The head of mixology leaves Rosewood London at the end of this week, joining his new team on March 1st. His promotion comes after eight years at the Holborn-based hotel, working closely with the group’s European area director of bars, Martin Siska (Class Bar Manager of the Year 2018). Bouvignies played an instrumental role in positioning Scarfes Bar on the international bar…

Oscar Angeloni, currently bar manager of the Red Room at The Connaught, will step into the Sardinian’s role. Milia joined the bar in 2014 as a waiter, before becoming assistant bar manager in 2019 and bar manager in 2021. Alongside director of mixology Agostino Perrone and assistant director of mixology Giorgio Bargiani, her tenure saw untold success. Connaught Bar was named World’s Best Bar in…

Courvoisier, known historically as one of the top four cognacs, is a million-case brand, with net sales of US$249m in 2022, of which 60% was in the US.  The deal is said to be worth US$1.2bn, and if approved by French trading authorities, is expected to close in 2024. “We are very pleased to acquire a top-four historical cognac house, Courvoisier, with great latent equity…

Bartending isn’t a game of individuals, but there’s no escaping the fact Simone Caporale has now won the World’s 50 Best Bars five times. He seems to excel as one half of a pair: his four wins at Artesian from 2012-2015 coming with Alex Kratena, and now this year with Sips, which he shares with Marc Alverez.  We can talk about…

To read the official guide to The World’s 50 Best Bars, read the Drinks International Global Bar Edition.  Opened two years ago, bringing modernist, technique-driven cocktails to Barcelona, Sips is owned by Ex-El Bulli man Marc Alvarez and Simone Caporale, who is now the only bartender to have won The World’s 50 Best Bars five times, following wins at Artesian from 2012-2015. It…

Available here to read, this annual, bar-focused magazine unpicks the global trends that underpin the list. The GBE editor, Hamish Smith introduces this year’s magazine. In this 13th edition of Drinks International – dedicated to the global bar industry – we’ve tried to identify  embryonic trends. ‘Farmtending’ is one such recent movement and as Nicholas Coldicott writes, bar farms have sprung up…

Named Schmuck, the new venue is unconnected, financially or otherwise, to the Barcelona-based trio of Schmuck venues – Two Schmucks, Fat Schmuck and Lucky Schmuck. Aljaff, who left the Barcelona in autumn 2022 for the US, told Drinks International that Schmuck will open in Manhattan’s East Village in Q2 or Q3 next year. Aljaff and Larrouy’s former colleagues Eliane Naeger and Floriane Groux are also…

The bar – which has views of the Tokyo Tower from its balcony and rooftop space – draws inspiration from a house party “that gets suitably rowdy”, bringing to bear Graham’s brand of “warm hospitality and delightful chaos”. Graham has relocated from Hong Kong, where she held positions as editor of Drink Magazine Asia – a role she’ll continue part time – and at one…

The contemporary all-day Irish pub focuses on “exceptional service designed for those on the go”, weaving together modern Irish drinks, food, culture and hospitality. Dead Rabbit co-founder Jack McGarry said: “Transit hubs lend themselves to simple and accessible venues, and there’s an opportunity and demand for a compelling new concept that does this in a thoughtful way through Irish hospitality.” The name is a nod…

The new offering will see six drinks that rotate gradually through the year and four hyper-seasonal drinks, available individually or as part of a tasting menu. Director of bars Alex Francis said: “While our thematic menus aimed to push the boundaries and perceptions of cocktail bars, as our Farm to Glass model evolved, creatively and operationally the format no longer served the producers operationally,…