Drinks World Asia | Hong Kong #10

THE MAGAZINE FOR MANAGERS, SOMMELIERS AND BARTENDERS 獻給管理者 、侍酒師和調酒師的雜誌

HONG KONG & MACAU NO. 10

THE RISE IN

FEVER YOUR PREMIUM MIXER EDITION

THE HISTORY OF

CHAMPAGNE JAMES HALLIDAY

LEGENDARY WINE CRITIC AND VIGNERON

I A L O I N O ANT n o i p m a h C ass l C d l r o W r u Yo

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Welcome This is your last edition of Drinks World for 2015, and what a year it has been! The final front cover of the year is dedicated to our competitor at this year’s World Class competition in South Africa. Antonio Lai represented the thriving Hong Kong bar scene and ranked eighth in the world- testimant to the level of talent now buzzing around Hong Kong & Macau.

During the last three years we’ve seen the industry grow and some awesome talent emerge with many of the best competing in the range of bartending competitions now established in Hong Kong. Talking of competitions, this edition you will also hear from Dorothy Lam the well deserved winner of the Beefeater MIXLDN Gin competition and to Chivas Master Global Champion, Josh Reynolds.

So what’s coming up...T25 Bartenders Hong Kong & Macau will be released early in 2016.

For T25 each year we celebrate the best in our industry nominating a selection of the top bartending talent in Hong Kong, to keep up to speed with who’s hot this year at www. drinks.world. On this site you’ll see a number of changes as Drinks World brings you news and features from across the region.

As this silly season is here and the big man in his red and white suit is on his way, we would like to say a big thank you for your continued support. We truly believe the industry is only going to get bigger and better and look forward to evolving with it. Have a safe and happy Christmas and New Year and it’s now time to sit back with your favourite tipple and enjoy reading the last edition of Drinks World for 2015.

Cheers, Sasha

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ONLY NO.4 ALLIGATOR CHAR. (THE HEAVIEST CHAR THERE IS)

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Credits CREDITS Publisher Ashley Pini ashley@hipmedia.com.au EDITORIAL Editor Sasha Falloon sasha@hipmedia.com.au Editorial Assistant Mary Parbery DESIGN Art Director Evelyn Rueda Senior Designer Racs Salcedo ADVERTISING / SALES Commercial Director Marc Rodrigues National Sales Manager Chris Wheeler PHOTOGRAPHY Photographer Elden Cheung CONTRIBUTORS Writers: Tania Brown, Antonio Lai, James Halliday (Wine Companion), Chris Middleton, Ken Gargett, Richard Gillam, Stephanie Hsu

COVER: Meet your World Class champion Antonio Lai. Story on page 15.

Produced and published by

Editorial Enquiries: If you, your bar, or your brand and company have news or events you would like to share with Drinks World please contact: ashley@hipmedia.com.au and/or sasha@hipmedia.com.au Although Hip Media Asia endeavours to ensure the accuracy and correctness of the information and drinks trade and drinkstrade.com.au, we do not accept any liability or responsibility for any inaccuracies or omissions. The views expressed by authors of publications or event presentations, published drinks trade, do not necessarily represent the views of Hip Media Asia. Decisions or actions based on the information and publications provided by Hip Media Asia are at your own risk.

drinks world @drinksworldasia drinksworld

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O R GRAIN AR N R G NATICALLY O I I .

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News

10

Contents 10

What’s Happening

Profile

36 38 56 65

Wild Turkey: We Do Things The Right Way

13

24

Wild Turkey Master’s Keep

36

Angostura Rum

Tullamore D.E.W.

Drink

37 46

18

Wild Turkey Cocktail Recipes A Whole Lot of Sherry

41

46

Competition

13

Visit

Feature

20 24 28 30 32 41 53 57 67 71

62

A Rise in Fever

Mumm Releases Festive Gift Box Chivas Regal 12 Years Old New Packaging

50

Absolut Goes Electrik

Beefeater MIXLDN HK & Macau Final

Rum Production

Tasting and Rating Wine

History of Champagne

CÉ LA VI: Hong Kong’s Latest Hot-spot

Meet

Bacardi Legacy Global Cocktail Competition

The Silver Standard

World Class Global 2015 Winner Michito Kaneko

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World Class Experience

by Antonio Lai World Class HK & Macau Finalists 2015 Chivas Master Josh Reynolds Gettin’ Ziggy With It

Beefeater MIXLDN HK Winner Dorothy Lam Hannah Sharman-Cox on London Cocktail Week Seoul’s Bar Scene Has Gotten Lowder James Halliday

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° NEWS °

What’s HAPPENING NEW MEMBER OF THE DRINKS WORLD FAMILY – WELCOME TO DRINKS WORLD AUSTRALIA While you’ve been enjoying Drinks World Asia – Hong Kong & Macau edition, your fellow members of the sommelier and bartending communities have been looking on in envy (well, we like to think so). No longer. Drinks World Australia and the regional T25 Awards will be hitting the Australian shores in 2016 – so look forward to extending the family ties, bar swap opportunities and the chance for the whole region to exchange ideas through drinks.world.

FENTIMANS BOTANICALLY BREWED BEVERAGES

BACARDI LEGACY TOP 8 BACARDI Legacy Cocktail Competition (BLCC) is heating up and the top 8 finalists have been announced. Turn to page 24 to read about the inspiration behind each of the top contestants cocktails and watch this space to see who your Legacy champion will be in 2016.

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When you think of soft drinks there seems to be a bit of buzz around the category, especially given the importance on using good quality mixer to really hero any drink. Brands such as Fentimans have embraced the shift towards quality using a combination of botanicals and natural plant extracts to create a great tasting soda. Want to know where you can get your hands on this botanical gem? Fentimans Botanically Brewed Beverages is distributed by MetaDesign Hong Kong.

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WORLD CLASS HONG KONG 2016 World Class will begin in Hong Kong & Macau in March 2016 and culminating with the final in June, when Hong Kong’s new champion will be crowned. Are you ready to compete? Stay tuned for more details.

YOUR CHIVAS MASTERS CHAMPION The competition now in its third year, witnessed seven talented mixologists from around Hong Kong craft together three Chivas Regal Whisky cocktails each falling under the themes: Classic, Local and Shanghai. Like many competitions there can only be one winner and this went to Dave Lam from Quinary and his three cocktails, The Amber Appointment, Yuan Yang and The Chivas Brothers. For more details head to drinks.world.

NEW VENUE OPENING MACAU – HEART BAR Macau is welcoming its first mixology concept bar. Situated in the center of Metropolis Macau, just a few steps ahead of all attractions and the pier, Heart Bar is the best place for anyone who is craving a well crafted cocktail. The masterminds behind the venue is Reeve Yip and Zoltán Konczol, both coming from a hospitality background and a wealth of knowledge in the cocktail and bar service arena, this venue will no doubt raise the level of mixology in Macau. For more details head over to drinks.world.

PDT (PLEASE DON’T TELL) POP-UP AT THE LANDMARK MANDARIN ORIENTAL The renowned New York speakeasy bar categorised as one of the best bars in the world - PDT will be setting up at The Landmark Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong this January. The pop-up bar taking on the name PDT HK will be open between 5th-30th January, serving sponsor World Class’ spirits, including the luxury collection of spirits from Diageo RESERVE. More details at drinks.world.

Product launch, masterclass, new venue opening or really exciting news to share? Send through the details to our editor sasha@drinks.world and we will see how we can spread your news with the industry.

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° COMPETITION °

JAPAN’S MICHITO KANEKO

WINS WORLD CLASS 2015 T

he owner of The Lamp Bar in Nara defeated a global collection of bartenders in possibly the most competitive World Class Global Final ever.

Michito Kaneko from Japan was crowned the world’s best bartender at the Diageo Reserve World Class Bartender of the Year 2015 competition, held in Cape Town, South Africa.

After four days of challenges, judged by leading figures in the world of bartending, Michito was picked out from an original complement of 54 contenders.

“When I heard my name, I couldn’t believe what I was hearing! I was in total shock,” said Michito at the gala awards dinner on 5 September. “I’m very happy to have won. But I must remember that even though I am the World Class champion, I must stay humble and true to what I love.”

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° COMPETITION °

The level of skill was consistent across all competitors - exceptionally high!

In the final ‘Cape Town Shakedown’ challenge held at the city’s V&A Waterfront, the final six bartenders had to create a pop-up bar to reflect their personality and bartending style.

Michito looked to his own name for inspiration.

Michito means ‘Man on the Road’, so he incorporated the iconic Striding Man of Johnnie Walker into the theme for his bar, and called it ‘The Travelling Bar Man’. The installation was covered in maps and treasure chests, and Michito took visitors on a journey from Scotland to France to Japan with his creations.

“Michito was the personification of Japanese hospitality,” said Spike Marchant, World Class judge and global brand ambassador. “His cocktails across all the challenges were subtle, harmonious, and impeccably calibrated. He is a complete professional and produced a sustained level of excellence throughout the competition.”

As World Class Bartender of the Year, Michito will have the opportunity to travel the world as a global brand ambassador for World Class, and gain a degree of celebrity status. Plus, as part of a recently announced partnership between luxury resort group One&Only and Diageo Reserve, Michito also wins a trip to the One&Only Palmilla resort in Los Cabos, Mexico.

Michito was inspired to quit his job as a construction worker to become a bartender 13 years ago after tasting cocktails in the most famous bar in his home region of Nara, Japan.

Three years ago he opened his own bar in Nara – The Lamp Bar – where he is the manager and sole bartender.

During the gala ceremony, the top performers from each of the five first round challenges were also honoured. Jurgen Nobels of Belgium earned top scores in the ‘Against the Clock’ test; Kenneth Bandivas of the Philippines took the judges on a journey of flavour during ‘Around the World’; Tyson Buhler of the USA delivered a perfect pair of cocktails in ‘Night and Day’; Filip Navratil of Slovakia dominated in the ‘Street Food Jam’; while champion Michito served up

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a trio of masterpieces in the ‘Future, Retro, Disco’ challenge.

Israel’s Ariel Leizgold, who was among the top six finalists, also delivered a standout performance during the ‘Cape Town Shakedown’ where he created a ‘Secret Garden’ that was a “sensory joy and a cocktail paradise”, according to the judges.

“It was almost impossible to predict who the top six would be because the level of skill was consistent across all competitors – exceptionally high,” said Marchant. “It was the toughest competition we’ve ever had the honour of judging.”

Johanna Dalley, Global Director for World Class said: “These are incredibly talented professionals whose skill is on a par with the world’s best chefs but who also deal directly with the public on a nightly basis. They have the flexibility to create great drinks that to the exact specification of each and every one of their guests.”

In elevating the craft of bartending, Diageo Reserve World Class has become a leader in setting trends and standards for fine drinking experiences in the best establishments worldwide.

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° MEET °

EXPERIENCE

IN SOUTH AFRICA 2015 WORDS ° Antonio Lai

M

y every step at World Class from the start in my hometown of Hong Kong to the finish in the beautiful city of Cape Town, South Africa, was truly remarkable. World Class was one of my dreams come true, an experience of a lifetime.

Never would I have dreamt to meet and build 53 great new friendships with the finest bartenders from across the globe, some 7,000 miles away from home.

I do have a little confession to make. It has literally taken me, more or less, five years to pull myself together to join the industry’s biggest and most prestigious bartending competition.

I am very grateful to all my past global competitions and work experiences that have shaped who I am today.

World Class is definitely designed for those who are passionate about and love bartending.

World Class is a wonderful opportunity to put yourself to the test and to see how far you can push your own boundaries as a bartender. From the people you get to meet, the art and craft of cocktails that you witness and present each challenge round to the world’s most famous

masters in the bartending arena; all these are priceless and unforgettable experiences offered under one roof.

For those who are interested in joining World Class, a life-changing event, you must get yourself ready and be prepared. Here is my advice: • Be ready for every challenge.

• Be ready to study hard.

• Be ready to work under pressure.

• Be ready for lack of sleep.

• Be ready for the fun ride of a lifetime.

Are you ready for World Class?

2015年南非世界级调酒大师赛之旅 从土生土长的香港前往南非名城开普敦参加世界 级调酒大师赛，旅途上的一点一滴也令人回味。 能够出席是次盛会不但让我梦想成真，也留下毕 生难忘的回忆。我从没想过能在离家7,374英里的 开普敦，认识53位来自世界各地的顶尖调酒师， 并与他们交流心得。

世界级调酒大师赛为热爱调酒艺术的人士提供 宝贵的机会一展身手，挑战自我，突破界限。从 比赛中认识的调酒师，以至世界调酒精英的超凡 造诣，每一段体验也弥足珍贵，令人毕生难忘。

March 2016, World Class will begin in Hong Kong and Macau with the final being held in June, when Hong Kong’s new champion will be crowned. During 2016, World Class will be running a series of consumer events such as bar tours, dinners and visits from the world’s best bartenders.

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° MEET °

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FINALISTS

rinks World caught up with two talented finalists from the 2015 Diageo World Class Hong Kong Competition. Together, Wallace Lau – last year’s HK Champion – and Ryan Nightingale, bartender at Ham & Sherry – shared with us what it meant to be a part of such a highly regarded cocktail competition and why fellow bartenders should consider entering World Class in 2016.

WALLACE LAU

2014 HK CHAMPION & 2015 FINALIST DRINKS WORLD: As a previous winner of World Class Hong Kong, what motivated you to enter the competition again?

WALLACE LAU: As the new member of Bar Butler and the previous winner of World Class Hong Kong, I wanted to share my experience with my teammates. The best way for me to do that was to join the competition with them and prepare for it all together and so I guess you can say it was my teammates who motivated me.

DW: Tell us about your year as World Class Champion?

WL: The greatest moment of my entire life was when I was named World Class Champion. To be given the opportunity to compete in London at the Global Final was amazing and I met so many great bartenders that I was able to interact with and learn a great deal from.

I was also invited to create new menus, which enabled me to showcase my love for cocktails and my flare at a range of different events.

All in all, my year as World Class Champion was honestly the best and most enriching experience of my life, as well as my career.

DW: You have entered World Class each year for three year’s now, how has it improved you as a bartender?

WL: World Class is the most anticipated and challenging competition in the industry. It is put in place to test a wide variety of bartending skills, including your individual knowledge, technique and style of serving.

Whilst this has forced me to be reflective of my own bartending skills and work to improve them year in and year out, the most important thing that the competition has taught me is to enjoy what you do and share the joy of bartending with everyone that you meet.

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DW: Once again you made the top five, tell us about this years’ competition?

WL: Compared to last year’s competition that I participated in, the style of this years’ World Class had changed. It was more practical and focused intently on marketing, technique and execution.

For example, we were required to film a short video in order to promote our drink, prepare 75 drinks for guests at the dinner event in less than 15 minutes and also bottled cocktails, which is one of the most cutting edge trends in the industry at the moment.

As the old face for World Class Hong Kong, I have definitely found the standards keep increasing!

DW: What is your advice to others in Hong Kong considering entering World Class in 2016?

WL: Be mindful of absolutely everything. This includes the competition rules, your glassware, your bartending tools, your ingredients, your section and especially your guests.

Although you are in competition mode, you should love everyone around you and the thing that you do!

It is also very important to remember to chill, take in the competition and really enjoy it!

RYAN NIGHTINGALE 2015 FINALIST

DW: Tell us about your background; where you’re from, where you developed your bar skills and how you arrived in Hong Kong?

RYAN NIGHTINGALE: I’m from the east coast of Canada and I started bartending in Halifax, Nova Scotia whilst attending university.

Eventually I quit school and worked my way into the only cocktail bar in town that made classic-minded drinks. I learnt how to squeeze hundreds of limes a week and how to enjoy drinks. It was a good life.

In 2012, I moved to London were I bartended at Pollen Street Social and the Michelin starred Social Eating House. This is where I learned about the theatrical side of bartending and in 2014 I moved to Hong Kong to work at Ham & Sherry, where I remain today.

DW: What is your current philosophy around bartending and creating drinks?

RN: The theatrical side of bartending that I learnt in London has had a major effect on my drink creations at Ham & Sherry.

Drinks should have serious flavours, but they also should still be fun and accessible and that idea translates really well in the Instagram saturated city that is Hong Kong.

I think many creative bartenders, when they’re starting out, end up making drinks for themselves and loose sight of the customer’s perspective. Drinks need some serious drinkability if they’re going to be successful. Sure you have room on cocktail menus for some funky experimentation, and sometimes these styles of drinks do surprisingly well, but you still need something that someone wants to order time and time again.

DW: You won the food pairing challenge – tell us about your pairing, the drink and the night as a whole?

RN: My drink was the second last drink to go out. The guests had already had six drinks and six plates of Dim Sum, so I made sure that my drink was bright and refreshing, a bit of a palate cleanser. I wanted to use a local ingredient, so I chose these really cool Chinese Bayberries that are only around for a few weeks in May and June. This part was also about speed of service, so I prepped everything before and didn’t use any ‘fresh’ ingredients like citrus, which changes over time. I made a shrub with the berries, which brought out the tart and bright qualities in the Ketel One Citroen, added some toasted sourdough cordial that I made to bring out the biscuit nature of the Abalone Tart, then I topped it all off with Brut Champagne to make it sing.

DW: What is your advice to others in Hong Kong considering entering World Class in 2016?

RN: I learnt a lot in this competition. I like World Class because the challenges look at different aspects of bartending, not just the creative side. I enjoyed the pairing round at Duddell’s because I like serving guests and the immediacy of seeing their reactions. It was great to be ‘on stage’ in Zuma, the crowd was awesome but it was definitely nerve wracking.

You need to find a balance of being natural and also having everything perfectly mapped out in your head. Definitely the hardest part for me was the surprise bottled-cocktail round.

I’d advise any future competitors to have a few different tricks up their sleeves before entering, you never know what curve balls might be coming.

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° MEET °

THE GLOBAL CHIVAS MASTERS CHAMPION

JOSH REYNOLDS

GRACES THE CRAZY SHORES OF HONG KONG

B

orn and raised in Nottingham, Josh Reynolds was introduced to the world of bartending in a small-scale cocktail bar. Taking the time to master his craft, Josh was later asked to join his older brother Ali at the highly acclaimed Pollen Street Social in Mayfair. A busy and high stress environment, it was here that Josh learnt how to shake and make all the classics.

However, it wasn’t until he accepted a job at Hawksmoor Spitalfields in London that Josh’s prosperous career really took off.

IT IS WITH GREAT PLEASURE THAT WE INTRODUCE YOU TO THE 2015 CHIVAS REGAL GLOBAL MASTER, JOSH REYNOLDS. Earlier this year, Josh competed against 11 other international bartenders at the Chivas Regal Global Masters final in New York. Confronted with the challenge of completing six tasks that were designed to test creativity, style, understanding of flavour and mixology skills, Josh absolutely knocked the competition out of the park.

Impressing judges with both his incredible insight and ability, Josh won the opportunity to work in three iconic bars across three outstanding cities, as well as the famed title of Chivas Regal Global Master.

Claiming his prize, Josh traveled to the vivacious city of Hong Kong alongside the Chivas Regal Global Ambassador Max Warner. Visiting local

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markets and a range of celebratory sites, Josh and Max settled down at Aberdeen Street Social in Central.

After a brief chat with the crowd, Josh blended his interpretation of Hong Kong into two craft cocktails. The first – Live Longan Prosper – was based around the flavours of the city and combined a mix of Chivas 12, Longan Nam and Chocolate bitters. The second - #IKNOWTHATFACE – which also championed Chivas 12 – alongside cream soda syrup and Dubonnet Rouge – was a tribute to his past mentor who’s frenetic and crazy lifestyle reminded Josh of the animated city that is Hong Kong.

Well received by those lucky enough to taste it, the cocktails will remain on the menu at Aberdeen Street Social and have also been added to the drinks list at Hawksmoor Spitalfields in London.

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5 MINUTES WITH JOSH REYNOLDS… Travelling the globe, drinking in cool establishments and having bartenders worship the ground you walk on… Living a rock star lifestyle Drinks World managed to catch-up with the busy man for a drink and really find out what it’s like to be the Global Chivas Master and his thoughts on the bustling cocktail scene in Asia.

DRINKS WORLD: Tell us about your Chivas Masters experience. What has been the highlight?

JOSH REYNOLDS: My Chivas Masters experience has been amazing since day 1, stepping off the plane on American soil (NYC) and competing in what was such a well structured competition was amazing, making new friendships and fortunately for me winning the global prize in New Orleans was incredible. My prize was to travel throughout Asia and work with Asian flavours. I have visited Shanghai, Beijing, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Singapore, and for me the highlight would have to be my time spent in Tokyo, such a beautiful city with amazing service and hospitality, the way the city transforms at night, to the food, drinks, markets and street food, was just incredible.

DW: You were recently in Hong Kong and Singapore. Tell us about your time in each market? What bars did you visit?

JR: Hong Kong for me was an action packed four days. Hong Kong is

such a crazy place, there is always something happening and the skyline was fantastic when I went up to the peak. I was also in Hong Kong for Halloween, which was an experience. I went around to party bars in Hong Kong to really get the vibe of what the city had to offer. Singapore on the other hand was a very short visit (24hrs) however I had a great time in some amazing bars including The Tippling Club, The Manhattan Club, 28 HongKong St and I had the iconic cocktail the Singapore Sling at the Raffles Hotel’s Long Bar. DW: What did you enjoy most about the Hong Kong and Singapore Bar scene?

JR: I felt I needed more time to get to know the Hong Kong bar scene, but I got that “anything goes” sort of vibe from the bar scene in HK. Again Hong Kong was crazy.

Singapore, from the bars I visited, had a lovely refined touch to drinks and hospitality.

DW: What advice can you offer to any bartenders looking to compete in Chivas Masters 2015/16?

JR: Create stories, research your drinks, think about flavours that enhance Chivas and relate your story back to its history and heritage.

Remember that the competition is about you as a bartender and the product at hand, Chivas.

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° FEATURE °

A RISE IN FEVER WORDS ° Richard Gillam

B

ubbles are a big topic these days, but for once I’m not talking about our old friend Champagne.

No, this discussion is about soda, well, mixers in general. I’m sure that if you’re reading this, in a trade magazine, then you’re no stranger to the rise of the premium mixer, but how much of an influence are they, and why?

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It’s very similar to a Champagne level of carbonation with very small bubbles which give Fever-Tree its velvety feel and lingering character.

When pouring it does actually resemble the mousse from a fine vintage…

We can even start on a more basic level and yet more advanced at the same time. Cocktails! If you’re living in the South East Asian region then you’ve probably, at some point, had the ‘lime’ issue. I’m not going into depth on this, but to summarize, the native limes to this region have pips, less juice, much stronger flavour, sourness and extra bitterness than the western Tahitian lime. This makes them unsuitable for many of the classic cocktails such as mojitos and daiquiris as they are just too overpowering.

Progressing to the stalwart, the Espresso Martini. Coffee culture has exploded and become entwined with modern bartending, so preferences range from cold brew usage in this iconic cocktail to specific Nespresso capsules, yes we know how geeky we can all be, no surprises there.

Now, fresh fruit is the mantra we all chant, but juices are important too. I for one always insist on ‘no added sugar’ type, which mean in Singapore I favour supermarket brands over the Artificially Flavoured Juice or the Radically Increased Preservatives and E-numbers products you come across.

Brand calling on fruit juice is yet to hit the big time although Ocean Spray, even though unfortunately it’s a Monsanto underling, is I find the best consistent cranberry available that still has the cranberry taste unlike many incarnations which have far too much sweetness and generic red-berry flavours.

I’m sure the above have all impacted at least a fair majority of us, if not all, but there’s way more to come.

Have you noticed the Thai invasion into your bars lately? The lion has been creeping evermore

through the storerooms across the island…

Singha soda, the rocket soda! Those cute, stubby glass bottles containing what appears to be nuclear pressured soda water have been charging through bars across town. And we all seem to love it. I believe it’s truly a functional reason too. I’ve not met anyone yet who praises the quality of the liquid alone, not saying it’s bad, just it’s effervescence which is the kicker.

And I for one agree. With a global push on the Cointreau Fizz (Cointreau, lime & soda) for me getting enough bubbles to elevate a simple drinks appeal is a big factor, not to mention that added CO2 adds perceptible sourness to a soda, which helps balance against the sweetness of the liqueur.

But it’s not just the Thai soda, it’s also the cola. Have you also noticed those tall, slender bottles in the fridges? That’s Thai Coca-Cola.

According to the experts (bartenders!), it is all about the sugar.

A brief search online quickly reveals that there is a big difference. Thai Coke has the lowest amount of sugar of all editions globally (32g per can against a global high of 39g) and it’s also natural cane sugar, not the ‘poison’ HFCS sweetener in most versions. So, contents,

flavour, percentages all matter along with the most important matters for a bartender… knowledge/expertise and of course, bragging rights!

I did actually contact Coke a few times for comment but it seems that the company who invented PR & Marketing are no longer able to respond for comments! Oh well, corporations huh? The lockdown they have on any helpful information leaving the press office is up there with GitMo. No information is available on any of their helplines, or 18 extensions in their marketing dept. of which the official word from the office is that they don’t have one.

It’s a shame as I also had a few questions about the sister company Schweppes. This global icon of tonic and mixers must surely be filling the slightest of pinches from the rise of the new tonic & mixer scene. This new surge, started by Fever-Tree a few years back now seems to have sparked a whole new premium industry.

Before the rise of Fever-Tree, I can only really remember Schweppes, F&N, Britvic and supermarket brands of tonic. Now I can find Fever-Tree, local player East Imperial, Fentiman’s, Thomas Kemper and ‘Q’ to name but a few.

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12/11/2015 7:39:17 PM

° FEATURE °

And I guess the question that we all want to know is does this new element of premium mixers make a difference to the business and is it going to continue? Well. Fever-Tree really kicked it all off with its launch back in 2005, so that’s a decade of better G&T’s already. Before that we also had Redbull, a different beast but still changed the boozin’ world as we know it. So they’re pretty much here to stay I reckon.

But what are they all about? Speaking to the APAC Brand Director for Fever-Tree, Andy Gaunt, he assured me it’s belief in a quality product and finished beverage. When ¾ of your drink is mixer you cannot underestimate its influence.

And it’s not simply just about the basic quality of the tonic either. With Indian (more robust) and Mediterranean (lighter and floral) tonics available you can balance the flavour with your selected spirit. With a range of further flavours such as elderflower and lemon tonics you can truly give the G&T a new lease of life.

But as we pointed out earlier, carbonation is also important. Andy explained what is different in Fever-Tree’s method. It’s an ingredient and temperature thing that gives them the edge.

By using all natural ingredients, and a much researched method of chilled carbonation, you not only get a decent amount of effervescence but also a different style completely. It’s very similar to a Champagne level of carbonation with very small bubbles which give Fever-Tree its velvety feel and lingering character. When pouring it does actually resemble the mousse from a fine vintage… A high accolade indeed for a humble supporting role in today’s progressive beverage industry.

Of course I haven’t gone into great detail about the natural spring waters, hand sourced ingredients and all natural flavours found in Fever-Tree, but I guess it’s a credit to the industry that this should be the case anyway… we’re so over the saccharine sweet, HFCSloaded chemical drinks we demand better quality. And not just the global scene. Our South East Asia cocktail scene is probably the best in the world right now, expanding rapidly from its heart in Singapore, yep, I said it, we’re leading the region here and I’m damn proud of it to Thailand, Burma, Cambodia, Vietnam all building off the scenes already developed in Malaysia, Jakarta, Bali and Manila. We’ll also tip our cap to Hong Kong also as they really had a big push in the scene in the early 2000’s but the focus moved over to the Lion City for the past 5 years.

Anyway, I digress. Such as it is, it’s only fitting

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that East Imperial has rapidly made its way out of our city state and can already be found in Manhattan and London.

It’s hard to call Fever-Tree a small brand with a reported $90M listing last year on AIM, but against the monster that is Coca-Cola, Schweppes and a US soft drink market or $100B this year, they’re planning on pushing further inwards, and make a dent they will, especially with the launch of the new all natural Cola that should be hitting bars by the time you’re reading this. Discerning bars that is!

But with Fever-Trees following and range growing along with more boutique brands being sourced or even manufactured by the industries finest, we’d better get used to being interrogated about our sodas and the what, when, wherefore and why’s that we’d normally face by some craft-spirit toting brand ambassador (if that’s what they’re still called – I’m one and I’m not sure).

Anyway, I’m off for a handcrafted, locally sourced botanically laden, scientifically carbonated tonic. And I may add a bit of gin, too.

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RYAN NIGHTINGALE

BAR MANAGER, HAM & SHERRY I have crazy brand loyalty to Fever-Tree.

I truly feel they make the best tonic water, and although I have a proliferation of gin at hand in Ham & Sherry, I stick to the one and only. I think they offer the best range as a brand. Canada Dry, where available makes a great ginger-ale, and there are hard to find ginger beers that are spicier and unique, but Fever-Tree checks the necessary boxes in both categories and they provide great glass bottles in an awesome 200ml size.

JUAN MARTÍNEZ GREGORIO FOUNDING PARTNER & MANAGER, PING PONG 129

DRINKS WORLD: What sort of focus do you put on Mixers in your bar? Does it compare to the knowledge and focus put on premium spirits?

JUAN MARTÍNEZ GREGORIO : Premium mixers are key to let a premium spirit shine.

They enhance and create interesting contrasts, nuances in the palate and nose. We worked with several consultants before we opened to create our menu and pairings according to the Gin and Tonic Water profiles. We carry more than 15 premium and selected Tonic Waters on our menu. From most versatile, extra-dry, herbal, aromatic, different percentage of quinine and sweetness to the most specific flavours.

DW: What do you serve as a standard mixer for a regular G&T call?

JMG : We mostly work with Indi&Co Tonic, Fever-Tree Indian, 1724 and East Imperial Burma,

DW: Does this change if the customer requests a specific Gin (for example)?

JMG : We recommend parings for each Gin and advise our clients based on their personal taste.

DW: Do you have customers requesting premium mixers?

JMG : Yes most of our clientele are aware now of the importance of premium mixers.

ARKADIUSZ RYBAK

BAR DEVELOPMENT MANAGER, HONG KONG

DW: What sort of focus do you put on Mixers in your bar?

Does it compare to the knowledge and focus put on premium spirits?

ARKADIUSZ RYBAK: Good mixers should match a good spirit.

It is important to understand how the liquid is made from scratch to give a bigger picture and deliver a better sensory experience for customers.

DW: What sort of focus do you put on Mixers in your bar? Does it compare to the knowledge and focus put on premium spirits?

AR: Good mixers should match a good spirit. A good mixer is made using different ingredients or botanicals. It is important to understand how the liquid is made from scratch to give a bigger picture and deliver a better sensory experience for customers.

DW: What do you serve as a standard mixer for a regular G&T call?

AR: Our premiums mixers are the Fever-Tree selection.

DW: Do you have customers requesting premium mixers?

AR: It hasn’t happened to me yet surprisingly, not since I moved to Zuma HK. When we reopened a new concept for Zuma HK we introduced Fever-Tree mixers and this is the only mixer we pour at our venue.

ANDY GAUNT

MD SOURCE AND ACTING BRAND DIRECTOR FEVER-TREE APAC DW: How do premium mixers fit into the bar experience today.

ANDY GAUNT: If there’s one thing we’ve learnt from the way that high quality spirits have grown in popularity it’s that the taste and experience are equally important.

Consumers are looking for that premium experience and more than ever they know their quality spirits. The mixer in that drink plays such a significant part in the taste and ultimately influences the customer experience of the entire drink – if you’re aiming to make that a premium experience then you need to be using a premium mixer. It’s why we know there’s a place for premium mixers such as Fever-Tree.

Customers are now brand calling their favourite spirit and deserve to have it mixed with a high quality liquid that isn’t full of artificial sweeteners, preservatives and has the right carbonation levels to let the spirit shine through. ¾ of the drink is a mixer, and with such attention being paid to the ¼ part (being the base spirit) we think that sometimes the mixer is the forgotten part of the experience.

Consumers are becoming more and more interested, and careful, in what they are putting into their bodies. This is only going to become of more importance in years to come; so artificial flavours and sweeteners are not the way to go.

Fever-Tree mixers have been developed with three key elements in mind; purity of flavours, no artificial sweeteners and improved levels of carbonation, all specifically done to partner the great spirits, giving rise to endorsements from respected chefs such as Ferran Adria from El Bulli – many times voted best restaurant in the world. In fact, you’ll find Fever-Tree used in seven of the top 10 worlds’ best restaurants (as per the San Pellegrino World’s Best Restaurants Awards). In fact, in a survey of Drinks International’s 250 Best Bars in the World, FeverTree is not only the number one selling tonic, it is also the number one trending.

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12/11/2015 7:39:33 PM

° FEATURE °

INTRODUCING

YOUR T P 8

BACARDI LEGACY FINALISTS 2015/16 The Bacardi Legacy Global Cocktail Competition (BLCC) showcases the talent of mixologists across the globe. It is a platform not only for bartenders to enhance their craft, share their experiences, and inspire each other, but also to promote their Legacy drink, their creativity and themselves.

The competition will be more exciting this year, with more than 35 countries competing in the BLCC. It is also the first year for the Taiwan market to be involved and Taipei mixologists will compete together with Hong Kong and Macau bartenders for their ticket to the global final in San Francisco.

We are expecting the next Legacy cocktail, that can stand the test of time. We are looking for mixologists who love to be challenged; unafraid to innovate, but conscious of creating a cocktail that caters to a broad audience. And more importantly, individuals who have a burning desire to become the best in the industry; constantly searching for opportunities to promote themselves; always connecting with each other for leading opinions and growing ttrends.

As a brand Bacardi is ready to invert in you!

RAY TANG, Commercial Marketing Manager for Bacardi

201 年 世 酒大赛 加得 世 酒大赛 世 界各地的调酒精英，让他们一展身 手，提 调酒造诣， 交 流心得。他们也 在赛 中 调 的 加得 世 酒，以过 人 成 一 的 。 加得 验的 世 酒， 心 挑战 能为大 调 味的 调酒人 。 的是， 加得也 过大赛 成为 界顶 尖调酒师的 士，为他们提供 机会 自 ，并并 交流心得 流。

PHOTO: Your Top 8 Bacardi Legacy Finalists. SEATED (L-R): Audrey Eschemann, Cagri Teker, Amanda Wan, Tunny Grattidge. STANDING (L-R): Simon Kong, Match Chan, Kervin Unido, Timothy Ching

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A STORY

behind every

R

COCKTAIL

eturning for a seventh consecutive year, the Bacardi Legacy Global Cocktail Competition is back and better than ever, inviting bartenders from Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau to compete for the 2016 title. The aim of the game you ask? To create a new Legacy cocktail that can be easily replicated in bars across the globe and stand the test of time. With eight passionate and innovative finalists selected, this year’s competition is set to be a thriller… so read ahead to uncover the stories behind the potential legacies put forth.

AUDREY ESCHEMANN Cocktail Name: SWEET MOMENT My cocktail is a tribute to the story of the Bacardi family - the legacy of kindness, generosity and unity. My cocktail was made to bring people together and to share a moment regardless of whether they are rich or poor, black or white; it’s about love. I miss my home just as Bacardi misses Cuba, but I have a second family in the amazing people I’ve met around the world, so in my heart I’m never alone. This cocktail helps me share my moments with all of them and to keep the Bacardi Legacy alive.

KERVIN UNIDO Cocktail Name: REBORN PADRE BALNCO Reborn Padre Blanco is a twist of my creation from last year, which was dedicated to Ernest Hemingway – an American journalist who loved to drink a Classic Daiquiri at El Floridita Bar. This time I twisted it into a long drink similar to a Mojito as he also drank this when he used to go to La Bodeguita Bar. Reborn is a term referring to any person or anything that has existed already and this year Padre Blanco is Reborn with Bacardi Superior White Rum. With the Bacardi I used guava, to compliment the spirit and to represent the fruit bats – which Amalia insisted to use as a symbol of good health, family unity and a fortune on their business of rum making – lime juice to give it balance, agave nectar as a sweetener for a diabetic (like Hemingway), egg white as a symbol of a new life and mint leaves and soda to refresh your body and mind in a hot climate such as Cuba.

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° FEATURE °

TIMOTHY CHING Cocktail Name: THE ORO In the middle ages noblity served thier guests gold as a generous and hospitable gesture. It was also believed that something this valuable and rare must be beneficial to ones health. It is this belief that inspired me to create a drink that brings five neat ingredients together in a cocktail that represents all of these qualities. The Oro bestows health and wealth to those who drink it, generating wealth with each sip. Something that can be enjoyed by the Bacardi family as well as family and friends. It is my gift for generations to come, a drink that leaves something behind for the future… a real legacy.

AMANDA WAN Cocktail Name: CONSTANCE The name Constance means “firm of purpose”, as well as; faithful, loyal, and a keeper of promises.

Frankie was a big guy. He had one of those laughs that came from the depths of his belly. He was also my first Bar Captain, he ran that bar like a general. Naturally, I was both in awe and fear of him for the next few months. So imagine my shock one day, as I was frantically refilling soft drinks in the chiller, to hear that deep laugh behind me. I froze and peeked over the chiller door to see Frankie standing over me, with the biggest smile on his face. Immediately I thought to myself, “what could I have done wrong this time?” Near panic, I asked shakily, “why are you laughing?” Clearly amused, he simply said, “you’re still here!” Surprised I replied, “of course I’m still here. Where do you think I’m going?” From that day on, he started teaching me all that he knew about cocktails.

Nothing quite displays a bartender’s persistence and dedication to their craft than the fact that they are still here, still doing what they do, from the days through the years; the beauty of constancy.

The pineapple is a symbol of hospitality, but the leaves are sharp, and it hurts us sometimes. But it will always be a part of us.

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Like the legacy of the Bacardi family - we fall, sometimes. At other times, we are rejected - and, every so often, we find a need to start over.

But those who understand the spirit of Constance, and are faithful to their craft, always persevere.

Some of the greatest people I have met and come to call my closest friends and family are from this industry. This community is everything to me; to us. Even though Frankie is no longer with us, his spirit lives on through the gift he’s given me: an initiation into this community of faithful, inspirational people. So of course I’m still here – where do you think I’m going?

Constance enhances the delicate citrus notes of Bacardi Superior with just a touch of lemon juice. The Jasmine tea also works to accentuate the light, leafy woodiness alongside an equal amount of sweetness, finished with an aromatic lift of spice through wasabi, a pinch of salt and a pineapple leaf.

TUNNY GRATTIDGE Cocktail Name: THE B’S KNEES The B’s Knees is a tribute to the prohibition days. When the original bees knees was created to mask poor craftsmanship. The drink contained honey and lemon to hide the flavour of poorly distilled gin.

The B’s Knees pays homage to that and celebrates the second coming of the next golden age of cocktails. Instead of using honey to mask, I use it as an undertone and to show off the Bacardi rum.

My legacy is remembering where we came from, and pushing forward.

With a superior product comes a responsibility not to mask it but to make it soar onto our taste buds to savor.

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CAGRI TEKER Cocktail Name: THE HONEYMOON I created The Honeymoon cocktail in a small and cozy hotel bar in Thailand seven months ago. While my fiancé and I were sitting in the bar she asked me to do something special and this is when The Honeymoon cocktail was created.

I’m a bartender who loves to create cocktails and, with my bar managers support, I worked on refining my cocktail to be balanced and to really hero the spirit. I used Bacardi because I wanted to tell my story with a drink. Four years ago I had to leave my country and my family because of mandatory service in the army. When I came to Hong Kong I struggled with challenges that were above my ability but I didn’t give up… all the other ingredients tell my life and my love story!

MATCH CHAN Cocktail Name: NISHANG YUYI/霓裳羽衣 One day I saw a beautiful Chinese lady dancing and the way she moved was swift, elegant and captivating, which inspired me to create Nishang Yuyi. I used lychee, which represents “oriental,” yellow which represents “the flower,” orange which represents “love,” grappa which represents the “floral notes,” simple syrup which represents “ sweetness” and Bacardi which represents “soul of the drink” enhancing all the flavours that creates Nishang Yuyi. I then garnish with an Oncidium flower as the dancing doll orchid represents “the dancing lady”.

SIMON KONG Cocktail Name: RHYTHM I believe a good song lasts forever, no matter how good the lyrics are, there has to be a good rhythm to refine it. Just like my Legacy drink, I have refined my drink by countless trials and errors. And now it is finally completed. I hope you all will enjoy my “Rhythm” and that it lasts forever.

Drop the Beat.

This is my third year being involved with Bacardi Legacy in Hong Kong.

In that time I have seen it grow into something more than just a cocktail competition; it’s an activity, a passion and a club that Hong Kong bartenders get involved in each year. Not only have we found some great winners in Ryan Chan, and Devender Sehgal but we have also fostered some great bartending talent while making drinks with Bacardi- developing their own confidence along the way.

This year’s top 20 included finalists from previous year’s alongside many new faces. The drinks were as diverse as the bartenders who made them and the Legacy stories were all true to their owners and reflected in their cocktails.

I also know now after three years where I can get a great, crisp Daiquiri around town. Thankfully that’s almost everywhere given the success of Bacardi Legacy.

Best of luck to the final eight, I’m sure they will represent Hong Kong well.

MARC RODRIGUES Commercial Director, Drinks World

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12/12/2015 12:52:38 AM

° FEATURE °

Mumm Releases Festive Cordon Rouge Giftbox W

ith the festive holiday season just around the corner, Mumm has unveiled a new original giftbox for its classic cuvée Mumm Cordon Rouge. Designed by architect and designer Renato Montagner, the box represents Mumm’s tradition for celebration in a modern style.

Mumm Champagne is a byword for celebration. Due to its history and endless quest for excellence, it is not surprising that Mumm should be associated with once-in-a-lifetime moments that are loaded with emotion. Mumm has become the Champagne that rewards Formula One champions on the podium and stands behind anyone who goes above and beyond their limits.

Renato Montagner centres his work on displaying feats and challenges that lead to success. An avid fan for extreme sports, and a portfolio that includes a range of sportswear and equipment - Renato Montagner’s giftbox design, is a fusion of modern style while capturing the elegance of a cuvée.

The traditional Cordon Rouge bottle appears on the pack in a threedimensional image using only white and silver colouring. A repetition of geometrical patterns and lines coupled with a subtle interplay of mirrors and reflections make the bottle seem solid. The bottle image is adorned with its famous red sash and the name of the cuvée in gold, the only other colours on the box, which provides a striking contrast. The result is a festive package suitable for any celebration or a special gift to mark a special occasion.

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TASTING NOTES MUMM CORDON ROUGE APPEARANCE: A clear and bright golden yellow in colour AROMA: The nose reveals initial aromas of white and yellow peaches, apricots, and tropical notes of lychee or pineapple. It then opens up with the fragrance of vanilla before developing notes of milky caramel, breadcrumbs and yeast, culminating in aromas of dried fruit and honey FLAVOUR: Freshness bursts onto the palate, followed by great length in the mouth, and subtle, rich bubbles. Perfect balance combines with round, ample vinosity, with complex aromas of fresh fruit and caramel

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12/12/2015 12:52:44 AM

° FEATURE °

Chivas Regal 12 Year Old

REDESIGNS PACKAGING C

hivas Regal has revealed a contemporary new design to encase its iconic 12 Year Old expression.

The new bottle and outer packaging express the 12 Year Old’s craftsmanship, luxury, and heritage.

Additions to the bottle design include a raised shoulder, representing the brand’s pride in its status as one of the world’s leading Scotch whiskies, and a reinvented label design that creates a more simplified and vibrant look. To display the value of brotherhood at the heart of the brand the signatures of James and John Chivas, its founders, have been added to the glass along with the brand signifier.

30 °

The redesigned box is embossed and debossed in certain areas, giving it a texturized appearance, and Chivas’ rich heritage is celebrated by the presence of the brand’s icons.

International Brand Director for Chivas Regal, Richard Black says: “The new design successfully demonstrates Chivas Regal’s ability to carry forward years of brand heritage and craftsmanship in a way that is appealing to

modern whisky drinkers. For many, Chivas Regal 12 Year Old acts as an entry point to the brand so it is a tremendous opportunity for us to grab their attention. We have conducted extensive consumer research and are excited to present a new modern look while maintaining our craftsmanship and timeless luxury values.”

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The new design successfully demonstrates Chivas Regal’s ability to carry forward years of brand heritage and craftsmanship in a way that is appealing to modern whisky drinkers.

RICHARD BLACK Brand Director for Chivas Regal

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° FEATURE °

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ABSOLUT GOES ®

ELECTRIK A

bsolut®, following with its tradition of year end limited edition bottle designs, has introduced its newest limited edition bottle, Absolut Electrik.

Containing Absolut Original Vodka, the new bottles are available in electric blue and striking silver, representing silver’s electrical conductivity and Absolut’s signature cobalt blue. A semi-transparent coating on the exteriors creates see-through reflections and the colours, when put together, create an Electrik aesthetic reflecting flashing lights and pumping beats, turning any nightlife scene “Electrik”.

Joao Rozario, VP, Absolut Vodka, Pernod Ricard USA said, “At Absolut, nightlife is in our DNA. For us, nights are unique opportunities to celebrate creativity and self-expression, and we continue to seek ways to reimagine and re-energize

what a typical night out, or in, can be; Our Electrik Bottle is the latest expression of our ‘Nights’ campaign and we hope it inspires unexpected, transformative nights for our consumers.”

Following their launch in Cockenflap at The Absolut Electrik Bar, Absolut Electrik will be available starting November 29, 2015 and continuing through the holiday season. The new limited edition bottles will certainly set the party scene and will transform the night into an absolutely “Electrik.” occasion.

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12/12/2015 1:02:05 AM

° MEET °

GETTIN’ ZIGGY WITH IT L

omond ‘Ziggy’ Campbell is a Scottish musician and the Global Brand Ambassador of Dewar’s Whisky. Catching up for an informative chat, we found out what it was like for Lomond to be actively involved in the development of five single malts – including Aberfeldy, Craigellachie, Aultmore, The Deveron and Royal Brackla – and to train under internationally renowned whisky experts Dave Broom and Charlie MacLean…

DRINKS WORLD: Share with us your journey and how you got started with Dewar’s?

LOMOND CAMPBELL: It’s quite interesting because I’m not from a bar background. My background is in music and art. I was working as a professional musician and artist for about ten years. A guy who basically launched the single malts was a big music fan and he was a big fan of my band. One evening he came to see me doing a talk about my artwork and approached me and said, “look maybe there’s some scope for you to do some stuff for the company, we could use your music in some of our short films, we could help you out with your artwork and maybe we could do a single cask Whisky based around one of your artworks.” So that’s how the conversation started and the kind of things they were commissioning me to do forced me to learn about the brand and actually drink whisky. So, it was quite a nice sort of symbiotic relationship. In the end they just turned around and said, “look, we’ve got this position, Global Brand Ambassador and you’d get to travel around a lot …”

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DW: How long ago was that?

LC: I started in March last year, so coming up to two years and I just took it with both hands.

It sounded like what I thought music was going to be like - travelling the world, meeting people, having a nice time. But music is much harder than that; the industry’s basically broken.

DW: What was your learning curve like in whisky then?

LC: It was quite dramatic, I knew about whisky, obviously, I’m from Scotland, you grow up with it. However as a brand ambassador you have to present, you have to train people, you have to get the bar guys onside and you have to know what you’re talking about. I spent quite a bit of time with Dave Broom, the whisky writer, and Charlie MacLean, who taught be a lot about the indsutry.

DW: How did that come about?

LC: Steven Marshall, who’s my boss, he’s been in the industry for a long time and he’s regarded as an absolute top expert on whisky. He’s mates

with Dave and Charlie, he’s known them for years, they go drinking together. They’re really good lads.

DW: To spend time with both Dave and Charlie, that wouldn’t take long to learn the ropes?

LC: No not at all. And the other thing is I was working in the distilleries as well. So when you learn from the guys that have actually been doing it for 40 years, you pick up on things pretty quickly.

DW: What were you doing in the distilleries?

LC: Everything. You are the mashman, you are the stillman - you are doing everything. So you learn it all, you’ve got all the geeky facts, but then you’re getting all these brilliant stories from guys that have worked there for generations. It’s really valuable.

DW: Any good stories you can remember?

LC: Yeah there was a good one, there was a guy called Duncan Gilles, and he works in Aultmore.

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He’d worked there for about 40 years, really interesting character, he was a champion cyclist.

He told me that when he started there were all these radios and he would go around trying to turn them on in the distillery, but none of them worked. He realized that the aerials were missing from every single radio. He went and asked one of the older boys, “why are there no aerials on your radios?” And he was like, “ the boys clipped them off from both ends and put them in their pocket. Anytime they get a chance to steal some whisky they’ve got a telescopic straw.” So they were using it to siphon off a little bit of booze.

DW: How many is distilleries are there?

LC: 5 distilleries.

DW: After you worked in the distilleries, then what?

LC: Off you go. So after all the training, the first place they sent me to was Las Vegas which I was really excited about. I had never been before, but I met the American National Brand Ambassador, Gabriel Cardarella who I’m still very good friends with. He had this sort of weary look on him when I arrived, I was all excited and he was like, “Vegas man, this is just a circus.” I was like, “all right, okay”. We did the tasting and we had a really wild time. It was good, I think he’s been around the block, he’s done it for 7 years so he was kind of “yeah I’ve seen this all before”.

DW: And what is he compared to Aberfeldy?

LC: Aberfeldy is probably a bit smoother; he’s quite the charmer and a bit mainstream. He’s probably listening to music that you would find quite embarrassing whereas Craigellachie has got his finger on the pulse, like he knows what’s happening. He’s going to some weird gigs.

DW: Tell us about Craigellachie?

LC: It’s quite an interesting whisky, it’s a Speyside, it’s got charisma and swagger about it, it’s quite broad-shouldered and it has a big footprint. For me, personally, if a whisky kind of throws me a little bit, then I’m interested in it and I remember when I first tasted Craigellachie, I was like “this is like linseed oil, it reminds me of being in the paint department at art school, it takes me right back.” I think it’s a triumph for whisky that one. The 23-year-old is a cracker. I’m probably not supposed to have a favourite but Craigellachie really is mine; it’s like if it were a person you’d want to go out with it.

DW: Have you done any tastings in Hong Kong yet?

LC: We did a tasting at Island Shangri-La in the conference room and over 40 people attended.

It was good, everybody seemed interested and actually quite astute, they knew their stuff. It was a full tasting and everyone took part and very eager to learn.

DW: Describe that person?

LC: He’s probably quite terse. He’s not the most conversant. So quiet, moody, looming, dangerous, a real bad boy. Craigellachie is the bad boy of speyside.

DW: And Aultmore?

LC: Well, Aultmore, it was descried to me as feminine, and I quite like that. A woman came up to me after a training and said she thought Aultmore was like a “heavily perfumed demure lady” and I think she meant it in a nice way; elegant, graceful, fluent.

DW: How do you find that nearly every global brand ambassador is an ex-bartender?

LC: Yeah I know. I think it works really well that I don’t come from a bartending background because I usually go in and show them my artwork. That’s the first thing I do, I say “look, I come from a really creative background, I’m interested in detail, I’m interested in craft.” And usually I just say, “we’ve got a lot in common, you’re interested in the art of making cocktails.”

We talk about creativity. There’s also a naivety,

so I’m coming in saying, “I can’t make a cocktail, you’re the stars not me” and I think they quite like it.

DW: I wouldn’t go to your portfolio and say ‘lets start making cocktails with single malts, they’re too nice?

LC: Our single malts are great and you’re right but some of the old school whisky is great for cocktails.

DW: But in saying that, a lot of your stuff I think would make excellent cocktails?

LC: You’re right; it totally is old school whisky.

Craigellachie is really old fashioned; we say that with pride, it’s an old-world style. There’s a guy called Mike Aikman in Edinburgh who’s got Brown Bull and Lucky liquor, he’s quite wellrespected in the bar scene, and he came out to New York with us to do some research. He made some cracking cocktails, he made a lovely cocktail with Aberfeldy, it had a little orange twist in it, he made a take on an old fashioned mixed with Craigellachie and he’d done this really floral, fragrant cocktail with Aultmore, so it does work.

DW: It’s a nice way to get the product into bars?

LC: And getting people talking about it as well.

DW: Would you say the brands are fresh and new as they have been rebranded?

LC: They’re new and fresh in some ways, I mean they’re old distilleries of course, they’ve made whisky for a long time.

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° PROFILE °

WE DO THINGS

THE RIGHT WAY

O

ur master distillers have stayed true to a tradition from before Prohibition.

THE MASTER DISTILLERS In 1954, a young man, Jimmy Russell, started working at the Wild Turkey distillery, in the most humblest of starts, sweeping the floors of the rick house. From there he worked his way to the top, where he sits today, refereed to by his colleagues and peers as the “elder Statesman of Bourbon’ and the ‘Budda of Bourbon’. This year, Wild Turkey Master Distiller, Jimmy Russell, celebrated his 61st year with Wild Turkey, making him the longest-tenured, active spirits Master Distiller in the world.

For over 61 year’s, Jimmy’s preserved a tradition that dates back generations. The ultimate craftsman and true ambassador for America’s native spirit. His legendary status is no surprise, considering that he’s never wavered on quality.

Eddie Russell, who followed his father’s footsteps, joined the Wild Turkey family as a relief operator. Like his father, Eddie worked his way to the top and in 2015 was named Master Distiller in his own right after 35 year’s with Wild Turkey.

Making Jimmy and Eddie the only active father and son duo of bourbon Master Distillers in the world. Eddie was inducted into the Bourbon Hall of Fame in 2010. In 2011, Eddie created a new expression of Wild Turkey at 81 proof to be a perfect mixing bourbon: Wild Turkey 81.

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THE CRAFT Every part of the process used to make Wild Turkey Bourbon in carefully considered. Every ingredient thoughtfully chosen. Every tradition adhered to for a reason.

For more than 61 year’s, Jimmy Russell has presided closely over the production of every bottle of Wild Turkey. Jimmy’s conviction and reverence for tradition have meant never compromising his high standards.

And so, Wild Turkey is made today in much the same way as Jimmy’s very first Master Distillers Eddie batch in the 1950’s. Using only the best and Jimmy Russell with ingredients at the Wild Turkey distillery.

Wild Turkey 101 Only GMO-free grains are used and the corn is sourced from a single, family owned farm. The ‘sour mash’ bill has a high rye content that gives Wild Turkey Bourbon its signature bold and spicy flavour.

Wild Turkey is distilled at a considerably lower proof. Jimmy believes that this maximises the flavours in the bourbon.

By distilling to a lower proof, Wild Turkey has the advantage of adding less water at the time of bottling to reach the desired strength.

The distilled product then goes into new, charred American white oak barrels (Wild Turkey uses no.4 “alligator” char - the deepest char) in order to extract as much flavour as possible from the wood during the aging process.

Legally, bourbon needs to be aged for a minimum of 2 years, Wild Turkey ages its bourbon for a minimum of 4 years.

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° DRINK °

WILD TURKEY

COCKTAIL RECIPES WILD TURKEY OLD FASHIONED

WILD TURKEY MANHATTAN

BOULEVARDIER

Ingredients • 2oz. Wild Turkey® 101 Bourbon • Up to 1oz. simple syrup • 3 dashes of bitters • Orange zest

Ingredients • 2oz. Wild Turkey® 101 Bourbon • 1.5oz. Sweet Vermouth • 1 dashes of bitters

Ingredients • 1.5 oz. Wild Turkey® 101 Bourbon • 1 oz. Campari® • 1oz. Vermouth (Cinzano® Rosso or Cinzano® 1757

Method Stir ingredients in a mixing glass and strain into a rocks glass over ice.

Garnish Garnish with an orange peel.

Method Stir ingredients well with cracked ice and strain into a Manhattan or chilled martini glass.

Garnish Garnish with a cherry.

Method Pour all ingredients into mixing glass with ice cubes. Stir well and strain into a chilled cocktails glass.

Garnish Garnish with lemon twist.

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° PROFILE °

THE NEXT CHAPTER OF AN EXCEPTIONAL FAMILY LEGACY

T

raveling 200 miles and aged for 17 years in various warehouses, limited-edition expression marks the distillery’s first new product. Since Elevating Eddie Russell to Master Distiller

In 2015, Eddie Russell was promoted to the certified role of Master Distiller at Wild Turkey, where he would work alongside his highly respected father Jimmy. What was the result of this dynamic duo joining forces you ask?

An exquisite, premium bourbon titled Master’s Keep.

While Jimmy has famously claimed that he prefers the caramel and vanilla flavours of bourbon that is aged between eight to 12 years, Master’s Keep is 17-years-old, making it the oldest bourbon in the Wild Turkey portfolio to date. As the saying goes, good things take time and so – as Eddie predicted – Master’s Keep exhibits a unique and unparalleled flavour.

Aged in both brick and wood rickhouses, this bourbon is exposed to the temperatures that slow down the aging process. While the consistent temperature of the brick rickhouses give the bourbon a mild, earthy flavour profile, the temperature fluctuations of the wood

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rickhouses allow the liquid to absorb more of the vanilla, caramel and oak flavours.

As Eddie knows perfectly well by now – given his 30 odd years of experience working at the Wild Turkey distillery – the build and location of the warehouse affects the air circulation and given that the brick rickhouses were cool in the summer and situated in a valley this resulted in a variation of the spirit. And so, despite entering the barrel at 107 proof, Master’s Keep’s unique aging process produced a lower bottle proof of 86.8.

Despite this lower proof, Master’s Keep is quite solvent and intense on the nose. When poured into a glass, the signature Wild Turkey aroma of sour corn abounds, which is followed by some intense caramel, vanilla, wood and spicy notes.

The first sip brings with it a little heat, which is characterised by a smooth and silky texture.

This transforms into a caramel and vanilla

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sweetness. On the mid-palate is the taste of rich abundant baking spices and sawdust, which finishes with a savory spiciness and a lingering hint of oak – rendering it one of the finest sipping bourbons to ever come from the Wild Turkey distillery.

Beautifully presented in a bottle that reflects the craftsmanship and passion that goes into the bourbon itself, Master’s Keep is packaged in the highest quality crystalline glass, to showcase the liquids rich, medium amber colour. The golden hue of Maker’s Keep is also attributed to its time spent in the brick rickhouses, where the bourbon had less interaction with the barrel’s charred wood on account of the cooler temperatures within. Plugged with a copper and wood style stopper, each bottle is individually

numbered and features the intricately embossed image of the Wild Turkey, which represents a detailed expression of art.

All in all, the Master’s Keep experience differs from the run of the mill. While powerhouse barrel strength bourbons are currently in fashion, Master’s Keep challenges the notion that an alcohol burn is important – instead it champions a variation in barrel storage and plays to its strengths, with are flavour and drinkability.

Exemplifying the Wild Turkey family heritage, Maker’s Keep is defined by a father’s conviction and perfected by a son’s ambition, making this 17-year-old bourbon a triumph for the whiskey category and the distinctive work of a true Master.

TASTING NOTES At 86.8 proof, Master’s Keep is delicate, with a smooth and silky introduction that transforms into a caramel, vanilla sweetness, and finishes with a satisfying burst of spiciness and oak. This 17-yearold bourbon is an achievement in whiskey creation and truly the work of a Master.

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° FEATURE °

Beefeater MIXLDN Global Bartender Competition 2015:

THE EVOLUTION

OF A CLASSIC C

rowned Beefeater MIXLDN Hong Kong 2015 champion is the one and only Dorothy Lam from Kowloon Shangri-La. Competing against nine other talented bartenders from Hong Kong and Macau, Dorothy took home the title with her well crafted gin cocktail The Clapperboard.

With more than 1000 entrants participating from 30 countries, the Beefeater MIXLDN Global Bartender Competition is the biggest gin based competition in the world. From inception in 2011, this year marked the fifth contest and the local Hong Kong final took place in November at Mr. & Mrs. Fox. A total of ten bartenders from Hong Kong and Macau took part and each were required to draw inspiration from the evolution of London and a classic gin recipe created no later than 1950.

Bartenders were given the choice to showcase either Beefeater Dry or Beefeater 24 in their signature drink.

Taking the criteria back to basics, bartenders were judged on the aroma, balance, characteristics, originality, inspiration and evolution of the cocktail recipe.

After a day of battling it out against the best of the best in Hong Kong, Dorothy won the experience of a lifetime to

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° FEATURE °

compete on the global stage against other leading bartenders at the Beefeater MIXLDN Global Championship, which will be held in London during the last week of January in 2016.

“It was not easy to pick one winner as most of the finalists went head to head on final scores,” said Agung Prabowo – the Bar Manager of Lobster Bar & Grill at the Island Shangri-La and one of the judges of this year’s competition.

“However, Dorothy showed that she was the best amongst a strong field of contenders due to her presentation, the taste of her cocktail and the inspiration behind it, which I found had a very interesting history,” Agung continued.

As for the top ten London-inspired Beefeater cocktails from 2015, they are now available in each of the respective outlets for customers to sip and enjoy. Below we have featured the leading cocktails, so you can find your favourite tipple around town.

2015年 调酒师大赛 调酒师大赛是 大 以 酒为 的调酒大 赛， 3 家 地 的 位精英参赛， 。 的大 赛 来 ， 香港 赛 在 。 来自港 地的 位 手在 赛上 展 身 ，以 敦的 酒 5 前出 的 酒为 ，并 4调 的 一 的 味。 过一 战 ， 在一 顶尖调酒师中 出，能 香港 出战 在 敦 的 赛。

WINNER:

DOROTHY LAM Kowloon Shangri-La

THE CLAPPERBOARD • • • • • • •

60ml Beefeater Dry Gin 30ml Vermouth Bianco 30ml Chenpi and ginger syrup 15ml Fresh orange juice 3dash Orange bitters Zest with orange peel and discard Garnish: Chenpi

AUDREY ESCHEMANN

KERVIN UNIDO

KOFEI TSE

MY OLD CHINA

ROYAL TEA SMASH

THE LAST MINSTREL

• • • • •

• 45ml Beefeater 24 Gin • 20ml St. Germain • 20ml Homemade Pommes & Earl Grey Liqueur • 20ml Fresh lime juice • Garnish: Lime peel

Aberdeen Street Social

• • • • • •

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45ml Beefeater 24 Gin 30ml Pimm’s n1 25ml Cinnamon apple syrup 20ml Fresh lemon juice Top of homemade English breakfast tea soda Garnish: Dehydrated apple slice, cinnamon stick, British flag

Mr. & Mrs Fox

50ml Beefeater 24 Gin 15ml Honey 15ml Fresh lemon Juice 2 tsp. Earl Grey Tea leaves Garnish: Mint sprig, grapefruit and dehydrated orange

Mokum

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HONOURABLE MENTION:

HONOURABLE MENTION:

PAUL ZHANG

DAVE LAM

MATCH CHAN

PAUL’S LONDON DREAM

SADO

24-7 LONDON SLING

The Ritz-Carlton Bar & Lounge, Macau

• 60ml Organic Earl Grey tea infused Beefeater 24 Gin • 15ml Fresh lemon juice • 15ml Grapefruit juice • 15ml Housemade organic earl grey tea syrup • 10ml Bergamot jam • 10ml Clotted cream • 1 Small egg white • 2 Dashes orange flower water • 30ml Soda Water

Quinary

• 60ml Beefeater 24 Gin • 1 tsp. Lemon Sorbet • Top with Sencha Tea

Flint Grill & Bar, JW Marriott

• • • • • • •

45ml Beefeater 24 Gin 30ml Cinzano Rosso 30ml Fresh lemon juice 15ml syrup Soda chargers Fever-Tree Ginger Ale One drop of orange bitters

JAMES TAMANG

HUNGIE FONG

PERUVIAN LOVE

LADY BLAIR

SMOKEY PANKY

• 60ml Beefeater 24 Gin • 20ml House made chicha morada reduction • 25ml Fresh lemon juice • 15ml Jasmine & green tea nectar • Garnish: Grated nutmeg

• • • •

• • • • • •

Vibes (The Mira Hong Kong)

Ori-gin

40ml Beefeater 24 Gin 20ml Earl Grey Tea Cointreau 20ml Ginger Blueberry Cordial 10ml Egg White

MARK VINCENT Pacha, Macau

45 ml. Beefeater 24 Gin 45 ml. Sweet Vermouth 1 bsp. Fernet Branca 1pc Rosemary (for burning) 1pc Star anise (for burning) Garnish: 1pc burnt Cinnamon stick

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° FEATURE ° Beefeater MIXLDN Judges (L-R) Agung Prabowo, Tim Stones and Darren Hosie (Pernod Ricard)

ABOUT THE JUDGES TIM STONES

AGUNG PRABOWO

Tim Stones joined Chivas Brothers as an International Brand Ambassador for Beefeater Gin in 2009, bringing with him a wealth of drinks industry experience and a great passion for this classic gin. Prior to his appointment, Tim spent two years working with Beefeater in a freelance capacity at the Beefeater Distillery and abroad.

Tim’s career in the drinks industry spans over eighteen year’s. His experience has included working at top London cocktail institution LAB, Trailer Happiness and also Ronnie Scott’s. He has also worked in India and China and is co-founder of the It’s A Rematch!!! global cocktail competition.

Originally from Jakarta, Agung Prabowo started as a junior bartender at the tender age of 18. He moved to Hong Kong in 2007 to further his bar career and has worked at some top-notch establishments including The Landmark Mandarin Oriental’s MO Bar, Lily & Bloom, and the W hotel.

He is currently the Bar Manager of Lobster Bar and Grill at the Island Shangri-La hotel, where he infuses his artistic Asian flair into a range of classic cocktails.

International Brand Ambassador, Beefeater Gin

44 °

Bartender, Lobster Bar and Grill, Island Shangri-La

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° MEET °

Beefeater MIXLDN Global Bartender Competition 2015:

INTRODUCING THE QUEEN OF BEEFEATER

MS DOROTHY LAM D

rinks World caught up with the winner of this year’s competition, Dorothy Lam. Read ahead to find out who inspired her champion cocktail and how she became the talented bartender that she is today.

DRINKS WORLD: Congratulations on winning the Beefeater MIXLDN title for 2015. Share with us what this means to you?

DOROTHY LAM: It means my dream is coming true. I’ve always wanted a career that can take me around the world - not only traveling but as a bartender that is internationally recognised.

Getting the title not only allows me to meet bartenders from different countries at the global final, but it’s also a sign reminding me to learn and strive on. There is a lot more I can learn from the industry and I know there will be more challenges ahead. I will not stop now, as this is where my passion lies.

DW: Tell us the inspiration behind your winning cocktail, The Clapperboard?

DL: Inspired by Charlie Chaplin, the iconic, legendary comedian (you wouldn’t recognise him without his bowler hat, bamboo cane and moustache), The Clapperboard is the cocktail salute to his influence on the modern London films. Whereas classics never grow old in style, Charlie’s laughter is reflected today in many modern pictures that evolve with diversity. As a take on the Hanky Panky, which Ada Coleman created for actor Sir Charles Hawtrey at The

Savoy’s American Bar, The Clapperboard is my creation to Charlie Chaplin. I take Chenpi & Ginger as the bitter-sweet agent to reflect the input of his subtle pathos - to make you cry and smile at the same time (bitter and sweet). It also helps that Charlie was born in London, just like Beefeater Gin. DW: Tell us about how you started your journey in the industry?

DL: When I first stepped behind the bar I was a trainee, since then I have been so amazed by everything happening behind the bar. Upon graduation, I joined the food and beverage industry and started out on the floor. However, I missed the bar so much that I actually requested to learn to be a bartender. I was lucky enough to get a lot of encouragement and affirmation from my colleagues and guests.

DW: Who has been your biggest industry influence?

DL: There is not just one person but a whole team - my ex-teammates at Flint, Bryson, Match and Kervin. Though we are not working in the same bar now, they were actually the ones who introduced me to the industry. I have learnt a lot

from them, from the combination of flavours to cocktails with a story, they have inspired me a lot. They are my biggest influence with their passion and personality as bartenders and they have taught me a lot technically and theoretically. I would not be at this level without them.

DW: Where do you draw your inspiration and passion for the industry?

DL: My passion always comes from the bar as the recognition I receive from guests is my biggest satisfaction and I am very energetic when working with a team that shares the same passion. I also like exploring different bars as all bartenders have a unique personality and by meeting them I become inspired and I learn more about the industry. Reading blogs from around the world also keeps me up to date on worldwide trends and pushes me to learn more – for the world is simply too big.

DW: What advice can you give to anyone looking at joining the industry as a profession?

DL: Just go for it! It is an industry that you will never regret joining. You will never get bored as there is simply too much going on everyday.

DW: If you could do one guest shift anywhere in the world, where would it be and who would it be with?

DL: Nightjar, with Luca Cinalli! It has always been my dream place to work. I love their use of ingredients, I love their presentations and I love how they push the boundaries.

DW: Any finally, what is one piece of advice you can give to any bartender looking to compete in next year’s Beefeater MIXLDN Global Bartender Competition?

DL: Again… just go for it! Step out of your comfort zone, who knows what can happen?

I have no idea what the rules will be next year, but I do find cocktails are always more appealing with a story.

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° DRINK °

A whole lot of

SHERRY D

rinks World and ASC Fine Wines hosted an informative and practical sherry, port and grappa tasting at the back bar of Ham & Sherry. With three products on show from the ASC portfolio, bartenders from across the most respected venues in Hong Kong were invited to create new drinks with the Fonseca, Lustau and Nonino brands, which have rapidly accrued the status of ‘cool’ among the cities vibrant cocktail scene.

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FONSECA FINE RUBY PORTO Established in 1815, Fonseca belongs in the highest tier of the world’s vintage port category. Testament to this statement is the Fonseca Fine Ruby Porto, which is made from grapes that are sourced from the Fonseca estate in the lush Cima Corgo and fruit that is grown by the brands’ high quality partners. The groundbreaking ‘Port Toes’ technology is

then used to tread the grapes in manner that imitates the action of human feet and avoids damaging their bitter seeds.

Following this is the fermentation process, wherein grape spirits are added prior and the resultant liquid is aged for three years in neutral wood vats – creating a fortified wine that is sweet and bursting with flavour.

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° DRINK °

LUSTAU SOLERA RESERVE PUERTO FINO Founded in 1896, the House of Lustau has built a favourable reputation as a producer of fine sherries. Amongst the stand out and most spoke about is the labels’ flagship Lustau Solera

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Reserva Puerto Fino, which is matured in the town of Puerto de Santa Maria in Spain; also known as the home of classic fino. Awarded a gold medal at the International Wine Challenge in 2005, this elegant sherry is famed for its pronounced flor bouquet, which may be

attributed to Puerto Fino’s double maturation under fresh flor. Served chilled, Solera Reserva may be enjoyed as an aperitif or as a wine accompanying a meal – particularly seafood as it pairs perfectly with shellfish and other crustaceans.

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NONINO ÙE GRAPE DISTILLATE The Nonino family has honed the art of distillation since 1897, when Orazio Nonino established his own distillery in Ronchi di Pavia, Italy. Among the family’s biggest achievements since this date was the creation of the Grape Distillate ÙE, which is obtained by distilling the pulp, skin and juice of the grapes in one single operation. This process of distillation is also carried out by small steam boilers, which enables the production of a distillate that has greater character than it would if a vacuum still were used in its place. Having received the Leonardo Prize for Italian Quality, the success of the Nonino distillate has been so widespread that both local and international distillers have adopted the family’s model and that ministerial authorization for the production of the grape distillate will only be granted following a request of the Nonino distilleries.

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° MEET °

D

rinks World catches up with Hannah Sharman-Cox, MD and Founder of DrinkUP London and creator of London Cocktail Week, to talk about this year’s LCW festival. Bigger and better than ever before, Hannah discusses what makes this unique event so special and what draws in bigger crowds year after year.

– I sent the press release to some of my consumer contacts and before I knew it – we had allocated all the tickets to ‘normal’ people.

We grew our numbers 240 per cent from year one to two and have been on a steady rise ever since! When we hit the five year mark, we knew we had something really great and so expanded the festival out to create two new weeks – London Wine Week (May) and London Beer Week (February)… It’s gone from being a project to a full time job with a team of eight staff working all year round to create these amazing cultural celebrations!

PHOTOS BY: DrinkUp London

DRINKS WORLD: Tell us about you and your involvement in LCW role, history etc?

HANNAH SHARMAN-COX: I started London Cocktail Week in 2010 as a response to all the great stuff that was happening in America but not in the UK. With Tales firmly established by then and Manhattan Cocktail Classic (RIP) just starting out it felt the right time to create something similar in London, especially as our scene is so influential.

Initially I thought I was creating an on-trade event and really only envisaged that it would be bartenders that would be interested – however

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becoming increasingly knowledgeable, which is driving the quality ever higher. We’ve really seen this improvement in standards over the years we’ve been running the festival – we started off with ‘Make a Mojito At Home’ and now we’re onto ‘Infusing Your Own Spirits’ and ‘Understanding Distillation’.

DW: How has LCW developed over the years?

HSC: LCW has grown steadily, increasing in attendee numbers year on year and expanding organically to become a fairly substantial sized event! We welcomed just shy of 25,000 people last year with 250 bars all serving bespoke drinks for the whole week and hosting unique events. Stack this alongside pop-up bars (we exceeded twenty specially created venues last year) and the stand-alone parties, it’s a pretty busy week!

DW: With the announcement of 50 best bars during the week, has this helped make it more international?

HSC: We’ve partnered in with 50 Best Bars and have always had a media partnership with them.

It’s a wonderful event and a great chance for so many people to come together, so having it within our festival is great. We had always attracted a fair number of the global brand representatives, but the 50 Best Bars event means that the world’s best working bartenders now have even more of an excuse to come to London. It also encourages us to work even harder so we can show them a great time while they’re here.

DW: What do you love about the London cocktail scene?

HSC: Personally we love the humour and the camaraderie. Sure people are competitive but ultimately there’s a feeling that we’re in a very special gang and lucky to be so.

Silly, witty drink names, boomerangs around the city – it feels a great time to be in the trade.

Then of course, there’s the actual quality of the venues. It’s getting hard to get a bad drink now plus the growing number of owner-operated businesses, to see your friends and peers doing such great work is wonderful.

The support our partnering venues show us and the festival is overwhelming.

We ask people to work really hard to show

consumers a really great time with cut-price drinks, but of course it pays off in the long run.

Most venues really benefit from LCW! DW: Why does London in your opinion lead the world in cocktails and cocktail culture?

HSC: With such a large number of excellent bars across a relatively small city, there really is something for everyone here. The training here is also amazing, with venues like Rushmore Group, Soho House and Be At One spending vast amounts of time and money on education.

You can see by the number of London bartenders working internationally how solid this training is.

Another factor is that consumers here are

DW: What benefits do you see for bartenders from other parts of the world in attending?

HSC: London Cocktail Week is a wonderful way to explore the city. We make it super easy to navigate the bars on our list by creating beautiful bespoke hand-drawn maps of key areas of London. Plus we only work with the very best bars so you know that if they’re part of the festival, they’re definitely worth a visit. Although we’re predominantly a consumer event we do work to create a full list of on-trade specific events and seminars and these are always free of charge and available on a first-come-first served basis. Our wristbands are also free for the on-trade, we try to support as much as we possibly can to ensure the on-trade have the very best time in our city.

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° FEATURE °

The

SILVER Standard WORDS ° Tania Brown

T

he original idea for the Über BarTools business originated from an observation by the founder, Australia-based Michael Silvers, that grew into a bespoke product line with an international following among the world’s elite bartenders and mixologists!

Sitting at a bar some years back, Silvers noticed almost every time a bartender poured alcohol from a bottle using a speed pourer that an arising amount of liquor didn’t quite make it into its serving glass!

Curious to understand why this problem existed, the general response received from bartenders and owners was fairly common: “Yeah, that’s the way these things are”; “These things are cheap, they’re supposed to leak and break”, and then, with a shrug of their shoulders, bartenders would go about their jobs; unwittingly bathing their counter tops in free booze.

The solution focused Silvers and his business partner Sam Tam started, one product at a time,

to develop an impressive range of innovative bar tools, designed to increase bar profitability, improve cocktail consistency and speed of service.

According to Uber Bar Tools: The essential elements needed to make a great cocktail, which guests will gladly pay for are: “Cocktails must be memorable, consistent tasting and profitably made.” Fail to be true to these three principals and a bar will unlikely survive very long!

Over the years, Silvers and Tam spoke to thousands of bartenders and visited almost just as many bars, where bartenders were curious as to the pouring and measuring devices created by Uber and would ask questions and

offer suggestions… and these suggestions and insights would slowly develop into new tools that helped improve the lives of more and more bartenders!

“It’s funny” says Silvers: “We didn’t start out trying to create this huge range of tools…it just happened”. When asked what is the overarching philosophy guiding Uberbartools™, Silvers says: “If we cannot improve or innovate, then we won’t bother creating. We don’t want to produce products that just add more clutter, waste time, money and resources!

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° MEET °

CHRIS WITH THE ADDITION OF

SEOUL’S BAR SCENE HAS GOTTEN

LOWDER A

n international sensation and respected team-leader, Chris Lowder is Head Bartender at the Four Seasons in Seoul, South Korea and it is from this position of prestige that he curates cocktail menus and manages beverage service at the hotel’s six unique restaurants and bars.

Having joined Four Seasons in 2015, Lowder previously worked at the Michelin-starred NoMad Hotel in New York City, where his bar team was awarded a James Beard award for America’s Most Outstanding Bar Program (2014), as well as spirited awards for World’s Best Hotel Bar (2013) and America’s Best Restaurant Bar (2014).

An innovator and artist that is dedicated to the cocktail craft, Lowder has also been recognised as NYC 30 Under 30 by Zagat (2015) and one of America’s Best New Mixologists by Food & Wine Magazine (2014).

As success appears to follow this creative genius wherever he goes, Drinks World sat down to chat with Lowder about the dynamic bar scene that is South Korea.

DRINKS WORLD: You have taken on the position as Head Bartender at the Four Seasons Hotel in Seoul. How has the transition been and what are you enjoying most about the role?

CHRIS LOWDER: As Head Bartender I am responsible for creating all of our cocktails, curating our spirits and beer lists, training our bar teams, and generally setting the tone for what our guests experience when they visit our bars. In total, Four Seasons Seoul has five unique bar programs, not including private events. The task of defining and maintaining five unique concepts has been a thrilling, creative challenge for me.

It’s definitely a lot of work, but I get a deep sense of satisfaction from walking throughout the hotel and watching the bar teams that I have trained execute all of these different menus and service styles – and, of course the team at Four Seasons is incredible, I’m having a blast.

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DW: You mentioned that you have been living in China and Japan from 2008-2011 and also lived in New York for a few years. Are there any similarities in the cocktail culture?

CL: I moved to Japan as a 19-year-old student and I’m very lucky to say that I have lived in a number of cities and countries since then. Every time I move I am able to experience a brand new breadth of flavours and traditions, and Seoul has been no different.

In my travels I have seen two major models of cocktail bars in East Asia.

First, there’s the Japanese model, which has very dapper bartenders making a small selection of classic cocktails with exacting techniques for an extremely small number of guests. There’s a lot of emphasis on technique and ice, and service is extremely subtle and personalized.

When this model is done right, guests feel incredibly special, cocktails are incredibly precise, and the whisk(e)y selection is jaw dropping.

Then there’s the International model, which is a bar opened by someone with some international bar experience who typically caters towards the local expat crowd. When this model is done right, these bars can be world-class with all of the creativity, energy and hospitality of a great bar anywhere in the world.

I’m always of the opinion that you can learn something from everyone, and so I tend to cherry-pick things that I like from both models. I feel so lucky to be living in Seoul and spending time with so many amazing bartenders out here. The knowledge exchange has absolutely been a twoway street.

DW: You were previously Bar Manager and Head of Bar Education at world-renowned cocktail bar NoMad in New York. Tell us a little about your time working at NoMad and your most memorable moment?

CL: The NoMad is an incredible place to work. The team is amazing and everyone is always challenging one another to do a better job for their guests. During my time tending and managing those bars, we were lucky enough to win a number of awards, and that was so humbling. My most memorable moment was making an announcement to the team minutes after we became the third bar program in the world to ever win a James Beard Award. It was on Cinco de Mayo and the after party was insane.

DW: You’ve lived in Asia for over three years, how are you finding the move to Seoul and what are you enjoying most about the bar scene?

CL: Seoul is incredible. The community is vibrant, the city is green and well maintained, there are mountains and trees everywhere, the markets have incredible produce and the prices are reasonable. What more could you want?

All of my experience living in Asia has definitely prepared me for this move, and so the culture shock has actually been pretty minimal. When I was a student in Beijing, a lot of my classmates were Korean, and so I came here already knowing a bit of the language and the culture.

The bars here are terrific. Koreans love a good drink with great company, and so lots of socializing happens over soju and makgeolli (unfiltered rice beer). The cocktail bars are very Japanese in style with massive lists of extremely rare whisk(e)y bottlings, and so I have been enjoying a lot of amazing malts that you just can’t find in the United States.

DW: What’s trending in Seoul at the moment?

CL: Cocktail bars in Seoul are pretty conservative, but there is a lot of emphasis on creativity and so bartenders are pushing a lot of boundaries as the scene expands. Most cocktail lists have a similar selection of classics like the Manhattan or Rusty Nail, and also some more obscure classics that you wouldn’t expect like a Charlie Chaplin. There are a lot of ‘speakeasies’ with hidden entrances and passwords. There’s also a huge emphasis on single malt scotch selections. I have walked into bars and seen 1950’s Macallan and single cask bottlings of WWII-era malts. One restaurant I went to had a full vertical Glenfarclas collection from the early 1970’s just to decorate a hallway. If you don’t know what that means, it will suffice to say it’s really rare and really expensive.

DW: What can we expect to see from the Four Seasons in the next three months?

CL: Our cocktail bar Charles H. is going to be the bar to watch. Charles H. is an ode to history’s greatest expat bon vivant Charles H. Baker.

Charles was a drinks writer who circled the world on steam ships in the early 1900’s and wrote about all of the amazing cocktails that people in different countries were drinking during that time. Unfortunately, a lot of these rich drinking traditions have been lost since Charles enjoyed them in the 1920’s. Charles H. will be the bar where those cocktails and flavours are revived for the first time in almost 100 years. The bar is absolutely stunning, and I can’t wait to share it with the world.

DW: Who has been your biggest influence in the industry?

CL: Definitely Sother Teague. Sother mentored me when we worked together for two and a half years at Amor y Amargo in Manhattan.

Sother and I both have kitchen backgrounds and so we are both hardwired to value cleanliness, discipline and ground-up education. I learned to make drinks at a bartending school in Philadelphia, but Sother taught me how to bartend.

DW: What’s your go to drink after a long night behind the stick?

CL: I like a neat bourbon and the biggest glass of water that I can find.

The water is because bartending is a real workout and so bartenders are usually terribly dehydrated by the end of a shift. And the whiskey? Well, I don’t know what to say; I’m just not a huge beer drinker and whiskey is delicious. Buffalo Trace is my go-to.

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° PROFILE °

ANGOSTURA RUM

W

hile it is best known for producing its worldrenowned aromatic bitters, Angostura has been producing quality rum since 1944, and they must be on to something, Angostura is the most awarded rum range in the world according to the rum masters.

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Although Angostura is currently based in Trinidad, it was actually founded in the town of Angostura, Venezuela, a place now known as Ciudad Bolivar. The Angostura story begins with a man by the name of Dr. Johann Gottlieb Siegert, the surgeon general in Angostura during the war of independence. He discovered the local gentian root and a few other herbs were effective in treating soldiers’ chronic stomach ailments, and thus created Angostura aromatic bitters. Angostura continues to use Dr Siegert’s secret recipe from 1824 today.

After Dr Siegert died, his brother and son moved the company from Venezuela to Trinidad in 1875, where they began producing Siegert’s Bouguet Rum infused with bitters. And by the turn of the century, they ventured into the rum market. The company purchased Trinidad Distillers Limited many years later in 1945, which saw Angostura enter into the production of rum on a major scale. Angostura purchased another wellknown distillery, owned by J.B. Fernandes, in 1973.

In order to produce Angostura, one must begin with the original raw materials; Angostura Rum is made from molasses, the dark, rich scented, treacle-like liquid that is a by-product of commercial sugar production.

First and foremost, it is of the utmost importance to get this sugary syrup right in rum production. The higher the sugar content of the molasses, the better the resulting quality, and Angostura only uses molasses with a minimum 50 per cent sugar content. To ensure only the best quality sugarcane is used in production, Angostura makes sure to harvest when the sugar content is at its very highest.

Angostura’s current Master Distiller, John Georges, uses up to five stills during the distillation process and always carefully selects the flavours he desires; from lighter flavours in the white rums, to heavy and vibrant flavours in the most mature and powerful rums. After distillation is complete, it is time for the rums to be barrelled and aged, the ageing process in Trinidad is favoured by the Caribbean climate which allows the wood from the barrels to expand and contract to increase the development of Angostura Rum’s flavours.

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° FEATURE °

WORDS ° Chris Middleton

M

aking rum may look easy, but the craft requires technical skills, deep pockets and a lot of patience. The next few pages offers a look into the basics of rum making, what it involves, and the different types of rum.

If you leave a dish of cane juice or diluted molasses in the open air, things will start to happen almost immediately: first of all, wild yeast will settle on the dish and begin the process of reproduction before they convert the sugar to alcohol. If left for a few days, subject to climate and yeast type, the liquid could be up to 3% alcohol by volume at this stage. Don’t be tempted to drink this ‘beer’; the yeasts will secrete some unpleasant esters and byproducts. Continue by vaporising it repeatedly in a kettle to capture the alcoholic vapours before the water begins to boil, and you’ll be left with cane spirit. If you’re patient, you can put this spirit in a cask for at least two years and you’ll have yourself some homemade rum. Rest assured it won’t be enjoyable rum, and drinking it will make you very, very sick or even kill you.

While making rum appears to be a relatively simple process, making a good, potable rum takes a lot of knowledge, money and care.

If you do decide to make rum you can be proud of, here’s how to go about it - I won’t include the half-million dollar plant and equipment or hundreds of thousands of dollars in working capital it takes to manufacture rum, or all of the red tape to avoid arrest as an illicit distiller. Before you can sell the rum, you must buy bottles, closures, labels, cartons, pay for a bottling line, pay for excise tax, shipping, distributors and marketing expenses. Hang on – this is all getting too complicated, let’s just head to the local liquor store and drink some great value rums for a very reasonable $30 to $80 a bottle.

Rather than venturing across the globe to

make good quality rum, it is just as enjoyable to sit at home and make it in your mind. Start by picturing tall fields of sugarcane swaying in a warm breeze under blue skies. Now you’re ready to become a virtual distiller.

SUGAR CULTIVATION & REFINING Sugarcane: As you know, rum begins with sugarcane. Inside these long, grass-like stalks is the sweet cane juice we call sucrose. When processed, sucrose becomes the white sugar crystals you buy at the supermarket.

Something of a resilient species, sugarcane has acclimatised and hybridised to a wide range of temperatures, disease resistances, soil conditions, varying climates and rainfalls, harvesting methods and sugar yields. In fact, 123 countries in the tropical zone grow

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° FEATURE °

sugarcane. Australia has 24 sugar mills that process over 30 million tonnes of cane, producing 4.5 million tonnes of sugar; sounds impressive doesn’t it? But this is actually only two and a half per cent of worldwide production. Still, it is a large figure and it leads to about 1.3 million tonnes of molasses that could be distilled into 300 million litres of rum, which is enough to keep Australia drinking for a quarter of a century, although Queensland cattle help themselves to most of our molasses.

Even in Australia, growing conditions and different varieties of plant create slightly different flavour components in sugar sap.

Typically, canes are cut annually and cane stems are left to ‘reshoot’ as new stalks for 18-24 months. Cut cane must be processed quickly, which prevents deterioration from bacterial infestation that is chronic in tropical climates, so much so that the industry has an old dictum “from kill to mill in 24 hours”. Before milling and juice extraction, the stalls are washed and cut into shorter lengths.

Sugar milling: To extract juice, canes are crushed in rollers, and 96 per cent of the sweet liquid is extracted with 10-15 per cent sugar content; at this stage, mostly sucrose, some

fructose and glucose are present. Following this, the cane juice is immediately sent to have the sugar extracted, as yeast and bacteria quickly start spreading through the juice. Rum agricole distillers immediately ferment the cane juice, this is a more costly process than molasses, as the raw material is not being used to extract sugar first, producing two sources of income.

Cane juice produces a different distillate that is more floral and fruity because it has not been concentrated and caramelised into the molasses by-product. In fact, less than 3 per cent of rum is distilled from cane juice, molasses being much cheaper and more plentiful.

Sugar processing & molasses: In this process, the juice is heated and clarified as it still contains cane fibres from milling, as well as waxes and other soluble impurities. The juice is then heated and lime is added to clarify and remove these impurities. More heat is then applied, allowing the juice to boil down to syrup and repeatedly centrifuged through vacuum evaporators. During this stage, the syrup changes from golden treacle to dark molasses, while the light brown, unrefined sugar crystals show the presence of some molasses. Once the product has become molasses, most of the

sugar has been liberated and it is not necessary to extract more.

The most desirable molasses is referred to as grade A, as this has the highest concentration of sugars to ferment into alcohol. Most sugar refineries will evaporate and centrifuge a second extraction, or even a third to extract as much of the sugar as commercially possible; each extraction produces grades B, C & even D grade molasses. Some refineries classify the stages as light molasses, dark molasses and backstrap, when it is no longer viable to continue extracting sugar from the molasses concentrate. At this point the molasses has no further value to the sugar refinery and it is either sold to make rum, or as livestock feed for cattle.

It is a little known fact that molasses can be kept for years without spoiling or any other detrimental effects, meaning it can be shipped and stored for extended periods of time before it is made into rum. Many Caribbean countries no longer produce sufficient domestic molasses, and import molasses mostly from Brazil, as well as Venezuela and Surinam, which is not surprising as Brazil is the world’s largest sugar producing nation.

SUGAR BEET The Napoleonic Wars of 1799 - 1815 forced the French to find an alternative sugar source after the British took control of their colonies in the West Indies. Sugar beet, a cool climate root, proved to be an alternative source of sucrose so Napoleon invested in beet production in 1811 and banned sugar imports in 1813, thus protecting France’s foreign reserves. Beet sugar now makes up 25 per cent of the world’s sugar production, however it is not ideal for distilling into a spirit.

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MAKING MOLASSES & CANE BEER To start the fermentation process, molasses is diluted in water and made into a wash, which creates a medium for the introduction of yeast, while the pH level is adjusted to 4.5, allowing the yeast to survive. Yeast can be wild, naturally occurring in the environment, or specifically cultured. Different yeast strains produce different fermentation periods and different flavour profiles.

Wild yeasts, of which many have been identified in the Caribbean, tend to take longer to act, and some fermentations last for weeks instead of days. Wild yeast converts the sugar into alcohols and carbon dioxide. Cultivated distiller’s yeasts are developed to tolerate different fermentation temperature ranges, alcoholic yields, speed of fermentation and differing types of flavour profiles that distillers wish to create. Distiller’s yeast has proven the most popular and manageable of all; over days or weeks, sugars are converted into alcohol, with acids producing in esters, aldehydes and other compounds that are flavour builders for rum. A small amount of secondary bacterial infection will add another set of flavour components to the mix.

When the fermentation is finished, the wash will be between 7-10% alcohol by volume, and is also referred to as beer. White rums seek a short fermentation period of 24-36 hours and therefore produce less esters and flavour congeners to keep the beer light and maintain a lower alcohol content of 6-7% alcohol by volume. Dark rums will ferment over many days, or even weeks if wild yeast is used. The longer the fermentation, the more esters and bacterial activity will affect the acidity and improve the flavour development while risking spoilage. Long fermentations can result in an alcohol content of up to 10-13% alcohol by volume.

As a guide to ester production, the West Indies distillers have an indicative time formula based on ester counts: COMMON CLEANS

less than 150 esters

24-26 hours

PLUMMERS

under 200 esters

2 days

WEDDERBURNS

over 200 esters

4 days

CONTINENTAL FLAVOUR

over 500 esters

5-10 days

Dunder: When producing dark rum, extra flavour can be developed by the use of dunder, which is a sort of flavour bomb. Dunder is the remaining stillage, the slops at the bottom of the still after

distillation; it can also include scummings left over from boiling in the sugar making process.

Dunder may not sound at all appealing, being full of dead yeast cells and esters, but the mix is rich in flavour compounds. After distillation, the remaining dunder is deposited into a pit and left to decay for months or sometimes years, and when added to a new fermentation batch it adds consistency, as well as enriching the flavour.

MAKING THE SPIRIT Distillation: Hundreds of flavour compounds called congeners are suspended in the beer, and it now sits at around 8% alcohol by volume and 92 per cent water. As we know, alcohol evaporates before water and it is crucial to reach the correct temperature range of 72-78 Co to liberate the alcohol and the aromatic volatiles in the congeners. There are two types of still used to liberate the spirit: batch pot still and continuous, or column, still methods.

Pot still distillation: More flavoursome rums are made using this method, as it captures more congeners (mostly esters and acids).

These flavour volatiles, along with the alcohol, are sent as vapour through an onion-shaped still and across the Swan’s Neck head to be turned back into liquid by a condenser. Pot still distillation involves two distillations: in the first, beer is increased from 8% alcohol by volume to low wines of about 25% alcohol by volume, while the second distillation takes it to between 70-75% alcohol by volume. During the second distillation, the heads and tails are cut to ensure the undesirable and dangerous alcohols are removed, and only the desirable flavour congeners or volatiles are captured. The resulting spirit, or distillate, is also called newmake, or marc in French.

While this is highly effective, there are also numerous hybrid pot still designs that allow vapour to be sent from the initial first pot through a series of retorts or doublers to fractionate the spirit at each receiving vessel.

This extra distillation step from the connected retorts can raise the distillate to about 85% alcohol by volume. Like yeast strains and fermentation processes, every distillery has slightly different still technologies and shapes that give its distillate signature flavours.

Continuous distillation: The continuous method is the industrial workhouse of distilling in that it never stops, and produces a finished spirit that can be up to 94.5% alcohol by volume..

While a batch still may only produce a few

thousand litres every charge of 8-10 hours, the continuous still produces an impressive 15,000 litres or more per hour and produces a light, near flavourless and vodka-tasting spirit by continuously stripping the beer of its alcohol through rising steam, and the alcohol evaporates as the wash falls down through a series of plates or trays. Continuous still technology was introduced to rum production in the second half of the nineteenth century and led to the development of lighter styles of rum. By the twentieth century, the French modified the British Coffey still with their double and triple column stills known as Savalle.

Both Bundaberg and Beenleigh distilleries conduct first distillation in a column, followed by pot distillation, they also use dunder to improve flavours in the rums.

MATURING SPIRIT INTO RUM The product that is discharged from the still is high-proof crystal clear spirit that is hot and fiery to taste, not only due to the burn of ethyl alcohol, but also due to the rawness of the new spirit. Time in wood, or resting the spirit, turns it into a smoother, mellower and more complex tasting rum, even though the alcohol remains quite strong. The term OP, Over Proof, means there’s more alcohol than water in the rum; whereas Under Proof means more water.

Before the spirit is put into large vats or casks to mellow and mature, some are reduced from 7585 per cent alcohol by volume to the lower 60s in the hope of finding the ‘bliss point’ of water and spirit’s solubility in the cask wood.

Maturation: Many distilleries rest spirit in large wooden vats to mellow; white rum can be left in stainless steel tanks, while other distilleries mature in oak casks. Oak is the ideal medium to mature spirit because its porous qualities also impart flavours and allow the contents to breathe, permitting slow oxidation to add more complexity to the resulting spirit. Wood adds between 60-70 per cent of the flavour, especially in big flavoured rums. During this time new esters form, small chain esters escape and tannins and caramelised sugars in the charred or toasted wood add colour and flavour.

A hot tropical climate results in faster flavour extraction from the casks, and high humidity also results in greater evaporation of spirit vapour (ethanol), at about 7-10 per cent compared with cool climate whisky maturation that brings an annual loss of 2 per cent on average. This loss is called the Angel’s Share.

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° FEATURE °

Even barrel filling affects maturation with different headspace and entry proof; for example, Trinidad enter its distillate at 80% alcohol by volume, Grenada at 60% with more water solubility, while others are in the mid-80s.

Rums have optimum time in casks before over extraction unfavourably affects the flavour, and careful inventory management of selected casks can see ageing well beyond 10 years. Different types of barrels and cask sizes have a significant impact on flavour development; ex-bourbon barrels are the most popular and cheapest, ex-brandy casks are often used in French-style rums, new oak and ex-sherry, wine and port casks are also employed to add flavour variants to expressions.

In Australia, distillers mature in huge white oak or kauri vats for at least two years and finish premium rums in ex-bourbon, port or other casks to add more flavour complexity.

Blending: Before the rum can be bottled, batches of rum are blended and married together. Dark and gold rums are rarely from a single barrel or from a single year; they are blended from dozens of multiple casks from different years to add depth and, most importantly, consistency of flavour so the consumer finds their brand is always similar year after year. One of the first blended rums was developed by the British navy in 1810 to ensure consistency standards, and rum labels using this recipe today blend five or more different types of rums from different British islands in the Caribbean and Guyana to make naval rum.

The natural colour of rum can vary enormously, it is affected by container size, years spent in wood and how many times the wood has been filled with new spirit. It is common practice to add burnt sugar caramel E 150 to colour the rum before bottling, meaning many gold and dark rums have been tinted, coloured with the very same raw material the rum started out with - sugar. This process ensures a pleasing, consistent colour to the rum each time you venture to the shelf to buy a bottle (burnt sugar and E150 are one and the same).

RUM TYPES BY COLOUR White rum: Also known as light, blanco, plata and silver, this rum is clear in colour. In some countries they are matured in wood for a few months to allow them to mellow, while some is stored in stainless steel tanks. To make the rum clear, it is filtered through charcoal filters to remove any colour. The combination of the fast

60 °

fermentation that produces less congeners, the further stripping out of remaining congeners through column distillation, and the shorter time in vat make this rum lighter flavoured and near neutral in colour.

Gold rum: Also called amber and oro, molasses-based gold rum often gains much of its yellow copper colour as a result of maturation in wood and is usually medium bodied. Caramel colour is added to gold rum to enhance appeal and consistency between blended batches.

Dark rum: Tending to be richer in flavour, heavybodied molasses rums are rested in wood to achieve a more intense maturation of character in flavour and colour. Again, these rums can be misleading, as many brands will add caramel to

enhance the appeal and perception of age; and this practise is evident in black rums.

Understanding the time, money and effort it takes to make a bottle of rum should give a new appreciation to this fascinating industry. Of course, at the end of the day, it is monumentally easier to walk into a liquor store and choose a bottle of rum from Queensland, Barbados, Guatemala, Guyana or Cuba. It may be white, gold or dark; and it could be young, or aged 20 years in wood.

What a romantic distraction it is to visit these exotic countries in your mind, then take the spirit home to be enjoyed with friends and family… Not to mention that you’ve saved yourself a cool $750,000.

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CÉ LA VI HONG KONG’S LATEST HOT-SPOT WORDS ° Stephanie Hsu

W

e chat with Bar Manager Fabien Marcault regarding the lead-up to CÉ LA VI, a three-floor dining and drinks destination that appears to be Hong Kong’s most anticipated nightlife offering this year. “The thing that sets CÉ LA VI apart from other Hong Kong nightlife offerings is just how much it can offer,” notes” Marcault”.

CÉ LA VI [an abbreviation of the French phrase translating to “this is life”] has opened its doors in a prime location, sitting on the top three floors of Hong Kong’s recently renovated California Tower in the city’s Lan Kwai Fong dining and entertainment district. After orders to rename existing iconic locations in Singapore and Bangkok [both formerly branded with the

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Ku De Ta name], Hong Kong’s CÉ LA VI is a critical chance for the newly-minted lifestyle brand’s to show that it doesn’t need to ride on a famous name to create a trending hot-spot.

With plans to eventually expand globally, CÉ LA VI’s decision to open its inaugural spot in Hong Kong’s ultra-competitive F&B market marks a confidence in their brand and ability to create

buzz around yet the opening of another nightlife hotspot in an already saturated space.

The timing may be just right: a bitter legal battle and the inauguration of a novel nightlife concept isn’t the only thing driving the hype leading up to CÉ LA VI’s summer’s end opening. Allen Zeman, called the “godfather” of Hong Kong nightlife, undertook a huge risk in demolishing the ageing California Tower and the California Entertainment Building; in the hopes that building a new structure specifically designed for F&B would drive the balance of Hong Kong nightlife away from Wyndham Street and back towards Lan Kwai Fong. A key component of the new California Tower - and a strong selling point for CÉ LA VI’s - a large rooftop terrace, boasting an unparalleled view (and a jacuzzi, perhaps the perfect symbol of the type of irreverent luxury that the brand hopes to convey). Three floors totaling an impressive 40,000 square feet comprise of several integrated components: a club-lounge serving up CÉ LA VI’s menu of signature cocktails, a restaurant offering modern Asian dining, and the aforementioned outdoor terrace. French-born Fabien Marcault, whose experience in Asia includes a stint as GM of Central tiki-lounge Honi Honi, has been tasked with managing one of biggest nightlife operations in Hong Kong’s history.

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° VISIT °

“The thing that sets CÉ LA VI apart from other Hong Kong nightlife offerings is just how much it can offer,” notes Marcault.”A guest can go from lunch at the restaurant to aperitifs on the terrace, then down for dinner and onto a classic club experience, all in the same complex.”

Managing such a varied operation is no easy task. Marcault’s team of 25 bartenders easily vies for the largest in the city. The current bar team is a combination of industry professionals and fresh recruits drawn by the opportunities inherent in working for a rapidly expanding global lifestyle group. “Filling the spaces for such a large team hasn’t been easy, but the name alone was a huge draw,” claims Marcault, who relied on social media to broadcast a walk-in interview process - from which he hired nearly half of his starting team. Leading up to the opening, each member of the bar team underwent a rigorous training and briefing process, learning not only how to make the twenty-four signature cocktails on CÉ LA VI’s inaugural menu, but coffees and drinks for the restaurant; aperitifs for the terrace. Rather than diving his bartenders into static teams, Marcault is opting for a more dynamic approach: staff will be rotated through the various sections of CÉ LA VI to ensure a varied working environment, as well as competence with the CÉ LA VI operation as a whole. “At CÉ LA VI I’m able to offer my staff a more varied experience, working at different stations all the time. I want my team to have fun while they’re working.”

In addition to hiring staff, forming relationships and cutting lucrative deals with spirit suppliers is a formidable challenge for a venue of this size. Though certain components - such as the wine list - will directly reference the CÉ LA VI in Singapore, other arenas have been a rush of suppliers determined to see their product utilised at a critical Hong Kong venue. “Everyone wants to be represented,” states Marcault matter-of-factly, citing the numerous emails he receives from suppliers. The volume may be overwhelming, but quality reigns: “When you have the right space and atmosphere, you can work with the best.” Parties thrown by Perrier-Jouet and Grey Goose. Although certain signature cocktails will be retained from the CE LA VI menus at Singapore and Bangkok to give guests a feeling of continuity between the venues, Marcault himself created over fifteen original creations for the Hong Kong CE LA VI, as well as revisiting a selection of classic aperitifs.

As part of the ‘brand DNA’ for CÉ LA VI includes

the ‘core pillars’ of Asian-inspired aesthetics, expect innovative cocktail mixology matched to Asian tastes. Original creations, such as the “Flowers of Hikari” - featurin CÉ LA VI sake, Grand Marnier liqueur, apricot Luxardo, and Blue Curacao liqueur - sit alongside revamps of classic cocktails, such as CE LA VI’s “Bloody Old Fashioned”: featuring Michter’s rye bourbon, Frangelico, chili and cashew syrup, topped with freshly squeezed blood orange. With a minimum estimate of two to three hundred cocktails served on an average day, cocktail recipes will have to walk the fine line between sophistication and ease of preparation. Marcault cheekily concedes: “I’m crazy about garnishes.

You always drink the first cocktail with your

eyes.” Equally eye-catching: CÉ LA VI’s drink prices [revolving around the auspicious number 8] - entry cocktails start at a reasonable 98 HKD. The aim is to build a crowd of loyal regulars, a key to surviving in Hong Kong’s competitive entertainment landscape. Though CÉ LA VI has lined up a roster of sponsored parties, a key component in what Marcault explains are the five essential elements in creating a trending dining and nightlife destination: “It’s all about the five senses. Drinks, design, the crowd, quality music - and most importantly, consistency.

Regardless of when you come, whether on a weekend or a Monday, they have to deliver the same excellence each time.”

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COMING SOON!

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° PROFILE °

Tullamore

D.E.W. IRELAND’S MOST FAMOUS EXPORTS

T

he origins of Tullamore D.E.W. Irish whiskey can be traced back to 1829 when the Tullamore Distillery was founded by famed distiller, Michael Molloy. The location was well chosen because it was a rich agricultural and grain growing region, providing both the fine barley and pure water essential to the creation of good whiskey.

In 1887, following Molloy’s death, the distillery passed into the hands of the Daly family with Captain Bernard Daly in charge of the business.

Captain Daly left the routine running of the distillery to one of his colleagues, Daniel E Williams, who would become the major influence on the expansion and development of the distillery. The ‘D.E.W.’ in Tullamore Dew represents the initials of Daniel E. Williams.

Today, Tullamore D.E.W. is sold in more than 80 international markets and has won more than 30 medals in the last 10 years, including five awards at 2011’s prestigious International Wine & Spirits Competition (IWSC). The 12 Year Old Special Reserve won the ‘Best Irish Blended Whiskey’ award at the prestigious Icons of Whisky Annual Awards dinner in London and Gold ‘Best in Class’ at the 2012 International Spirits Challenge.

The Tullamore D.E.W. brand was acquired by William Grant & Sons in 2010, which have since completed the building of a new state-of-the-art pot still whiskey and malt whiskey distillery in Tullamore. The $45 million investment, which will meet the long-term production demands for Tullamore D.E.W., opened its doors on 17th September 2014, exactly 60 years after the original distillery closed its doors in 1954.

The new Tullamore D.E.W. distillery opening was a true ‘Parting Glass’ moment for the brand – marking an exciting new chapter in its 185 year history. A Parting Glass is a time honoured way to celebrate the beginning of a new chapter.

There is a rich tradition at Tullamore and today’s custodians of the blend still hold sacred those standards developed all those years ago by Daniel E. Williams.

This includes the use of premium ingredients, triple distillation, unique blending, maturation for many years in previously used bourbon and sherry casks and an uncompromising approach to detail and quality control at every stage of the production process.

Tullamore D.E.W. is a distinctively smooth, premium Irish whiskey, triple distilled and then uniquely blended with the three types of Irish Whiskeys – pot still, malt and grain whiskey. It is aged in specially seasoned oak casks to develop its distinctive smoothness.

Experts describe the flavour of Tullamore D.E.W. as ‘ warm, sweet, spices, pleasant maltiness with tasted wood hints and a creamy vanilla smoothness’.

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° MEET °

JAMES HALLIDAY Legendary Wine Critic and Vigneron D

rinks World is a little excited to be collaborating with one of the world’s leading wine critics – James Halliday.

Throughout each Drinks World edition we will feature wine reviews, opinions and insights into the fascinating world of wine. Read on and get to know James Halliday and his first piece on the structure of the wine and winery rating systems.

BEING JAMES HALLIDAY Respected wine critic and vigneron James Halliday AM has a career that spans 45 years, but he is most widely known for his witty and informative writing about wine. As one of the founders of Brokenwood in the Lower Hunter Valley, New South Wales, and thereafter of Coldstream Hills in the Yarra Valley, Victoria, James is an unmatched authority on every aspect of the wine industry, from the planting and pruning of vines through to the creation and marketing of the finished product. His winemaking has led him to sojourns in Bordeaux and Burgundy, and he has had a long career as a wine judge in Australia and overseas. In 1995 he received the wine industry’s ultimate accolade, the Maurice O’Shea Award. In 2010 James was made a Member of the Order of Australia. James has written or contributed to more than 70 books on wine since he began writing in 1979. His books have been translated into Japanese, French, German, Danish, Icelandic and Polish, and have been published in the United Kingdom and the United States, as well as in Australia. He is the author of Varietal Wines, James Halliday’s Wine Atlas of Australia and The Australian Wine Encyclopedia.

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TASTING AND RATING WINE WORDS ° James Halliday

I

n the lead up to this year’s Wine Companion, I had cause once again to think about the structure of the wine and winery rating systems, a journey without an obvious end point…

Stripping the process of rating wines back to ground zero may help explain the seemingly magical/arbitrary/subjective selection of a numeric signpost. It may be a 5-star system, usually with half stars permitted; it may be points out of 20; or it may be points out of 100. I have happily worked with all three systems, and still use the 5-star approach to vertical tastings of a particular wine, and 20 (less and less) or 100 points for general tastings or the occasional wine show I still get talked into.

The star system is used to emphasise that I am focussing on the quality of each vintage in the context of the particular wine. It says little about how many points the wine might receive in a normal tasting with a far broader scope of region, vintage and/or variety.

THE MECHANICS OF TASTING Common to all situations is the mechanics of the way I taste. First up, provided the light is good, I pay particular attention to the wine’s colour, be it white or red, young or mature.

Clarity is a prime requirement, not to be sacrificed on the altar of the no-fining, nofiltration nostrum that goes hand-in-glove with murmurings of ‘hand-crafted with passion’, or other similar gibberish.

I make a written note of the colour, but space may mean it has to be dropped once the full

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... much of the process is, or should be, objective. But there is an element that is subjective, and can be extremely difficult to quantify. It is one of the areas of wine show judging that gives rise to the most interesting debate, and is best explained as STYLE.

note has been written. Next, I carefully smell the bouquet, swirling (and assessing) the wine at least twice; sometimes more. If a clear message is delivered, I will write a description there and then; if it is less emphatic I will take the first sip, most probably without actively predetermining how substantial this may be.

If, large or small, it builds coherently on the message of the bouquet, I will combine the description of the aromas and flavours as if they are one and the same. Where the palate delivers additional flavour information, or has noteworthy texture or structure, I separate the commentary on the two components.

Having written as much as is needed, I then return for a final smell and taste, with only one purpose in mind – to decide how many points (or stars) the wine should receive. There is already a storehouse of information that has led to a general feel about the wine – outstanding, very good, good, mediocre or poor – and the final analysis is simply pinpointing where, within the broader classification, the wine sits.

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THE WINEMAKER’S IMPRINT That much of the process is, or should be, objective. But there is an element that is subjective, and can be extremely difficult to quantify. It is one of the areas of wine show judging that gives rise to the most interesting debate, and is best explained as style. How obvious are the winemaker inputs? Do they serve to amplify the inherent quality of the wine, or rather the imprint of the winemaker’s thumbs? Does this imprint open up new horizons that should be further explored, or is it (perhaps cruelly) simply a testament to the winemaker’s ego?

These considerations are most obvious in red wines and barrel-fermented and matured white wines, least obvious with stainless steel fermented and early-bottled white wines.

Taking two examples will serve to explain the dynamic nature of the evolution of style.

First is the treatment of cool-grown chardonnay within the larger context of the buttercup yellow, overtly oaky, wines that the UK found irresistible

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in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s (and which still live in the memory of those who haven’t caught up with the fundamental changes of the past 10 to 15 years).

This is not the place to launch into a lengthy dissertation on all of the new approaches and choices in making high-quality chardonnay other than to say elegance, balance and understated power is the broad aim, with oak, extract and alcohol all under tight control, allowing the sense of place maximum opportunity to express itself. The principle bone of contention is ultrarefined, low-alcohol versions that threaten to cross over into sauvignon blanc territory.

The situation with whole-bunch fermentation of red wines is very different. Here there are many schools of thought, with advocates of zero whole-bunch in the blue corner, total wholebunch in the red corner, the fight still in the early rounds (and plenty of sub-choices to play with).

Pinot noir and – increasingly – shiraz are the main battlegrounds.

Wine show judging brings these issues of style into focus, and helps the journey to reach some conclusions. Sommeliers are taking an ever-increasing role, with style weighing more heavily than in all other courts of opinion.

Natural wine is a prime example of this, making conventional wine assessment superfluous.

THE POINT SYSTEM I will finish with a few comments on the points for the 8958 wines in the 2016 Wine Companion. 76% of the wines scored 94 points or less, 28% received 89 points or less. Thus, those who regard my points as excessively generous only see 24% of the story; when I write each Weekend Australian Magazine article, I am conscious that there are fewer than 50 articles per year. I take the view that it is of greater interest to read about wineries producing excellent wines, particularly if there is a story attached, leaving another 2766 wineries to make their play in the Wine Companion database.

Wine show judging brings issues of style into focus, and helps the journey to reach some conclusions. Sommeliers are taking an ever-increasing role, with style weighing more heavily than in all other courts of opinion.

CHANGES TO THE SCORING SYSTEM There has been a progressive adoption of the 100-point system in wine shows and in reviews by other commentators. The majority follow the system outlined below, which I used in precisely this form in the 2016 Wine Companion. Space means that only 3859 notes are printed in full in this book, with points, drink-to dates and prices for a further 2629 wines. Tasting notes for all wines receiving 84 points or above appear on winecompanion.com.au GOLD

EXCEPTIONAL. Wines that have won a major trophy or trophies in important wine shows, or are of that standard.

SILVER

Wines on the cusp of gold medal status, virtually indistinguishable from those wines receiving 95 points.

BRONZE

RECOMMENDED. Wines on the cusp of silver medal standard, the difference purely a judgement call.

SPECIAL VALUE Wines considered to offer special value for money within the context of their glass symbol status.

ACCEPTABLE. Wines of good commercial quality, free from significant fault.

OUTSTANDING. Wines of gold medal standard, usually with a great pedigree.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. Wines of silver medal standard; wines of great quality, style and character, and worthy of a place in any cellar.

Wines of bronze medal standard; well-produced, flavoursome wines, usually not requiring cellaring.

OVER TO YOU. Everyday wines, without much character, and/or somewhat faulty.

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° FEATURE °

History of

WORDS ° Ken Gargett

T

he story of Champagne as a wine falls firmly into the category of tales stranger than fiction.

Like a number of the great wine regions, the monks played a crucial role, the Benedictines in this case. Vineyards were largely the preserve of the monasteries and the wine from them consecrated. There was much more to it, of course.

As they say in the world of property – location, location, location. In 496 AD, Clovis was crowned as the first King of France. It took place in the Cathedral at Reims, as did so many subsequent coronations. The bishop anointing Clovis lived near Epernay, amidst the vines. Consequently, the wines used for the

Consecration were from Champagne. A tradition commenced and a region was born. The link was strengthened, several centuries later, when the Countess of Champagne married the then King of France. Champagne, again, was used for the consecration, served at the celebrations and given to Royal visitors. Its reputation grew and it began to be enjoyed far beyond its boundaries.

It remains the wine of celebration for the world, no matter the event – weddings, christenings, coming of age, sporting victories, international treaties, launching ships and so much more. It is claimed that in the last moments of his life as he awaited execution in the Concièrgerie prison, Philippe d’Orléan’s last request was for Champagne – truly the wine of kings.

Of course, in its earliest form, Champagne was not the sparkling, crystal clear gem we enjoy today. It was a weak, pinkish wine, devoid of any

fizz, and the vignerons of the day fought hard to keep it that way, though they did want more colour. One devastating description of the wine was “grey”. There are even tales of winemakers in Champagne adding elderberries to improve the colour of their wines. Champagne’s location, north of Burgundy, always meant that the wines would be lighter, more acidic and with less body than the wines emerging from their southern neighbour. There was a fierce and enduring rivalry between the two regions, with Burgundy holding an advantage as it was able to get far better colour in its wines. Champagne however, returned serve with its location, especially as the trade route from Paris to Burgundy went directly through Champagne, enabling the locals to offer cheaper alternatives to the wines of Burgundy. Over time, many local winemakers moved to making the less popular white wines,

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Britain has been crucial in both the development of Champagne as a style and its popularity around the globe.

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but they found the best examples of white wine came from red grapes, such as Pinot Noir.

Pressure within the bottle was also causing a problem; if the cold weather in winter had stopped the fermentation, as often happened, there was the danger that as spring brought warmer days, fermentation would kick off again in the bottle. This would leave unsightly dead yeast cells in the bottle and cause unwanted fizz through the carbon dioxide created from this fermentation – the bubbles were considered a fault in those days (contrary to popular myth, the monk, Dom Perignon, worked hard to prevent his wines from having any bubbles – hardly what one would expect from someone alleged to have “invented” Champagne, though his contribution to the development of Champagne was extensive) – and most dangerously of all,

greatly increase the risk of exploding bottles.

The problem was exacerbated in Champagne cellars as if one bottle exploded, it was not uncommon for it to set off a chain reaction. A House could lose a significant percentage of its production in the blink of an eye.

Inevitably, where barrels or bottles of these wines were transported long distances, there was an increased possibility of these problems, to French dismay. In one market, however, this was not an issue. The British were developing quite a taste for bubbles in their wines. It was a taste especially enjoyed by royalty and, after the death of Louis XIV, adopted in France. Louis XV lifted the restrictions on transporting wine in bottles, which had held back sales until then.

Now, the aim of the vignerons was to create wines with sparkle. Unfortunately, most had no

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clue how to do this and even if they did, there was still the problem of exploding bottles – not a big positive for sales!

Britain has been crucial in both the development of Champagne as a style and its popularity around the globe. This dates back centuries; the earliest record of wine from Champagne landing in England is a shipment of wine from Aÿ, received in 1518 by Henry VIII’s chancellor, Cardinal Thomas Wolsey.

The British preference for bubbles is traced back to the exile of the popular Marquis de Saint-Évremond, a well-respected epicurean, to London. He was a devotee of Champagne, and tireless promoter, though his preference was typically French at the time – for the still version. As local nobility adopted his passion for the wines of Champagne, orders increased

and large quantities of wooden barrels of Champagne were soon crossing the Channel.

Local merchants bottled the wine in London but they still faced the same issue of weak bottles exploding where fermentation had kicked off again in warmer temperatures. But what was successfully bottled often had that inimitable sparkle.

It was this time that some of the major problems facing these wines were overcome, most notably exploding bottles (it still happens in the Champagne cellars today, though it is much, much rarer and consumers need have no fear that it will happen to any Champagne they buy). English glass makers were using coal-fired ovens, while the French persisted with woodfired ovens. The difference was that the English could produce stronger glass bottles, just what

was needed to prevent unplanned explosions.

The English also revived and improved the use of cork as stoppers. It meant that when Londoners opened their Champagne, it sparkled.

They loved it. The English scientist, Christopher Merret, conducted various tests and prepared a report on this phenomenon, as far back as 1662.

It is believed that British merchants were adding sugar to the wine, before bottling, in order to create ‘sparkling Champagne’, even before the French had cottoned on. References to foaming Champagne appear reasonably regularly in writings – poems and plays – of the day.

Back in France, after Louis XIV passed and Philippe II became the Regent of France, sparkling Champagne enjoyed a huge boost to its popularity as Parisians followed the Duke’s lead. Even with this, it is estimated that by the

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end of the 18th century, at least 90 per cent of the region’s production was still, slightly pink and fairly unexciting wine.

It was now that we began to see the emergence of some of the Champagne Houses we know today. 1729 saw Ruinart open its doors. Gosset had been making still wine since 1584 and they also moved to sparkling. In 1743, Claude Moët established what was to become the most famous House of all. Other household names with long histories include Taittinger in 1734, Veuve Clicquot in 1772, Louis Roederer in 1776 (though it did not take its current name until 1833), Heidsieck (in its initial incarnation) in 1785, Perrier-Jouët in 1811, Mumm in 1827, Bollinger in 1829, Krug in 1843 and Pommery in 1858.

The major advance, and without it Champagne would likely be little more than a curiosity today, was riddling/remuage, which solved the issue of removing dead yeast from the bottles. This happened in 1818, at the hand of Madame Clicquot and her kitchen table, or more likely her cellar master, Antoine Muller, depending which account one wishes to believe. In 1836, the invention of a device to measure the level of sugar in wine allowed winemakers to add

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the amount of sugar necessary to create the fizz, but not so much as to induce the bottle to explode. This was crucial, although it took some fifty years before these calculations became commonplace. Then came the legendary Louis Pasteur and his discovery of the role yeasts played in fermentation. In 1854, the national railway system finally connected Reims with the rest of the country, most importantly the ports. Champagne was now linked to the world and production reached the dizzy heights of 20 million bottles annually during this decade, up from a mere 300,000 bottles in 1800.

It was the beginning of a golden age for Champagne, but the region has certainly had its ups and downs since then. Some of the more difficult events include two World Wars, phylloxera, the economic devastation caused by events such as the Russian Revolution, the Great Depression (and the GFC) and Prohibition, and the riots in 1911.

The railways were to have an unforeseen impact, as large quantities of much cheaper grapes from other regions could now be shipped in, made in the region and passed off as Champagne. With tough economic times upon them and the scourge of phylloxera, many

Champagne growers were in deep financial trouble. The 1910 vintage, beset by hail and floods, saw the loss of 96 per cent of the crop.

The riots of January 1911, were inevitable.

They led to the government passing legislation which defined where Champagne must come from, but they excluded the Aube region, ensuring further future turmoil, not least from the growers in the Marne who were dismayed that the Aube was eventually included as part of Champagne. Then came the utter devastation of WWI, where the region lost half its population, not to mention the damage caused to wineries and vineyards. In 1919, the government passed legislation to bring about the Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée (AOC) system, often referred to as the AOC – which enshrined boundaries and also established and regulated winemaking practices.

Through the unbeatable combination of sheer quality and brilliant marketing, Champagne has become a household name and the immediate choice for celebration. There are many great sparkling wines around the globe, but none which can match Champagne in all its glory. In 2014, 308 million bottles were sold, at a value of 4.5 billion Euros.

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