For the 40-strong throng of sommeliers, journalists and bartenders assembled for the event, the bar had been raised. Gone were yesteryear themes of cognac cocktails. In for 2011 was: Can You Measure the Pleasure? According to the BNIC, this was the first attempt by any spirit category to quantify the pleasure of tasting. To aid us in our quest for quantification was a device that…

Journalists, sommeliers, bartenders and drinks consultants from the US, UK, France, Germany, Switzerland and Austria were assembled in Cognac to discuss the question, courtesy of event organiser the Bureau National Interprofessionnel du Cognac (BNIC). The summit’s four-day schedule, which included visits to Martell, Frapin, Hennessy, Courvoisier and Rémy Martin, was supported by quantitative analysis of tasting. Participants, who numbered around 40, measured the intensity and…

The double-digit decline is according to preliminary figures recorded by the Czech Beer and Malt Association. Budvar, the state-owned Czech brewer, described its year-on-year growth as the best export year in its 116-year history, and reports that exports now form almost 50% of its annual 1.4m hectolitre sales volume. According to Tony Jennings, CEO of Budvar UK, the export rise was due to strong growth…

Contestants created a classic and alternative Bloody Mary, before a judging panel that included chef Mark Hix, mixologist Nick Strangeway and food writers Tom Parker-Bowles and Charles Campion. The classic round, won by Jake Burger of Portobello Star in London, saw bartenders mix the staple ingredients of tomato juice, sauce, Tabasco, vodka, lemon, salt and pepper. Burger said: “The Bloody Mary is the benchmark for…

The French liqueur brand and Belvédère’s vodka Sobieski took centre stage at the event in Bordeaux as bartenders – all national winners – competed in a cocktail competition over a two-day period. After three rounds of competition Amit Gilad of Tel Aviv bar Otto 76, Israel, won through, taking the crown of IBS champion and a prize of €3,000. He said: “It has been a…

The classification, which dates back to 1990 and is now in its fifth edition, is designed to be a market barometer, measuring market presence, consistency, volume of demand and price realisations. Of the thousands of wines considered by Langton’s 2010 list, 123 made the final cut, an increase from 101 in 2005. Wines are classed by four categories: Exceptional, highly sought after prized wines; Outstanding,…

Licor 43’s leading markets are currently Spain, Germany and US, but in enlisting its first UK brand ambassador, the liqueur aims to improve on the 2,500 cases sold last year. Mariam Ridley, marketing manager for J Wray & Nephew UK, distributors for Licor 43, described the company as having “wild ambition, but limited resources”. Ridley added that “double digit growth” was not out of the…

The findings published today by the Institute of Fiscal Studies (IFS) are based on a minimum price of 45p per unit, an idea floated by the Scottish government before being rejected by opposition parliamentary ministers last week. In the report the IFS suggests that an increase in alcohol taxation would be an alternative way to tackle excess drinking, at the same time as providing…