustrious ‘Hall of Fame’ was invited into the international society established by the Scotch whisky industry to celebrate the outstanding commitment of those who produce and promote the spirit. It’s fair to say that over 27 years in the industry working with the likes of the Scotch Whisky Research Institute, The Glenmorangie Company, the Scotch Malt Whisky Society, Morrison Bowmore Distillers, tasting in excess of 150,000 casks of whisky in the process, Dr. Barrie has met those requirements. “Being inducted as a Keeper of the Quaich is a very proud moment in my career. The society brings together those leading the way in Scotch whisky from all corners of the world, and to be part of this highly revered body is an honour, as we continue to push boundaries in perfecting our magnificent spirit,” said Dr Barrie. “My ambition has always been to unlock the secrets of Scotch whisky-making and provenance, to develop and nurture richness of character and celebrate it with the world; it’s an honour to be recognised for this and to be in such esteemed company.” Congratulations Dr Barrie!

The Macallan Distillery and visitor experience wins architectural award

The Macallan can’t seem to stop winning awards and receiving plaudits. Now it can even boast recognition from the world of architecture! The firm that worked on its impressive new(ish) distillery and visitor centre, Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners (RSHP), has taken home this year’s Andrew Doolan Best Building in Scotland Award from the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland (RIAS). This year’s judges visited and assessed the shortlisted buildings against a range of criteria including architectural integrity; usability and context; delivery and execution; and sustainability, saying of the Macallan Distillery and visitor experience that, “The attention to detail and the consistency and control of aesthetic decisions in this building is incredibly impressive. A worthy winner.” The owners of Macallan and RSHP client, Edrington, had wanted a building that could reveal the production processes of its single malt Scotch whisky and welcome visitors, all while respecting the idyllic landscape of the Speyside region, and RSHP created the structure’s profile to resemble ancient Scottish earthworks. “We are thrilled that The Macallan distillery has been awarded the Doolan for 2019,” said Toby Jeavons, associate partner and project architect of RSHP. “It was an incredible project to have been a part of and which was only possible due to our forward-looking and ambitious client in The Macallan.” George McKenzie, head of UK engineering at Edrington added that “The RIAS’ Doolan Award is an extremely humbling honour to be bestowed on the team that created The Macallan Distillery Experience. The award is testament to the vision, and collaboration from our team and our partners. Together, we have been able to deliver this unique and striking piece of contemporary architecture.” It’s certainly an impressive structure, as we found out ourselves when we invited for a sneak-peak tour.

Chivas celebrates the 20th anniversary of Manchester United’s treble

Last week it was Irish whiskey and rugby and now it’s Scotch with another one of those ball games that have proved so popular in recent years. The Chivas Ultis 1999 Victory Edition has just been released to commemorate the 20th anniversary of Manchester United winning the treble. For those who don’t know, this is when they won the Premier League, FA Cup and UEFA Champions League, all in one season! That’s a lot of silverware. To chime with the three theme, this special Chivas is a blend of three single malts distilled in that memorable year. Sandy Hyslop, Chivas director of blending, said: “The treble-winning season of 1999 is a historic moment in world football, and we’re honoured to be marking it with a new moment in Chivas’ history – our first-ever 20-year-old blended malt Scotch.” He went on to describe the taste: “The three single malts artfully come together to create a wealth of flavour characterised by notes of milk chocolate, orange and a delicate sensation of spicy ginger and cinnamon.” So if you love football and whisky, and have £199 burning a hole in your pocket, then this might be for you.

Smirnoff unveils global advertising campaign

In a move that likely to enrage language purists, Smirnoff has unveiled its latest advertising campaign called “Infamous Since 1864.” We think they mean famous. Anyway, enough pedantry, the campaign is subtitled: “Invention, Intrigue and Survival Against the Odds – the Extraordinary Story of Smirnoff Vodka”. And what a story it is! Founded in Moscow in 1864 by Pyotr Arsenjevitch Smirnov, following the October Revolution the business moved to Turkey, followed by Poland and then opened a distillery in France. In 1933, production began in the US which is the beginning of Smirnoff’s (somewhere along the way the spelling changed) rise to becoming the number 1 vodka brand in the world. To celebrate this 155-year history, Rupert Sanders has directed a film tracing the Smirnoff’s journey. Parent company Diageo developed the worldwide campaign with ad agency 72andSunny. Neil Shah, global marketing director of Smirnoff, said: “This will be the first truly global campaign on the brand in more than 25 years and will launch with significant media investment in markets including: North America, Europe, Latin America and Africa. It’s been a privilege to work with renowned director Rupert Sanders, who shared our bold ambition for this campaign, and we are thrilled to soundtrack the film with an original composition of El Michels Affair’s cover of the iconic hip hop track “Shimmy Shimmy Ya”. Sounds great, but surely it can’t be as good as the Ol’ Dirty Bastard original?

Bollinger celebrates 40 years as Bond’s Champagne

James Bond has been sipping Bollinger Champagne ever since Moonraker starring Roger Moore was released in 1979. Since then there have been three more Bonds, Dalton, Brosnan and Craig, some highs, Casino Royale, and some lows, Die Another Day (sorry Pierce) but the Champagne has been consistently excellent. Etienne Bizot from Bollinger commented: “It brings me an immense amount of pride to be celebrating 40 years of partnership between Bollinger and James Bond, it is a testament to the friendship started in 1979, between my father Christian Bizot and James Bond producer Cubby Broccoli. A friendship based on our shared values such as excellence and elegance.” To celebrate this beautiful friendship, Bollinger has released a Tribute to Moonraker Limited Edition consisting of a magnum of Bollinger 2007 in a Saint Louis crystal ice bucket housed in a pewter and wood veneer case by Eric Berthes inspired by the space shuttle from the film. Only 407 have been produced with an RRP £4,500. If that’s out of your price range, there’s also 007 Limited Edition Millésimé 2011 to mark the release of the 25th Bond film, No Time To Die. It’s an unusual Bolly as it’s made entirely from Pinot Noir from the Grand Cru village of Aÿ. Yours for £150. The film doesn’t come out until April 2020, but the Champagne is available now so you have something to drink while you wait. 

Spirit of Yorkshire distillery launches the county’s first single malt

Three and a half years ago, the very first spirit flowed from the stills of Spirit of Yorkshire distillery. You know what that means, that spirit has been having a swell old time in casks for all that time, and is now a whisky! Launched on 5 October, Filey Bay is the county’s first single malt and is inspired by the bay that you can see from the distillery. “From our very first distillations, we have always set out to create a defined house style and a light, fruity whisky,” says Spirit of Yorkshire’s whisky director, Joe Clark. “Our First Release is a combination of our two distillate styles matured in select oak casks to produce a whisky that is creamy, light and fruity with flavours of vanilla, honey, citrus and caramel.” Spirit of Yorkshire co-founder, David Thompson notes, “you only get to release the county’s first whisky once and we’re thrilled to now share it with customers old and new.” Only 6,000 bottles of Filey Bay First Release have been produced, with the bespoke bottle boasting the distillery’s mascot, the gannet, bringing together land and sea through the decoration. Rest assured, bottles will be landing at MoM Towers soon, very soon…

BCB bids farewell to Station Berlin

Bar Convent Berlin (BCB) – probably the biggest bar trade show in Europe – took place in Berlin this week, and we were on hand to take in some of the action (we’d love to say all, but it’s genuinely so huge you’d probably need five lives and 13 livers to get round all 1,200-plus brands from 446 exhibitors, numerous seminars, and the fiesta of parties and bar takeovers in the evenings… phew). People from more than 48 countries were there, either showing off the newest boozes (or non-boozes – as well as all the low- and no-alcohol drinks, there’s a dedicated coffee section, too), or seeking out said newness for their own bars and shops. It was a lot of fun. We spotted ALL the rum (2020 really could be the year), heaps of botanical spirits (could gin be on the wane?), and a bizarre amount of basil. Yes, basil. Seminars ranged from how climate change will affect drinks and looking at spirits through a diversity lens, to social media how-tos and future trends. One of our favourite quotes was from Samson & Surrey’s Kyle McHugh in a session on work/life balance, when he literally shouted: “it’s ok to be happy!” Truly relevant whether you work in drinks or not. And the biggest newsy news from the show? BCB is relocating to the sizeable Berlin Messe for the 2020 edition, to allow it to grow even bigger. See you there, drinks pals!

Tails Cocktails bottles Bacardi Legacy serves for LCW

In case you hadn’t noticed, it’s London Cocktail Week (heading down and want some ideas? It’s still on this weekend, and you can check out our post right here). Well, batched drinks brand Tails really is bringing the party, and has become the first to bottle serves from renowned cocktail competition Bacardi Legacy! Global champion Ronnaporn Kanivichaporn’s winning ‘Pink Me Up’ Bloody Mary twist (with rum as a base), and UK winner Chelsie Bailey’s ‘Rum Reverie’ have both been immortalised (or as good as) in pre-mixed form especially for LCW. We went along to check them out, and can confirm they are DELICIOUS. “Batching finalist cocktails from the Bacardi Legacy competition is a real game-changer,” said Tails Cocktails founder, Nick Wall. “Since I started the company, it has always been our vision to elevate drinking experiences by making high-quality cocktails more accessible to a broader audience. Batching some of the world’s best rum cocktails brings this vision to life.” Check out both serves at The Rum Kitchen in Soho before 13 October!

Gabriel Boudier Wizard finalists announced

We’ve all fancied making our own booze especially at this time of the year when the hedgerow fruits are out but not many get a chance to have their concoctions adopted by one of France’s greatest liqueur companies, Gabriel Boudier. Which is just what will happen to the winner of the annual Gabriel Boudier Wizard competition. This week, the company announced the names of the finalists. The chosen three were: Lorenzo Gavelli from The Chambers at The Chamberlain Hotel in London with his pandan leaf liqueur, Luke Bensley from Legna in Birmingham with his beetroot liqueur and Matthew Cusworth from Hoot the Redeemer in Edinburgh with a nori seaweed liqueur. Each entrant also had to come up with a special cocktail based on their liquor. The finalists dubbed Wizards of the South, North and Scotland respectively will go on to a grand final in Dijon. But the judges were so impressed with other entry, a chipotle & pineapple liqueur from Dominic Saunders from the Royal Academy of Music, that they’re sending him to the final too as a wild card. The eventual winner’s liqueur will sit alongside such former winners as Lime Leaf Liqueur by Samuel Boulton (2015) and Dijon Mustard Liqueur by Maria Vieira (2017) in the Gabriel Boudier range as well as £1000 in prize money. Congratulations to all the three and may the best liqueur win.

And finally… Disappointing Oktoberfest: beer sales down on last year

Oktoberfest, Munich’s festival of all things Bavarian, well mainly beer, sausages and lederhosen (is lederhosen good, though?), has just finished, and in thorough German fashion the numbers have been crunched and the stats are in. The most notable being that beer enthusiasts tried to steal nearly 100,000 glasses. 96,912 (love that Teutonic precision) glasses were confiscated by eagle-eyed stewards. That sounds like a lot but apparently, it’s fewer than last year. Those famous steins were also used as weapons 32 times. Ouch! But most shocking of all, beer sales are down too, visitors drank 7.3 million beers, that’s 200,000 fewer than in 2018. Very disappointing. Must do better next year Bavaria.