THE DUBLIN LIBERTIES DISTILLERY AND VISTORS EXPERIENCE TO OPEN THIS OCTOBER

The Dublin Liberties Distillery, has today announced that its new distillery and visitors experience at Old Mill Street in Dublin’s Liberties, will open this October.

The announcement was made as three copper stills arrived at the distillery, following a 1,515km journey from Germany to Dublin.

The three new copper stills arriving at the Dublin Liberties Distillery

The mammoth stills were craned across the Dublin Liberties’ skyline and carefully lowered into the grounds of the distillery to be assembled on site. Scaling almost eight metres in height and weighing three tones each, the stills will be the beating heart of the new distillery, which will have a production capacity of up to 700,000 litres annually.

The three stills were handmade by artisan equipment supplier Carl Destillations & Brauereitechnik of Stuttgart over the course of six months, with over 700-man hours spent on each piece of equipment.

The distillery will focus on producing a range of whiskies, including those catering for the growing global demand for premium and super-premium spirits. Upon completion in October, production of all the company’s whiskey brands including The Dubliner Irish Whiskey, The Dublin Liberties and The Dead Rabbit Irish Whiskey, will move to The Dublin Liberties Distillery.

Commenting on the news, Daryl McNally, Master Distiller at The Dublin Liberties Distillery, said: “We’re a boutique distillery so we bring a craft sensibility to everything we do, from the design of our building to the making of our whiskeys. We’ve taken care to source the best equipment, which will help ensure we produce the very best premium whiskeys with real character. My vision for the whiskeys made at The Dublin Liberty Distillery is to produce an innovative range of double and triple distilled malts using only the finest ingredients, and local water from our borehole on site.  We are effectively bringing Dublin back to where it rightfully belongs at the epicentre of whiskey in Ireland.”

The Dublin Liberties Distillery, which will also include a bar and a visitor experience, will also see the creation of around 20 new jobs.

Posted by Steve Rush

DIAGEO ANNOUNCES ITS 2018 WORLD CLASS GB BARTENDER OF THE YEAR

Diageo, has today announced the winner of its 2018 World Class GB Bartender of The Year competition.

Following a two-day final in Scotland, with challenges taking place in Edinburgh and at the Gleneagles Hotel, Daniel Warren from Last Chance in Nottingham, was crowned Diageo Reserve World Class GB Bartender of The Year 2018.

Diageo World Class GB Bartender of The Year 2018: Daniel Warren

The first challenge took place in a penthouse apartment at the newly opened Edinburgh Grand Hotel. Designed to test the bartenders’ hospitality skills and their ability to create a welcoming experience, competitors were required to create the ‘Perfect Welcome Cocktail’ and experience using a base of Ketel One Vodka, Tanqueray No. TEN or Don Julio in any style, with only five minutes to prepare for the presentation and five minutes to present to the judges.

On day two, the top ten were invited to join Diageo Brand Ambassador Ali Reynolds at the Shooting Lodge on the Gleneagles estate, to test their skill in creating a perfectly balanced smoked cocktail using and highlighting the smoky notes of Johnnie Walker Black Label.

A challenge pack was sent to the finalists’ home bars ahead of the competition, to serve as inspiration for the integration of smoke into the challenge. They were then asked to pre-prepare one smoky cocktail, in a ‘ready to go’ hipflask, which they brought with them to Scotland. On the day of the challenge the competitors presented and served the cocktail back to the judges, with an inspirational tale to describe how it had been created.

The final challenge, ‘The 19th Hole’ took place at The Gleneagles Hotel in the Auchterarder 70 Club House overlooking the Queen’s Golf Course. The competitors were asked to imagine they had just been appointed as the new bar manager at the venue and were tasked with creating the new Club House signature drink, inspired by the rich legacy of the famous golfing institution, all during their first 10 minute ‘shift’.

Finalists were given five minutes to prepare their station before their shift started and 10 minutes to present to the judges, during which time they were judged on how well they entertained and hosted guests as well as the judges. The finalists were required to create two full serves for the judges at the bar, and 15 sample sized versions for the guests, whilst simultaneously taking orders from customers from a bespoke World Class Classics Menu which included: Tanqueray No. TEN and tonic, Zacapa Daiquiri, Don Julio Margarita, Ketel One Dutch Mule and Johnnie Walker High Ball.

This year’s judging panel included: Simon Difford (Difford’s Guide), Sandrae Lawrence (Cocktail Lovers), Dan Dove (Global Bartending), Diageo World Class GB Manager, Stephen Martin, Diageo Reserve GB Brand Ambassadors, Ali Reynolds, Colin Dunn, Diageo Reserve European Brand Ambassador, Deano Moncrieffe, Diageo Global Cocktailian Lauren Mote, Diageo Reserve GB Bartender of the Year 2017 Jamie Jones and Global Winner Kaitlyn Stewart.

Commenting on the news, this year’s winner, Daniel Warren, said: “I never imagined I’d be crowned the winner of this year’s 2018 World Class competition, it’s a dream come true and I’m so incredibly happy. It has been an absolute whirlwind and it all feels very surreal. It’s such an honour to of been able to work with so many talented bartenders, judges and brand ambassadors. This year’s competition has been tough, the challenges really tested my technical abilities as a bartender and also my hospitality skills and it’s not over yet! I can’t wait to see what the Global Final in Berlin brings, I’m counting down the days until I can do it all over again and represent my country!”

In addition to nationwide media exposure and dedicated PR for the World Class GB Winner and their bar, the 2018 Diageo Reserve World Class Bartender of the Year prize package, includes a 12-month contract worth a minimum of £5,000 to tour with the World Class team hosting workshops and bartending at high profile and prestigious events throughout the UK. The winner also gets to represent Great Britain in the World Class Global Finals 2018 in Berlin.

Posted by Steve Rush

ISLE OF ARRAN DISTILLERS ANNOUNCE SPRING 2019 OPENING FOR ITS NEW LAGG DISTILLERY

Isle of Arran Distillers, have announced that the construction on their second distillery site on the south of the island, is on track to be completed and open to the public by spring 2019.

The most recent milestone at the Lagg Distillery, is the completion of the steelworks. With the structure now in place, the Distillery has begun to take on its distinctive shape, overlooking the south coast of Arran and the Firth of Clyde.

Isle of Arran Distillers announce Spring 2019 opening for its new Lagg Distillery

The new distillery has been positioned next to fields of barley that provide a portion of the malt currently used in distillation at Lochranza.

At the start of 2019, the distillery’s the copper pot stills will be installed, shortly followed by the first production run with a heavily-peated (50ppm) spirit that will become in time the flagship Lagg Distillery Single Malt Scotch whisky.

Once the first casks have been laid down to mature, they will remain at the distillery for a minimum of ten years, under the watchful eye of Graham Omand, who has recently been appointed the Distillery Manager of the Lagg Distillery.

Commenting on the news, Euan Mitchell, Managing Director of Isle of Arran Distillers, said: “It is fantastic to see the vision turning into a reality. With just under a year to go until we plan to open the Lagg Distillery, we’re delighted to confirm that everything is on target to be completed by spring next year. We’re assembling a team, headed up by Graham, which will play an integral role in growing the business and producing rich, earthy and high-quality peated spirit.”

He went onto say: “The decision to concentrate on heavily peated single malts at the Lagg Distillery comes after the popularity of our Machrie Moor limited edition range.  Being able to dedicate the facility to this style of whisky will enable further innovation, becoming a space where we can experiment with different flavours.”

When fully operational in 2019, the Lagg Distillery will increase Isle of Arran’s production capacity to 2 million litres. Further, the total visitor numbers to both distillery sites are expected to exceed 200,000 by 2020.

Posted by Steve Rush