Cocktail

Operator branded 'angry little man' by customer expecting free drinks

10-Nov-2023 By Ed Bedington

A pub operator has been forced to put a sign on his frozen cocktail machine after a customer helped themselves then complained the drinks were not free on Trip Advisor.

Stellar line-up confirmed for The Restaurant Show

25-Aug-2023 By The Morning Advertiser

Tommy Banks, Sally Abe, Cyrus Todiwala, Michael O’Hare, Gareth Ward and Philli Armitage-Mattin are all confirmed speakers for The Restaurant Show, which is held at London Olympia, from 2 to 4 October 2023.

Be At One launches Best in Glass competition 2023

14-Mar-2023 By Amelie Maurice-Jones

Be At One has announced the launch of its 2023 ‘Best in Glass’ cocktail competition.

How to make a Negroni Sbagliato

23-Nov-2022 By Amelie Maurice-Jones

Bartenders give tips on making the perfect Negroni Sbagliato after the drink’s popularity skyrocketed following a viral TikTok video.

Top 50 Cocktail Bar to close

10-Nov-2022 By Nikkie Thatcher

The founders of Top 50 Cocktail Bar Oriole have announced the venue will be closing after New Year’s Eve.

Opinion

'Diversification will carry us through'

23-May-2022 By Seb Heeley-Wiggins, the Spirit of Manchester Distillery co-founder

Last year, amid the turmoil of the hospitality sector, we made a choice to plough a significant investment into a roto-vap allowing us to distil under pressure and at lower temperatures.

Opinion

'As one saga draws to a close, we are steeling ourselves for a new crisis dawning on the horizon'

14-Mar-2022 By Seb Heeley-Wiggins, co-founder, The Spirit of Manchester Distillery

We can all agree that the past 24 months have been difficult. For the hospitality operators who rely on customers for their bottom line, and also for the producers who rely on such operators to fuel their supply line. Both have faced enormous financial...

Has the gin bubble burst?

04-Mar-2022 By Ed Bedington

After what has seemed like a never-ending boom, it looks like the rapacious consumer demand for gin appears to be tailing off.

Top 50 Cocktail Bars set to be revealed

28-Jan-2022 By Amelie Maurice-Jones

The best cocktail bars in the business are due to be revealed as The Morning Advertiser prepares for the announcement of the Top 50 Cocktail Bars list for 2022.

Virtual spaces key to high-end venues

07-Dec-2021 By Amelie Maurice-Jones

Virtual spaces are here to stay, with high end venues using them to unite customers safely, increase revenue and engage with a global audience, operators have said.

New products round-up

Bumper week for new product launches

01-Oct-2021 By Gary Lloyd

Cask Hobgoblin IPA, three vodkas from Masons of Yorkshire and Fuller’s Vintage Ale are among the new products to hit the market this week.

Coronavirus recovery: Rekom UK sees 'record trading'

19-Aug-2021 By Michelle Perrett

Rekom UK, the 42-strong nightclub operator, has revealed a surge in people returning to nightclubs with trading currently 150% up on its 2019 figures.

Revolution gains ‘firepower’ after £21m fundraise

26-May-2021 By Stuart Stone

Revolution Bars Group is poised to emerge from the pandemic in a ‘strong position with a fit for purpose balance sheet’ following a successful £21m fundraise.

Reason for refusal ‘critical’ in bar’s mixed gender groups-only booking policy

20-May-2021 By Stuart Stone

Lawyers have claimed a London-based operator could be breaching the Equality Act if its 'mixed gender groups' booking policy means LGBT+ groups are turned away, according to reports.

Spirits Week - In association with Diageo

Cocktail-led outings 'much, much more of a reward'

10-May-2021 By The Morning Advertiser

To introduce Spirits Week, brought to you by Diageo, drinks expert Douglas Blyde distils some of the key trends and new consumer behaviours shaking up the spirit and cocktail categories.

Drake & Morgan sees profits dip in run up to lockdown

29-Mar-2021 By Andrew Don, MCA

Drake & Morgan is hoping to rebuild the London-based bar and restaurant group with the easing of Covid-related restrictions, according to reports by MCA Insight.

New bar group Nightcap to list on AIM after London Cocktail Club acquisition

15-Dec-2020 By Stuart Stone

A new company led by hospitality entrepreneur and ex-Dragon’s Den investor Sarah Willingham, has unveiled plans to float on AIM after agreeing a deal to acquire the London Cocktail Club’s bar portfolio.

#Unitedwestand

Revolution furloughs 98% of staff and halves directors’ salaries

14-Apr-2020 By Stuart Stone

Nationwide bar operator Revolution Bars Group has taken a number of steps to ‘secure the future’ of its business amid the ongoing Covid-19 crisis.

What are 2019's biggest party drink trends?

20-Nov-2019 By Emily Hawkins

Now is the ideal time to offer your customers a different drink to their usual because research shows people are more willing to experiment at this time of year.

Cocktail operator is van-tastic

04-Nov-2019 By Alice Leader

Tales & Tender founder Nick Whitby claims his cocktail contraption “is like having a bartender with 15 arms, under the counter and behind the scenes”.

Get a full measure of the spirits category

17-Sep-2018 By Nicholas Robinson

Pink gin, whisky, alcohol-free ‘spirits’ and the rise of English rum are just a handful of the topics we’re exploring at this year’s Spirits Summit at the Yard, Shoreditch, in London on 2 October.

Pros and cons of running a spirits-focused bar

03-Aug-2018 By Nicholas Robinson

Spirits and cocktail sales are booming, driven by increasing consumer demand for better experiences, as well as a large proportion of new product development in the segment. But for those businesses focusing on spirits, what are the upsides and downsides...

Alcohol-free ‘gin’ and ‘rum’ launched

27-Jul-2018 By Nicholas Robinson

Funkin cocktails founder Alex Carlton has stepped into the alcohol-free ‘spirits’ category with the launch of Stryyk Not Rum and Not Gin variants.

In association with Fever-Tree

How to grow a gin garnish garden

05-Jul-2018 By Nicholas Robinson

Whether you’re growing them on the bar for staff to garnish drinks with or in your pub garden for consumers to pick and choose for themselves, a G&T garnish garden is a quirky way to create a bit of atmosphere and theatre.

Over half of the UK's top cocktail bars are north of London

05-Jun-2018 By MA editorial

More than half of the UK’s top cocktail bars are based outside London, with 26 in the north alone in cities including Newcastle, Aberdeen and Edinburgh, the latest Top 50 Cocktail Bars list shows.

Smokestack barman wins big at Southern Comfort cocktail competition

22-May-2018 By Nicholas Robinson

Smokestack barman Lee Jones was applauded to victory last night as he beat five other bartenders to become the UK winner of Southern Comfort’s Southern Showdown.

Aperol Spritz drives up Campari’s UK sales

08-May-2018 By Nicholas Robinson

Gruppo Campari’s UK sales have risen significantly, with a chunk of that growth coming from sales of Aperol, the main ingredient in the Aperol Spritz.

Revolution Bars Group announces charity partnership with Shelter

02-May-2018 By Stuart Stone

The operator behind 73 cocktail bars and restaurants, Revolution Bars Group, has announced a partnership with the UK homelessness charity, Shelter.

Brand management: getting your pub's marketing on point

23-Feb-2018 By Claire Churchard

Your pub brand can be the key to financial success or the tether that holds you back. The Morning Advertiser examines some (in)famous brands that always, well mostly, seem to get it right.

How to make the five best-selling cocktails

13-Feb-2018 By Nikkie Sutton

Cocktails are showing no signs of going away and operators need to ensure they are tapping into the latest trends in the category to boost their bottom lines.

Bartenders to be marked on ‘Instagram-worthy’ cocktails

08-Feb-2018 By James Beeson

Cognac producer Courvoisier has launched its third annual ‘Toast of Paris’ cocktail competition where, for the first time, UK bartenders will be judged on how their cocktails would look on Instagram posts, alongside more traditional criteria.

M&B breaks records selling 225,000 meals on Christmas Day

12-Jan-2018 By Nikkie Sutton

Christmas Day broke records for pubco Mitchells & Butlers (M&B) with like-for-like sales volume growth of 5.4% and 225,000 meals sold.

Rockingham Group transforms public toilet to launch Sheffield site

03-Jan-2018 By Stuart Stone

A speakeasy-style bar serving sustainable cocktails was launched in November 2017 as the Rockingham Group’s fourth site.

In association with Diageo

3 whisky cocktails for winter

14-Dec-2017 By Nicholas Robinson

Whisky is unlike any other spirit. Fact. It is complex, often mysterious, but sadly sometimes viewed in the wrong light by drinkers and even some bartenders as a stuffy, challenging liquid that is unyielding and impossible to use in cocktails.

Bartending is a ‘dream career’ with a big salary

18-Oct-2017 By Nicholas Robinson

Leading bartenders are commanding salaries in excess of prime ministers’ and presidents’, as more consider the profession a desirable option.

Be at One completes £20m refinancing

02-Oct-2017 By Mark Wingett, MCA

Be At One, the Piper-backed cocktail bar group, has completed a £20m refinancing, and ended the sales process it started earlier this year.

Landlords can infuse their own Bourbon

06-Sep-2017 By Nikkie Sutton

Revolution and diversity has helped boost the Bourbon category, according to Maker's Mark producer Beam Suntory.

Four cocktail trends that will shake the world

25-Aug-2017 By Nicholas Robinson

Cocktails meet food as bartenders turn to cheffing, but they must be kind to the environment and be individual, according to a panel of the world’s best cocktail makers.

Crown Cellars launches spirits guide

24-Aug-2017 By Nicholas Robinson

Carlsberg UK-owned Crown Cellars has broken its spirits portfolio away into a separate segment of the business following the launch of a new focused magazine – Spirits.

Edinburgh gin rebrands fruit liqueurs range

10-Aug-2017 By James Beeson

Award-winning gin distillery Edinburgh Gin is giving its fruit liqueurs range a makeover.

In association with Diageo

Get the cocktail message across

24-Jul-2017 By Nicholas Robinson

Having a great offer when it  comes to cocktails is a proven way of increasing trade, but making sure you convey what you have to customers is the crucial aspect in building sales. Nicholas Robinson reports.

Big Interview: Be At One's Steve Locke and Andrew Stones

18-Jul-2017 By Claire Churchard

Be At One’s Steve Locke and Andrew Stones reveal how speedy yet great cocktails have been the basis for a business that is still keeping the party going.

Albion and East to open Brixton-based bar and restaurant

11-Jul-2017 By Helen Gilbert

Albion and East is to unveil its second London site this autumn.

How to design your bar

07-Jun-2017 By Nicholas Robinson

While your operation may be known for serving the best Mojito or the region’s greatest gin and tonic, there are many operational areas that could negatively impact your trade and profit.

In association with Diageo

How to drive spirits sales

07-Jun-2017 By Nicholas Robinson

Cocktails in pubs are on the rise, but making money from mixed drinks is not as simple as just putting a menu together. Operators must not only consider what their back bars say to customers walking through the door, but also how their online and social-media...

Be At One converts Bournemouth nightclub into site 33

18-May-2017 By Georgina Townshend

Specialist cocktail bar group Be At One has secured a leasehold agreement for a new site in Bournemouth, meaning the group now has 33 sites in its portfolio.

In association with Diageo

Don’t get this wrong: how to create the perfect serve

03-May-2017 By Nicholas Robinson

Lacklustre mixed drinks and cocktails will not do for drinkers these days, even for those who in the past would have accepted an iceless G&T served in a warm glass garnished with a sliver of limp lemon.

GBPA: inspiration from three 2016 winners

02-May-2017 By MA Editorial

Thinking about entering the Great British Pub Awards this year? We've spoken to a selection from last year’s title winners to find out how the awards have boosted business.

Tequila sales soaring thanks to cocktails

20-Apr-2017 By Nikkie Sutton

Sales of Tequila are on the up as consumers move from drinking shots and towards enjoying it in cocktails or as a sipping spirit.

Turn up the heat on your summertime drinks offer

18-Apr-2017 By Alison Baker

Visiting the pub during summer is a quintessential British trait. And whether your customers are driving or enjoying an alcoholic drink, there’s room for softs and spirits at your site. Alison Baker reports.