Why fill in the The Drinks Trust industry survey

Press release from the Drinks Trust

Over the last few months, The Drinks Trust has been able to award a significant number of financial grants to people within the industry who have been struggling with challenges at this time. In addition, an increased selection of wellness services have been made available to support people. The Trust will continue to provide these services. However, the emerging and likely long-term effects that the current situation will have on the community has led us to launching our first Drinks Industry Survey. It has been created to establish how members of the hospitality and drinks industries are feeling, what their concerns are and to better understand what their thoughts are on diversity and inclusion in our industry.

Link to the survey: https://waw.getfeedback.com/drinkstrustsurvey

The results will help to evolve the services and support supplied by The Drinks Trust as well as businesses in the drinks and hospitality sectors. The survey includes four sections covering you, your work life, diversity and your wellbeing and should take approximately 12 minutes to complete.

By understanding the diverse nature of our industry, and what more needs to be done to evolve it, we are able to better support the drinks industry community.

The survey has been created by We Are Wellbeing in association with Best Bar None, NDML, NTIA, SIBA and WSTA.

Drinks Trust CEO, Ross Carter said, “we are very keen to understand the needs of the people within our industry so we can ensure we provide the best possible support to them. We ask all businesses to share the survey so we can build a comprehensive picture”.

Operations Manager, of NTIA, Silvana Kill said, “The NTIA are extremely proud to work in partnership with the Drinks Trust, Best Bar None, We Are Wellbeing and all partners to create this survey. We hope to gain some critical insight and understand how best we can support our industry. Never has there been a more important time than now to join forces and support diversity, inclusion and the wellbeing of the night-time industry workforce. We are fully committed to helping our community on this journey throughout the pandemic and beyond.”

Andy Romero-Birkbeck, Founder &Director of We Are Wellbeing said, “We Are Wellbeing are proud to be supporting the hospitality industry, particularly at a time like this. We firmly believe that the success of the drinks and hospitality industry is crucial to the social wellbeing of our society. We will do whatever we can to ensure both businesses and employees are supported throughout”.

Take part in the survey: https://waw.getfeedback.com/drinkstrustsurvey

A 150 year birthday for Hennessy Cognac

Words by Colin Hampden-White

Hennessy Cognac has existed for a while and its XO Cognac has also been around in its own right for a very long time. This year saw its 150th birthday. To mark the occasion, a special bottle has been designed by a very special man.

Frank Gehry is a superlative architect. Having designed incredible buildings including the Guggenheim in Bilbao, asking him to design the bottle for this anniversary seems like a great choice. And it is. The result is stunning. The classic XO bottle has been draped in a crinkled sleeve of 24 carat, gold dipped bronze which makes the bottle look like it is standing under a waterfall of gold. 

The inspiration comes from the twisted vines and the Charente river that runs through the estate. The decanter is encased by a fractured glass case that enhances the ideas of water and light. Frank said, "I wanted to bring it to life, and so I took inspiration from its birthplace and used this crumpling effect of the material that gives it a feeling of movement." He adds, "The materials I've chosen catch the light and make this a really beautiful object on its own, but then you realize it is a bottle of Hennessy XO."

The XO was first created by Maurice Hennessy and the cellar master Emile Fillioux in 1870. When first created, the “Extra Old” was meant only for their close friends and family. however, 150 years on, it is the best-selling cognac in the world. This happened more quickly than one might imagine. It was exported to the USA as early as 1870 and to Asia in 1872. Renaud Fillioux de Gironde, the eighth generation Master Blender for Maison Hennessy said, “Hennessy XO is the cognac for every occasion. Its timelessness – the fact that its inspiration never changes and never bends to the whims of trends means that it exists in a realm beyond fashion. As time goes by, we have noticed that people are appreciating a wider array of moments for tasting than they ever have before. Its versatility is what I think makes Hennessy XO so contemporary and relevant today.”

The carafe that we all recognise as Hennessy XO was created in 1947 by Gérald de Geoffre, who was a member of the family. Whilst the design has been adapted in small ways over the years, it essentially remains the same, although this stunning new limited-edition design from Frank Gehry is certainly different. The cognac in the bottle remains the same XO as always. There are only 150 of these bottles created, named “Masterpiece”. There will also be a limited run of bottles worldwide with a design by Frank Gehry to expand on the design and the birthday celebrations. 

Speaking about the collaboration Frank Gehry said, "It was an honour to be asked to celebrate this milestone for Hennessy X.O. While I was excited, it was also daunting because a bottle of cognac is already a work of art — one you can smell, taste, and feel — it doesn't need embellishment as it’s already there. We are showing how we can be creative within that language. There's such a powerful history and a serious emotional commitment from the people that make this product. It has a resonance that's interesting to tie into and become a part of."

Hennessy celebrated its 150th Anniversary on 25th September 2020, marking the occasion with a series of festivities in Cognac. The Masterpiece and limited-edition Frank Gehry XO decanters are available exclusively from Harrods and Clos19.com with the “Masterpiece” priced at £15K and the limited edition by Frank Gehry at £178. 

Whisky Just Hatched from the other Side of the World!

Words by Colin Hampden-White

With a title like that, one would assume that I am about to write about yet another Australian or even Tasmanian whisky. But this whisky is one of those rarities which comes from New Zealand.

The distillery is relatively new, being established in 2015 in the Cardrona Valley in the Southern Alps of New Zealand. Founded by Desiree Whitaker and run by her and her family, the distillery is of a reasonable size with five stills. Two built by Forsyths in Speyside, a Carl continuous still, a Carl finishing still and a 600 litre copper gin still. As well as whisky they also produce gin, vodka and liqueurs.

They recently released their first whisky, “Just Hatched”. This first release was released at cask strength and is a marriage of whisky from ex-bourbon and ex-sherry casks, and marks the distillery’s spirit coming of age at over three years old.

As with all new whiskies the proof is in the pudding. So far they have won a gold medal at the IWSR, New Zealand’s best single malt at 12 years and under at the World Whisky Awards, and their gin was listed in the World’s 50 Best Gins.

How does the whisky taste?

The nose shows the whisky has a good degree of complexity for a young whisky with aromas of scones and cream with sweet Winegum fruit in the background. With a little air, the scones become sponge cake as the vanilla builds up and there are zesty lemon aromas. The palate is sweet with honey with a florality like honeysuckle flowers. Vanilla fudge is the base with nuts and a touch of spice on the edge of the palate. There are also some mixed citrus flavours keeping it all fresh. The finish brings out the cereal notes and the fresh citrus becomes more like boiled sweets. A little dry oak brings the finish to a close.

The whisky is certainly complex for a three year old whisky. If I’d tasted it blind I would have never guessed its age. It is very easy to drink for a cask strength whisky and very moreish. 

Just Hatched

There are new expressions being released all the time, a pinot noir cask finish was released last year, and they recently released a pink gin matured for four months in pinot noir casks from the Felton Road distillery. A portion of the sales going to cancer charities.

ABV: 64.4%
Size: 350ml
Buy it now for £73.95

If you have a penchant for new whiskies being released from outside Scotland, then Irish whiskey from Roe & Co is one to read about.

A Rum for James Bond, 007

Words by Colin Hamdpen-White

The first scene of the first James Bond film, Dr No, opens in Jamaica as James Bond author Ian Fleming had a house there and spent a lot of time there, including writing many of the Bond novels. It seems incredible that it has taken until now for a rum, especially a Jamaican rum, to be released for the franchise.

Ian Fleming’s Jamaican home “GoldenEye” is now owned by Chris Blackwell of Island Records fame. Chris has developed GoldenEye as a resort for visitors, opening the house up to visitors in 2011 and as well as a love for Bond, he has a love for rum. Having produced rum for a number of years, he has now joined forces with the 007 franchise and launched a special 007 limited edition of his Blackwell Fine Jamaican Rum.

It brings me great pleasure to write this. I also have a strong love for Jamaican rum and the Hampden distillery on the island is the same as my family name. I had high expectations for this rum, and it doesn’t disappoint. The rum is aged and very fragrant, warming and rich. Having been aged in American oak barrels there is a good degree of sweetness and the spirit, created from sugar cane using both column and pot stills, has very good balance and complex flavours; more than one would expect of a single distillation blended rum.

Chris Blackwell doesn’t create the rum himself; he ages rums and for this expression worked with Jamaican distillers J. Wray and Nephew, who are well known Jamaican rum producers making the “Uncle Wray” rums.

Chris says “James Bond has been a big part of my life, from my childhood lunches with Ian Fleming at GoldenEye to being a location scout on the first movie, Dr. No (1962). It was a pleasure working alongside the No Time To Die production team in Jamaica providing our iconic rum for the set in James Bond’s house, which has made this very special relationship come full circle.” says Blackwell. 

The limited-edition rum features an augmented reality experience available via the website on the bottle where Chris Blackwell comes to life to share life stories, music selections, cocktail recipes, and gives more information about the rum.

The rum will be available in good drinks shops, bars and restaurants from November 2020 and will retail for £35 in the UK. It will be available on-line, and also in France and Italy. 

Are you a rum lover? If so, make sure you check out these luxury rums, and if you’re looking for a bit of variety, have a look at these four rums from across the globe.

6 Gins That are Perfect for Any Occasion

 When it comes to Gin, there are so many different ones to try it can feel completely overwhelming. To date, Aidy has tasted well over 1000 as a wine and spirits writer – here are a few of his absolute top picks for you to get your hands on. Cheers!

A Beginner’s Guide to Sake

Written by Helena Nicklin

If you haven’t tried and fallen in love with sake yet, the ethereal rice wine hailing from Japan, I fully suggest you do. It’s not about overheated, suspect quality booze served in Japanese restaurants; high quality, fine sake is now widely available across the UK and US, offering us a much more interesting choice when we’re dining out or drinking at home. But let’s start at the beginning: what is sake and why do you need to know about it?

What is sake?

In a nutshell, sake is an alcoholic wine made with rice and water. It looks very similar to wine made from grapes and typically has an alcohol content of between 13 and 17 % abv. It hails from Japan but recently, there have been sake breweries popping up elsewhere in the world, such as Kanpai in London and Dojima in Cambridge.

What does sake taste like?

There are several styles of sake but they generally share a similar quality of subtle earthiness and a touch of green melon. It’s umami in a subtle way. The closest wine equivalent I can think of to a classic style of sake is a Muscadet sur lie (without the co2 prickle). It also has a fabulous, weighty texture that’s incredibly moreish, though could be an acquired taste.

Rice polishing and its effect on sake

Received wisdom states that the more a rice grain is polished, the better quality the sake will be. We start with ‘junmai’, which is table sake, where no minimum rice polishing is required. Then, we move up in quality to a higher polish with ‘junmai ginjo’ at 60% and then at the top, there’s ‘junmai daiginjo’, where only 50% of the rice grain is used. Usually, the junmai ginjo and junmai daiginjo are more aromatic and elegant because of the polishing. Do not drink these warm as you’ll lose those delicate flavours.

Can sake be drunk alone or with food other than sushi?

Yes, yes and thrice, yes. The beauty of sake is its versatility, both with food and without. In comparison to wine, it’s less acidic and less bitter and with a pronounced texture, so it sits with many foods very well and is not too much when tasted alone. Sake is never just sake either, so the choice is huge. There’s dry sparkling, sweet sparkling and a wealth of still styles from the light, dry and floral to richer, darker, wood-aged wines. Below are some killer matches that I tasted recently that went well with non-sushi dishes as well as some other suggestions:

What to eat with sake?

Sparkling sake

Ditch the Prosecco and try a sparkling, slightly sweet sake. If you pair this with a salty starter, like seriously good prosciutto or salty cheese, it absolutely sings as the saltiness complements the sweetness, balancing everything up nicely. We also tried this with calamari and a trio of dips. It was an excellent match with sweet chilli sauce and provided a really interesting match with the tzatziki-style yogurt dip, enhancing the flavours in the wine and the food. It would also be cracking with fish and chips!

Try: Akashi- Tai Junmai Sparkling Sake. £12.50 from Master of Malt.

Light, elegant and aromatic sake 

If you prefer something a little drier, crisper and more aromatic, more akin to a dry white grape wine such as Muscadet, an elegant Junmai would be wonderful. You can have this alone or with some slightly salted nuts or crisps for a starter or even with a main dish, such as delicately flavoured cod. We tried this with a touch of melon, apple and sun-dried tomato, which let the sake shine. The flavours didn’t fight each other. 

Try: Nanbu Bijin Tokubetsu Junmai Sake. £26.99 for 75cl from Londonsake.com

More fruity and floral, vinous sake

If you’re thinking you’d rather have something that would take the place of an unoaked, cool climate Chardonnay or even Viognier however, then this Junmai Daiginjo sake is the bomb. With a little more weight, with stronger peachy, melon notes and an almost oily texture, these sakes can take a little more flavour. Cod works, battered or otherwise. Chicken casseroles or roasted chicken or turkey make great matches too!

Try: Nabeshima Daiginjo Sake. £79.99 from Hedonism.co.uk

Bolder, more savory and weighty sake

Here’s where sake feels a little different! ‘Taru’ sake is aged briefly in cedar barrels, which gives it a hint of yellow colour, makes it more textural and gives it more savoury, umami notes. This is a hefty sake that can stand up to meat or dishes like partridge with pomegranate, raisins and capers in curry sauce, as we found out. It was remarkable how the sake carried all those flavours seamlessly.

Try: Choryo YoshinoSugi no Taru, £42.64 from Amazon

If you enjoyed reading this, make sure you check out Seilan’s colour changing blue sake here.

Hit for Six: The Best of Whyte and Mackay

Words by Colin Hampden-White

Whyte and Mackay are experts at blending, especially with Richard Paterson at the helm as master blender. Although they own four distilleries, until recent years it has only been the Dalmore that has had the big budgets spent on it. Over the last few years things have been changing. First of all, the whiskies from Jura distillery got a complete make-over and a completely new range introduced. Immediately one could see a huge improvement. This improvement must have been in development for many years, with Richard laying down the right stocks to implement the plans we have now seen. 

Next to receive a revamp was Fettercairn, a whisky brand that has had its fans and detractors in the past, and with expressions varying in quality from Fior to Fasque. The recently released new range is quite a different story. It has expressions at all ends of the age statement range, from 12 years old all the way up to 50 years old, and quite a few in between. Lastly there is Tamnavulin. Here they have released some incredible old whiskies. I recently tasted a 1973, 45 year old as part of my judging for the IWSC awards, and it did exceptionally well amongst great company.

Away from the single malts, the great blending company that is Whyte and Mackay continue to experiment with blended whisky and a new brand called Whisky Works. This is led by a brilliant blender whom Richard Patterson brought to Whyte and Mackay a few year ago: Gregg Glass has a great blending background having worked previously for blenders extraordinaire, Compass Box. (See us chat to him in Episode 5 of The Three Drinkers do Scotch Whisky).

The releases keep on coming and I have a few favourites: Fettercairn has released a sumptuous 16 year old, The Dalmore a new sherry cask select 12 year old, Jura a winter edition and a red wine cask finish cask edition, and one of my new all-time favourite young blends: an 11 year old blended Scotch from Gregg Glass under the Whisky Works brand. 

With all these new expressions coming out of the woodwork (literally), I took a little look at their back catalogue and one of my all-time favourites to see if it still stood up. Thankfully, all the efforts being placed in new expressions are certainly not taking their focus away from my favourite expression from The Dalmore: King Alexander III. This brought me to six whiskies from White and Mackay, blended and single malt, and both new and old. I highly recommend them.

 Jura Winter Edition

This is a warming and rich whisky initially matured in ex-bourbon casks and finished in ex-sherry casks. The idea for this whisky was to bring flavours more associated with mainland whiskies to the coastal flavours of an island whisky. The casks give warm spices and indulgent apple pie flavours. A real winter warmer. There are also hints of tropical fruit on the palate and vanilla with a touch of cinnamon. If you like mulled drinks and Christmas cake you should love this. Exclusive to Tesco for now in litre size bottles perfect for sharing. 

ABV: 40%
Size: 1000ml
Buy it now for £45

Whisky Works Quartermaster 11 year old 

From the experimental mind of Gregg Glass, this 11 year old blended whisky marries grain from the highlands of Scotland with single malts from the Speyside region. The single malts have been through four (hence the name of the whisky) different maturation and finishing methods giving plenty of complexity. Rum barrels were used to mature the grain whisky, and then they were finished in Pedro Ximénez sherry casks. The malt whiskies were matured in a mixture of American white oak and sherry butts from Jerez. There was a limited release of only 2,134 bottles and, at the time of writing, still on sale at Mast of Malt.

ABV: 48.4%
Size: 700ml
Buy it now for £68.95

The Dalmore 12 year old Sherry Cask Select

The Dalmore is well known for having a close relationship with Spain as the whisky is often matured in ex-sherry casks. This expression celebrates this relationship and as Richard Paterson says “between the union of the Scottish highlands with the warmth of the Andalusian sun”. Firstly the whisky is matured for ten years in ex-bourbon casks and then two years in ex-sherry casks from bodegas with whom Richard has personal relationships in Jerez. These casks are made from both American and European oak and are then seasoned with a unique blend of aged Oloroso and sweet Pedro Ximénez casks. The result is fabulous; unctuous and complex with distinct flavours of sundried fruits and fresh Scottish orchard fruits. Plenty of fudge and caramel back up the fruit and with a spicy finish, this is a brilliantly concocted 12 year old dram. 

ABV: 43%
Size: 700ml
Buy it now for £45 (on special offer at time of writing)

Fettercairn 16 Year Old

This is a very interesting expression from Fettercairn released at the beginning of summer this year. Not many whiskies are distilled using chocolate malt (heavily kilned barley, more commonly seen in craft brewing)! The other I can bring to mind is the excellent Glenmorangie Signet. The Fettercarin is initially matured in first-fill American oak bourbon casks, before being put in sherry and Port casks, and is bottled at 16 years of age. There's plenty going on here, and it's all impressive stuff. One wonders why more brands aren’t using chocolate malt. This is a very different whisky from Signet although the chocolate malt lends some familiarity. If you like Signet, then you will love this.

ABV: 46.4%
Size: 700ml
Buy it now for £73.26

Jura Red Wine Cask Finish

This expression has been matured in ex-bourbon casks before being finished for 18 to 24 months in red wine barriques. It is incredibly well-balanced and rich with berry flavours and dried raisins. There are also creamy caramel and vanilla flavours and a touch of cinnamon spice. These sound like bold flavours, yet the whisky remains delicate. A great expression to try for those wanting to experiment a little with new whiskies. For the moment, this can be found in the UK in Sainsbury’s in a one litre bottle and is brilliant value.

ABV: 40%
Size: 1000ml
Buy it now for £40

The Dalmore King Alexander III

As mentioned before, this is one of my favourite whiskies. Richard Paterson uses six different types of sherry casks, blended together, to create this rich and moreish dram. With loads of dried fruit and spice, complex manuka honey and fudge, it is an indulgent treat. I’d suggest this drinks well not just after a rich meal but during the meal. It would match well with roasted meats just as well as with chocolate puddings or crème brulé. A whisky for indulgent foodies.

ABV: 40%
Size: 700ml
Buy it now for £174.90

There we have it, six of the best from Whyte and Mackay. Now that didn’t hurt did it!

If you’d like to try whiskies that have been finished in wine casks having been matured in ex-bourbon initially, then why not give these whiskies a go. 

Have You Tried Blue Sake?

Utter magic is the only way to describe the enchanting new release from Nagahama-based Sato Sake Brewery. Just look for the vivid, indigo blue liquid going by the name Seilan. While the initial color might be hypnotizing enough, watch as it morphs its hue to a luscious purple upon the addition of an acidic ingredient like lemon juice.

What’s the secret ingredient?

The base of Seilan is Yamada Nishiki rice, polished to 60% to create a Ginjo sake (the highest grade). After this, things get funky, as it’s infused with neutral flavored butterfly pea flowers to create the blue hue. The plant, which formally goes by Clitoria ternatea, hails from to Southeast Asia and is often found in various types of cuisine and herbal tea for its blue colouring but neutral flavor.

More than just a sake

Sato Sake Brewery’s creation goes further than just the sake. It’s a visual art piece that allows spirit experts and amateurs to play around with taste and sight. Everyone loves a fun, interactive cocktail. Seilan lets simple chemistry become a magic trick. 

Want to know more about Sake in general? See this beginner’s guide piece here.