Get a full measure of the spirits category
The Morning Advertiser is returning to London for a fifth year with the Spirits Summit, where the category is to be explored from top to toe.
The performance of spirits in the on-trade will be explored in great detail by CGA director of client services Jonathan Jones, who will give an overview of current trends, upcoming new product development and what’s set to be hot to stock in the months ahead.
The threats and opportunities posed to pubs and bars by the off-trade will also be talked about by Kantar Worldpanel. Kantar will feed inspiration into the room by giving delegates insight on what supermarkets can and can’t do in spirits.
Gin expert to unpick pink gin
Meanwhile, gin expert David T Smith will unpick the recent success seen the phenomenon of pink gin, giving his thoughts on the highs and lows of the pink gin segment.
Whisky, too, will be given a significant amount of time with Diageo head of Malts Joanna Henderson bringing her insight about the category to the table, including where it’s come from, what room there is for growth and where it is going.
Finally, it’s not all about the traditional spirits and Pernod Ricard will be on hand to delve into the emerging world of alcohol-free ‘spirits’ following the launch of the company’s Ceder’s brand in the summer.
Don’t miss out on the day, which is packed full of information and insight into the world of spirits. Book your tickets now.
The full agenda:
9.30-9.55am – Registration
10am – Welcome
The Morning Advertiser’s food and drink editor Nicholas Robinson sets the agenda of the day and introduces the speakers and their topics
10.10am – The spirits market in figures
The latest trends, stats and sales data are revealed by CGA. The speaker outlines what’s going on in the UK on-trade when it comes to spirits sales and uses the data to pinpoint what areas operators should look to tap into over the next 12 months.
Jonny Jones, CGA
10.40am – Spirits in the off-trade: how we can compete
In this session, Kantar Worldpanel covers how the off-trade is doing with spirits, how sales are going, trends and how the on-trade can fight back by tapping into areas supermarkets can’t cover.
Kantar World Panel
11.10am – Break
11.30am – What’s happening in whisky?
Whisky is the second largest spirits category, but one with much surrounding confusion. In this session Diageo head of Malts Joanna Henderson talks through the latest sales data, trends and serves in whisky and outlines a simpler way of talking about it.
Joanna Henderson, Diageo
12noon – Pink gin madness
The recent phenomenon of pink gin has added to the category’s already hefty growth and introduced a range of new drinkers to the spirit. With more brands entering the category, gin expert David T Smith discusses the highs and lows of the pink gin segment and looks at what could be next in the gin world.
David T Smith
12.30pm – Alcohol-free ‘spirits’ – a growth area?
There are now three mainstream alcohol suppliers in the alcohol-free spirits category, but why is this an area of interest to both producers and consumers? In this session, Pernod Ricard UK talks about its newly launched alcohol-free Ceder’s brand and reveals what goes into creating these types of products, why we can charge a premium for them and how to use them on the bar.
Pernod Ricard UK
1pm – Lunch
Enjoy some street food and sample various drinks from our sponsors around the room.
2pm – The rise and rise of English rum
Long associated with makers from warmer climates, rum production is beginning to hot up in the UK, powered by a handful of smaller makers who spread across the width and breadth of the country. In this session, we learn how one small batch British producer is tapping into the growing rum market with an English product, how easy it is to make a rum and how attractive these products are to consumers.
Dr John Walters, Master Distiller, English Spirit Distillery
2.30pm – Vodka
Vodka’s reputation is shifting as more premium variants make it on to the market, growing the category’s value significantly year on year. In this session, an English premium vodka producer Chase talks through the premium vodka category, why there is growth, what’s changing and how it became so successful.
Phoebe Bocchinelli, Chase Distillery
3pm – TBC
3.30pm – Masterclasses:
- Learn how to talk about whisky
- How to serve alcohol-free ‘spirits’
- Spirits carousel:
- Slingsby Gin
- Warner Edwards
- TBC
4.30pm – Study tour:
We’re taking you out and about to some of London’s most inspirational cocktail bars and the drinks are on us.
The Spirits Summit is brought to you by The Morning Advertiser in association with headline partner Diageo, Pernod Ricard, Slingsby Gin, Warner Edwards and more.
