For about six hours in early October the world was brought to a standstill. However, it wasn’t the outbreak of a global pandemic that spread panic, but the simultaneous crash of Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram.

The Schmuck or Die group, the team behind the acclaimed cocktail bar Two Schmucks and restaurant Fat Schmuck, have announced the launch of a third site, a dive bar and karaoke room called Lucky Schmuck.

The American Bar at The Savoy in London will reopen for business on October 4.

London Cocktail Week has once again been extended to the whole month of October for 2021 and the full trade schedule has been released.

Mexico City’s Licorería Limantour swapped bar teams with Barcelona’s Two Schmucks to host guest shifts in their respected venues.

The sheer scale of China’s population and geography is almost incomprehensible to the western world and second-tier city Shenzhen, located in the south east, is being bookmarked as a potential future giant of the bar trade.

Once upon a time pubs and bars were somewhere you went with the sole purpose of getting pissed and there wasn’t a knife and fork in sight, just a packet of dry roasted nuts.

Fernet-Branca has announced that after a year’s hiatus, the Barback Games will return to London Cocktail Week for a third time, on 28^th October.

Edrington UK has announced a series of workshops and events for the London trade as part of October’s London Cocktail Week.

Wristbands are now available for London Cocktail Week 2021 which will once again be extended for the entire month of October.

The recent launch of Martinez members’ cocktail bar on Soho’s Greek Street struck a chord with me.

Douglas Ankrah, the inventor of the Pornstar Martini and creator of Soho’s LAB Bar has sadly passed away.

London’s Lyaness is due to host a Trailer Happiness-themed night on Tuesday 17 August in order to raise money for the iconic tiki bar’s refurbishment.

Aperitivo cocktail bar Archivio, based in Verona, will host bartender Jad Ballout this August to showcase his latest bar concept, Dead End Paradise.

Four Seasons Hong Kong has opened a new bar called ARGO which aims to push innovation and become a staple among the local bar scene.

Back in 2002 celebrity chef Jamie Oliver launched Fifteen, a restaurant made up of a team of trainee chefs from underprivileged backgrounds.

The Savoy has appointed Shannon Tebay as head bartender of the American Bar and senior mixologist at the hotel.

Kevin McCabe, former head sommelier of Zuma, Roka and Yautacha Group, has teamed up with, Antony Lyon, of Lyon's Seafood & wine bar, to open a new brasserie and wine bar in east London.

British bar operator Arc Inspirations has reported that sales have increased by 35% compared to 2019 since it resumed trading in May.

Jay Khan is hot property in Asia’s bar scene right now. His agave-focused bar, Coa, is number one in Asia’s 50 Best Bars and he was voted Bartenders’ Bartender in 2020. But a humble job on the  floor of Hong Kong’s Hard Rock Cafe was where Khan’s career in hospitality began.

Coa founder Jay Khan has revealed further details about his new bar which is set to open in mid-July in Shanghai.

Internationally awarded London bar Coupette has announced the launch of its Apples cocktail in RTD form from Saturday 29 May.

While the pandemic has been felt universally, the unevenness of lockdown restrictions has lent wildly different experiences to bar owners and cocktail drinkers around the globe.

Hong Kong’s Penicillin has been named the 2021 winner of the Ketel One Sustainable Bar Award by Asia’s 50 Best Bars.

MO BAR at Mandarin Oriental, Singapore has been awarded the Michter’s Art of Hospitality Award from the Asia’s 50 Best Bars Academy.

Ara Carvallo is described as a ‘serial entrepreneur’ in Drinks International’s Bar World 100 list, but few people manage to combine business growth with environmental sympathy as successfully as she does.

“It sounds strange but I don’t have any definite goals right now because it feels like I’ve done great. I’m super happy with where I’m at and getting on that Bar World 100 list blew my fucking mind, I was in tears seeing my name at 26."

Celebrate Her, an initiative to support gender parity, diversity and inclusion in the UK hospitality industry, will virtually champion the #ChoosetoChallenge campaign for International Women’s Day.

The sixth edition of Asia’s 50 Best Bars, sponsored by Perrier, will be announced in a virtual ceremony on 6 May.

Class Bar Magazine has launched a new website which will provide the latest news and insights into the UK bar industry.

Australian vermouth brand Regal Rogue has launched a new bartender training initiative in collaboration with The Liana Collection, the brand’s newly appointed UK distributor in 2021.

While most enter hospitality via high-volume bars or nightclubs, Pietro Collina got his first role at private members’ bar Mark’s Club in London aged 16.

In May 2020, when the lockdown was still at its strictest in India, Sidecar bar in New Delhi received the good news that it was the only Indian bar to have made it to the coveted 50 Best Bars in Asia list.

Galaxy Bar in Dubai has been named this year’s Campari One to Watch by the World’s 50 Best Bars.

Bacardi has launched a number of initiatives to help bar owners and retailers make the most of a new era of summer socialising.

Diageo has announced a $100 million support package to help the global bar trade get back on its feet as the coronavirus lockdown ends.

Bar Convent Brooklyn has been called off after the organisers decided it would be too risky to host a trade show during this age of contagion.

The future of the drinks trade will feature more ecommerce and greater use of robots.

The British pub and bar industry will be lost within days if the government does not take swift action to prop it up, leading operators have warned.

You can’t beat the classics, but every year there’s change within their ranks somewhere. Hamish Smith rounds up this year’s top 50

Drinks International’s annual Pre-Mixed Drinks Challenge reflected the fast pace at which this sector is growing. Shay Waterworth reports.

The previously unassailable Johnnie Walker could be showing signs of weakness, finds Hamish Smith

In our new series, Cihan Anadologlu, head bartender at Schumann’s Bar (number 23 in the World’s 50 Best Bars), gives the lowdown on the Munich scene

In the latest of our World's 50 Best Bars spin-off features, we delve into the world's best tequila bars. 

Fluid Movement has closed its north London bar Dach & Sons.

Global spirits groups and aspiring brands were present at the second annual Moscow Bar Show (MBS) this week to capitalize on Russian bartenders and distributors’ growing interest in international spirits. 

Courvoisier has crowned bartenders from 8 Bar in Falmouth winners of its Courvoisier Cocktails on a Grand Scale competition.