The 2019/2020 European winter was a scorcher. In fact, according to the Copernicus Climate Change Service, it was the single warmest European winter since records began in 1850 and 3.4°C above the 1981-2020 norm.  This spelled trouble for Germany’s few remaining eiswein producers and, for the first time in history, the 2019 eiswein harvest failed nationwide as temperatures simply refused to drop to…

“Slingsby was actually started really in 2014 in our local curry house,” explains Black. “We got talking about the drinks industry and started sampling the different gins on offer in the restaurant, got chatting about how the gin market was beginning to explode and decided that we’d like to start our own gin brand inspired by our beautiful hometown, Harrogate. “That was the beginning of…

Across three weekends this summer, bars have partnered with brands and to create a collaborative cocktail menu to showcase both bar and brand to the capital’s cocktail fans. Drinks International caught up with some of the bar operators, drinks consultancies and brand owners on the line-up to talk about what makes Cocktails in the City valuable to London’s bar community. Georgi Radev, Laki Kane, partnered…

A Rare Discovery from Distant Shores, as the release has been named, is also a uniquely personal release for master blender David Stewart with the expression born out of a friendship with John Barrett, the owner of Bristol Spirits Company. “So much of the whisky industry is built on friendships,” says Gwilt. “This release happened because of David’s love of rum but also his friendship…

Following a steady ascent in the past few years, Italian bitters is one of the hottest beverage categories when it comes to production, distribution and sales. Led by the omnipresent Campari Group, whose portfolio includes the namesake red bitter and Aperol, this once niche section is living a new youth, mostly thanks to the use that modern mixology is making of it. “The research that…

Sparkling drinks in all their forms are in demand in Japan. The vast beer industry is ever popular, while the Whisky Highball has been on-trend for a number of years. Furthermore, the “Chu-high” – shochu mixed with fruits and carbonated water – has helped to boost the hard seltzer market over the past couple of years and Japan’s RTD popularity is strong. Even some sake…

It is a category that does require a bit of explaining. If you just leave someone with a bottle and walk off, they’re not going to necessarily understand it, so you have to take the time to make a connection,” says Peter Holland, founder of The Floating Rum Shack and long-time advocate of rhum agricole. Produced in the French Caribbean, and curiously the Portuguese island…