in the spotlight

Looking back:

10 years of The Cocktail Lovers

Gary

In 2011 Sandrae and I had effectively been The Cocktail Lovers for about three years via our website and blog. The idea for The Cocktail Lovers magazine was quite simply a desire on our part to create a lifestyle publication about cocktails that we wanted to read. It was the result of instinct not business acumen. Moreover, we left the security of our regular professions (Sandrae as a magazine editor and me as an advertising creative director) to throw ourselves into it heart, body and soul. Over the past 10 years it has evolved and grown but fundamentally that original idea remains the same. Fortunately other people have wanted to read it too.

When we launched the magazine, though, we had no idea of the extraordinary journey that was beginning.

Ever since I started sipping them in the distant past cocktails have always been about so much more for me than what was in the glass. They’ve symbolised moments and made memories. And we’re privileged to have experienced so many exceptional moments and formed everlasting memories thanks to our passion for the cocktail world and by sharing that passion through our publication.

Cocktails have been a conduit. From Athens to New York to Shanghai to Johannesburg, we’ve been exposed to different ideas and different cultures. From five star to dive bar. And not only bars but cocktails on beaches, on rooftops, in old distilleries, cruising the Mediterranean and while flying at 30,000 feet. Not to mention the staggering creativity we’ve witnessed in the form of hundreds, possibly thousands, of exceptional drinks we’ve been privileged to savour as cocktail competition judges.

Best of all cocktails have brought us together with people. Clever, creative, inspiring, welcoming, humble people. We feel extremely fortunate to have shared drinks with the extraordinary people who make the drinks world the wonderful place it is. And we feel equally humbled to meet the people who read our magazine and who tell us they tried something new, did something differently or visited a venue because of something they read in our magazine and because they say that they trust us. Yes it’s satisfying, but it always serves to remind us of our responsibility.

One other memory that cocktails have created is the not-too-small matter of our peers voting us winners of the best publication at Tales of the Cocktail Spirited Awards a few years ago. This was never our intention, but something for which we remain extremely grateful.

Our journey has seen us do things we would never have dreamed of: working with brands, creating experiences, hosting events, appearing on radio shows, making films and now launching a podcast. And it’s a journey that continues. I’m proud of the people who have worked with us on the magazine, I’m proud of every issue and I’m proud of the contribution that we’re told our magazine has made to the drinks industry.

I’ve no idea what’s in store on The Cocktail Lovers journey as it continues but I’ll continue to enjoy the ride and I’ll always be exceptionally grateful for it.

Sandrae

Ten years, blimey! Where has it gone? On one hand it seems like no time at all, yet, like the craziness of the past 18 months or so, it feels like an entire lifetime.

A rather fabulous lifetime I might add; one that knocks the socks off of the fashion, music, and foodie industries that I’d written about previously. I could list many reasons for that but at the front, back and centre of it are the people. The people and their passion, energy and mind boggling ingenuity. We may have been publishing eejits when we started out, we may not have known how we would make it work but we did know this: we were witnessing a new golden age of cocktails and we were going to do our darnedest to make sure the world knew about it.

Looking back, so much has happened, so much has changed. Including us. When we launched the magazine was an amateurish, 16-page digital edition. Well, we had to start somewhere and we cobbled together that (let’s be honest here, pretty rubbish) first issue in less than a month. However, under the direction of an amazing designer/ art director (thanks James) and like the awesome industry we’ve chosen to write about, it’s evolved into something we’re incredibly proud of. Initially, it was squarely aimed at folk like us – consumers who loved cocktails and wanted to know more about the people, places and products behind them. At the time, we couldn’t find the magazine that we wanted to read, so like arrogant fools, we decided to create it ourselves. From our kitchen table. Literally. It’s been a learning curve or what I like to call ’character building’, that’s for sure but it’s also been quite the adventure. We didn’t think we’d ever go into print. For one thing, people were telling us the medium was dead and for another, it felt too ’big’, too expensive and far too serious. What changed our minds? I honestly can’t remember, but I do know that we tested the water with what we thought would be a one-off print issue in 2012 to coincide with London Cocktail Week. The cover featured all of our favourite London bartenders: Salvatore Calabrese, Peter Dorelli, Ago Perrone, Erik Lorincz, Alex Kratena, Ryan Chetiyawardana, Marian Beke among them. The fact that they all came out on a crisp Monday morning for our shoot sealed the deal for us and we’ve continued to attract some of the biggest names in the industry, not just in London but around the world ever since.

When we started out, we had no idea that we’d be welcomed into such an incredible community. Don’t laugh, but when drinks folk talk about being part of a family, they’re not kidding. It’s an industry that looks out for each other more than any I know. Not only by digging deep and donating money if a bar owner on the other side of the world has had a flood or been bombed out, there’s the sharing of knowledge, facilities, recipes and so much more.

Highlights? That’s a tough one but I’ll go back to what I consider the best bit: the people. As anyone in the industry knows, there are no people like drinks people. They’re sharing, caring and just the right side of bonkers to keep the rest of the world sane.