Cheers to 2021

November has been another jam-packed month - filled with fantastic client wins, some exciting prep for the festive season, we can’t quite believe it’s December!

New client alert! We’re delighted to add Henson’s Bar at Mimi’s Hotel Soho to the Domino rosta. It’s the ultimate destination bar in the heart of Soho, offering an array of magnificent cocktails, from the past and present, as well as some of the best Martinis, even in a mini flight-form.

We teamed up with Citadelle, to raise awareness of their 25th anniversary and 2021 saw the launch of their Jardin d'Été. The distillery has big plans ahead for 2022 and beyond, aiming to be completely self-sufficient, by planting 2,500 juniper trees in the grounds of the château, with a pending 100% organic status. To read more about the distillery’s exciting plans, and Jardin d’Ete, head over to the Spirits Business.

Last but not least here are our favourite wintery serves for you to enjoy over this festive period. Whether you fancy something warming, something relaxing or something bubbly, we have a Christmas tipple for everyone.

Rogue Winter Spritz

50ml Regal Rogue Bold Red

Top with Fever-Tree Italian Blood Orange Soda

Garnish with an orange wedge

Zen Hot Toddy

Ingredients

60ml Nightcap

10ml maple syrup 

150ml boiling water 

Big lemon wheel, studded with 8 cloves

1 star anise

Optional dash of whisky for a low abv drink

Method

Stud a whole lemon with lots and lots of cloves before cutting into slices. To stud pierce holes into the lemon zest with a fork, then push cloves in. Warm your cup with hot water first. Once warm, empty out the water and add ingredients. Stir briefly to combine and add a dash of whisky for those that want. Serve piping hot

Seignette Fizz

Recipe: 25ml Seignette VS Cognac, 12.5ml lemon juice, 12.5 sugar syrup, five raspberries and top with Champagne

Glass: flute

Garnish: lemon twist and a raspberry & a Champagne cork to one side

SO, all that’s left to say is Merry Christmas from all of The Domino Team - see you in the New Year!

The Spirit of Tomorrow

And… breathe. After one of our busiest months, team Domino are enjoying a welcome moment to reflect on all the fantastic launches and events we hosted in October. It may have been the ultimate challenge but the rewards were immense, seeing all the positive reviews, articles and posts afterwards.

October began with launching BrewDog Distilling Co’s new spirits range, under the moniker ‘The Spirit of Tomorrow’ they unleashed a host of rums, vodkas and gins into the world. There were plentiful launch events and a month-long ‘Lost Forest’ pop-up bar at BrewDog Seven Dials, as a part of London Cocktail Week (month!). 

With the festive season well and truly upon us, seeing the new and improved annual BrewDog Distilling Co’s 12 Gins of Christmas calendar is a joy. Taking the classic advent calendar up infinite notches, The 12 Gins of Christmas gives  you the chance to try seven exclusive new flavours, as well as LoneWolf’s iconic favourites - Original, Cactus and Lime, Peach and Passionfruit, Cloudy Lemon and Gunpowder Gin - each bottled in 50ml 

servings. The team have worked extra hard to shout about the calendar this year, already grabbing the attention of The Sun, Evening Standard, and The Mirror - to name a few.

The last week of October saw the much-loved Fernet-Branca Barback Games take place. One of the highlights of bartenders’ calendars saw bar teams compete to earn the right to design the 2022 Fernet-Branca coin, as well as an all-expenses-paid trip to Milan! After a two year hiatus, the bartending community came out in full force to celebrate this year's games at Village Underground in East London. Guests were treated to Fernet-Branca cocktails, alongside the spectacle of London’s leading bartending talent competing barback-style tasks against the clock in order to be crowned the best barback team! This year’s winners were The Nomad’s Davide Leanza and Danilo Frigulti. Many congratulations to them both on the honour, and on your adventure to Milan… we’re not at all jealous!

For the grand finale of the month, we hosted the Halloween party to end all Halloween parties with Crystal Head Onyx Vodka  teaming up with brand new, DC inspired restaurant, Park Row (insert link). There were delicious cocktails, gourmet canapes and of course a killer DJ set that saw guests throwing some seriously thrilling shapes.  Attendees included jeweller Stephen Webster, fashion designer Joshua Kane and models of the moment Nyawargak Gatluak and Eva Apio. Crafted from premium Blue Weber agave, and bottled with a luxurious black finish, Crystal Head Onyx was the perfect centrepiece for the unveiling of Park Row’s newest bars,  Poison Ivyand Old Gotham City , this was one of the sleekest events we’ve seen in a while.

London Cocktail Week & Co.

September and October are Domino’s busiest months of the year, our feet haven’t touched the ground, literally!

With London Cocktail Week, RumFest and BrewDog Distilling Co’s brand new product launches in October, we’ve been loving being back in action. 

Our highlights below...

BrewDog Distilling Co. shook up the drinks world with their brand new portfolio of carbon negative spirits; Seven Day vodka and 500 Cuts rum which joined LoneWolf gin. All housed in exciting new packaging with an exceptional selection of flavours. Last week the team were lucky enough to join some of the UK’s trade titles for an exclusive London Cocktail Week tasting and talk with BrewDog Distilling Co’s head of distillation, Steven Kersley. It was during this session that we each chose our favourite new spirit, tough job we know. After the tasting, we hosted some fantastic influencers and media for ‘a night in the lost forest.’ With some great tunes playing the team got to talk through the new skus with various invited guests, whilst all sipping on a few themselves. The event was praised by various guests and all attendees loved the spirits, and the strong serves! Roll on the next launch party…

This month we also hosted a selection of London Cocktail Week (Month!) events for Hi-Spirits brands. Kicking off with an exclusive Paul John Whisky tasting hosted by the brand ambassador Shilton Almeida trying out ‘Asia’s most awarded single malt. 

We also hosted the incredible Sazerac De Forge tasting. ‘Tasting Sazerac as it was 200 years ago’, is a pretty enticing offer if you ask us. Guests enjoyed a tasting and talk through of this complex spirit, learning it’s fascinating history, and the impact it has had on cocktail culture throughout the years. This was followed by a night of Espresso Martini and Margarita mastery, hosted by Imogen and Cameron. Two of the most popular cocktails on any decent bar menu, this event filled itself with ease! All the guests enjoyed their chance to make their favourite cocktails and will be impressing friends and family with their new-found skills this Christmas we’re sure.

It’s been an incredible month already and the fun isn’t over just yet… we’ve got some even more dynamic cocktail masterclasses planned in October; and up next, is Negroni’s! So, keep up with us on socials to see how these events go down…

RumFest is coming to town this weekend and we are primed and ready. It’s a fantastic show and an opportunity for all spirits lovers to get fully immersed in tastings, cocktails and learning all about the wonderful world of rum. With BrewDog Distilling Co. launching their new range of 500 Cuts rum it’s the chance to not only taste the spirits but meet the man who made them, MD and master distiller Steven Kersley. The show also features live Caribbean music, over 400 rums, and dozens of stands and stalls all centered around Rum, this is not one to miss. Get your tickets here, we’ll see you there!

Three Spirit officially back on our books, and we are so happy to be working with them again. The ultimate fun, booze alternative, Three Spirit is the non-alc option for Christmas festivities and they have some incredibly exciting plans for the near future. Vegan, active ingredient, alcohol alternatives are on the rise, and Three Spirit is no exception, they believe in adding extra to alc-free drinks, rather than ‘taking away’ from them, and that shows through their complex and moreish flavour. Get your hands on a bottle here, to believe the hype...