Dram 316 December 2016

DR M

316

DRINKS RETAILING AND MARKETING

@dramscotland

DRAM MAGAZINE December 2016 ISSN 1470-241X

/dram.scotland

STAR PUBS & BARS RECOGNISE SCOTTISH SUCCESS STORIES

FESTIVE DRINKS • HOME • VOYAGE OF BUCK • 2016 REVIEW

TOGETHER OR APART, THEY ALWAYS STAND ALONE.

At Ian Macleod Distillers, we take pride in what we do. To us, that’s just part and parcel of being an independent family-owned business, committed to excellence for over 80 years. The result?

An award-winning range of premium spirits, produced here in Scotland and enjoyed by drinkers across the UK and beyond.

Be part of that global success story today.

The Ian Macleod Distillers portfolio of spirits is available from Inverarity Morton, Tennent’s, Gordon and MacPhail, Booker, Laurence Smith, Sutherland Brothers, Belhaven Brewery and Batleys.

For more information on purchasing or stocking brands from our range: Call +44 1506 852205 or email our team at uk@ianmacleod.com

DRINKS RETAILING AND MARKETING

WELCOME

I

t’s been a quick year in many respects and this month’s issue has my usual Annual Roundup, next month of course we have our New Year gongs!

What strikes me about this year is the investment that Scottish licensees and indeed pub companies, operating in Scotland, are putting into their estates. It’s very positive.

This month Laura Smith takes a look at a few new places including The Empress and The Voyage of Buck in Edinburgh and the newly opened Strip Joint in Glasgow.

Annabelle Love paid a visit to Edinburgh to catch up with Dean and Layla Gassabi who are behind a new social enterprise concept - Annabelle was in good company, Leonardo DiCaprio also popped in to see them when he was in the city recently.

We also have a ‘Festive drinks feature’ and of course our usual pictures of people - its Best Bar None season - see some of the winners on page 35.

That’s all for this year. I hope you all have a very prosperous festive season.

Susan Young Editor susan@mediaworldltd.com dramscotland.co.uk

CONTENTS December

FEATURES

16 22 29 32

/dram.scotland

ANNUAL REVIEW

Susan Young gives her take on 2016.

GIVING BACK

Annabelle Love interviews Dean and Layla Gassabi of Maison Bleue.

THE EMPRESS

Laura Smith takes a look at one of Edinburgh’s newest venues.

THE VOYAGE OF BUCK

Colin Church and Martin Luney’s latest addition to their portfolio.

REGULARS

4 9

@dramscotland

2016

39

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 DECEMBER 2016 3

NEWS

AD HOC OPENS BEFORE ARDNAMURCHAN MOVES IN Julie and Neil Douglas who own Glasgow restaurants Ad Lib and Antipasti have announced a new venture called Ardnamurchan, which is set to open in the former Trader Joes at 325 Hope Street early next year. The new Scottish restaurant and bar will serve food sourced from across the country. The Douglas’ say it will have a “West Highland feel” with lots of raw wood, tweed and a gantry filled with Scottish products, including craft beer, gin and whisky. Work on the £400k refurbishment is scheduled to begin in January. The new layout devised by ARKA Design Studio will include an extended kitchen, a “snug” area and space for live music. Ahead of the January refurbishment, the space is temporarily operating as pop up bar and restaurant Ad Hoc.

Glenuig Inn, which DRAM featured earlier in the year, has been named Micro Business of 2016 for the second time at the recent Vision in Business for the Environment of Scotland (VIBES) awards. The West Coast business, which runs on 100% renewable energy and generates minimal waste, first won the title in 2011. Steve Macfarlane, Glenuig Inn Director, said, “As a 100% renewable business, we believe strongly in doing the right thing across the whole business.”

NEW GOURMET BURGER KITCHEN

GLASGOW GETS SECOND SLICE OF PAESANO Paul Stevenson is rolling out his popular independent pizza joint Paesano Pizza to Glasgow’s West End with the new site scheduled to open in March 2017 at the former Costa Coffee at 471 Great Western Road.

A £500k refurbishment of the premises will see the same design and same menu as Paesano’s flagship city centre restaurant on Miller Street, replicated in the new 120-cover restaurant. Paul told DRAM, 4 DRAM DECEMBER 2016

“Miller Street has been a great success so the next logical step was the West End. We’re recreating what we did in Miller Street but the new place is listed so the interior will have a slightly more polished look but still have that industrial feel.” He added, “I’ve always looked at that shop and thought I could do something with it. There’s been a lot of positive reaction on social media. A lot of people are looking forward to it and so are we.”

International burger chain Gourmet Burger Kitchen has opened its second Glasgow restaurant, and third in Scotland, in a newly built unit in Glasgow Fort Shopping Centre.

The new 130-cover restaurant opened last month and offers the same menu dominated by handmade burgers as its popular sister venue on Glasgow’s St Vincent Street. It is Gourmet Burger Kitchen’s 78th site worldwide.

BEER KITCHEN FOR ST ANDREWS Scottish independent brewer, Innis & Gunn, has rolled out its Beer Kitchen concept to 80 North Street in St Andrews, replacing The Glass House restaurant. The company opened its third Beer Kitchen at the end of November. It follows successful Beer Kitchen openings in Dundee and Edinburgh.

Designed by Guy Morgan from Morgan McDonnell Architects, the bar restaurant hosts 12 different beer taps and a large selection of bottled and canned craft beers. Dougal Sharp, Founder and Master Brewer at Innis & Gunn, said, “Each new Beer Kitchen gives us a chance to introduce great craft beer to a new audience. It’s always rewarding to bring this to another town and I’m looking forward to giving St Andrews a new place to enjoy craft beer.” Innis & Gunn will also open its biggest bar to date in Glasgow in Spring 2017, which will include an on-site brewing facility.

OLD DOG NEW TRICKS

Glasgow bar Blue Dog, winner of Cocktail Bar of the Year at the Scottish Bar and Pub Awards for the past two years, has announced plans to expand its West George Street venue. A downstairs storeroom and office space is being renovated to make way for new bar Down Dog, which will have a capacity of around 70. Manager Matthew Ronald told DRAM, “Space has always been a premium so we’ve been looking to do this for years.

It’s essentially another extension to Blue Dog with the same cool vibe but different design.” The bar has teamed up with architect Michael Dunn of Design, Build, Deliver (DBD) who originally worked on Blue Dog. Down Dog will offer the same cocktail menu, and a reduced draught beer and spirit selection. It will open Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights and will be available to hire for private functions. The new bar will open this month.

ACCOLADES FOR STAR PUBS & BARS SCOTTISH LICENSEES Star Pubs & Bars has given accolades to its top Scottish licensees at the 2016 Star Awards. In Scotland and the North, Iain Pert and Gordon Hooley of PG Taverns (Scotland) collected the Best Bar Team award for the Jolly Botanist in Edinburgh. (See Cover pic) Tony Pert, General Manager at Jolly Botanist, said, “It’s a great achievement for the team. We’re all very friendly and work well together, which makes for a better atmosphere in the bar. I think the judges could see that.”

James and Louise Rusk of Rusk and Rusk were awarded Best Food Pub for their Butchershop Bar & Grill in Glasgow and Nick Livingstone of 7 Saints in Prestwick won Best Use of Social media, while Mike and Anna Christopherson scooped Most Family Friendly Pub and Best Marketing for Pearces in Edinburgh. Lawson Mountstevens, Star Pubs & Bars Managing Director, said, “It was an honour to salute some of Scotland’s great licensees. Their skill and innovation are a sign of the bright future for pubs.”

DRAM DECEMBER 2016 5

NEWS

THE REFINERY ROLLS INTO EDINBURGH The Refinery, the first Scottish venture from London restaurant group Drake & Morgan, has opened in the new Standard Life Building at 5 St Andrew Square in Edinburgh. The twofloor, 160-cover restaurant is fronted with floor to ceiling windows and has a contemporary, industrial décor. General Manager Sean Weeraratna said, “We’ve already had great feedback and are busy as we anticipated given

our great East End location. The brand new building is amazing. The designers have done a fantastic job – visually it’s really impressive. In terms of design and atmosphere we are bringing a style of service from London to Edinburgh that is friendly, efficient and second to none. So far everyone is enjoying it.” The Refinery also provides blankets and hot water bottles to diners in its al fresco terrace and window seating. Sean

added, “The hot water bottles are being refilled at least ten times a day so they’re definitely going down well!”

Nick Rietz, former head chef at Glasgow’s Two Fat Ladies, has launched his own venture in Dennistoun, East Glasgow, called Bilson Eleven. Nick and his wife Liz have invested £70k to turn a 140-year old Victorian townhouse at 10 Annfield Place into an intimate 20-cover restaurant.

Nick said, “It’s a beautiful building. We’ve stuck to the original features and took inspiration from the Victorian elements we uncovered and put in a new kitchen.” Bilson Eleven will operate as BYOB until it secures its liquor licence. Nick adds, “It’s a lovely area and people seem excited to have something new and a bit different open.”

REVOLUCIÓN DE CUBA OPENS IN ABERDEEN Revolution Bars Group has opened its first Revolución de Cuba site in Aberdeen, with a second site soon to follow in Glasgow. The 130-cover restaurant is housed within a 5,200 sq ft listed building at the former Wagamamas site in the Academy Shopping Centre. Its vibrant Cuban-inspired interior includes an outdoor bandstand that seats 40, a Havana bar and a live music stage. General Manager, Russell Davidson, said, “The opening has been fantastic. People say they feel like they’re on holiday when they’re here! The brand has been exceptionally well-received. We’re looking forward to launching in Glasgow this month but there’s always something special about being the first in Scotland.”

6 DRAM DECEMBER 2016

A STABLE INVESTMENT Richie Hawkins who owns the Taypark House Hotel in Dundee has submitted a planning application to convert a 150-yearold stable house on the hotel grounds into a wood-fired pizza and BBQ restaurant.

Hawkins who bought the hotel in 2014, acquired the once derelict building on 482 Perth Road earlier this year and plans to open it to the public as a spacious 120-cover restaurant called The Stables next Spring. He says, “Most of the old stables have been converted into houses so there’s few left untouched. We want to preserve the historic features so will convert three old horse stalls into booths and turn the original fireplace into a woodburning oven. We want to offer something rustic, authentic and a bit different.”

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BRAND NEWS

ALL THE L ATEST BRAND NEWS

BEER

A beer made from cloud water?

Innis & Gunn, has gone to new heights to create its new beer, Sky.P.A. an experimental IPA made using water harvested from Scottish clouds.

The independent craft brewer created a bespoke airborne device fitted with a turbine and condenser that sucked moisture directly from the clouds as it flew over The Devil’s Beef Tub, a 500ft hollow in the hills near Moffat, and cooled it into enough cloud water to brew 500 pints.

The innovative IPA marks the launch of Innis & Gunn’s firstever equity crowdfunding campaign, which has raised well over £1.7m so far.

Innis & Gunn founder, Dougal Gunn Sharp, said, “Experimentation is in our blood, and we’re incredibly excited to invite beer lovers and investors everywhere to join us on our quest to push the boundaries of beer. Now, we’re brewing a beer by harvesting water straight from the Scottish clouds. We’re hoping we can invent more brews like Sky.P.A. with a group of people as passionate as we are about beer.”

ORKNEY CASK ALE NAMED BEST IN SCOTLAND Island Hopping beer made by Orkney-based Swannay Brewery has been named the best cask beer in Scotland

by The Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA). The 3.9% ABV “hoppy session beer” was declared the overall cask beer champion at SIBA’s Independent Beer Awards held at Drygate Brewery in Glasgow. This is the second year the beer praised for its “showcase of citrussy hops of New Zealand and North America” has won the title.

Brewer Butch Lynch accepted the award, saying, “It’s amazing to win, especially for such a small brewery.”

Swannay Brewery’s Lewis Hill later added, “We’re delighted to take back this title after it went to another brewery in 2015. This latest haul of awards takes our total to nearly 120 (national & international awards) in our 10 year history.”

St Andrews Brewery has launched its new Harvest Beer. It says the 4.5% abv pale ale is made from 100% Scottish ingredients, including pioneer, cascade and gold hops grown specially at research centre James Hutton Institute’s Mylnefield Farm near Dundee.

TINY REBEL LAUNCH CHRISTMAS PALE ALE Tiny Rebel Brewery have reunited with Welsh rappers Goldie Lookin’ Chain to create a new pale ale called You Snows It – and have released a music video to celebrate its launch. Extra pale malts have been used to make the beer as light as possible, in keeping with the snowy theme of the beer, and a combination of British and New Zealand hops for a light fruity flavour and a medium bitterness. Casks of the limited release will be pre-sold to pubs. Gazz Williams, co-founder at Tiny Rebel Brewery said, “Christmas isn’t Christmas without cheesy songs and pun-based seasonal beers, so we invited the guys from GLC down to help create both! The guys helped with all aspects of brewing, but left most of the decision making to us. Likewise, we left most of the song writing to the guys from GLC, ensuring we all played to our strengths.”

DRAM DECEMBER 2016 9

BRAND NEWS GIN Pickering’s shows ‘Ginerosity’ of spirit Pickering’s Gin founders Marcus Pickering and Matt Gammell have launched Ginerosity, which they describe as the world’s first social enterprise gin. They plan to use the profits from sales of Ginerosity to projects that help and support under-privileged or disadvantaged young people.

The pair have formed new company Good Spirits (Scotland) CIC, in partnership with Chris Thewlis, the social enterprise entrepreneur behind Beer for Good, Dave Mullen of marketing agency Story, and drinks industry and export specialist

David Moore.

Marcus Pickering said,“Supporting good causes is something that’s very close to our hearts. Producing this unique gin is the perfect way to achieve that and give something back to the community”.

He added, “We want to support disadvantaged and disenfranchised young people in the UK, as well as give opportunities to young people and children in other countries.”

Ginerosity is available to the ontrade priced £25 per 50cl bottle. www.ginerosity.com

SPECIALITY DRINKS

Jägermeister revives TV ad Mast-Jaegermeister UK, the UK distributor of Jägermeister, is reviving the brand’s ‘Craft the Moment’ TV campaign for the Christmas period to drive awareness and sales for the UK on-trade. The advert originally ran over the 2015 festive season. It is expected to reach 66.4% of all 18-34 year old men (4.3 million) at least 4.4 times.

Marketing Director, Nicole Goodwin said, “The successful ‘Craft the Moment’ advert will “showcase the attention that goes into making our herbal elixir and the friendship it celebrates.”

New sustainable spirit made from birch tree sap Drinks company Pure Wild Spirits has launched what they claim is the world’s first spirit made from birch tree sap. The sap is harvested from Northern European birch trees using sustainable methods and distilled by English Spirit Distillery into a clear spirit, then bottled at 40% ABV under the name FREYA. Its makers say the drink “answers the demand from both on-trade and consumers for new products that balance sustainability and innovation.” Pure Wild Spirits founder Dave Wallwork said, “FREYA is truly innovative and a distinctive new taste - pure foraged birch sap from icy northern forests distilled into a new wild, full flavoured spirit. The response from mixologists and bartenders has been incredible.”

UK launch for crafted cocktail Campari Negroni Campari has launched its classic Campari Negroni as a new readily-crafted cocktail. The unique blend mixes Campari, London Dry Gin and Vermouth Rosso in equal measures respecting the century-old original recipe first created in Florence around 1919 by Count Camillo Negroni. Available from online retailers, Campari Negroni provides a balance of juniper notes and hints of spiced herbal aromas. Its new 70cl bottle will mirror the iconic and original Campari bottle. Nick Williamson, Marketing Director for Campari UK, said, “We are delighted to add Campari Negroni to our drinks offering. Negroni fans and their friends will be able to enjoy a perfectly balanced Negroni exactly the way the Count did almost a century ago.” It will be available in 70cl bottles priced RRP £19.

10 DRAM DECEMBER 2016

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BRAND NEWS WHISKY

Whyte & Mackay celebrates ‘Glasgow Folk’

HIGHLAND PARK ON FIRE WITH NEW EDITION

Award-winning Scottish photographer David Boni has focused on Glaswegians’ unique style for a new exhibition commissioned by Whyte & Mackay. Twenty five portraits of “Glasgow Folk” were displayed in the city’s Govanhill Baths to praise “the spirit of the city that has played a big part in creating the whisky’s smooth taste and character since 1844.”

Some of the colourful personalities include a dapper factory worker and an ex burlesque dancer. Jen McCormick, Brand Manager for Whyte & Mackay, said, “This new exhibition is a nod to the fact that Glaswegians carry themselves with style, but also a confidence and wit that is unique to the city. As a Glasgow native, David Boni has really managed to capture this, celebrating our hometown’s smooth character, which has in turn shaped our surprisingly smooth blended Scotch whisky.”

Highland Park has released a fiery special edition single malt Scotch whisky - FIRE Edition. It has been matured in port wine seasoned casks and follows the release of ICE Edition earlier this year to complete a two-part series that celebrates Viking myths and legends. Jason R. Craig, Brand Director, said, “Maturing our distinctive whisky in 100% refill port wine seasoned casks is a first for Highland Park. FIRE Edition has a natural slight reddish hue, intense aromas of ruby red fruits, light smoke and a long, lingering finish.” The 15-year-old single malt is bottled at 45.2% ABV and released in a striking red coloured glass bottle to represent the fierce and molten world of the Fire Giants from Viking mythology.

DOUGLAS LAING UNVEILS ITS WINTER WARMERS Douglas Laing & Co has released its winter line-up of 22 single cask bottlings that are specially selected from across Speyside, Islay and The Highlands. The seasonal releases have been aged from 7 to 33 Years Old and are divided into two categories - Old Particular and Provenance. The Old Particular releases include several ‘Sherry bombs’, heavily Sherry-matured Malts like a Blair Athol 21 Years Old full of spiced, dark fruits with homebaking. The Provenance winter releases include a honey and barley-rich Glengoyne 9 Years Old, a fresh and fruity Benrinnes 8 Years Old and a Tamdhu 12 Years Old with orange peel and vanilla cream. Each has been bottled without colouring, at a high strength and non-chill-filtered.

New bottle and new-look lable for Ben Nevis 10yo Ben Nevis Distillery has given a nod to its founder John McDonald (known as “Long John”) with its new-look label and bottle for its ten-year-old single malt. John McDonald founded the Fort William distillery in 1825. The new label and packaging have been designed

by Jim Thompson of Edinburgh-based Thompson Printing & Packing.

It is inspired by the bottling used on the McDonald’s Celebrated Traditional Ben Nevis malt whisky, which was based on early label designs from the 1880s. Colin Ross, Ben Nevis Managing Director, said, “We tried to replicate that label as far as possible because people really liked that it was a throwback to 1881. We’ve used a number of different elements from the old label, including the old Ben Nevis trademark. A new change is that we’ve introduced the word McDonald to give a nod to the founder by bringing his name into the malt.” He added, “I’m delighted with it and the reaction from the public so far has been great because it’s really celebrating the strong history of Ben Nevis.”

DRAM DECEMBER 2016 13

REVIEW OF TH Talk about a busy year, and a year that has thrown up a few surprises, not least Brexit.

This month, as usual, I round up the trends and stand out moments of the licensed trade year as well as a few of the surprises...

ANOTHER CHANGE AT THE TOP Last year at this time I reported on Brian Calder leaving Tennent’s and this year the surprise was the appointment of another new MD at Tennent’s – Brian’s successor Alastair Campbell was replaced by Andrea Pozzi just a couple of months ago. Meanwhile Brian is doing some parttime work for Inverarity Morton... once his key rival in the wholesale business.

Moving about Only last month Fraser McIlwraith joined the Di Maggio Restaurant Group (DRG) from G1, while Manorview appointed Tennent’s Kenny Barclay as Finance Director in September. Chris Cosh left Tennents and subsequently re-appeared working with Signature Pubs, while Alan Hay, formerly of Coca-Cola joined Tennent’s as On trade Sales Director. Meanwhile Jim Grierson, Maxxium’s On-trade Sales Director retired after 30 years with the company and Andrew Morrison stepped into his shoes.

BEST INTERVIEWS

Was I the only one that stayed up to hear the results and then couldn’t quite believe what I was hearing? Now of course the news has sunk in, and although no major changes have occurred yet, what is most likely at the start of the year are price hikes for the licensed trade across food and drink. This ultimately means that your customers will be paying more... because there is only so much you will be able to absorb. But at least your customers will be well aware why they have to pay more... for once we have the supermarkets to thank for that and Tesco fall-out with Marmite owners Unilever.

16 DRAM DECEMBER 2016

TRENDS

The rise of great neighbourhood bars. PG Taverns opened in Mid Calder with the Fork and Field, while Buzzworks have revealed that after opening The Millhouse in Stewarton and The Corner House in Kilwinning – next on the agenda is Bridge of Weir, and a further roll out is planned of their modern local pub concept. Bubbles and Rahul Randev opened a cracker in Lenzie revamping and renaming the new bar/ restaurant The Grove while John Smith opened the Boarding House in Kilbarchan Punch also heavily invested in community pubs with one of the latest opening Habbies in Kilbarchan.

It’s certainly a new era of community pubs!

HE YEAR 2016 PERSERVERING WOW Factor As far as new openings and refurbishments go – this year has been really busy. The Wow factor this year goes to Manorview’s House in Bearsden – a former listed council building which is now a lovely venue for weddings and such like, along with offering super luxury rooms and a bar/ restaurant. Another great refurbishment and extension is the improvements to Meldrum House in Oldmeldrum – another privately owned business, which the owners have really invested in. The new rooms and function suite were super.

CELEBRATING 21 YEARS Last issue we celebrated 10 businesses who were 10 years old, but this month I am reflecting on the fact that Arran Distillery celebrated its 21st birthday this year. I find that quite hard to believe because I went to the official opening of the distillery. I was in good company... Ewan McGregor and his dad were there too. It was a glorious day and when they talked about the future of the distillery and the number of years allowed for the whisky to mature it all seemed so far away. Today the visitor centre at Lochranza attracts more than 85,000 visitors, and sales of the malt continue to grow with profits up 25% in its most recent accounts. Isle of Arran Distillers has also won planning approval for a second distillery on the island. So the next few years should be equally as exciting.

I’m not talking about Billy Lowe here and his joy at Hibs lifting the cup, but about Michele Pagliocca and his licensing lawyer Stephen McGowan of TLT, who eventually after nearly a decade, managed to get Glasgow City Licensing Board to grant The Shed in Shawlands a 3am licence. Some of you may, or may not remember, but The Shed, and indeed every on-trade premise out with Glasgow city centre lost their late licenses in 2007 when Glasgow licensing board adopted new licensing objectives. They decided only to grant late licences to clubs within the designated city centre area.

Stephen McGowan told me it was “the most intensive cast of his professional career.”

SOCIAL ENDEAVOU RS This is de

finitely been a tr end over quite a few the la on -tr ade bu sinesses pled st 12 mon ths w ith or at leas t ging all thei a percen tage r pr ofi ts, of their pr ofi Gar et h Woo ds’ Booz y Co ts to good causes. w ou tle ts ar to charitabl e gi ving all th e causes w eir pr ofi ts hile our licen Gassabi has se e in terv iewee linked up w ith Social Bi te an Layla homeless. Ed d is helping to inburgh en tr feed the epreneur, Ch Har ry ’s Bar, ris Thew lis re af ter openin -opened g the Sout hs year. Chris ide Social ea w ho is the di rlier in the rect or of be a port ion of er for Good pr ofi ts fr om CIC, has said these pubs w young people ill be invest ed fr om di fficult in helping While Chris or disadvan taged backgr also teamed ounds. up w ith Pick “t he world’s ering’s Gin, fir st social to launch en terprise Pr ofi ts go to gi n” called Gi war ds supp nerosi ty. or ting disadv I’m sure ther an taged youn e ar e quite g adul ts. a few ot hers the benefit of th at oper at e w publicity. N o- one has pu ithou t they hope to t any figur es raise, bu t he on w ha t re’s hoping oper at ional they keep an cost s to allo w as much pr eye on their good ca ofi t as possib uses. le to go to

New Openings - There were no shortage of new openings in 2016 – Boclair House we have already mentioned. But here are just a handful... in Edinburgh - Cadiz, Topolabamba, Harry Ramsden’s at the Three Bridges, il Calice, Cannonball Bar at the Cannonball Restaurant and The Refinery. In the West Dakota Lux, Vinyard 28, Miller & Carter, The Shilling Brewing Company, Bag O’Nails, Alchemilla, Gin71 and in the suburbs The Finsbay, The Larder, The Grove in Lenzie, Bar Luca in Kilmarnock, The Station Hotel in Rothes and there are many, many more. The licensed trade continues to invest (a conservative estimate of the spend above £14m) and it doesn’t just keep people in hospitality jobs, but think of the builders, surveyors, designers, decoraters etc that are kept employed too. Well done!

CREATING A BETTER

WORLD

OF WINE

Alliance Wine Ltd are a private and independent wine producer and importer, with over 900 quirky and individual wines to complement every occasion.

Orders@alliancewine.com call us: 01505 506060

The Friday before Christmas, aka ‘Black Friday’, sees drink sales peak on the biggest office party night of the year. Latest research suggests UK pubs, clubs, restaurants and hotels could see alcohol sales rise by 142% on this day alone (Alcohol Concern).

13.1%

Last Christmas, UK pubs and restaurants saw spending increase by 13.7% and 13.1% respectively (Barclaycard)

Edinburgh Gin’s special Christmas gin is packed with warming and sweet flavours of myrhh, cinnamon and nutmeg with an aroma of frankincense. Serve as a winter G&T with orange garnish, or as a festive Negroni with sweet myrrh nicely balanced against Campari’s bitter finish.

13.7%

Festive revellers are set to consume 600million units of alcohol over Christmas (Stephensons)

Prosecco and fizzy wine sales have been on the rise in 2016 and that’s set to continue over Christmas.

Prosecco sales value in Scotland reached £14.3m on the year to October 2016 - up 94.3% on last year. (CGA)

TRADING UP Allan McGhie, Business Development Manager at Glasgow’s Ubiquitous Chip, said, “The festive period is an ideal opportunity to encourage customers to trade up. We introduce a more strongly priced sparkling list and offer premium Soranzo Valdobbiadene Prosecco alongside entry level Atelie, and also Dom Perignon by the glass, which has proved successful. We always find people want to spend that bit extra and treat themselves this time of year.”

He added, “We’ve introduced an extra three champagne cocktails, including one made with lemon gel, a champagne Negroni and a Gavino Royale with a cherry wine liqueur with champagne.”

Mulled wine is always a favourite in the winter. Just don’t overheat it while boiling - the perfect temperature is 71°C. Anything above 75°C and you’re in danger of losing alcohol content!

The Romans actually invented mulled wine as an efficient way to make unremarkable wine tastier and more aromatic by adding various spices.

Candy canes are a fun garnish for winter cocktails but did you know the first candy cane was made over 350 years ago and was straight and white? The red and white striped and curved candy canes were first made around 1900.

DRAM DECEMBER 2016 19

Celebrating Christmas is a perfect excuse for customers to splash out on more interesting, quality wines.

Miriam Spiers, Alliance Wine Head of Sales, recommends adding St Tamas Mad Dry Furmint or Pazo Senorans Albarino to your white wine lists, or introduce customers to a ‘natural wine’ like Vignoble Klur’s Crémant Sans Souffre, a chemical-free sparkling wine made without sulphur.

There are 7.6m liqueurs drinkers in the UK. Special celebrations are the key occasion for on-trade sales, so expect to see these rise over Christmas and Hogmanay (WG&S – UK 2016 Market Report)

Sherry is a popular apéritif but why not encourage customers to enjoy it with their Christmas meal? Miriam Spiers from Alliance Wine says dry styles like Fino, Manzanilla, Amontillado and Oloroso are great for food-matching. She advised, “Recommend an Equipo Navazos Fino en Rama to compliment seafood, La Bota 58 Amontillado pairs well with turkey, while a PX from Ximenez Spinola is ideal to finish on.”

Christmas Cocktails Shaking up your cocktail offerings is another way to trade up. Glasgow cocktail bar Blue Dog’s Christmas Eggnog is made with cream, brandy, cinnamon and a whole egg served over ice in a brandy glass. Dundee’s Bruach are serving a Toddy No.10 with Tanqueray gin, lemon and sugar syrup and homemade hot spiced apple cider.

Cognac is different from brandy because it is a specific type of brandy produced in the French town of Cognac. But it’s not so popular at home - only 3% of Cognac is consumed in France. The rest is exported.

Cognac accounts for 92.7% of total brandy sales and is worth £239m to the ontrade. (WG&S – UK 2016 Market Report)

The word brandy is derived from the Dutch word brandewijn, which translates to “burnt wine” due to the temperatures used to distil it

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20 DRAM DECEMBER 2016

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Ingredients

Ingredients

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VISIT US Unit 9, Shawbridge Street, Glasgow DRAM DECEMBER 2016 21

GIVING BACK

LICENSEE INTERVIEW

C

hristmas is a time of year when our thoughts turn to family and friends and also to those less fortunate than ourselves and how we can do more to help them and show that we

care.

This is very much the spirit in which father and daughter team Dean and Layla Gassabi have opened their latest restaurant Maison Bleue at Home – although its legacy will remain long after the Hogmanay hangovers are a distant memory and we have given up trying to shed those extra pounds.

The pair have teamed up with Josh Littlejohn of the Social Bite sandwich chain to form a new company, Social Bite Restaurants.

All profits from their new offering in Edinburgh’s West End will go to charity – 50 per cent to Social Bite and 50 per cent to three charities chosen by Dean and Layla – an organisation helping Syrian refugees, Asthma UK and Diabetes UK. Additionally, they have created a special meal service, made possible by ‘pay it forward’ contributions from customers, which sees them invite up to 50 homeless people to dine in the restaurant on Monday afternoons.

The venture, which will also provide training and employment programmes for members of the Social Bite Academy, a fouryear paid course for homeless people, is supported by board members including Dean, Michelin-starred chef Martin Wishart, David Wither of the Montpelier Group and restaurateur Simon Littlejohn – Josh’s father.

Layla (36) explains: “Dad has been in the restaurant business for almost 25 years and we’ve got to the stage now where we were really ready to do something a little bit different. We knew that this project was going to be very challenging but also one we could really put our heart and soul into.

“We are bringing together all the elements that make Maison Bleue successful – fresh produce, delicious food and excellent customer service – to offer a great dining experience to some of the most vulnerable members of our society. It’s a great way to give something back and the feedback has been very positive – people really enjoy themselves.”

The scheme has also gone down well with other diners – around 95 per cent of them choose to pay it forward and many of those pay for actual meals (£10 for one person or £20 for two) rather than a simple coffee (£2).

Layla says: “People have been incredibly generous and we had one group who left £100 which was amazing. People feel good about the fact that they are coming in for a nice meal themselves but can do something to help somebody else as well. We’ve had a lot of bookings for Christmas, a time of year which is obviously very hard for homeless people and a time when you really want to give

22 DRAM DECEMBER 2016

something back and I think a lot of people have that in mind when they are choosing to come to us this year.”

Dean (60) and Layla have a huge emotional connection to their business and are rightly proud of what they have achieved. But they also have a better understanding than most of what it really means to have to leave a place, move somewhere and start over again. The family, including Layla’s mum, Joanne, and brother Nassim (37) were evacuated from Algerian capital Algiers, where Dean ran a successful construction company, in 1993, as political unrest mounted in the wake of the first Gulf War. Dean and Joanne met and fell in love after he came to Edinburgh to study architecture, so they had family in the city and even a house – but the move was still a traumatic time for all of them.

Initially Dean opened shops in the capital because he had friends in retail. From there, they took on Pierre Victoire franchises but it wasn’t long before Dean decided to open his own place – and Bleue, which later became Maison Bleue, was born.

Layla says: “We moved back suddenly because of the political situation. All foreign residents were evacuated and it was very traumatic – literally one day we were there and the next we were gone.

“My dad has always been an entrepreneur, so he was always going to start something himself but it was very much a family business from the start. Mum was very involved, she did all the front of house side of things and my brother and I used to work in the restaurants too.”

A passionate and talented cook himself, Dean created the menus

BY ANNABELLE LOVE

for all his restaurants – inspired by North African, French and Scottish influences.

Today the dishes at Home range from delicious chicken tagine with artichoke, preserved lemons and green olives, through Shetland mussels and French escargot to haggis balls.

Layla explains: “Food has always been very important in our family.

I still go back to Algeria now and I’m woken up at 6am by the smell of cooking, which is lunch being prepared, and there are cakes all the time.

“In the restaurants our dishes are always a twist on something classic, with a strong North African influence, but all the ingredients are 100 per cent Scottish.”

Layla studied psychology at Leeds University before heading back to Scotland after graduating in 2002. She worked as a manager in the restaurants but has also spent time away from the industry.

She lived in London, worked in recruitment, volunteered with an environmental NGO in Central America and New York and went travelling – but somehow she always found herself coming back to the restaurants.

She says: “I wanted to do something a little bit different so I went off and worked for the NGO and travelled in Central America – Panama, Nicaragua. They were some of the best times of my life and I had some really eye-opening experiences. It was about doing something a bit worthwhile and it was very good for the soul.

“But when you have your own business and it’s something as special as Maison Bleue it’s hard to stay away, it’s very dear to my heart and when you’ve worked for other people you realise that

maybe the best thing for you is actually right on your doorstep.”

“I know the trade like the back of my hand and I’ve always enjoyed being in the service industry. I’m very hands on – you are constantly trouble-shooting in restaurants. There are so many different aspects that can go wrong all the time – you walk in and something has not been delivered or a piece of equipment has broken – it can be crazy and that’s even before you start service.

You have to be there, leading from the front. The worst thing you can be in this business is the invisible boss.”

Over the last two decades Dean has opened a string of restaurants, but what he created in Maison Bleue has proved to be a winning formula.

Last year he and Layla carried out a major refurbishment of the Victoria Street venue and in April this year they opened Bistrot, followed by Maison Bleue at Home in September which they turned round in a matter of weeks.

Layla explains: “We completely stripped it out and took it right back to the stone work and put in new fixtures and fittings including tables with lovely rustic reclaimed wooden tops. We had just opened the Bistrot so there was a crazy amount going on and then literally when the Festival finished we got the contractors in at Home and got stuck into that.

“There were three of us involved – Dad, Josh Littlejohn from Social Bite and me – all with three slightly different ideas about what should happen. The end result is very much a collaboration.”

That collaboration started when Dean and Josh met through a mutual friend a year ago and started talking about a partnership.

Layla says: “This is the first time I have encountered homelessness but I’ve always been interested in social issues and I was blown away when Dad said he was thinking about doing this. I feel very blessed to be involved.

“The restaurant is run as a normal business so we have to watch margins and keep an eye on our costs but any profit goes straight to charity.

“The homeless people who come to dine here are referred

by Social Bite, Crisis and The Big Issue and it’s a really lovely atmosphere.”

Dean and Layla have clearly created something very special in the Maison Bleue brand – and both work well together, giving each other the space to play to their individual strengths.

Layla explains: “Dad is the business aficionado and he’s very much in control of the menu, the kitchen, the food side of things, whereas I’m very much on the front of house side of things, managing people and bringing everything together.”

She adds: “We’re not a big company, we are very much a family business and we are not going to become a big chain – that’s DRAM DECEMBER 2016 23

just not who we are.

“There’s always a danger of expanding and becoming run of the mill and that is never going to happen here. Dad and I are at the core of the business and what we do is fundamentally our creation and it is something we are absolutely passionate about.”

Clearly they are just as passionate about helping others – and doing something that really makes a lasting difference to people’s lives. The restaurant has already clocked up its first superstar diner - with a recent visit from Hollywood actor Leonardo DiCaprio.

The Oscar winner tucked into Dean’s Posh Mac and Cheese during a visit to the capital to speak at the Scottish Business Awards.

Layla says, “Leonardo DiCaprio’s visit was a fantastic success

and allowed us to showcase what we do as a restaurant and social enterprise. My dad headed up the kitchen that day having designed a special menu for the lunch.

“Leo spent the lunch talking about Climate change and social issues with various people around the table, including Sir Tom Hunter, and Chris Evans and Rob Brydon made an appearance later on.

“It was such a special day for all the Maison Bleue staff, as well as the ex homeless Social Bite chefs who were extremely proud to be a part of it.

“We were very lucky to have had this opportunity and the day will most definitely go down as one of our all time highlights.”

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DRAM DECEMBER 2016 25

STRIP JO 956 Argyle Street Glasgow G3 8LU

DESIGN FOCUS

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Proud to supply Strip Joint!

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M8 Foodpark Glasgow Tel: 0141 563-4585 Email:freshselect@ntlworld.com 26 DRAM DECEMBER 2016

trip Joint, the latest bar to join the trendy “Finnieston Strip” on Argyle Street in Glasgow’s West End, might not be quite as provocative as its name suggests. But with its paired back, minimalist and edgy design, and a packed drinks menu, Mark Lappin, Paul Bright and Gerry Tartaglia’s latest offering is already establishing itself.

It opened at the start of November and Strip Joint is the second West End venture from the team behind Glasgow bars Slouch, Howlin Wolf, and the new Bag O’ Nails (formerly Partick Tavern) which recently opened on Dumbarton Road.

One thing that might raise an eyebrow in terms of Strip Joint’s design, however, is its complete contrast to historic Glasgow pub Bannisters, which it replaces on the corner of Argyle Street and Claremont Street – hence the name Strip Joint as a tongue in cheek reference to its location at the head of the “Strip”.

Bannisters, known as Bannies by regulars, was once thought of by many to be the last “old-man pub” in the area. It’s now unrecognisable after a £500k four-week refurbishment that began in early October, through a partnership between the trio and landlords Star Bars & Pubs.

The first obvious change is the new large bay windows that have been installed along the street-facing wall and around the corner, which flood the bar with light. The bar’s formerly bright blue frontage has been given a slick update, painted grey with added metal panels and back-lit signage.

Inside, the design by One Leisure favourite Paul Martin, whose work for the company most recently includes Bag O’ Nails, reflects the bar’s name by feeling stripped back and industrial.

OINT Having been opened up, Strip Joint now has a seated capacity of about 90 and full capacity of 175-200.

The bar itself, which has a thick top made of Kyron concrete and is clad with white tiles, has been moved to the left hand wall beside the open plan kitchen to create space for two long rows of high wood-topped tables command the centre of the bar. The legs are made of thick industrial pipes with the chairs attached by L-shaped sections, topped with wooden disks.

The interior walls are a mix of letterbox red, used on the main doorway, back wall and several thin support pillars, slate grey and an exposed brick wall behind the bar, the latter being one of the few remaining original features from Bannisters.

Wooden panelling stained green and blue clads the lower section of the walls below most of the large windows, which are lined by wooden bars and metal stools, again with wooden tops. Another pop of colour is the bright yellow banquette seating that runs along one wall beside four small tables with white tops.

Strip Joint’s unique selling point is also a commanding and permanent feature of the bar’s minimalist, metal gantry. In between shelves stocking over 100 spirits sits a huge Krusovice Tank Beer, made up of two long, cylindrical silver tanks placed one above the other horizontally.

According to the owners, Strip Joint is currently the only place

BY L AURA SMITH in Glasgow to stock Krusovice Tank Beer. The idea is that lager is delivered direct from the brewery in vacuum sealed tanks and pumped straight to the gantry tank where it is left to mature.

It only hits oxygen once poured from the tap to the glass. This keeps it “brewery fresh”, unpasteurised, unfiltered and naturally carbonated for what Strip Joint’s owners describe as “the cleanest, crisp most refreshing pint you’ll ever have.” Strip Joint’s food offerings also include “rustica style” hand rolled pizzas made with 48-hour aged dough, stretched to an impressive two-foot and cooked in a stone bake oven.

With its prime proximity to the SSE Hydro, the opening of which has been partly responsible for the incredible regeneration Finnieston has benefitted from in recent years, Strip Joint is already proving to be a hit with gig-goers and music lovers and really comes alive in the evenings; its large windows mean it literally lights up the tip of Finnieston at night.

Accordingly, Strip Joint’s cocktails are all named after famous live music venues around the world, including one for Glasgow’s Barras which is made with rum, Cointreau, Bols Blue Curacao and fresh lime. And then there’s the blackboard toilet doors, a simple design feature that lets punters add the names of artists and bands they’ve seen that night. With its combination of music, pizza, tank beer and cool design, it seems these guys have another hit on their hands.

DRAM DECEMBER 2016 27

28 DRAM DECEMBER 2016

THE EMPRESS 25 Broughton St, Edinburgh EH1 3JU

DESIGN FOCUS

BY L AURA SMITH

E

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dinburgh’s Broughton Street is known for its cool, eclectic mix of craft beer bars, trendy pubs and tattoo parlours. Despite its regal name, the latest addition to this cool quarter of the Capital’s East End – The Empress – fits in seamlessly. Owned by the Landmark Pub Company, who also own other city favourites No 1 High Street and Jeremiah’s Taproom, the new bar replaces the former Mathers Bar. Landmark Pub Company Director, Grant James MacDonald, told DRAM, “Mathers was basically a boozer that did sport. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with that – we operate Mathers at the West End as well and it will never change – but we felt this bar could be doing so much more.

“Broughton Street has been up-and-coming for a long time and we had to tap into that.”

The inspiration for the bar’s design is based around its chosen ‘Empress’ and marketing symbol, American circus performer turned tattoo artist Maud Wagner, who began her trade in the early 1900s.

The concept was brought to Grant and Landmark’s Business Development Manager, Jane Corrigan, by Grant Rough of Edinburgh-based designers Rough Design.

Grant Rough, who also worked on No 1 High Street and Jeremiah’s Taproom, said, “The original Mathers was quite male-orientated so we wanted to give it a more female-friendly angle but still have an edge, and also keep the history of the place. I came across a photo of Maud and thought she was a really interesting character who was from that 1900s era but also quite modern.

We wanted the bar to have an interesting, underlying story but not in an obvious way so we borrowed elements from Maud’s life.

Grant and Jane loved the concept because Maud dared to be a bit different.”

Tattoo-covered Maud’s air of sophistication and cool is embodied

by The Empress’ design, which blends the old and new with plenty of fun, eclectic touches.

Adding to its early 1900s-feel, several original features of DRAM DECEMBER 2016 29

Mathers have remained, such as the original exposed stone wall, of other female tattooists from the 1900’s and various tattoo glass chandeliers, radiators, brown ceramic wall tiles and the designs, and a big black cinema-style letters board above the solid mahogany bar top. staircase, created by Will, which currently reads “Empress of Local artist Will McEvoy was commissioned to create a portrait Broughton Street: Craft and Cocktails Every Damn Day”. of Maud, which has been transferred onto a large canvas of Will’s work is also seen on the cocktail menu boards which are old scaffolding boards to give it an antique look. It hangs on the framed in the old backboard frames from Mathers. They have a exposed stone wall opposite the bar and is illuminated by a long peacock and flower design, in the style of the kind of old-fashioned strip of red lighting hidden by a row of high banquette seating. tattoo Maud may once have inked, painted on the wall beside and Grant said, “We just love the image. It worked really well and over the frame. This design is also transferred onto the back so many customers comment on it. Maud dared to be different window and the food menu. and I think the overriding feeling we had when we were talking The old gantry has been ripped out and replaced with rough wood design was we had to dare to be a shelving and contains a row of six wee bit bold, brave and different by beer taps set on a white brick facade, introducing new things because a lot which makes use of the limited space of people will know and remember it in the small bar. The wall has been IF WE CAN SELL A LOT OF as Mathers.” left stripped back with a faint outline LOCAL PRODUCT THEN Injections of colour come from the from the old gantry – another nod to THAT’S THE WAY FORWARD new banquette seating, which are Mathers – is still visible at the very BECAUSE THERE’S A REAL a mix of purple, mustard yellow and top.

COMMUNITY AROUND HERE turquoise around the front and back Landmark’s key focus is to stock section of the bar. While much of the locally where possible. The 50-seat GRANT JAMES MACDONALD furniture is new, including the bespoke bar also adopts the craft beer and herringbone wooden table tops, other cocktail concept that has been a items have been recycled. Old bar success at Jeremiah’s Taproom. stools have been re-upholstered in an eclectic mix of colours, As well as five fixed taps it has eight rotational cask and craft which reflects the overall colour scheme of bold, clashing colours taps, which include local brews from Pilot, Alechemy Brewing that would look right at home in one of Maud’s tattoos. and Campervan Brewery. The Empress also stocks coffee from A favourite feature of Grant’s is two old, red velvet cinema seats Leith-based Williams and Johnson Coffee Roasters, and tea from bought at auction which have been installed in the raised back Rosevear of Broughton Street. section of the bar beside the one original piece of furniture kept Grant added, “If we can sell a lot of local product then that’s from Mathers – a small green and black round table. “You are the way forward because there’s a real community around here. always interested to see where people navigate when you re-open There is place for what we did before but we wanted to go an and these seats are a big hit!” Grant added. extra step and offer craft beer and cocktails and casual dining Some more quirky touches include a red neon arrow pointing done well. Overall the reactions have been great, we’re much to the raised back section of seating, which also has pictures busier than we were as Mathers.”

30 DRAM DECEMBER 2016

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32 DRAM DECEMBER 2016

29-31 William St, Edinburgh EH3 7NF

THE VOYAGE OF BUCK DESIGN FOCUS

BY L AURA SMITH

F

rom its luxurious 1900s Art Deco design to a perspex box filled with hundreds of yellow rubber ducks, a visit to The Voyage of Buck in Edinburgh’s West End feels like stepping back in time, but with one foot firmly rooted in the present.

Four years on from opening The Blackbird on Leven Street, Big Red Teapot owners Martin Luney and Colin Church have transformed the former Bert’s Bar on William Street, which they bought last October.

Like the rest of their Big Red Teapot venues, the pair had a big say in the bar’s design and worked closely with their main contractor, SPLINTR Design and Fabrication. This is the first time the duo chose to base the concept of their bar on a fictional character – who they have invented, world traveller William “Buck” Clarence, who between 1900-1935 they have travelling to Paris, Taipei, Cairo, Havana, London before heading back home to Edinburgh.

Their chosen muse has inspired the slick yet eclectic Art Deco décor, which includes ‘antique memorabilia’ from Buck’s fictious travels. Colin said, “You go round Edinburgh and see these blue plaques with ‘such and such lived here at this time’. In-keeping with the style of the street and the time of this part of Edinburgh, we came up with this story. It’s a fictional character but based around real life events and characters that might have featured in his The Voyages.”

The pair went on their own journey to source various ‘artefacts’ which are displayed around the bar, including framed vintage posters of Cocchi Vermouth di Torino from the 1930s found in Edinburgh antique shops, French music score books bought in Paris and an old cocktail menu from Havana.

Colin added, “We did a little bit of research on Prague, Paris and London during that era but we didn’t want to be a speakeasy or themed bar. I think there’s enough nods to today that it doesn’t feel like that. It was really important to us that this was a bar for 2016 not 1920.”

The walls have been painted in a rich blue called Inchyra Blue, from bespoke paint supplier Farrow & Ball, and have an Art Deco

double arch pattern running below the light wood dado rail. Both have been kept the same colour to fit the traditional style of the period, says Colin.

The Voyage of Buck’s dining area on the right is filled with wooden tables and French bistro-style chairs that would look at home in a Parisian cafe. An original slate grey fireplace filled with church candles and a large cow-hide floor rug, sourced from Jeffreys Interiors in Stockbridge, combines to create some warmth, while a large mirror on the back wall creates the sense of more space.

A popular design feature can be found beside the two comfortable booths at the window. Each has a large button on the wall which, when pressed, lights up a sign that reads “Cocktails”. Colin says customers love it and have already been sharing photos of it on Instagram.

The bar itself has been deliberately widened, given a gorgeous marble top, and lined with tall, comfortable yellow stools with tall backs, designed by Colin and Martin. Colin explains, “It’s really important to us that you sit at a bar and have a really nice DRAM DECEMBER 2016 33

experience. It’s not just a case of going up, getting served a drink and going to sit somewhere else. Getting people to sit at the bar is a huge part of what we’re trying to achieve here. We’ve got a wide bar at Hamilton’s and wanted to recreate that.”

He added, “We wanted to introduce marble, gold, wood, fabrics, brass and all these luxurious items. We’ve introduced bling to the West End but it’s our interpretation of it – we hope you come in and feel you’re somewhere special.”

This idea is replicated in the wallpaper the pair designed for the ceiling – a repeating scalloped design of golden arches encasing a stylised artichoke on a dark blue background, which was created

by Big Crayon Design. The artichoke is also The Voyage of Buck’s marketing symbol and is meant to represent Buck’s family shipping logo.

Left of the bar, by the window, is a seated area that contains a brown Chesterfield sofa, two large wing back chairs, and a bespoke glass and brass table designed by Lily Morris that contains the inner mechanisms of a piano – one of two that Big Red Teapot inherited when they bought the unit now occupied by The Blackbird.

The second piano has been kept in one piece. Painted bright yellow, it sits outside just by the bar’s entrance. Colin pointed out that its been such a talking point with customers that it had to be glued shut to stop people playing chopsticks on it!

Another quirky feature has been dubbed ‘The Duck Box’ – a huge perspex box hanging from the ceiling above a long, oblong booth at the back of the bar which is filled with a horde of yellow rubber ducks and lit from above.

Colin explained, “I actually have a perspex box in my house with two rubber ducks in it – we both love the idea of doing this for no reason. We just wanted to do something fun and different. Who else has a plastic box of yellow ducks hanging from the ceiling?

We just like to try things we haven’t seen before. The overall effect is a bit like a step back in time but with one foot still in the present. It feels like true piece of our Red Tea Pot family.”

34 DRAM DECEMBER 2016

That family, which also includes Treacle, The Blackbird and Hamiltons, is destined to keep growing, hints Colin. “Our ten year plan was to get five bars in a decade, and that’s us on four in eight so watch this space! And then we’ll focus on the brand’s we’ve got and figure out another ten year plan.”

BEST BAR NONE SPECIALIST WINNERS BEST BAR NONE FUNDING PARTNER DIAGEO GB WOULD LIKE TO CONGRATULATE ALL THE WINNERS

Aberdeen Best Pub: Old Blackfriars Best Independent pub: Malones Irish Pub Best Bar: Halo Bar Best Independent bar: Soul Bar Best Hotel Bar: The Copthorne Hotel Best Nightclub: Garage Aberdeen Specialist Entertainment: Grosvenor Casino Aberdeen

Glasgow Best Newcomer: Hampden Park Stadium Designated Premises Manager of the Year: Jeannie Kelly from Deoch An Dorus BBN Glasgow People’s Choice: Dram Scottish Fire & Rescue Award: The Garage Apex Radio Award: The Garage Most Improved Venue: McNabbs Tennents Training Academy Award: The Society Rooms

Edinburgh Best Pub/Bar: Starbank Inn Best Hotel: The Murrayfield Hotel Best Specialist Entertainment Venue: Edinburgh Corn Exchange Best Independent Pub/Bar: Akva Best Nightclub: Cav Nightclub

DRAM DECEMBER 2016 35

NEW LEASE OF LIFE FOR HISTORIC KILBARCHAN PUB

A

joint £260k investment from Punch Taverns and publican Fraser Campbell has given historic but run-down Kilbarchan pub, The Glenleven, new life as Habbies Bar and Grill.

Habbies reopened on 1 October after a sixweek refurbishment, making it one of two pubs in the village along with The Trust Inn. Both are owned by Campbell, who has lived in the West Renfrewshire village for most of his life.

He said, “I watched The Glenleven fall off the radar and told Punch Taverns I could make it a success if they were willing to invest. The original building has been traced back to 1872 and operated as a pub for most of that time, so I really wanted to preserve it.”

The complete refit includes a brand new wood bar top and gantry, toilets and professional kitchen.

New windows have been installed and three diving walls have been removed to create more light and space. The exterior has been freshened up with new signage and lighting. Three en-suite B&B rooms have also be redecorated.

Campbell added, “The last real investment was in 1985 so it was in a pretty bad state. It needed a complete change of direction but its been sympathetically done. It’s been given a contemporary, modern feel while retaining its traditional characteristics and country feel.”

Habbies now serves a a wide range of dishes including steaks, fajitas and enchiladas alongside homemade pub classics like steak pie and fish and chips. It is named after famous local bagpiper from the 1600s, Habbie Simpson, and is also the term used for people born in Kilbarchan.

Fraser added, “Everyone’s so pleased about the transformation, as no one wanted to see it close.

We’ve had a fantastic reaction so far.”

36 DRAM DECEMBER 2016

DRAM DECEMBER 2016 37

@dramscotland

/dram.scotland

SUE SAYS

I

caught up with Edinburgh entrepreneur Billy Lowe recently – last year he sold off his hotels (Le Monde and Angel’s Share), but guess what, he is back in the game with not only The Links Hotel but he has also recently acquired Malones both in Edinburgh. And he is loving it! He is totally incorrigible, most folk I know would be enjoying the fruits of his labour (he has now sold out twice) and enjoying the freedom. But Billy, buoyed up by Hibs winning the Scottish Cup earlier in the year, is full of the joys of life and full of plans for his two new venues. Here we go again! More news about the changes ahead in the new year.

I enjoyed the recent SLTA Chairman’s lunch as a guest of James Mortimer. I applaud the fact that the SLTA is now working with organisations such as HIT and The Ben. Long may these collaborations continue.

I see the The Alcohol Information Partnership is becoming more active when it comes to refuting health claims put out by the anti-alcohol campaigners. This month they have responded to a report from Cancer Research UK (CRUK) and Sheffield University (which was widely reported) on the link between alcohol consumption and cancer, specifically oesophageal cancer. Dave Roberts, Director General of the Alcohol Information Partnership, said, “The CRUK report concludes that oesophageal cancer will see the largest increase by 2035. A fact which seems to be at odds with the CRUK’s own website statistics which states oesophageal cancer have fallen by 8% over the last decade and are set to fall by a further 16% by 2035 and that for the past 10 years overall rates have remained stable with a 5% decrease in women. I know this is anecdotal but I know a doctor who told me he had never seen a case of oesophageal cancer in a non-smoker who drank.

I hear that Benromach Distillery has been inviting the local licensed trade along to the distillery for free training over the winter months.

It’s a time when visitor centres are quieter and pubs are quieter during the day. It seems like a ‘win win’. Staff get to learn more about whisky ahead of a key time for whisky sales, and Benromach makes the best use of its facilities and of course here’s hoping the bar trade will be recommending a dram or two or Benromach.

I was very sorry to hear of the death of Clive Davidson the man behind the renowned Champany Inn in Linlithgow. I did meet him a couple of times over the years, and he was a real bon viveur, who loved his business with a passion. He will be sorely missed.

there are now 14,000 people a month now reading the magazine online... so the reach of the DRAM has never been greater. Long may it continue.

I don’t know about you guys but over the last year or so my friends and I have taken to going out on Saturday or Sunday during the day! We meet in town, go for a few drinks, a bite to eat, and few more drinks and then home. Getting in around 10pm. The best thing is the places we go are always buzzing and busy. There’s a great atmosphere but best of all... the next day is not a write off. So it was nice to hear from Mario Gizzi, that actually he thinks Saturday afternoons are the new Saturday nights! And I thought I was just getting on a bit!

Anyway, to all our readers, here’s to a prosperous festive season.

Look out for our annual Supplier Guide, it will be winging its way to you next month.

Hotel For Sale

Burnett Arms Hotel 25 High Street Banchory Kincardineshire AB31 5TD

Hotel for sale due to retirement Comprehensive recent refurbishment Turnover post refurbishment six months to Sept 2016: £478k (net) 18 refurbished en-suite letting bedrooms 4 bedroom staff accommodation Offers in the region of £795,000

It’s always nice to get positive feedback about the magazine and at the recent SLTA lunch quite a few people came up to me to say how much they enjoyed the DRAM and to comment on the fact that they feel as if they know me – but my picture (above) doesn’t do me justice! So next year I promise I’ll get a new one! Of course DRAM DECEMBER 2016 39

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ROUND UP

Glasgow was given a taste of Polish vodka when Stock Prestige presided over a fantastic launch party at top city centre restaurant Brian Maule at Le Chardon d’Or. The convivial Bob Taylor aka Uncle Bob was in good form as was Steve Howard of Stock Spirits as they introduced members of the city’s licensed trade to the versatility of Stock Prestige’s flavoured and

sparkling vodkas. On offer was a range of delicious serves including Prestige Sparkling Cocktail, a bubbly treat of Prestige Sparkling Vodka topped up with Prosecco, orange bitters and a twist of orange. And if you’re partial to a G&T – you need to try Prestige Stock Vodka served with tonic and blueberries! Of course some lovely dishes from Brian Maule went down very well too.

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

w: dramscotland.co.uk

Editor Susan Young • Chairman Noel Young • Editorial Annabelle Love, Laura Smith Advertising Lucy McGovern, Robert McManus, Sylvia Forsyth • Graphic Designer Kate Austin • 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.

42 DRAM DECEMBER 2016

WISE MEN STOCK TENNENT’S SCOTLAND’S NO.1 SELLING LAGER

Scotland’s favourite lager is officially Scotland’s favourite drink*, so keep your cellars full and your customers happy this Christmas.

*source: AC Nielsen, CGA 2015. Tennent’s and the red T are registered trademarks of C&C Group.