Trade Activity

THE BUSINESS BEHIND THE BRANDS

STICKY CARPET GIN HONOURS THE ESPY

Created in honour of the re-opening of the iconic Melbourne venue, the Hotel Esplanade in St Kilda, or the ‘Espy’ as it is affectionately known, is the aptly named Four Pillars ‘Sticky Carpet Gin’.

Co-founder and distiller, Cam Mackenzie, describes how they put the Espy in Four Pillars gin.

“The botanicals have a deliberate pub feel. Rather than just using our base spirit we have added a few litres of a local roasted dark stout (Watt’s River) to add some malty, toasted character. We then filled the stills with juniper, coriander, honey, roasted barley (another beer-y ingredient), cassia, green pepper, orris root, and Cascade Hops (there it is again). The botanical basket contains fresh lemon peel and ginger.

“It’s an unusual gin. It’s a gin for beer lovers. You get some lovely depth from the stout/ barley and cassia, and spice from the pepper and ginger. The hops, lemon and coriander introduce some brighter tropical and citrus notes,” says Cam. Custodian of the Hotel Esplanade, Andy Mullins, says the venue and Four Pillars Gin is a match made in heaven.

Four Pillars ‘Sticky Carpet Gin’ is available on-premise exclusively at the Espy, for the time being anyway.

TOM APPLETON JOINS FOUR PILLARS

Four Pillars has appointed Tom Appleton to the role of Regional Trade Director for the successful Australian gin brand. Tom comes highly qualified to the position previously at Diageo as Head of Reserve Brands.

Tom will work closely with Vanguard in getting Four Pillars in the best bars and restaurants across the country and lead the company’s on-premise strategy in the domestic market. He will also manage the New Zealand market and growing markets in Asia as well as the USA and Canada.

Scott English will continue to lead sales in the Australian offpremise as well as UK, Europe and the Middle East as well as managing the fast-growing Global Travel Retail channel for the brand.

Four Pillars recently announced it has just opened up its 25th international market, a landmark for the business as it approaches five years in business.

WORKSMITH ‘HOSPO’ COWORKING SPACE A HIT

Co-working spaces are booming so two longtime friends, Michael Bascetta, one of Australia’s leading food and beverage curators (Bar Liberty, Capitano) and property developer Roscoe Power thought one designed by and for the hospitality industry could be a good idea. One year on and Worksmith has been so successful in luring F&B workers to office desks at its Collingwood, Melbourne address that it is already expanding to other spaces including Melbourne’s CBD.

The co-founders identified the need to support, connect and promote food and beverage businesses and its workers. Over 800,000 people work in Australia’s food and beverage industry, and the vast majority work in non-traditional office settings due to the parameters of their job.

“The idea is rooted in giving back to the industry,” says Bascetta. “Not only do we offer them a desk but also a chance to network and collaborate with like-minded people under one roof.”

Worksmith boasts a score of high-profile residents including boutique drink companies (Four Pillars, Marionette, Archie Rose), food-focused start-ups and businesses (The Wine Gallery, posBoss, Dish app, Feastively, HoppApp, The Humble Dumpling, Eighteen Thousand Islands), F&B focused crowdfunding platform Birchal, not-for-profit Scarf, numerous distributors, plus many more.

Seeing opportunity to engage with Worksmith’s network, CAPI Sparkling, Gordon Legal, William Angliss Institute and Farmwall have all signed on as partners bringing events, consultation, education pathways and a range of other services to the Worksmith community. The multi-functional setting is designed to cater to a hospitality workers’ needs, with a full 11-metre bar, an event space catering up to 100 people, a podcasting studio, a meeting room and a commercial kitchen. “We’re one of the world’s first co-working spaces with this concept, and we’ve already received calls from New York, London and Singapore,” says Power.

CANADIAN CLUB EXTENDS AUSTRALIAN OPEN PARTNERSHIP UNTIL 2020

On the verge of another hot Aussie summer, Canadian Club has extended its successful five-year partnership with the Australian Open (AO), re-signing as the Official Dark Spirit partner for another two years. Tennis lovers can enjoy Canadian Club & Dry and the new Canadian Club Zero Sugar Dry as well as visit the Canadian Club Racquet Club pop-up bar at the AO festival. The bar is in a prime position on the upper terrace of Birrarung Marr. The partnership for Canadian Club also includes exclusive dark spirit pourage within Melbourne Park and throughout the Emirates Australian Open Series including the Brisbane International, Sydney International and Hobart International. In addition, the brand will leverage the sponsorship across multiple touchpoints, venues, retailers and promotions to drive impact over the key summer period.

“Canadian Club is dominating the spirits category and is continuing to see unprecedented year on year growth. The Australian Open is a key partnership for the brand and re-signing will see CC continue to be one of the most visible brands over summer and allow for mass trial amongst our key audience,” said Beam Suntory Marking Director, Trent Chapman.

GOOSE ISLAND LAUNCHES 2018 BOURBON COUNTY STOUT

Guests were the first in the world to try the Goose Island 2018 Bourbon Country Stout at the exclusive global launch held at The Elk Room, The Everleigh in Melbourne’s Fitzroy. Guests also had the privilege of tasting the 2017 Bourbon County Stout as well to compare the two iterations. Goose Island’s Sour Sisters range was also showcased with a beer and cheese tasting, hosted by Beer Ambassador, Joe Lusk, bespoke beer cocktails curated by The Everleigh, and Chicago deep-dish pizzas by Connie’s Pizza.

BEHOLD THE ‘BUNDY SMUGGLER’

Iconic Aussie brands Bundaberg Rum Lazy Bear and Budgy Smuggler have collaborated to release this summer’s must have swimwear – yes, the Bundy Smuggler.

The joint venture has resulted in the creation of limited edition ‘Bundy’ Budgy Smugglers for the gents and a one-piece Smuglette for the ladies that will be sure to get some attention on Australian beaches over the warmer months.

The all Australian-made swimwear has the famous Bundy R Bear emblazoned across the front and will be available to win through the purchase of Lazy Bear packs. With every six and ten promotional pack bought, people can enter their unique code online, found on the inside of their pack, for a 1-in-8 chance to get their hands on a pair until stock runs out. “We couldn’t resist the chance to collaborate with such a legendary Australian brand like Bundaberg Rum. Our Budgys are best enjoyed with a cold one in hand, so we feel it’s only right that fans can enjoy both a chilled Lazy Bear and a hot pair of Smugglers through our limitededition run”, said Jarrod Allen, Head of Research and Development at Budgy Smuggler.

“Bundaberg Rum created Lazy Bear with the ingeniously lazy in mind… Lazy Bear is a ready to drink rum mixed with the refreshing taste of dry ginger and natural lime. The new Bundy Smugglers are just as fuss-free and ready to go, all people need to do is buy a pack of Lazy Bear for the chance to get their hands on the hottest togs in town” says Hayden Abercrombie, Marketing Manager for Bundaberg Rum.

#HUNTERGATHERING WINES GETTING BETTER WITH EACH VINTAGE

I know what you are thinking… the winemakers of the Hunter Valley have a reputation for announcing the latest vintage as the ‘vintage of the century’ but maybe they are right? Hunter Valley wines are getting better and vintages are getting more exceptional. Call it climate change, call it progress, but at the #huntergathering tasting at the Builder’s Arms in Melbourne’s Fitzroy the 2017 vintage wines presented beautifully as did the 2018. Winemakers of the Hunter, Andrew Thomas, Andrew Margan, Iain Riggs, Mark Richardson, David Hook, Adrian Sparks, Mike De Iuliis and Jeff Byrne were all in attendance discussing their wines and revealing their passion for innovation. These winemakers are not shy to trial new varietals in the hope of finding the next Hunter Shiraz or Semillon. Varietals such as the 2018 Margan Albarino, the 2017 De Iuliis Fiano, and the David Hook Reserve Hunter Valley Sangiovese and Barbera 2017 vintages were all showing excellent promise. Better clones of these varietals have become available in recent years and has helped along quality. “Most of the vineyards for the newer varietals are still young but they are performing better,” said David Hook. “In the vineyard we have just worked out how to grow these grapes in the Hunter – viticulture is getting better all the time and winemaking techniques are getting better all the time. You have to be careful because of warmth and disease here so you don’t want too late ripening but you do want good acidity.” Like other varietals the Hunter puts its unique mark on these Spanish and Italian varietals presenting styles that are uniquely different from other Australian wine regions.

As for the impact of climate change the winemakers revealed harvest was definitely earlier but sometimes the hotter years deliver more weight and flavour in the grapes. The big stars of the Hunter are obviously Shiraz and Semillon but the vineyard area is decreasing for these varietals as land is turned over to other uses. David Hook says this has led to the price of Shiraz grapes doubling for this coming vintage, however, this is indicative of an established and premium wine region. “We only make premium because it is expensive to make here and that’s where we want to be.”

Alex Wolpert, founder of East London Liquor Company

A JOB APPLICATION WITH A COCKTAIL TWIST THAT’S NOT A LEMON

The team from East London Liquor Company (ELLC) is on the hunt for a part-time brand ambassador in Melbourne. It is sending out the call to all spirit-loving and industry-focused bartenders in what is a unique hiring process. The first round of ‘interviews’ is a summer cocktail competition.

Ex-bartender and founder of the East London Liquor Company, Alex Wolpert, is flying to Melbourne in February to meet the finalists, judge the drinks, and ultimately hire the new Brand Ambassador. The lucky person selected to extend the ELLC team will be flown to London to visit the distillery and meet the crew.

TIA MARIA ANNOUNCES PARTNERSHIP WITH MOONLIGHT CINEMA

Tia Maria is set to showcase the very best in coffee cocktail mixology all summer long as the exclusive spirit partner for Australia’s outdoor cinema, Moonlight Cinema. Now, for the first time, outdoor cinema buffs can relax and enjoy the latest release with a cocktail in hand as part of the Tia Maria Coffee Project. The Project celebrates what’s new and exciting in coffee mixology. Guests will have the opportunity to sample the classic Tia Espresso Martini, the Tia Popcorn Frappe, plus the Tia Coffee Tonic. At each Moonlight Cinema capital city location, drinks will be served from one of three unique bars, the Tia Maria container bar, a Piaggio Apelino or one of the Tia Maria bespoke coffee bikes. In addition, Tia Maria is running a retail promotion that allows movie fans to take a friend for free.

‘People’s love for coffee, and coffee cocktails, is at an all-time high and through the Tia Maria Coffee Project we want to show them how versatile they can be. Now guests can raise a glass to the ultimate summer experience with the ultimate coffee cocktail,” says Mark Hickey, Brand Ambassador, Tia Maria.