2020 Over & Out

We’ve made it, well almost, and what a blooming year it’s been! Whilst we’d usually be out with clients, press and our team, raising some well-earned glasses to the end of the year, December has been a much quieter affair.

Firstly our hearts break for the UK bar and restaurant industry, who have taken the brunt of the pandemic and are in need of immense amounts of support to make it through to 2021.

Ways in which you can help involve signing the petition for a minister of hospitality to be created,  donating to The Drinks Trust and following the likes of Community Spirit and Our Future Proof on Instagram for more initiatives.

Our Future Proof is a new industry collective created to support hospitality in the wake of the pandemic.

The initiative seeks to capture the emotions connected with hospitality through a series of photographic images shot by creative drinks photographer Addie Chin, with Our Future Proof asking on Instagram, ‘what hospitality means to you’. All responses and images will then be sold as ‘A Shot In Time’ prints to pre-order from December, with all profits from sales being directly donated to The Drinks Trust, to generate essential funding to those needing critical social, medical and financial help in the hospitality sector.

Here’s what we’ve been up to in November:

We launched Corte Vetusto Ancestral, an ultra-rare, 100% agave spirit of exceptional rarity. An expression of decadence, rooted in dedicated hand-craftsmanship, by 4th generation Maestro Mezcalero Isidro Damian. ‘Joven’ (unaged) and distilled to proof, with notes of black pepper spice, wood, green peppers and subtle hints of grapefruit and green mango, and a gentle finish of wood-smoke and earthiness. With only 80 bottles produced, Corte Vetusto Ancestral is exclusively sold in Harrods, priced at £250.

Some positive news for team Skylark Spirits, as their 24 Days of Rum Advent Calendar sold out on Amazon!! Cheers to all those enjoying the Christmas count down, from the comfort of home, with a tot of rum from around the world! Don’t forget to check out their micro-site for the chance to rate the rums, and exclusive insight into the rums’ production.

Move over French 75, there’s a new champagne cocktail in town for Christmas – the Seignette Fizz! Made with the deliciously chic Seignette VS cognac, with notes of dried apricot, vanilla and honeysuckle. Check out the recipe below:

25ml Seignette VS Cognac

12.5ml Lemon Juice

12.5ml Sugar Syrup 

5 Raspberries 

Crémant (or sparkling wine alternative) to top

Combine all ingredients except the Crémant in a shaker with ice and shake well until chilled. Strain into a flute and top with Crémant. Garnish with a twist of lemon and a raspberry. 

Available from Waitrose, RRP: £32

Anyone else hear a faint wolf howl with the full moon…? It must have been the Rogue Wolf Negroni!  A fun and festive collaboration from BrewDog Distilling Co. and Regal Rogue Vermouth. Check out the recipe below:

25ml LoneWolf gin

25ml Regal Rogue Bold Red

25ml Campari

10ml Pomegranate juice

orange wedge studded with cloves

Fill a tumbler glass with ice, add the gin, vermouth and Campari and stir for 15 seconds, add a splash of pomegranate juice and stir. Garnish with an orange wedge studded with cloves

Wishing you all a safe and cosy Christmas, with a glass of something special, you’ve earnt it. See you on the other side!

Team Domino x

We've Got This

Sending everyone all our support as we head into Lockdown 2:00 in the UK, whilst we won’t be able to physically see anyone outside our households, it's so important to keep the communication lines going with friends, family, colleagues and the industry.

For those working in hospitality, remember you are an amazing bunch of legends, whilst your venues are shut, know that they will be filled as soon as this is all over, hang in there for what will be an almighty comeback!

Firstly we want to say a huge congrats to team Cocktail Week who, despite being hit with Tier 2 restrictions, still managed to put on an amazing festival and support London’s finest bar, some of which only survived because of it! BrewDog Distilling Co.’s LoneWolf Cactus & Lime and Five Hundred Cuts slushies snowballed out, showing that people love a delicious icy cocktail, come rain or shine.

A snapshot of what we’ve been up to:

We’re very happy to announce we’re working with Three Spirit, the botanical alchemy specialists, taking a different approach to drinks, by celebrating what is added opposed to what is taken away. Classed as functional non-alcoholic drinks, the elixirs have been developed in partnership with plant scientists, world-class bartenders and herbalists in order to create different feelings, and stimulate the palate, mind and body.

·      Social Elixir; The Mood Booster, with lion’s mane, coconut vinegar and cacao, designed to elevate the mood and stimulate the mind

·      Livener; The Party Starter, powered by guayusa and the multidimensional flavours of schisandra, designed to get you energised, ease stress and invigorate the body

·      Nightcap; The Dream Maker, with natural cleansing systems of valerian root, birch water and lemon balm, designed to naturally soothe, reduce anxiety and promote calmness

Available from Three Spirit

Enjoy a night in with BrewDog Now, the hugely welcomed delivery app from BrewDog. Available for those living within the catchment areas of over 30 participating BrewDog Bars in the UK, app users can order from their extensive menu of food and drink, including a freshly pulled pint, their spirits including the LoneWolf gin range and Five Hundred Cuts rum. Showing their support for the hospitality industry, with each order, app users can opt to give a one off donation using the ‘Invisible Chips’ function, with 100% of the money going to Hospitality Action.

Last but not least, last month we helped launched Légendaire cognac from the leading spirits producers Maison Ferrand. A rare and precious cognac; that’s a marrying of Ferrand’s oldest cognacs, aged in wooden casks, some which dated back over a century. It’s finished in Zebra casks (when several staves of the original cask are replaced by new ones), a nod to the zebra’s that used to be kept at Mademoiselle Manor. Légendaire is housed in a beautiful crystal decanter, adorned with ‘zorses’ (zebra/horse, once at home at the manor), the grape vine and cellar. The cognac has subtle spice notes of clover, cardamom, pepper and paprika, coated with the richness of bettered caramel, almond, vanilla and honey. A very limited edition cognac, with only 500 bottles produced, priced at £2,100, from Harrods in the UK.

The press launch saw Alexandre Gabriel, Ferrand Cognac Master Blender and successor of the Ferrand spirit, introduce Légendaire (via Zoom) with the support of Ago Perrone of The Connaught. A delightful evening sharing the story of Légendaire and toast to a truly exquisite cognac.

To everyone, keep that motivation going, get those walks in, make epic food, delicious drinks and don’t be too hard on yourself, everyone needs a bit of indulgence right now!

Stay safe, big motivational hugs to all, we will get through this (again)

Team Domino x

Stay Lively

With new rules and restrictions, winter is looking a little different this year in the UK. Supporting your local cafes, bars and restaurants (following guidelines) is paramount to keep them alive, wrap up warm and treat yourself, you’ve definitely deserved it!

Here’s a snapshot of what we’ve been working on this month, it’s been a busy one!

Celebrating last month’s launch of Ming River baijiu, we hosted an evening of delicious Ming River cocktails and sky high stacks of dim sum at Opium bar in China Town. Enjoying three Sichuan Tiki-style cocktails; ‘To Friendship’ - Ming River, coconut, almond, yuzu and kumquat, ‘Clarified Ming Punch’ - Ming River, plum wine, calamansi, red dates, honey, ginger, bitters and milk, and ‘Sichuan Spring Punch’ - Ming River, pineapple, yuzu, aloe vera and Prosecco.  A wonderful evening, mixing great food, great company and exceptional cocktails, showcasing the authenticity, versality and pioneering nature of Ming River.

Plantation rum continue to bring ultimate rum-laced joy with their latest rarest rums, with the Extreme No.4 Collection. An impressive 8 new limited edition, unique casks, each hailing from a legendary distillery and embodying Plantation rum’s savoir-faire. With their most prestigious barrels chosen by Alexandre Gabriel, master blender and founder of Plantation rum, their exceptional character allows the rums to be bottled without blending, at cask strength and without dosage. All enhanced by Plantation’s signature double aging, first in bourbon casks and ending with a second aging of at least one year in Ferrand French oak casks in France. Proud representations of the rarest Plantation rums, the UK chose the St Lucia 2007 rum, which has unsurprisingly sold out, roll on the 2021 selection!

Say enchanté to a new-style cognac, Seignette VS. Adding some French chic to your drinks cabinet this winter, this contemporary homage to the original Seignette cognac, established 200 years ago, brings a fresh aesthetic and depth of flavour.  Set to engage a new generation of cognac and cocktail lovers alike, with notes of dried apricot, vanilla, hints of honeysuckle and a long creamy finish on the palate. Available from Waitrose stores nationwide and online.

We’re over the moon to be working with the mighty Australian Regal Rogue who’ve been ‘turning vermouth upside down with 2011’. Newly re-launched with inspiring sustainable qualities, Regal Rogue blends 100% organic Australian wine with indigenous aboriginal botanicals, giving a lighter, lower sugar sipper and the perfect base for a winter-style Spritz. We’re celebrating #RogueNightsRegalMornings for the foreseeable! Available from Majestic stores nationwide and online.

Date for your diary - the 21st October is National Mezcal Day! Celebrate Mexico’s favourite agave spirit with the world’s most highly awarded mezcal, Corte Vetusto, who despite its humble, small-batch production, has amassed an impressive 8 gold medals from the world’s most prestigious spirits competitions.  A delicious in a cocktail at home Margarita or Paloma, or show support for London’s hospitality industry and treat yourself to some Corte Vetusto-laced cocktails shaken by the professionals. Try out:

·      El Real Martinez at Kwānt, winner of best new international cocktail bar, 2020 Spirited Awards, in London Piccadilly

·      The Frontier at The American Bar at The Stafford, in London St James

Or swing by the Beaufort Bar at the Savoy, Hacha, Bethnal Green or Hawksmoor Knightsbridge and Borough, say hi from us ;)

Don’t forget, London Cocktail Week is in full flow, pick up your wristband and check out London’s finest cocktail bars including BrewDog Distilling Co’s delicious £6 slushie cocktails, the Howlin’ Wolf with LoneWolf Cactus & Lime and Piña Colada with Five Hundred Cuts rum. Available from: BrewDog Clerkenwell, BrewDog Dalston, BrewDog Soho, BrewDog Seven Dials, BrewDog Shoreditch.

Or, for those who can’t join in with the LCW festivities (or those who can) BrewDog Distilling Co.’s cocktails are also available for at home delivery, with The Drink Drop, check it out here

Phew, we’ve got this, and so have you

Stay safe

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