Dram June 2016

DRAM

310

DRINKS RETAILING AND MARKETING

THE BEN FASHION AND FIZZ RAISES £6K

@dramscotland

DRAM MAGAZINE JUNE 2016 ISSN 1470-241X

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. SUMMER DRINKS . BAR LUCA

DRINKS RETAILING AND MARKETING

WELCOME

W

hat great weather we have been having, although it appears that the trade is yet to reap the benefits with reports that May has been a bit on the quiet side. However the good news is that if we do get more of the sun the chances are that we WILL have a cracking trade summer. Check out our Summer Drinks info graph for a few interesting facts. This month we have a couple of interviews. Annabelle Love met up with Chris Rickard and Louise Hamill of Strathmore Hotels while I visited Glenuig Inn in Glenuig and also paid a visit to Aviemore to check out the Old Bridge Inn which has just re-opened after being flooded at Christmas. Mairi Clark travelled to Kilmarnock to check out the new Bar Luca which I am sure you will agree looks great.

Judging for the awards will start in earnest over the next few weeks, and I’m delighted that comedian Tom Stade has agreed to be our compere. Roll on 16th August.

Last but not least this month we have also published our wee Cocktail Guide - which has some great ideas for your customers to try.

Susan Young Editor susan@mediaworldltd.com www.scottishbarandpubawards.com

@dramscotland

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CONTENTS June

2016

FEATURES

18 20 28 30

SHINING ON SUMMER DRINKS

Lots of interesting facts about Summer drinks.

THE EXEMPLAR GREEN INN AT GLENUIG

Susan Young visits The Glenuig Inn.

HOSPITALITY IN THE BLOOD

Annabelle Love interviews Chris Rickard.

DESIGN FOCUS

Susan Young checks out The Old Bridge Inn, While Mairi Clark visits Bar Luca.

REGULARS

4 9 41

NEWS

All the news on pubs, bars, restaurants and hotels.

BRAND NEWS

All the latest brand news.

SUE SAYS

Straight talking from our very own Editor.

DRAM JUNE 2016 3

The Salt Horse opens on Blackfriars’ site The Salt Horse, a bottled craft beer shop, cafe and bar has opened on the site of the closed Blackfriars restaurant in Edinburgh.

The Salt Horse bar offers 12 draught beers and its shops selling over a hundred varieties of UK and imported bottled beers. The bar/cafe opens from 4pm, apart from Saturday and Sunday, when it opens from 12pm. The Salt Horse also has a quirky beer garden.

Caroline Mair, general manager of The Salt Horse, said, “We want to create a casual bottle shop/cafe feel.

Obviously when customers buy the bottles in the shop, we charge a small corkage, but the beauty is they can also buy some to take home.”

BOOLY MARDYS RENAMED VINYARD 28 Glasgow cocktail bar Booly Mardy’s has re-opened as Vinyard 28, following its takeover by Lawrence McManus (DRAM April). The bar has been completely refurbished. Lawrence McManus told DRAM, “We’ve already done all the refurb and made it our own. We’re going to be concentrating on food for the foreseeable future.”

4 DRAM JUNE 2016

Glasgow welcomes nostalgia club!

Club Tropicana and Vogue have opened at 7 Renfield Street in Glasgow. The new retro club promises clubbers and music lovers a night of nostalgia in its 80s and 90s music rooms.

Venue manager James Kelly, comments, “It’s just about bringing to Glasgow an energy and enthusiasm for good service and good customer experience.

It’s an attractive proposition for clubbers even outwith the age group who normally club. It lends itself to a broader audience than other clubs.” The club also offers drinks that were popular in the eighties and nineties including Hooch and alcopops.

James comments, “Hooch, Red Stripe, vodka and alcopops have been the biggest sellers so far. Whereas in most other clubs and places these brands maybe wouldn’t have fitted into the style of the place here they fit with our retro theme.”

James reckons Club Tropicana and

Vogue gives people an excuse to let their hair down properly and relax like Frankie used to say.

Says James, “I like the feeling that when people come here they don’t have to act a certain way to fit in here. In some other clubs in this town you have to act a certain way, dress a certain way and you have to feel a certain way. It’s too cool for school. The dress code is smart casual. We’re not going to go down the line of the hipsters. We’re not looking for that sort of idea. It’s hip to be cool but not cool to be hip.”

The age range is eighteen to forty plus from hen parties to stag parties. We had about seven hen parties in at the weekend. We play everything from Footloose and Flashdance and the movie songs that every generation knows because they’ve all seen them with their mums. We also play the 90s dance tracks like Insomnia that people don’t play in clubs anymore because they are too far gone.”

Have you heard The Plumed Horse in Edinburgh’s Henderson Street has been taken over by chef Scott Smith and has been re-launched as Norn.

The restaurant – a first for Smith who has worked with Geoffrey Smeddle at The Peat Inn – does not have a conventional set menu, instead the menu is guided by suppliers’ advice on which products are at their best and by the ingredients that the chefs have harvested on their foraging trips.

NEWS

WWW.DRAMSCOTLAND.CO.UK

LORNE HOTEL OPERATORS EXTEND OFFERING A new pub and restaurant, The Kelvin Bar and the Birdtree & Bellfish, will be opening in Finnieston next month, in the Edwardian building next to, and owned by, the Lorne Hotel. Kevin Siri, bar manager at The Lorne Hotel, told DRAM, “We were originally looking at making the restaurant into an Italian restaurant, but have decided to make it into a Scottish/Glaswegian restaurant instead.

While the bar, The Kelvin, will serve the best of Scotland’s drinks from beer to whisky, gin and will showcase what we have to offer.

The Kelvin will be an actual traditional pub.” Hotel guests and customers can also dine at the hotel’s popular Bukharah Indian restaurant, and Bilberry Bar.

Glen Mhor Hotel expands further Jon and Victoria Erasmus the couple behind the Glen Mhor Hotel and Apartments in Inverness have also bought the Ness Bank Guest House, which is situated next door to the Glen Mhor Hotel. This is the couples fourth acquisition in two years and means that the four combined units (which includes the Alexander Guest House, the Brae Ness Hotel and the River House), comprises 75 bedrooms and 11 apartments. The couple has also opened a new bar in the shape of ‘Nicky Tam’s’ which incorporates the former Ness Bank bistro, Nico’s. The bar is positioning itself as a whisky bar and already stocks 100 Scottish whiskies. Nicky Tam’s will also eventually sell craft beer from a new multi-million pound microbrewery that the owners, are developing on the site. Approved plans for the brewery have been in place for over a year.

Kennoway's Burns Tavern to be reborn as Oakwood Bar and Grill The Burns Tavern in Kennoway is to reopen as The Oakwood Bar & Grill after being closed for four years. The pub was bought at auction and is currently undergoing a complete renovation. Owned by Amit Patni, who has previously worked for Barracuda and Scottish & Newcastle this new venture will be a family friendly venue, with a rustic look.

Amit Patni told DRAM, “Structurally, the premises are taking a long time to get into a workable state, but I should be open in about six weeks (end June). I was hoping to have an open kitchen as the space here is big enough to work, but structurally it isn’t feasible I have been keen to do my own venture for a while.” Amit also said that he would be interested in expanding in the Fife area once he has the Oakwood Bar & Grill running successfully.

n.b. bar & hotel

The Cannonball Bar is the latest offering from Victor and Carina Contini, who have teamed up with Glengoyne Whisky with their new new venture. The bar sits underneath its Cannonball House restaurant in Edinburgh, which opened last year. The Cannonball Bar has been luxuriously decorated in dark burgundies and blue with dark wood surrounds and a copper-topped bar. With stag heads and Scottish mementoes decorating the walls, it offers bar stools, comfortable chesterfield-style seats and sofas. It’s at 365 Castlehill, Edinburgh.

Compass Group is to open a second Chop House in Edinburgh at the newly newly opened Waverley arches, on East Market Street. The new restaurant will also have a bar with craft beers and cocktails on offer. The new space, designed by Four by Four by Two, is housed over two floors, and features a custommade steel staircase leading to the mezzanine level, hanging booth seating, also custom-made from steel, and original brickwork.

Revolution Bars Group is to spend £1.4m on a new Revolucion de Cuba in Aberdeen’s Academy Shopping Centre. The bar, on the site of the former Wagamama restaurant, will have a capacity of around 550 people inside and space for 110 outside. The Cuban-themed bar will primarily serve cocktails, rum and a selection of tapas. The group already operates Revolution Bar in the city’s Belmont Street with the new bar expected to open by the end of the year.

Alan Tomkins has opened his first pop-up, although really it is a popdown called Sub-Urban, underneath his popular restaurant Urban Bar & Brasserie in Glasgow’s St Vincent Place. However it is only open at weekends and from 4pm on a Friday and from 1pm on a Saturday.

Alan Tomkins, Urban’s owner, said, “Everyone seemed to be doing popups so we thought we’d do a ‘popdown’. It’s been very popular so far.

We’re committed to having it until September and we’ll see after that.”

The Victoria Hotel in Kirkcaldy has been acquired by Dunfermlinebased City Hotels for around £850K. The hotel was originally the residence of the celebrated Scottish furniture designer AH McIntosh, and was converted into a hotel in 1948, and subsequently extended. It has 21 bedrooms, a lounge bar, two dining rooms and a function room, alongside a large private car park and was originally advertised last year for £1.1 million.

City Hotels already owns the Styx Club next door to the hotel.

DRAM JUNE 2016 5

NEWS The Belmill Hotel re-opens Lanarkshire pub company Bozzco Inns, owned by Frank Cogan and Martin Mackay, have launched the Belmill Hotel, following a £950K refurbishment.

The hotel was formerly known as Chaplin’s Bar. Now the Bellshill traditional pub has been completely transformed. The whole building has been stripped back, walls knocked down and a new extension, kitchen and outdoor area added.

The owners tasked Burns Design with creating a family-friendly venue which was modern and

contemporary.

Owners Frank Cogan and Martin Mackay said, “This is an exciting time for us, we saw an opportunity to bring a little bit of the city to Lanarkshire. We have completely changed the bar, extended it and added a kitchen, to capitalise on the growth for pub dining.

Since the day we opened our doors we have been delighted with the response from customers and look forward to welcoming many more!” Chris Cliens, General Manager of the Belmill added, “Chaplin’s was a local favourite, but it was in need of some love and attention. We could see it had great potential and we are over the moon with the new look.”

Bozzco own and run three other pubs. The Stewart Inn, Stepps, The Cellar Bar, Airdrie and The Derby Inn, Bellshill.

Edinburgh Gin is now also being distilled at a former biscuit factory in Edinburgh. The Edinburgh Gin Distillery, at the Biscuit Factory, will produce the core range of gin - Original, Cannonball and the newly- added Seaside Gin, launched in time for summer 2016. Co-Founder of Edinburgh Gin, Alex Nicol said,”Leith is undoubtedly experiencing its own kind of renaissance, as is gin. We have transformed part of the former United Biscuit’s factory into our second distillery, in response to the international spirit revival.

Leith is steeped in history as an iconic gin port and was the centre of a home grown spirits industry. It made perfect sense to carry on that tradition since Melrose Drover closed its doors in Edinburgh over 30 years ago, and ensure the legacy lives on.

He continued, “This expansion will more than quadruple our production capacity, with the new distillery producing enough spirit to make over 2.5million G&T’s per year. We also have the opportunity to expand further by adding another still.”

FUSION GROUP EXPANDS

Dunblane based Fusion Group has leased No 1 Golf Place, St Andrews, from the Iona Pub Partnership. The company, which also runs Old Churches House Hotel, Dunblane and The Red Brolly Inn, near Pitlochry, has started a rolling makeover of the premises and in due course will be changing its name.

Alex McKie, Fusion Group MD, is looking forward to transforming the outlet. He said, “We are delighted to have acquired this site We will have an all day kitchen, family friendly brasserie and bar over two floors that will seat around one hundred people, and a little sun terrace too. I believe that we will fit into the local market quite well, and also bring some new offerings too, such as The Golf Inn’s six high quality bedrooms which have not been an obvious part of the business in the past.”

THE BOOZY COW ABERDEEN MOOVES ON TO LARGER PREMISES Aberdeen burger and cocktail bar The Boozy Cow has moved to a new site at 67 Langstane Place. The bar and diner, owned by The Speratus Group, has more tables, with space for more than 100 diners, and also has a designated bar and seating area, with a 368 licensed capacity, and a late night entertainment offering until 1am every Friday and Saturday night. Garreth Wood, owner of The Speratus Group and The Boozy Cow, said, “Following a hugely successful first year, we have moved The Boozy Cow Aberdeen from its current location in the city’s Netherkirkgate to the new premises on Langstane place, which is significantly larger and 6 DRAM JUNE 2016

perfect for this concept. This is a very exciting and positive step for the Speratus Group and the Boozy Cow concept. This larger venue with more capacity will allow us to cater for more customers to enjoy more burgers and raise more funds for local charities as part of our #FromMoo2U initiative.”

The Speratus Group launched the initiative, #fromMoo2U, last June, committing all annual profits from the restaurants to charities.

The Speratus Group has also acquired new premises for a Boozy Cow in Stirling city centre, to open in the summer and is making advances in securing premises in Dundee.

First Minister for Scotland Nicola Sturgeon at the official opening of Glasgow Vaults with David Walsh & Seamus Fahy (owners).

Glasgow Vaults A Great Service for Publicans.

With banks in Scotland no longer offering a Safe Keeping service for their customers, increasingly people here are left with the problem of where to store cash, valuables and important paperwork. Enter – Glasgow Vaults – Scotland’s first independent safe deposit box/locker facility.

Offering customers their own personal (or company) safe deposit box from less than £3 per week, with 7 day access, the arrival of Glasgow Vaults is a major benefit to the marketplace in Scotland.

Fully insured and underwritten by insurers Lloyd’s of London, Glasgow Vaults is the second vault opened by the company, with the first being Ireland’s largest safe deposit box facility Merrion Vaults - located in the centre of Dublin.

Glasgow Vaults opened 2015, with an official launch carried out by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon earlier this year, the business to-date has witnessed strong demand for its service.

“So far, it has been a huge success - with the added bonus of not only being first to market in Scotland - but with the endorsement of the First Minister – we couldn’t be happier with the success of Glasgow Vaults” said one of the founders Seamus Fahy.

Customers can call in, register for a box and have immediate access to their box 7 days a week. It is ideal for the safekeeping of cash, jewellery, important documents, sentimental items and any other valuables which are irreplaceable.

Unfortunately these days, the only way to keep valuables completely safe and secure is out of your home or business and in a safe deposit box. Due to cash businesses being targeted by criminals this service is ideal for publicans. Businesses and companies are also using it for cash flow safekeeping and/or the secure storage of important documents such as Title Deeds, contracts, policy documents and even back-up hard drives and usb’s.

Private individuals are using the service of a safe deposit box also, to keep personal valuables and irreplaceable items safe – items like jewellery, cash, sentimental items, passports etc. With unlimited access 7 days a week, it is the ideal security solution.

A number of other possible sites throughout the UK and even mainland Europe are also being considered by the company behind Glasgow Vaults, who are most certainly looking to a more secure future.

If you are interested in renting a Safe Deposit Box/Locker or have any questions about keeping your valuables secure, call Glasgow Vaults on: 0141 343 1305 or email them at: info@GlasgowVaults.co.uk For the website visit: http://www.GlasgowVaults.co.uk

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RAwALPINdI COOPERS, WISHAW

321 SAuChIEhALL StREEt • Well established freehold public GLASGoW house • Prominent main street location • Long established and reputable Indian restaurant • Currently leased out- sold with VP • Easily adaptable to suit variety • Public bar & small function room to rearof restaurant styles • Prime city centre trading • Wet led with scope to develop location within Glasgow’s main • Fitted and equipped to a high licensed circuit standard • Good surrounding mix of local & • Ideal opportunity for first time national operators • buyer or multiple operator • Comfortable 80 covers. EPC • EPC Rating G

CONFIdENTIAL SALE THE BLACK BULL INN, DARVEL NORTH AYRSHIRE PUBLIC

TOKYO JOE, GREENOCK

•THE Well OLd established well CROSS& INN • Long established & well performing Bar & Grill HOUSE ALyth RoAd, BLAIRGoWRIE performing public house • Recently refurbished to a high • Well established business in • Very well established village • Prominent trading position standard main street location Inn with beer garden within heart of town centre on A71 • Prominent town centre trading • Same ownership for over 10 • Lounge bar(30), • Public Bar, Games Room & position years Restaurant(40) and 4 Lounge Bar • Seating for approx. 100, plus • Ideal for 1st time buyer, private delightful e/s letting rooms • 2015 net sales c.£200k, walled beer garden (50) operator or chef proprietor producing strong profit levels • • Presented to a high standard Sales c.£10,000 p/w gross.

• Predominately wet led – scope throughout Includes well-presented, 3-bed • Potential to increase trading to increase food trade Director hours • 3 bedroom house for sale at accommodation • Lounge bar, public bar, games separate negotiation • Same owners for 14 years.

• Currently run completely under rm / function rm and kitchen • Same owners for past 8 Retirement sale management • EPC rating G years • Large Customer car park. EPC • EPC Rating pending • EPC rating G Rating F

OFFERS IN THE REGION OF FREEHOLD: £250,000OVER FREEHOLd OFFERS £195,000

OFFERS OvER £198,000 LEASEHOLD: FREEHOLd OFFERS OVER £55,000

Rating Pending

FREEHOLD: OIRO £95,000 OFFERS OvER £120,000 LEASEHOLd

8 DRAM JUNE 2016

1 dRuMPELLIER PLACE • Well established wet led public KILMACoLM house • Established licensed coffee shop • Family ownership for 30 years • Prominent corner trading • Presented to high standard and position within extremely supported well locally desirable & affluent village • Public bar, games room, enclosed • Circa 28 covers plus outside beer garden and parking seatingaccess to 2 flats – for sale • External • Restaurant/ takeaway potential at separate negotiation (subject to planning) • Prominent location close to town • hot food consent (restricted). centre & train station • EPCEPC Rating G Rating G

OFFERS OvER £155,000 FREEHOLd FREEHOLD: OFFERS INVITED OFFERS CONSIdEREd LEASEHOLd

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WhItInG BAy, ISLE of ARRAn • Same owner for past 20 years • Very well established public house • Spectacular beach side • Directly opposite Central Station restaurant • Split over two levels with public • Circa 40 covers plus outside bar &decking (20) lounge bar • All• designed and fitted to high day live music every Saturday standard in lounge bar • year-end April 2014 net sales • Potential to increase on existing trade £199,938 levels • Adjusted net profit circa £57,000 • New FRI Lease terms being • EPC Rating G offered.

• EPC Rating G

OFFERS OvER £205,000 FREEHOLd LEASEHOLD: OFFERS £35,000 LEASEHOLd OFFERS OvER INVITED + RENT: £25,000 RENT PER ANNUM

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fIonnPhoRt, ISLE of MuLL • Prominent and established village inn • Well established family owned • Same ownership for 14 years pub/restaurant • Public & lounge bar, games room/ • Lounge bar, games room and function area restaurant (38) • Ideal for first time buyer, private • Very well presented 4 bed bungalow included with sale operator or chef proprietor • Idealic views towards Iona • Good local support - Car park and Abbey within walking distance of smoking area • WetCal Mac ferry crossing to Iona led with limited food menu.

• Lifestyle business opportunity.

• Potential to increase food. EPC EPC rating G Rating G

OFFERS REGION OF £425,000 FREEHOLd OFFERS IN IN THE EXCESS OF £220,000

BRAND NEWS

ALL THE L ATEST BRAND NEWS

Whisky Glasgow-based drinks firm, Dram2O, has launched Òrach– a bottled, ready to drink (RTD) Scotch whisky cocktail. The brainchild of Scottish entrepreneurs James Doig, Dave Millard and David McLauchlan; the trio first devised the innovative concept in 2015, in a bid to showcase their blended Scotch – Dram Òrach – to non-whisky drinkers. The Scotch whisky cocktail incorporates a double shot of blended whisky with natural flavourings. So far two flavours have been launched; Strawberry, Vanilla & Ginger Beer and Lemon, Lime, Mint & Ginger Ale. Speaking about the launch of Òrach, Managing Director, James Doig, said, "Like many of the best things in life, Òrach was born out of a happy accident.

At Scone Game Fair we were sampling our whisky and realised that younger people were not so interested, so on the spot we devised a series of whisky cocktails that were a huge hit. We realised there was a gap in the market and decided to develop this further so a younger demographic, who perhaps wouldn’t normally choose whisky, can enjoy Scotland’s national drink in new ways. Òrach is testament to the fact that Scotland’s national drink is not only incredibly versatile, but still has lots of opportunity to reach new markets, and we hope to capture that with our offering.”

Exclusive single cask bottling unveiled by the SMWS The Scotch Malt Whisky Society (SMWS) celebrated last month’s Feis Isle event with the release of ‘Cantina Mexicana’ (Cask No 127.44). The 12-year-old single cask single malt whisky, which comes with a specially designed label, was matured in an ex-Sherry butt at an Islay distillery. Like all Society bottlings, the distillery name is kept secret and it is a limited edition – with only 588 bottles available.

It is described by the Society’s Tasting Panel, who select all the international whisky club’s bottlings, as having notes of “a dusty Mexican cantina floor” and “toffees, Liquorice Allsorts, balsamic pears and Amontillado sherry”. It can be purchased via the Society’s website, which now sells whisky to non members.

Glenmorangie and Ardbeg triumph with gold wins Glenmorangie and Ardbeg have swept the boards at three influential whisky competitions: the San Francisco World Spirits Competition (SFWSC), the International Spirits Competition (ISC) and the International Whisky Competition (IWC).

Glenmorangie won a total of eight gold medals for its expressions Original, Nectar D’Or, Lasanta, its 18 year old and 25 year old at the SFWSC. It also won gold for the 18 and 25 year old at the ISC, as was its Private Edition, Milsean.

Ardbeg won gold medals for its Corryvreckan and Uigeadail at the SFWSC and an ISC gold for its limited-edition release Dark Cove.

At the IWC, Glenmorangie Signet was named Whisky of the Year, scoring 97 points out of a possible 100. Signet is the first whisky to be created from high-roasted “chocolate” malt barley.

Dr Bill Lumsden won IWC’s Master Distiller of the Year, in recognition of Glenmorangie Signet’s achievement.

Whitehall and Beckham star in Two Whiskies ‘Two Whiskies with Jack Whitehall and David Beckham’ brought to you by HAIG CLUB™ is the first new film of a series to launch on the GQ Video channel. In this first episode, shot in the Bassoon Bar at the Corinthia Hotel, Jack Whitehall poses some interesting questions to celebrated footballer and entrepreneur, David Beckham. Over a Mojito and an Old Fashioned cocktail, Jack hears how Beckham spends his free time and learns why meeting Nelson Mandela reminds Beckham of his most famed

hairstyles. David Beckham says, “I like being with friends and most of the time it’s not in fancy bars, most of the time it’s down the local pub. I like to have a nice big log fire, a nice whisky. It’s all about quality, not quantity.”

The video is the first in a series of three short films fronted by comedian Jack Whitehall, and released by Condé Nast Britain. Episode 2 of the ‘Two Whiskies with…’ series will feature The Hobbit actor Luke Evans and episode 3 stars singer-songwriter Tom Odell, with both fronted by Jack Whitehall.

DRAM JUNE 2016 9

BRAND NEWS Cocktail

Gin

#LETSCOCKTAIL SAY DIAGEO STRAWBERRIES AND CREAM Diageo has rolled out its latest summer spirits marketing campaign to help licensees tap into the profitable cocktail opportunity. #LetsCocktail is an initiative aimed at helping outlets drive incremental sales over the summer period, and the campaign is supported by cocktail serves, branded barware, PoS and a digital toolkit which provides advice and photo assets for licensees to use on their social channels, enabling them to communicate with customers on a multi-faceted level and entice them into visiting their outlets. Anchored in #LetsCocktail branding, the PoS, jam jar glasses, stirrers and promotional chalk boards all use the hashtag mechanic to encourage consumers to share their cocktail experience through social media.

Faith Holland, Head of On-Trade Category Development, Diageo GB says, “Cocktail penetration has increased by more than a quarter, with spirit penetration up at 69.2%. Our activation will help licensees tap into this lucrative opportunity by demonstrating the importance of delivering not only inspired serves but quality and value for money. By utilising social media channels with #LetsCocktail we’re excited to see how increased social engagement will encourage sales and drive visits into the on-trade.”

Lager Kopparberg is supporting the roll-out of its new Fruit Lager product, with the launch of a new heavy-weight marketing campaign which will also see it team up with Sofar Sounds, the experts in bringing intimate and unfamiliarly located gigs to music fans across the globe, to launch an exclusive three-part live music series across the UK, which will feature shows in Glasgow, London and Leeds. Music fans will be able to sign up to attend the exclusive event series, before being teased with the gig location and artist. The Kopparberg Fruit Lager activity forms just part of a wider multi-million pound main brand summer campaign, which will include the launch of a brand new TV ad set for launch later this summer. Jodie Alliss, Senior Marketing Manager at Kopparberg, commented, “Kopparberg Fruit Lager is undoubtedly one of the biggest product launches in the history of our brand, so we’re thrilled to be supporting it with an incredibly exciting and diverse marketing campaign in 2016. Whether it’s through our fan favourite, the Kopparberg Urban Forest, or our unique music partnership with Sofar Sounds, we look forward to showcasing Fruit Lager to new and existing Kopparberg fans across the summer.”

10 DRAM JUNE 2016

CAPTURED IN NEW GIN

A taste of the Great British summertime is being bottled and served over ice for the very first time. Strawberries and cream, generally offered as a dessert has been transformed into a limited edition gin by Poetic License.

The independent, small batch distillery, which crafts and packages its award-winning gins by hand, has spent six months perfecting the seasonal recipe, which is believed to be the first of its kind on general sale. It combines traditional botanicals, including juniper and coriander, with a mix of real strawberries and cream that are both distilled and infused to ensure a stronger, fruitier taste.

Poetic License Strawberries and Cream Picnic Gin, best served with a premium elderflower tonic water or lemonade and mixed fruit, is being produced in a limited-run only and sold, subject to availability. Distiller, Luke Smith comments, “Many flavoured gins are either distilled or infused but ours uses both processes to pack as big a punch as possible.”

Gin and oak a new combination Edinburgh-based Pickering’s Gin has launched a collection of oak aged gins matured in single malt whisky casks, hand-picked from distilleries.

Founders Marcus Pickering and Matt Gammell have combined two of Scotland’s best loved spirits, by ageing its award-winning gin in five Scotch malt whisky casks from Islay, Speyside, the Lowlands, Islands and the Highlands.

This is the first time a gin distillery has launched a collection of five oak aged gins.

The gin is aged in one cask from each of the five regions at a time. Each cask yields just 200 bottles of never-to-be-repeated 47% ABV oak aged gin. The barrels were filled with Pickering’s Gin at Summerhall Distillery with the oak ageing process lasting between three and six months for each expression.

Each rare, collectable gin can be drunk like a whisky using water or ice, or savoured in cocktails to bring out the gin’s subtle whisky notes. The flavour profile ranges from the light and citric aromas of Speyside to the sweeter, peatier notes of the Islay region. It retails at £36 for a 35cl bottle.

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SAT 13TH AUGUST

SUN 14TH AUGUST

BILLY OCEAN ANDY BELL from Erasure

And other acts

And other acts

WIN TICKETS TO PARTY AT THE PALACE, A FESTIVAL GOODIE BAG PLUS A CASE OF McEWAN’S IPA! McEwan’s IPA is once again sponsoring Party at the Palace music festival and this year’s headliners are massive.

To celebrate this ongoing partnership The Dram is giving away four tickets, a festival goody bag, plus a case of McEwan’s IPA. To be in with a chance of winning, send an email with your name and phone number to lucy@mediaworldltd.com

Artwork Client: McEwans

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DRAM JUNE 2016 11

The wood makes the whisky.

www.gordonandmacphail.com PLEASE ENJOY GORDON AND MACPHAIL WHISKIES RESPONSIBLY.

BRAND NEWS Beer

Tequila Barrel-aged Tequilas from Barney’s Beer heads into summer with a new distributer Buffalo Trace arrive in UK Barney’s Beer, brewed by Summerhall based Edinburgh brewer of the same name, will now be distributed by Inveralmond, Innis & Gunn. The brewery’s regular beers from IPA to Rye beers will be available on tap across the Scottish capital and further afield under the new agreement.

Innis & Gunn bought out The Inveralmond Brewery last month, and with plans for expansion and new development Barney’s Beer, decided to make the most of the extended distribution offering. Barney said, “This is an exciting step for us. Our beer is available at some of the best restaurants and pubs across the city, and we’re looking forward to working with Innis and Gunn to see where we can take our beer next.”

LOCH FYNE COLLARBORATION Loch Fyne Oysters and Fyne Ales have teamed up to create ‘This Gose’, a 3.5% ABV craft beer designed to pair perfectly with Scottish smoked salmon.

Loch Fyne Oysters’ teamed up Fyne Ales’ head brewer Malcolm Downie to create this craft brew working together to test recipes and adjuncts which helped enhance the flavour of fresh Scottish smoked salmon.

Martyn Paterson, Divisional Director & Deputy MD at Loch Fyne Oysters Ltd comment, “Many of our customers and visitors to the Restaurant and Oyster Bar are discerning beer drinkers, and we wanted to offer a a high quality beer to pair with our famous smoked salmon. “Fortunately, we have a

world-renowned craft brewery on our doorstep and our produce is connected through our unique location.

Loch Fyne Oysters’ harvest is drawn from the pure waters of the loch.

At Fyne Ales, yesterday’s rain is tomorrow’s beer, so working with Fyne Ales is the perfect partnership.”

Welcoming the collaboration, Jamie Delap, Managing Director, Fyne Ales said, “This beer draws its inspiration from a traditional German farmhouse-style wheat beer, Gose. This is a sour beer, and true to style, this top—fermented beer has been brewed with salt and coriander. We’ve added some fragrant lemongrass too, resulting in a unique beer with light salinity and a zesty finish.”

Two limited edition tequilas aged in bourbon barrels from the Buffalo Trace Distillery are now available in the UK. Hi-Spirits have a limited UK allocation of two tequilas from the exclusive Expresiones del Corazón range. Using tequila made from 100% blue agave, the Casa San Matias Distillery in Mexico selects different bourbon barrels to give each Expresiones del Corazón a different character. The two now available are: Expresiones del Corazón Buffalo Trace Reposado – aged for 10.5 months in Buffalo Trace barrels, with an ABV of 40% ABV and Expresiones del Corazón Old Rip Van Winkle Anejo - Aged for 23 months in Old Rip Van Winkle bourbon barrels, with an ABV of 40% ABV. Tim Giles, UK brand manager at Hi-Spirits, said, “There is growing interest in premium and craft tequila and the Expresiones del Corazón project has created quite a buzz.

“We’re delighted to have secured a UK allocation of these very limited edition spirits.”

Expresiones del Corazón Buffalo Trace Reposado and Expresiones del Corazón Old Rip Van Winkle Anejo are available through specialist online retailer the Spirit Cellar www.thespiritcellar.com.

Soft Drinks

Meet Franklin’s & Sons new family member Franklin & Sons has now introduced handcrafted premium tonics and mixers, to its portfolio, which join its soft drinks range launched in May. The range is presented in bespoke 200ml bottles and has the naturally refreshing taste of Franklins, whilst preserving the provenance and heritage of the brand. Franklin & Sons tonics have no preservatives, artificial colours, or sweeteners.

The first products were introduced in 1886, sold from their small family confectioners shop at 171 High Street, Rickmansworth, London. The three Franklin brothers then began selling their handcrafted range of soft drinks to great acclaim. The Franklin’s signature serve, ‘1886,’ combines Sloe Gin over large cubed ice with a generous pour of Franklin & Sons Sicilian Lemon Tonic.

DRAM JUNE 2016 13

This summer’s winning line-up

With our unmissable live sport and your unbeatable atmosphere, we’ll help keep your tills ringing all summer.

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business.sky.com/pubs T&Cs: Free to Air events shown on non-Sky channels and are available without Sky subscription. Sky Sports requires Sky subscription, equipment and installation.

Scheduling may be subject to change. Eligibility subject to credit checks. Further terms apply. The F1 Logo, F1, FORMULA 1, FIA FORMULA ONE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP, GRAND PRIX and related marks are trademarks of Formula One Licensing BV, a Formula One group company. All rights reserved. Calls to Sky cost 7p per minute plus your providers access charge. Correct at time of supply 20.05.16.

SIMS AUTOMATICS THE No1 CHOICE FOR GAMING & LEISURE SERVICES TO PUBS, BARS & RESTAURANTS GAMING MACHINES

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CCTV

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Family owned and established for nearly fifty years we are the only scottish supplier to offer the most comprehensive range of gaming and entertainment equipment including pub and club Fruit Machines, Digital Jukeboxes, Pool Tables, LED screens, CCTV and Glass and Ice products.

Sims Automatics Ltd. 46 Dalsholm Road, Glasgow, G20 0TB Scotland. Tel: 0141 946 0444

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SIMS AUTOMATICS THE No1 CHOICE FOR GAMING & LEISURE SERVICES BARS & RESTAURANTS SIMS: NOWTO APUBS, ONE-STOP SHOP

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ims may have become synonymous with offering the very latest will receive top quality service within hours gaming machines, pool tables, CCTV and big screens, over the of placing a call.

GAMING MACHINES GLASS AND ICE POOL TABLES CASH CONTROL EQUIPMENT years, but more recently it has also been a force to be reckoned As well as seeing growth on this side of the with in the field of EPOS and tills, Ice machines and glass and dish business Sims has seen a vast uplift in its washers, as well as the most up-to-date Digital Juke boxes on the business due to adding the supply of ice market. makers and glass washing machines to its Explains MD Scott McGillivray, “Gaming is still our core business, product range. It is now the fastest growing but since acquiring Cash Control Equipment last August, we have area of the business. diversified into tills and EPOS Systems. Although we have been Scott explains “The cost of glass washers established for 47 years, CCE had 45 years of experience in the till and ice machines these days make it more arena, and we lacked that knowledge. They have brought economical in many cases to rent. It frees up cashflow their technology and experience to Sims, and in return, we for other things, and we repair or change machines, CCTV DIGITAL MUSIC BIG SCREENS FAMILY ENTERTAINMENT provide the service element. There was a lot of synergy should they be faulty, within a couple of hours. More and between the two companies, not least they had a very more licensees are moving towards leasing and rental, similar customer base. In fact, our customers had been because their costs are fixed, and they know they will asking us for a while to provide tills and EPOS systems. get a quality service. Historically this area of the industry we knew it was a specialised area , but one which more had a bad reputation for service and callouts. But we and more customers were getting into. With EPOS now know the benefits of providing a good service, and we no longer the preserve of larger pub groups, systems hold onto our customers by ensuring that they are not like the SAM4 touch based system which we supply are left without their vital equipment. As an independent straight forward and economical to use and offer a whole Scottish company we have proved over the years that we Family owned and established for nearly fifty years we are the only scottish supplier to offer the most range of time saving features for ordering and keeping are much better placed to offer the prompt service our comprehensive range of gaming and entertainment equipment including club Fruit Machines, control of stock. (The only way to break in was to buy customerspub haveand come to expect. into a company with vastDigital experience, and CCE certainly Sims has always carried a range Jukeboxes, Pool Tables, LED screens, CCTV and Glass and Ice products. of traditional juke boxes, had that.”) but now that range includes the all important digital juke He continues, “We have been supplying the Scottish onbox. Scott comments, “Digital juke boxes have up to trade since 1969 and over the years we have strived to 250,000 tracks to choose from. For example the latest become not just the biggest, but the best, at providing Icon box from NSM has tracks available online the very our customers with equipment that makes their businesses run day they come out, and licensees can stream the music to suit the smoother. By merging with and acquiring some of the smaller audience profile. They can also provide background music and can be suppliers, we have managed to grow our business, and keep on top used for advertising and karaoke. And if you hate a particular track of trends.” you can always block it!”

In fact Sims has become in effect a ‘One-stop shop’ for essential He adds, “We have grown because we know what is important to licensed trade equipment but perhaps more importantly it also offers licensees who have well-run pubs. We are delighted to offer a ‘Onethe service back-up national suppliers and smaller suppliers cannot. stop Shop’ for just about all their equipment needs. We are Scotland’s Says Scott, “We have a team of 65, the majority of whom are multilargest independent supplier and we believe the best, and we plan to Sims IfAutomatics Ltd. 46 Dalsholm Road, Glasgow, 0TBway Scotland.

Tel:the 0141 946 0444 service we can.” skilled service engineers. you have rental equipment from us you keepG20 it that by offering best customer PROMOTIONAL FEATURE

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DRAM JUNE 2016 17

7 Evanton Drive, Thornliebank Industrial Estate, Glasgow G46 8HL www.InverarityMorton.com E. sales@InverarityMorton.com

The word ‘summer’ comes from the Old English ‘sumor’, which is derived from the Indo-European root sem- which also produced the Sanskrit sama, meaning “half year”.

4.3%

The soft drinks market generated sales of more than £4.1bn (up 4.3% from 2014) in the licensed trade, according to a recent Britvic Soft Drinks Report. Packaged soft drinks were the biggest driver which grew by +5.5% in value in 2015 comparable with +3.1% draught).

Every year, The Eiffel Tower grows in summer. On a hot day, the iron from which it is constructed expands so much that the tower can rise by 17cm (6¾in).

The warmest summer the UK has experienced on the record books, to date, was in 2006, offering average daytime temperatures of 36.5ºC or 97.7ºF. Meanwhile the sunniest summer ever to make the record book was in 1976, when the UK enjoyed a whopping 669 hours of bright sunshine!

18 DRAM JUNE 2016

Inverarity Morton has launched a brand new range of wine for this summer. The range consists of a crisp Sauvignon Blanc and a fruity Pinot Noir. It is named The Boundary Hut where Australian shepherds used to rest to keep an eye on their sheep.

Obviously before wire fencing was invented!

Kopparberg is the number one packaged cider in the on-trade.

Last year it launched a frozen version in the off-trade. Although it’s yet to announce bringing the line into the on-trade, it’s investing £6m into the frozen brand through its Urban Summer festival events.

o g n i n Shi

Sum drin

Ever wondered how the “Knickerbocker Glory” got its name? It was inspired by the shape of the Knickerbocker Glory glass that resembled the tapered knee-length knickerbocker shorts worn by sports players from the 1600s.

Premium spirits are growing quicker than mainstream spirits up +19% compared to +1.9% for This strong growth means consumers are also wanting premium mixers too... (+14%).

Premium soft drinks make up 5% of soft drink sales, compared to premium lager which makes up 40% of lager sales and which shows the huge growth potential that remains for soft drinks.

Pairing wine and food on your menu can pay dividends, as customers often take the menu recommendation.

There are well known matches including Sauvignon Blanc with oysters or goat cheese, full-bodied red wine with a plain steak or full-flavoured game, and Eiswein with strong blue cheese.

Britvic has a premium glass bottle format of its Lipton Iced Tea. However if you are serving it to costumers they advise you to use jam jars, with orange discs, lemon slices and a straw with lots of ice as a perfect serve. Its combination of sweet, sour and bitter flavours make it an ideal accompaniment to food.

on

mmer nks

Fresh garnishes needn’t be as much of a hassle as you’d think. Raspberries, strawberries and even olives can be frozen. Cucumber for your traditional Pimms can be also be frozen. You could try quirky garnishes like cucumber slices in ice-cubes if you sell a lot of gin, or frozen grapes if you’re selling a lot of spritzers.

When it comes to white wine – if you have stored it in your fridges then the chances are it is too cold. Light, fruity whites, such as French whites from the Loire, Alsace and Bordeaux, lighter Australian whites, and all Sauvignon Blancs are best at 7ºC to 10ºC (two hours in the fridge; bottle cold to the touch). Only the simplest wines should be ice cold (below 7ºC; three hours in the fridge). Basic Spanish and Portuguese whites and sweet wines, rosés and nonvintage sparkling wines.

Drinks often follow fashion trends and it will be no different this summer.

The ‘80’s are back in vogue on the catwalk and guess what the time is now right to put retro cocktails back on the menu... Long Island Iced Tea, Harvey Wallbanger’s, Pina Colada’s.

Look out your cocktail umbrella’s and maraschino cherries! The difference in 2016 is that you’ll be using premium spirits and fresh ingredients.

Fruit cider is the fastest growing cider in the category (CGA 12/15).

J20’s range called Spritz is a good alternative to the soft drink question.

With three flavours – apple and watermelon, peach and apricot and pear and raspberry – they’re quite different to the more child-friendly flavours.

The original bottled cider, Magners, has launched new packaging which includes a pull off ring top in the trade, so you can serve your customers quicker.

According to new research commissioned

by Diageo casual get-togethers are now the biggest occasion in the on-trade with 9 out of 10 people agreeing cocktails would make their summer social get-togethers more special. Cocktails also provide licensees with a real opportunity to secure repeat custom with cocktail drinkers more likely to revisit an outlet than non-cocktail drinkers.

Red w is o i p ar t i c f t en dr unk n e ul ar l y t no t c in t h e o o w ar m , hill s journ the wine ummer, w ? al h T h e G i s t T im A t A c c o r ding y k in w u ar di t r i t ing o an, “. pr e t t .. i 14ºC.” y much an you can c n hil yt H pr o bl e c o n t inu hing r e d t l grape em for lig ed, “ 14ºC o h t er is no s suc bod ha C o r v i s P in o t No i e d r e d na, Te ir, Ga a n d C m p r a n i l l o m a y, abe r n et.

DRAM JUNE 2016 19

THE EXEMPLAR GREEN INN AT GLENUIG

BY SUSAN YOUNG

20 DRAM JUNE 2016

O

ur recent supplement carried a feature on Climate change, and why it was important, and it prompted Steve Macfarlane of The Glenuig Inn to get in touch. He said, “Come and see what I am doing.” So I did. And fortunately for me, I picked the two best days of the year, so far, to travel up the West Coast through Glencoe to just beyond Glenfinnan to Glenuig.

Glenuig Inn is situated in one of the most picturesque areas in Scotland, and it is a haven for walkers, kayakers, divers, motorcyclists and cyclists... but really what sets this business apart is the fact that it is carbon neutral and Steve has not only helped the environment but has saved thousands of pounds too and continues to save, compared to similar businesses without a green ethic.

Glenuig Inn is one of the best examples in the country of a green business that champions renewable energy – and Steve has the awards to prove it. In fact, he calls the Inn ‘Scotland’s exemplar green Inn.’ Steve, who in his previous life was a business consultant, spent 18 months looking for a business that he could turn around. He talks about finding one to explore his ‘proof of concept’. He says, “I had spent years giving advice to people on how to structure and run their businesses and I was looking for an opportunity that would allow me to turn a business around and introduce some of my own energy saving ideas. I wasn’t necessarily looking for a hospitality business, but despite looking at more than 100 buildings I kept coming back to the Glenuig Inn. I had looked at its accounts and I knew it was not trading well as a business, it did, however, have planning permission in situ to expand.” He continues, “It’s always the bottom line that matters, however for me it wasn’t just about finding new markets it was also about making savings. Two of the most uncontrollable costs are energy and waste. I wondered how much we could effect the bottom line by being prudent.” He explains, “The definition of energy poverty is when you spend more than 10% of your income on energy, and in Scotland it is particularly bad, due to the fact that it is colder here. Most businesses do spend more than 10% of their income on energy. I decided to try and come up with innovative ways to control these costs, to see if it made a real difference.” He completed the purchase of the Inn in 2007 and then ran it for a full season. Says Steve, “I ran it for nine months as it was and got

to know what happened. I saw the season out and used the time to change my original plans. The renovation was originally just an upgrade without delivering any bonuses. I closed in September, and didn’t get started with the renovation until January 2009 and by June half was done – which included totally rebuilding the dining room wing. The rest of the Inn was completed by Spring 2010.

Along the way, he introduced various energy saving and waste reducing initiatives. He explains, “Being a rural business it costs us more to bring in goods, but it also costs us more to get the waste offsite. Therefore, my goal was to create an infrastructure here that kept removal of waste to an absolute minimum.”

Initially, Steve managed his food waste with three revolving composters. He explains, “We had three rotating, insulated composters for a few years, and they did work, however, I was concerned about the amount of methane that they were outputting.

However, one benefit was the fact that midges were attracted to the CO2, that was also created, and they would get into the composters and we found by keeping the lids closed and burying them, we effectively cleared the site of midges.

He continues, “There was also the issue that composting didn’t work all year round. So I began to experiment and I came up with the idea of drying the waste food.

Initially, I tried it by piling small quantities into toilet roll holders and leaving it to dry out, and then I put it on the fire. Obviously, this wasn’t a sensible option. But it proved it worked. So I started looking for a commercial food dryer, and it took a while to find one that was small enough.

Meanwhile, Steve also installed a Biomass pellet stove with an integrated boiler which was fed on pellets and which provided the heat and the hot water for the Inn. When he eventually sourced his food dryer which also takes items such as napkins, and cherry stones, nuts etc, he found that the calorific value of dried food waste, due to the fats in it, was 25% greater than that of the pellets. So burning the food waste also helped save money.

Says Steve, “My staff put all the food waste from the kitchen in a container, and take it to the food dryer, which dries the food in around 8 hours, the resulting soil like substance, which is almost odourless, is then added to the bio-mass boiler with the pellets.”

He continues, “We do around 23,000 plates of food a year, and all DRAM JUNE 2016 21

THE EXEMPLAR GREEN INN AT GLENUIG the food waste is used to provide energy. We can’t recycle bones, but due to this I buy my meat from the butcher already boned and trimmed and ready to go, and I also buy my fish minus the heads... both the butcher and the fishmonger have their own waste disposal methods which are suited to the businesses that they are in. And it means my chef doesn’t have to act like an amateur butcher, and although it does cost a little more, the benefits far outweigh the slight additional cost.”

He adds, “It’s funny I don’t preach to my staff about energy, but they know if they don’t feed the pellet boiler then there is the possibility that there will be no hot water for their showers in the morning!”

The Inn also has its own Smokery – they do all their own smoking.

Says Steve, “I buy a side of salmon (minus the head) and dry smoke it and we also smoke our duck.”

He has also actively gone out of his way to source produce with the minimum amount of packaging. He adds, “We have a good system not just financially, but operationally too, and it is sustainable. We couple it with best practice combined with reducing waste. It’s all about re-educating people and really reducing waste in the supply chain.”

I think they would be more easily reeducated when they hear of his savings.

Steve has got minimal energy costs.

He tells me, “I looked at another place before I bought this place and it had 10% more rooms. I met the guy who bought it four years later and he was lamenting the cost of his energy. He had an annual bill of £20K, while mine was £6.5K, and since then energy costs have really gone up. There are 20/30 businesses this size on the West coast and to earn the £13.5K difference would mean filling every room for a month, taking out VAT, breakfast, and the other extras. It goes to show that when you do invest in making energy savings it really pays off.

You get your money back quickly.” It also helps that the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) a UK Government scheme set up to encourage uptake of renewable heat technologies amongst householders, communities and businesses through financial incentive, contributes 90% of the biomass fuel cost. Says Steve “What’s not to like about it?”

The Glenuig Inn is open every day of the year and offers a full menu until 9pm. It is the only place west of Fort William that is always open. Says Steve, people say ‘I know a place that is always open’, and they come here and they bring friends, then the friends come and bring other friends, and so our business has grown. We have regulars who come back all the time and sometimes who eat the very same thing. I daren’t take it off the menu, and even if I did, I’d still make the dish they requested.”

In a previous life he also owned a Sea Kayaking firm, and today his passion for kayaking continues, and he runs a kayaking venture at Glenuig. Steve is also heavily involved in the local Chamber of Commerce.

However, one of his biggest bugbears is the lack of communication 22 DRAM JUNE 2016

that the area has. He has not been able to a landline call for years, he can’t offer customers Wi-fi, the only broadband comes from a satellite, and they are limited to 25GB, which Steve needs to run the business. Says Steve, “It is a nightmare. We have 8,000 guests a year, aged between 11 and 90, and they have very limited phone signals here, and no wi-fi connection, that’s despite the fibre optic line going past the very end of the road.”

However that apart, the Glenuig Inn Steve describes as “probably one of Scotland’s most accessible rural places.” There’s a reasonable road in, and a train station at Fort William that can take you to London in 8 hours. Just as well because Karen, Steve’s partner, has recently joined him at Arisaig, and is running her own PR business, and she has clients all over the UK. Her speciality is doing Environmental and Sustainability PR. She met Steve when she came to Glenuig with friends on a walking holiday and she and Steve discovered they had a lot in common.

Steve may be all about renewable energy, one thing is for certain, he is definitely not short on energy in any aspect but now he has decided to turn his hand to a new project, and has put Glenuig Inn on the market. He says, “ When I bought the Inn nearly 10 years ago, I was looking for a building to test proof of concept’ regarding waste and energy. Having proved it works and created an exciting destination with many repeat customers, it has exceeded my expectations. We’ve recently employed a new Chef to develop our menu to better reflect seasonality and enhance our brand; consequently the Inn is a great growth opportunity… and my plans for the future? I’d like to continue to create sustainable businesses and I’ve yet more interesting concepts I’d like to develop”

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Customer Service Award

Customer service is paramount when it comes to running a successful business.

BII Scotland is on the lookout for a pub, restaurant or hotel which fully embraces the customer service ethos. Do you know a business that does this? If so, they could be eligible for this award. Judges will look at the measures that are in place to ensure staff are well trained in customer service. Short listing will be done by Mystery Shoppers followed by interviews at a later date by a team of judges. If you want to put a nomination in, do so now.

Dog Friendly Pub of the Year The Scottish Bar & Pub Awards are hunting for a pub that provides a welcome for pet dogs. Do you you know a pub or bar that allow customers to bring their friendly pooches inside? Do they provide a water bowl, and the occasional treat?

If so, they could be in the running for this accolade. Judges will be bringing their own dogs on mystery visits (volunteers are queuing up!!)

If you think you know a pub or hotel that fits the bill - enter it now.

Social Media Award

Award for Innovative Business of the year

Bright Signals one of Scotland’s foremost creative content agencies is on the look-out for pubs, bars, restaurants and hotels that excel in their use of social media. We’re looking for examples of great content, interaction and results. Do you know a venue that does it well, or do you think you are one? If so enter now at scottishbarandpubawards.com

Caledonian Brewery, one of Scotland’s most innovative breweries, is on the lookout for a licensed trade business that is also innovative.

Do you know a business that has developed by using innovative business practices? Do they think outside of the box when it comes to attracting customers? Perhaps they have developed an innovative idea that is proving a success with customers and staff whether it be an innovative loyalty scheme, upcycling practices, creative menus or special events. If so they could be eligible for this award. So why not put them forward now.

Entrepreneur of the Year

Best New Venue

Do you know someone, or are you someone, who has the entrepreneurial spirit? Do you know a man or woman who took a risk when they started their business, and who has grown it by providing customers what they want and by investing in their staff. A good entrepreneur is a good leader that has strong communication skills and the ability to lead a team of people toward a common goal in a way that keeps the entire team motivated. Are you that person or do you know one? If so why not put them forward for this award now?

New bars, restaurants and hotels have been opening at a great rate of knots over the last 12 months and this year there is an award for Best New Venue. What bar, restaurant or hotel has made a real impression on you since it opened. (September 2015 – May 31 2016). We are looking for well designed venues, which have invested in their staff as well as their premises, and which deliver. It’s not enough to look good, it has to have been a success with customers too.

Get your customers to vote for you at

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AWARDS

Gastro Pub of the Year

Social Responsibility and Community Award

Cocktail Bar of the Year

It has never been more important to offer your customers good food. It doesn’t have to be fine dining, but quality, freshly prepared pub grub is what we are looking for. It’s not the size of the menu that counts, but the quality of the food and the efficiency of the service. If you think you know a venue that has a great food offer, let us know at www.scottishbarandpubawards.com

Diageo is on the look-out for pubs, bars and people that embrace social responsibility and who also put something back into the community.

Do you know a pub or bar that has developed good relationships with local police, community safety partnerships, community groups, licensing boards and/or licensing forums to help minimise alcohol-related crime and disorder? Do they go the extra mile to promote responsible drinking; what do they do differently from other bars in the area? Do they interact with the local community. Let us know and they could be the proud recipients of this award.

Do you think you know the best cocktail bar in Scotland or do you think you ARE the best Cocktail Bar in Scotland? If so why not enter the Disaronno Cocktail Bar of the Year category?

Judges will be looking for a bar with a good ambience and well-trained staff who have a strong customer focus, as well as, the ability of staff to put their own spin on a Disaronno Sour. Expertly made cocktails, a willingness to experiment and a good knowledge of spirits are essential. If you think you fit the bill or you know a bar that does, please enter now. Telling us why you think so. scottishbarandpubawards.com

Award for Success Success stories deserve to be recognised and celebrated. Do you know a licensee/ proprietor that has grown their business over the past few years. Perhaps they have successfully continued a family company, or expanded over the past few years, adopted innovation to develop their business, or have grown turnover? This year’s Scottish Bar & Pub Award judges would love to know of any hoteliers, restaurateurs or licensees, who fit the bill. Why not put them forward now to www. scottishbarandpubawards.com

Wine by the glass award

Do you have a great range of wine by the glass or do you know a bar, pub or restaurant that does?

If so it could be eligible for this inaugural award.

A choice of wine range and the opportunity to buy it by the glass has a great appeal to the modern consumer. Judges will be looking for staff with good wine knowledge, a range of wine by the glass which offers a good balance of Old and New World wines, and which includes wine that you can drink on its own or with food. Do you, or does your favourite bar or restaurant seek to improve the customer experience by offering a step up in the quality of wine in its wine by the glass range, and has the wine on offer helped to improve the reputation of the outlet? If so enter your favourite wine by the glass venue now.

Island Pub/Bar of the Year Isle of Arran Distillers, the only distillers on the Isle of Arran, are on the look-out for the best bar and pub located on a Scottish island.

Do you know a bar or pub that goes the extra mile to attract customers to its island location?

Does the pub or bar offer great food, excellent service and a very warm welcome? If so why not nominate it for this award? Whether the bars are on Arran or or Mull, Islay or Bute, the judges will be eager to see what makes them special. So be sure and enter your nominee now.

www.scottishbarandpubawards.com

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Independent Bar of the Year

Bar Apprentice 2016

Craft Beer Bar of the Year

Kopparberg is on the lookout for Scotland’s top independent bar. The Kopparberg team is looking for a bar that has proved to be a success with customers – it doesn’t have to be the most stylish or the biggest, but owners should demonstrate creative forward-thinking and be inclined to think outside of the box when it comes to developing their business. It goes without saying but good customer service and an excellent range of products behind the bar is essential. Do you know a bar that deserves the title? If so put them forward for the accolade now.

Maxxium UK’s training and education programme, mixxit, is now in its ninth year of looking for Scotland’s best new bartender. The mixxit Bar Apprentice competition will take 10 bartenders with experience of one year or less on an intensive training programme which will cover all aspects of professional bartending, including mixology, drinks knowledge and service excellence. In June the bar apprentices will face a panel of judges and the best performing bartender will win the accolade mixxit Bar Apprentice of the Year, which will be announced at the SB&P Awards.

The judges of this category will be looking for a bar that has an excellent range of quality beer and Craft beers. The bar has to serve and market its beer range well, employ staff who are interested and knowledgeable about beer.

An ability to understand beer styles, taste profile and matching beer with food is also fundamental. If you are a bar or know a bar who loves their beer and always looking for the next innovation or new experience of beer enter it now.

Quality Award

Whisky Bar of the Year

Pub of the Year

A dedication to quality has helped to make Tennent’s the No 1 Scottish Lager brand and Tennent’s is looking for a pub that shows a similar commitment to quality. Excellent customer service, great beer, a good range of products behind the bar, fine food and a great ambience are all part of the quality experience.

If you would like to nominate a pub or bar, do so now.

Whisky is Scotland’s national drink and we know that there are some great whisky bars out there. The Wee DRAM is looking for licensees who go to extraordinary lengths to promote Scotch whisky within their own establishment.

An excellent range of whisky on the back bar is a necessity and staff should also be well trained and enthusiastic when it comes to recommending whisky to their customers. A good Scottish welcome is also important. Do you know a bar worth nominating?

Scotland’s leading Sunday newspaper is looking for the best pub in the country. Do you have a welcoming atmosphere? Do your customers come back, and come back again? Get your customers to fill in the entry form when it appears in the Sunday Mail or online at www. barandpubawards.co.uk and tell us why you think you are eligible for ‘Pub of the Year’.

Get your customers to vote for you at

26 DRAM JUNE 2016

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The Hilton Hotel, Glasgow Tables of 10 ÂŁ 1000 Compere Tom Stade To reserve your table contact Cheryl: cheryl@mediaworldltd.com

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16 August 2016 th

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This honour is bestowed upon the person who during their career, have made significent contributions to the licensed trade. Previous winners include John Gilligan, David Urquhart, Billy Dunn, Bob Taylor, Lord MacFarlane and Angus Meldrum.

of

Lifetime Achievement

Food Wholesaler of the Year

7th

rating the

AWARDS

Drinks Wholesaler of the Year Beer Brand owner/Distributor of the Year Spirit Brand owner/Distributor of the Year

www.scottishbarandpubawards.com

DRAM JUNE 2016 27

HOSPITALITY I INTERVIEW

Ronnie Rickard

W

hen Chris Rickard was made Managing Director of Strathmore Hotels four years ago, there was much at stake.

Not only was he reeling from the sudden death of his father, Ronnie, at just 63, he also became responsible for the ‘old man’s baby’ – a multi-million pound leisure empire encompassing seven hotels and a travel firm – as well as hundreds of loyal staff, many of whom had worked with Ronnie for decades and felt very much like family themselves. Backed by his mum, Barbara (65) and with the help of his sister, Louise Hamill (38), who is Sales and Marketing Director, Chris (36) threw himself into the role. He says, “It was a great laugh working with Dad, there was never a cross word, it was just fun. He was unwell for a short while and then in October 2012 he was diagnosed with cancer and died 20 days later. It was a terrible shock for us all – for the family and the company too. Nobody knew what was happening with the company and it all transferred to Mum. She pulled me to one side and said she wanted me to keep going and that it was what my Dad would have wanted.”

He adds, “Our parents were very good at teaching us right from wrong and discipline but at the same time they instilled in us our own self-belief and our own confidence that what we believe is right is the right thing to do. So when my father passed away both Louise and I had an idea what we wanted to do and where we wanted to go – there were never any doubts. We were confident that we could put our own stamp on it and make it ours.”

Louise adds, “What was great from our point of view as well was

28 DRAM JUNE 2016

that nobody doubted our ability to take it on either – whether that was family or banks or our managers. Our first thought was just keeping the business going because you’ve got so many people to look after. Chris and I both had the attitude that we just had to come in here and get on with it, even though we all had our own grief to deal with at the same time.”

Ronnie had been in the hotel business since 1973, when he joined Norscot Hotels as operations manager, working his way up to run around 14 venues for the firm. When the company was floated on the stock exchange and then bought over, Ronnie was laid off and had to start again. Chris explains, “He was a victim of his own success really. He went round the banks in Edinburgh asking for loans and in 1991 he bought the Salutation Hotel in Perth – that was his first one. It was the height of the recession and hotels were being sold quite cheaply compared to today.”

Ronnie quickly built an impressive portfolio – snapping up the Cumbria Grand Hotel in Cumbria in 1992, Nethybridge Hotel in Inverness-shire and the Cairn Hotel in Yorkshire in 1993, and the Royal Hotel in Oban in 1994. Chris, who studied accountancy at Glasgow University, joined the company in 2001, around the time that Ronnie, who had been a 20 per cent stakeholder when he started the company in 1991, was in the process of buying it outright to head off an attempt by other investors to sell it.

He explains, “It ended up as a silent auction with two bids on the table and whoever had the highest was going to get it. My Dad pulled in money from everywhere – he didn’t even know how much

IN THE BLOOD

BY ANNABELLE LOVE

he needed to put in. I’d just qualified at the time and he asked if I fancied helping him out to push the deal through and here I am 15 years later.”

The deal went through in February 2002 and the following year, in 2003, Ronnie added two Fort William properties, the Ben Nevis Hotel & Leisure Club and the Alexandra Hotel, to his portfolio.

Five years later the financial crisis was starting to ease and hotel prices were on the up so Ronnie decided to consolidate and improve what he had, rather than add sub-standard properties to the firm’s portfolio. Chris says, “You were paying maybe 20 times the hotel’s profits – if it made say £500K a year it would cost you £10m to get it so there were big calls to be made. The decision was made to swell the value of what we had already. We boosted the refurbishment package with the aim of moving more towards the three and four-star market. We were spending around £700K a year on the programme but it was all done around off-peak when trade is quieter and on a phased basis. It has never been our model to shut hotels for two years and do a dramatic refurbishment.”

At the time they were selling a lot of hotel space to coach tours but decided it would make better sense for the business if they ran their own tours, so in 2006 they launched Strathmore Travel, which is now the biggest provider of coach holidays to Strathmore Hotels.

Chris was made Financial Director four years later, in 2010, two years before Ronnie passed. One of the first things he did when he took over as Managing Director was to invest in all of the hotels to reassure the managers that they were moving things forward and that they had a future with the company. More recently, all of the hotels have become green – fuelled by sustainable wood pellets – even the Salutation, which is the oldest hotel in Scotland.

Today, aside from his own hard work, a good head for figures and a passion for the business that he admits borders on obsession, Chris is keen to credit the firm’s wider family for their progress to date. He and Louise work well together for starters – because they share the same goals and a mutual respect for what each brings to the table.

Chris says, “We both share the same drive and desire to see the business do well so it works. A good manager should always employ people who have the qualities they lack themselves. The whole thing works because of the mutual respect we all have for each other.”

Louise’s husband, Gerry (37), a quantity surveyor, took over the property management side of things and runs their refurbishment programme – no mean feat given that they aim to overhaul each of their 770 rooms, all of which are three-star, by 2026.

Both Lawrence Cormack, who owns a 17% stake in Strathmore, and is Operations Director, and Rhonda Wood, Group Reservations Manager, worked with Ronnie at Norscot and have been with him from the very beginning – something Chris is immensely proud of.

He says, “Lawrence has been in the business for 30-odd years and Rhonda is also hugely experienced and knows the Coach Tour industry incredibly well. Louise’s expertise is in sales and marketing.

Gerry is worth his weight in gold also so with him on board too, it all adds up to the perfect piece.”

It is clear that Louise, who studied marketing at Strathclyde University, shares her brother’s passion for the trade. She ran her own marketing consultancy firm but was doing so much work for her father that she wound it up and joined him instead.

She says, “It’s either a love-it or hate-it industry and if you love it, you’ll always love it. Maybe it’s in our blood but Chris and I have always been drawn to it. There’s no better industry to work in – people are on their holidays, they want to be happy and have a nice time and there can’t be many other jobs that give you the same level of satisfaction when you help make that happen for them.”

She adds, “We are not afraid, never have been, to be who we are and to be what we are. There is a market in the UK for hotels that are not looking to do a massive refurbishment and become fivestar. Guest satisfaction and guest returns are what matter to us.”

It will be 25 years this year since Ronnie bought the Salutation for £1m and today the company’s assets are valued at around £30m, with a record year in 2015 and profits of £3.5m expected this year.

Chris and Louise are proud of what the whole team has achieved – but they won’t be resting on their laurels any time soon.

Chris says, “I hope we can not only do Dad proud but also build something for ourselves. Dad built this up, it’s his baby, he’s passed and we as a group decided to drive it on, in his name.

“Any success we have is purely down to us saying, ‘Heads down and let’s do the old man proud’ – that’s what it’s about for all of us.”

The Strathmore team Louise (far-left) and Chris (third from the right)

DRAM JUNE 2016 29

RISING FROM THE FLOOD DESIGN FOCUS

T

he Old Bridge Inn at Aviemore re-opened a few weeks ago after being closed since Christmas due to damage caused by Storm Desmond. For the couple who run the pub - Kim and partner Owen Caldwell - it was a huge blow, not least because they were three weeks into a dream holiday to Australia! But whether it was serendipity or just a coincidence but before leaving Aviemore Kim had enrolled on an interior design course, and during her holiday, she had been dreaming up ideas for the pub. So when the call came through to say that the pub was under water... Kim although shocked also had the sneaking impression that it was “meant to be.”

The couple who moved to the Aviemore area in 2009 due to their love of the outdoor and the area, had initially gone into business at the Old Bridge Inn with two other partners. The foursome believed that live music and good food would breathe new life into the Bridge Inn. Says Owen, “We didn’t stay as a foursome for too long, but as one of our partners had formerly put on a music festival locally, we had got to know a lot of the musicians, so when we started operating it ourselves we were well placed to continue providing live music and good food. We have a very varied clientele – the younger folk like the music, and families dine here on special occasions.” Says Kim, “Sometimes you can see three generations around the same table.”

The couple had spent six years planning their trip to Australia,

30 DRAM JUNE 2016

and when they heard the news it was as Kim explains, “A bit of an emotional rollercoaster.” However, the silver lining was that she got to implement some changes to the design of the pub.

On their return to Aviemore, they quickly realised that the pub was going to be closed for a while. Owen explains, “I suppose we rode our luck for 6 years without a flood, so it was almost inevitable at some point we would pay the price for the beautiful riverside setting we enjoy. What we couldn’t ever have imagined is the scale of the damage. How it gets into - and destroys -everything. As the water subsided the flood had clearly been devastating for us. All kitchen equipment, flooring, walls, bar almost anything else you can think of was ruined and needed to be replaced. It was just before Christmas, our busiest time of the year. Our landlord wanted us to open, but the damp pervaded everything. Within weeks of the flood, mould was growing. The insurance company was quick at agreeing to pay out, but the detail of what we were covered for was a bit more difficult as was actually getting the funds released. We had to dip into our savings to keep us going. Hogmanay is the biggest night of the year for us. But not just for us for our customers too, who were left with nowhere to go. Says Kim, “We too spent our first new year in in years.”

Kim continues, “We had to totally rebuild the interior. It was exciting but it was also stressful. It took us five months – folk

BY SUSAN YOUNG say it must have been great to have had a five-month holiday, but actually it was just the opposite. The first two months we spent learning everything we could about flood defences. We had to flood proof the pub in order to get new insurance. “ Says Owen, “We worked our way through a jungle of red tape, learning about flood-defences to the point we could confidently build a paper pub at the bottom of Loch Morlich!

“The Inn has now been flood proofed, with a flood wall, various drain mechanisms put in place and water proof materials used in all the repairs. So no more carpet, everything had to be wipeable, and we needed to be able to move the furniture out of harm’s way.

However, we didn’t want to change too much because people see it as their pub and we wanted some continuity. So in the pub area we have kept it very similar, but we have changed the restaurant.”

The Old Bridge Inn has three distinct areas – the lounge bar which is to the right as you come in, the bar itself which is a good space for drinking and on the left there is the restaurant.

Says Kim, “In the bar we’ve put wood panelling on the walls, and we have insulated them too. There is no heating in the bar area apart from a new wood burning stove.

The bar is Victorian in style with the wood panelling, and the open fire was replaced. Says Kim, “It was just inefficient.” But I wanted to keep the fireplace. So we have put an art Victorian-style hearth and used green tiles, and the fireplace itself has an art-deco feel.

We wanted an informal living room vibe. It’s very much Victorian public bar meets cosy living room. The pub is only 30 years old but it has been styled as older. And we have continued this with an old hunting lodge style. Although we didn’t want stag heads all over the place, we have got some. We also kept the open beams and we have put lovely fairy lights on them.”

The bar is traditional but the furniture has a modern feel, says Kim, “Select Contract Furniture made the free standing banquettes, and they did an amazing job. They were due to arrive three weeks after we opened but they really pulled it out of the bag and we got them a couple of days before opening. I gave the man a bear hug!

She continues, “The fact that the banquettes are freestanding means that we can lift them and put them on top of the tables if there is any danger of flooding. They are upholstered in a faux antique looking soft suede. Initially, we had looked at faux leather but we thought the suede was warmer.

Luckily when it came to the bar we were able to source secondhand tables and chairs (not the pews though) from a nearby business that closed down. We used Haig Blue on the walls, and on the floors wood effect porcelain tiles. We used a herringbone design into the restaurant” Says Owen, “We have put in a whole new kitchen, and a whole new bar. The head chef helped plan the kitchen and it is now much more efficient. For example, we have put in induction hobs, which DRAM JUNE 2016 31

has meant we have been able to increase our covers to 100.

The insurance covered like-for-like so we have put in a substantial amount of our own money to make all the improvements.

Owen planned the infrastructure of the bar itself. He explains, “Previously it had been a plywood shell, there was no shelving, and it had a really basic structure. It was made for low volumes, and we had struggled with it over the last few years. Now we have stainless steel shelving, and we have moved the sink from the cellar to the bar. We have put in a completely new bar of solid oak, created by local joiner Ben who was great. He is also a good friend and has a creative edge. He did all the wood panelling too” Says Owen, “I was determined to have a lip on the bar, and we also raised it up a bit so that we could get stuff on the other side.”

Kim adds, “The pub always had a good feel about it, and we were scared we would lose the ambience. But I think we have created a bar with the same vibe.

The Dining room is the area which has been really transformed.

It was formerly a terracotta tiled conservatory with rather uncomfortable furniture. Now it is a stylish, airy yet quirky restaurant.

Says Owen, “ We wanted to be able to integrate the restaurant more with the bar and lounge. And when we started the refurbishment we found another door to the restaurant and opened it back up.

32 DRAM JUNE 2016

This means we now have a separate entrance and when we have music on we can now do ticketed entry. The dining area had a pitched roof and a wee flat roof and we split these separate areas – in the smaller flat roof area we used Timorous Beastie wallpaper to give it its own character while in the main area, with its pitched roof, along the back wall we created a feature with charred wood panelling which Kim did herself.”

She explains, ‘I wanted the area to have a ski chalet feel – and I love black – it makes the pictures stand out. We used a mixture of old and new lights, sourcing the old church lights from Glasgow Architectural Salvage. We sourced lots of eclectic pieces from the reindeer skin to gilt mirrors and antlers that were not mounted, for the restaurant, and we are still adding bits and pieces.

Says Kim, “People come in and say ‘we love it. We are glad you haven’t changed it too much.’ There had to be a balance, and we also had strict budgets. It’s like opening a new business but with an existing and familiar clientele. It’s a lucky position to be in.

Owen concludes,‘We would mention the phenomenal support we got from locals and our customers from far and wide, ‘but a special thanks has to go to the staff we retained throughout, who have worked tirelessly to get us back open. How much people really care about the Inn has been really moving and has kept us going during some pretty bleak times.’

Highland Fish suppliers to the Old Bridge Inn would like to wish them all the best for their re-opening

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DRAM JUNE 2016 33

Lights 2

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Wish Peter and the team a successful future at Bar Luca Commercial lighting systems & Control Audio Visual sales & installation.

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BAR LUCA DESIGN FOCUS

Central Scotland’s premier supplier of fresh fish and poultry Proud to supply Bar Luca.

Wishing the team all the best for the future.

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www.bernardcorrigan.com 34 DRAM JUNE 2016

W

alking into Bar Luca, the recently opened venture from Peter and Julie Di Ciacca, the couple behind Riva Restaurants, is like walking into a slice of Italy in the 1920s. From the stunning mosaic on the floor of the entrance which was imported specially from Italy, to the luxurious décor, the Di Ciacca’s have put a definite touch of their home country of Italy, but haven’t made it into an Italianesque homage.

Bar Luca is the reincarnation of The Riverbank, a large, sportsoriented pub in Kilmarnock’s town centre, but bears very little resemblance to its predecessor.

Gone is the barn-like feel, community pub, replaced instead with a more comfortable boutique restaurant ambience. The company has invested over £350,000 in the premises, which it bought last May, although speculation wouldn’t be wrong that the final cost was more when you see the finish.

Originally a predominantly weekend retreat for Killie drinkers, the couple have re-floored the entire pub, leaving only a small section in the restaurant that could be saved with some TLC. The entrance – which originally opened up in to a cavernous building – has been blocked off with the use of some stylish dark wood and a metal decorative grill, with the design influence coming from both Peter and BSD Design.

Brian Shields of BSD Design said, “We were tasked with creating a space that would not only cater for restaurant dining but would also have the ability to become a late night cocktail bar venue.

The existing B-listed building had several original features that had to be enhanced to realise the full potential of the space. We designed the feature wine display wall and an intricate laser cut polished brass screen to create a visual break at the entrance with the introduction of concealed lighting to highlight the arch

BY MAIRI CL ARK ways, fibrous plaster cornice work and decorative fittings to make an impressive statement.”

Customers who come in are greeted by a glass display of 16 wines – one from every Italian region – before being met by a member of staff. With all Riva’s restaurants, the Italian influence is clear, and this one’s name was inspired – we’re told – by Gianluca, the owners’ five-year-old son.

When it was the Riverbank, it was all open plan, however, as Bar Luca is predominantly a restaurant with a bar, in order for it to have good flow, they decided to section it off. “To have it open plan, we’d have had to have staff in each section, and that wouldn’t be feasible,” said Rory Watson, operations manager at Riva Restaurants.

A main feature of the venue is the bar centre piece. Shields said, “We were tasked with creating a space that would not only cater for restaurant dining but would also have the ability to become a late night cocktail bar venue. A cross section of high level fixed seating,antique brass screens, circular white marble table tops with feature copper lamps and a bespoke polished copper chandelier suspended over the centre makes an impressive statement.”

To give customers privacy in the main bar tables, Concept Metals created foot high, copper grills to attach on top of each banquette back, and also complementary metalwork in the rest of the restaurant.

The lighting was one of the most costliest things about the refurb as it’s entirely powered by LED lighting, which - while giving the manager complete control over the dimming of lights - is also very cost-efficient. Each section has a different style of light, with wall-attached lights focussing on the bar main area, DRAM JUNE 2016 35

with individual copper-topped lights at each table, but a more art deco lampshade style consisting of white circles at the front windows, which opens the bar up with natural light. Lighting companies Lights 2 and Chantelle Lighting worked together on the project. Lights 2 concentrated on the LED lighting, while Chantelle Lighting created the mood with the different styles and sizes of lampshades.

High bar tables with alternating white and black ceramic tops are used in the bar area to seat thirty odd people, whereas the tables for eating are lower, dark wood tables and are laid out for dining at all times apart from Friday and Saturday evenings, when the bar area is mainly for drinks. A lovely sable coloured leather is used on the banquettes, complemented by an olive coloured leather on the high chairs in the middle oasis. The tables by the window in the bar, are matched with bar chairs covered in the sable leather but with an aqua blue back covering, which pulls out the blue of the rest of the decor.

The colour scheme is something that shouldn’t work about Bar Luca, but does perfectly. A gorgeous vibrant aqua velvet covering, from Lecs Upholstery, is used on both the wall and the chairs in a secluded twin tabled section before you get to the restaurant, which is parallel to pillars painted in a serene olive colour. The wallpaper in the raised bar area is a green foliage pattern that Rory admits could have been dismissed as too busy, as it would have looked too much on a roll, but in the nearly twenty-foot high room, looks amazing.

The building itself was the former Ayrshire headquarters for the Bank of Scotland, so enjoys high ceilings, with intricate cornicing, and ceiling centrepieces. All of these, including the details at the top of the pillars that support the roof, have been 36 DRAM JUNE 2016

Unit 1, Lochlands Business Park, Larbert, Stirlingshire FK5 3NS T: 01324 563903 F: 01324 558363

picked out in contrasting colours. The bar front is tiled in a similar colour scheme to the entrance mosaic, and after ripping out the bar fittings, BSD put in place four x four window shelving to display wine and spirits. The LED lighting, by Lights 2, plays a big part in the back gantry, with a changing colour dependent on the time of day.

Jamie Ballantine of Lights 2 said, “The gantry was my favourite remit of the project. Our job was to glorify the grand scale of the bar gantry which sits underneath the traditionally tall ceiling found in buildings like this; Here we developed a unique colour changing back-light feature to silhouette products displayed on the hybrid brass and glass shelving in front. The light panels are each capable of individual and multiple appearances and moods, changing automatically throughout the day and in conjunction with ambient daylight.”

Behind the bar, a wire hanger display for wine glasses was also constructed, with a glass covered shelf above, to store extra wine and spirit stock.

The banquettes in the main bar back on to a raised area where a wooden break replaces what was a metal balustrade. To add some sparkle, the top third of the wood is covered in sparkly copper covering that is reminiscent of a 1920s flapper dress.

The main restaurant consists of two sections. One is cleverly secluded by partitioning, and could easily cater for 20/25 people. The part near the front of the restaurant is more open, and could seat the same. Again both sections’ banquettes have a tan coloured covering, but the secluded area has a different wall covering, this time, vibrant tropical birds. With this in mind, the buttons on the banquettes have been customised to reflect the colours. The window section is flanked on one side

S.G.

polishing

* French Polishing * Spray Polishing * Spray Painting, * Bar and Shopfitting * On site repairs, * Furniture repair and restoration Tel - 07815 751 091 sgpolishing@yahoo.co.uk www.sgpolishing.com DRAM JUNE 2016 37

with glass, on the left with glass panelling, and opposite, three large mirrors. Brian Shields said, “In the restaurant dining area, it was important to keep diners comfortable in what is a large space. We felt that by creating the walnut stained timber screen with polished brass hexagon metal work and antique mirror gives the restaurant its own focal point. The overall combination of rich finishes with the variety of lighting techniques creates a warm enjoyable atmosphere that makes you feel comfortable in the space.”

To the back of the pub, there is a conservatory, which is used at the moment for overspill from the bar at weekends, but lends itself to a meeting room or private area. Underneath the conservatory, is a function room, with its own private bar, which Bar Luca has already taken a booking for. Although the private room opens out to a cobbled area, it actually doubles up as a car park for the pub, but Bar Luca has a license for tables and chairs at the front of the restaurant which catches the sun perfectly in the middle of the day.

Riva has big plans for its Kilmarnock operation. With such a big venue, it has also broken through into the floor above that had been used as a dumping ground for the previous owners, but Riva has refurbished it to a high commercial office standard and has a company of lawyers already in as tenants. Currently Bar Luca doesn’t serve breakfast, but that’s ‘in the schedule’.

Watson said, “We hope the conservatory will attract some of the local businesses for meetings.”

Watch this space for more Riva openings as we’ve heard Gianluca’s little sister is grumpy as she hasn’t got a restaurant named after her yet, so the Di Ciaccas haven’t stopped yet.

38 DRAM JUNE 2016

Proud suppliers of Bar Luca.

Wishing you all the best for the future!

2117 London Road | Glasgow G32 8XQ Tel: 0141 778 5591 www.hurrybros.co.uk

DRAM JUNE 2016 39

@dramscotland

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SUE SAYS

A

rriving back in Fenwick the other night I spotted a guy with a wee dog going into the King’s Arms and I couldn’t help but smile... that will be “I’ll just take the dog for a quick walk before tea!” Nice bit of business. Meanwhile Jock our star judger for Dog Friendly Pub of the Year, was featured in the Sunday Mail which led to a flurry of entries for this category. To date we have had more than 80 nominations for this category alone. Jock is going to be busy!

I’m extending our entry deadline by a week to June 7th – so if you haven’t entered your favourite customers, or you think that you ought to be in line for an award, head to www. scottishbarandpubawards. To date we’ve had just over 900 nominations...with pubs and hotels such as Markie Dans in Oban, The Cross Key’s, St Andrews; The Lord of the Isles, Lochgilphead, Orocco Pier, Edinburgh; Jinty Mcguinty’s, Glasgow; The Steadings, Edinburgh; The Lochside Hotel and The Ballygrant on Islay, The Douglas Hotel on Arran and Blue Dog in Glasgow up there with the most nominations to date... So if you haven’t got your customers voting, or you would like to nominate yourselves... now is the time!

Donald MacLeod

last month about his experience of nightlife in Sydney, Australia?

It’s no wonder so many Australians are flocking to Scotland! Check it out online but to summarise he found to his dismay that new laws have been introduced in the city... You cannot drink and smoke in the same area. You cannot enter a club after 1.30am. You cannot buy a whole bottle of wine after 10pm and you can’t order a shot after 11pm – even a whisky without adding a soft drink to it! And bar staff are legally required to refuse alcohol to someone they even suspect might be drunk... now it may be the law here too (the last one that is) but at least here you are allowed to get merry... there if you as so much as look at bit tipsy you are out! I won’t be going to Sydney any time soon! God forbid it happens here, as their new laws have killed off much of the trade there.

I headed to Glenuig to see the Glenuig Inn, and was most impressed by its ‘green’ credentials. I can imagine a time when everyone has a Waste food dryer... it just seems like common sense. It’s a shame that Steve Macfarlane is selling up, here’s hoping he stays in hospitality.

Talking of awards I attended the BII Awards recently and was sorry to hear that Stephen McGowan of TLT is stepping down as Chair. He has done a great job for the BII in Scotland over the last few years so much so that the event was at capacity.

It was also lovely to see May Jack (above) honoured for her contribution to the BII over the last 30 years. I’ve known this wonderful former licensee for about 23 years, she was one of my very first interviewees.

Stephen, when I left him was busy carousing, and not just celebrating another successful event, but obviously buoyed by the fact that he has managed to secure The Shed in Shawlands a permanent 3am licence for Fridays and Saturdays. It’s been a very long journey for Michele Pagliocca and his team, but all credit to him, others would have given up by now, and no doubt it will make a tremendous difference to his business.

Donald MacLeod and his colleagues at Holdfast have been fundraising for Nordoff Robbins in a Five Ferries Cycle Challenge... I initially had this vision of the team cycling up and down the decks of a Caledonian MacBrayne Ferry on its way to an Island, I was holding onto that thought because the other visualisation of the bold Donald in lycra wasn’t one that I could face! But he assures he wasn’t wearing lycra – well just a lycra top! Whew! Anyhow the race was around the islands to the ferry terminals and took in Arran, Rothesay etc. But he tells me the worst bit of the ride was the last bit up Hope Street to get his car at the office... as folk kept recognising him. But they did raise more than £7K. Well done.

Meanwhile as we went to press Bob Taylor and his team of cyclists were fundraising for the BEN. Did you see the article that John Niven wrote in the Sunday Mail DRAM JUNE 2016 41

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ROUND UP

Fashion and fizz on the menu as licensed trade ladies raise £6k for The BEN

The BII Annual Awards

DRAM DRINKS RETAILING AND MARKETING PUBLISHED BY MEDIA WORLD LIMITED UPPER FLOOR / FINNIESTON HOUSE, 1 THE STABLES YARD / 1103 ARGYLE STREET, GLASGOW / G3 8ND t. 0141 221 6965 e. dram@mail.com web. www.dramscotland.co.uk Editor Susan Young • Chairman Noel Young • Editorial Annabelle Love, Mairi Clark Advertising Lucy McGovern, Robert McManus • Production Michael Rahme • Admin Cheryl Cook Published by Media World Ltd. Subscriptions: DRAM is available by subscription for all other qualified persons involved in the Scottish Licensed Trade at the rate of £52 per annum including the DRAM Yearbook. The publishers, authors and printers cannot accept liability for errors or omissions. Any transparencies or artwork will be accepted at owner’s risk. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without the written permission of the copyright holder and publisher, application for which should be made to the publisher. Articles published in this magazine do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the publishers. © Media World Limited 2016.

Printed by Stephens & George Print Group.

46 DRAM JUNE 2016

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