UKBG Newsletter # 3.15
12
#3/ 15 News “De Kuyper Works” National Cocktail Competition 2015 Official Sponsor has Some news from Schiedam for you to take to Tokyo! Discovering gin Try some of our favourite!
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Transcript of UKBG Newsletter # 3.15
#3/15
News
“De Kuyper Works”
National Cocktail Competition 2015 Official Sponsor
has
Some news from Schiedam for you to take to Tokyo!
Discovering gin
Try some of our favourite!
WHO IS WHO September:
8th Young Bartender of the Year London heats,
Venue TBC
15th Young Bartender of the Year Northern heats,
Venue TBC
29th Young Bartender of the Year Grand Final,
Venue TBC
October:
10th to 15th IBA World Cocktail Championship 2015
Sofia, Bulgaria
20th National Cocktail Competition Final heat
Venue TBC
26th to 30th UKBG Road Trip: “ Discovering Porto”
Portugal
MUCH MORE TO BE ANNOUNCED!
COMING UP
“You never change things by fighting the existing
reality, To change something build a new model
that makes the existing model obsolete "
Mike Sweetman
THE UKBG IS YOU! We know, every year is the same story, catch some money out of our
wallets! Is not a pleasure for anyone, but the committee has decided to keep
the same fare of £35.00 per year in order to don’t put too much pressure in
your expenses, and be able to deliver the best!
With less than £2.50 per month, you can sponsor the benefits available to all
our members, Educational Trips in the country and in Europe,
Masterclasses, Cocktail Competition and a lot more!
The UKBG committee is formed from very few people and we are
volunteering for our bartenders on our free time, our days off, holidays and
bank holidays are all marked in red and blue in our diary, in order to
provide to you the benefits up to the best standards. We are working on a
very big project, we want to show to the world what we can do, and bring
new and exciting events and ideas! Paying your membership is doesn't
mean you can only participate to events, competitions and trips, but you are
part of a no profit association, where is very open to your suggestions,
recommendations, ideas, comments and anything you want to say!
Come on be active!
Shout it loud what you have to say to your committee they will be happy
to hear from you!
President:
Luca Cordiglieri
Vice - President:
Mike Sweetman
National Administrator:
Jim Slavin
News Editor:
Claudia Carrozzi
Enquiry
Southern Area Chairman:
Salvatore Damiano
uk
Northern Area Chairman:
John Farrell
uk
London Area Vice-Chairman:
Fabio Immovilli
Southern Area Vice - Chairman:
Chris Underwood
MOUNT GAY INTRODUCES BLACK BARREL RUM
Brandons, Barbados – Mount Gay proudly announced the launch of Mount Gay Black Barrel to the U.K.
market. The new Black Barrel rum, which has selected worldwide availability, has been released in celebra-
tion of the brand’s 311-year history, reinforcing the Mount Gay’s craft, refinement, and unparalleled excel-
lence since 1703.
There’s A Time and A Place
For more than three centuries, Mount Gay has perpetuated a long-standing Barbadian tradition for pro-
ducing the world’s oldest refined rum. Only the finest sugar cane molasses and pure water filtered
through the coral heart of the island are selected to create Mount Gay rums. Mount Gay Black Barrel
boasts double pot distillation and a second maturation in bourbon oak barrels, which are combined
with the harmonious blending orchestrated by the Master Blender to create outstanding rums.
About Mount Gay:
Every great story begins with a time and a place. A legal deed dated from 20th of February 1703 con-
firms the existence of a “pot still house” on our sugar cane Estate in Barbados, establishing us as the
World’s oldest rum producer.
Our distillery name honors the pioneering Sir John Gay who perfected the distinctive Mount Gay
style. Still today, only the finest sugar cane molasses and pure water filtered through the coral heart
of the island are selected to create Mount Gay rums. Perpetuating a long-standing Barbadian tradi-
tion for more than 310 years, Mount Gay rums are handcrafted from a blend of single column and
double copper pot distillates and matured in toasted oak barrels, delivering aromatic,
flavorful taste, body and refined character.
The Mount Gay portfolio includes the newly launched Black Barrel, 1703 Old Cask Selection, Extra Old and Eclipse. Mount
Gay is owned by Rémy-Cointreau SA and is distributed in the UK by Rémy-Cointreau UK Distribution. For more infor-
mation visit www.mountgayrum.com and www.facebook.com/mountgayrum or contact the UK Press Office: Marie Huth,
Sidhu & Simon Communications, [email protected]
© 2014 Mount Gay Distilleries Ltd. Mount Gay Rum® Please Drink Responsibly
Telling our De Kuyper tale, looks more or less like sorting out the pictures made during the trip. A real mission, would you like to know why? Well this is because we have seen and experience so much... that I don’t know where to start from...
Well, first of all I want to “Blame & thank” our sponsor for this
amazing adventure, Mr Paul Curry Brand Manager at William Grant & Son UK Ltd.
Due to the strong relationship he has built with the Guild this year they will be sponsoring the National Cocktail Competition 2015 with all the De Kuyper flavours available in the UK market!
Being the ambassadors of the Guild we went to Schiedam to discover as much information about this great product for you to take advantage of during the nationals! So sit down, relax, enjoy your reading and take an advantage of this great trip!
The 22 April 2015 at the London City Airport, early in the morning one by one we start appearing at the bar ready for our breakfast, Mike Sweetman,
Tom Elms, Luca Cordiglieri, Chris Underwood, Marco Brivio, Sam Frazer, Timothy Foster, Claire Robinson, Dough Saunders, Gary Sharpen and Dave Marsland, just like a big family that gather from all over the country for another special occasion!
After a short flight in business class, we landed in Rotterdam where a taxi van and a limousine was waiting for us for our first stop, De Kuyper Works. The bar has very lively colours, just like the de Kuyper bottles, Purple sofa, changing wall colours, from green to blue, pink and so on... and of course dozens of De Kuyper bottles of different flavours and spirits... it is always a strong emotion to touch and taste something that most likely you won’t find around for a while or maybe forever.
There we met Marcus Takas (on the picture on the left) Area Export Manager and Arno & Michael from Barrelproof the De Kuyper Mixologist superstars, after a morning coffee and a quick lunch they went behind the bar, clearly proud of their role and the company they work for.
Arno started the Masterclass with an amazing introduction and we learnt that De Kuyper is a family business where only one family member at a time is allowed to work for the company. They started in Rotterdam with the barrel production and being forced to move in to Schiedam due to the fumes from the distillery and other circumstances, in fact not only the De Kuyper family was forced to make this choice but all the distilleries were moved to Schiedam, it began the capital of the spirits even better to say it is the Genève Town and earns the nick name of Nazareth due to the black smoke coming out from
Arno
the distilleries, colouring all the town walls in black, which is the angels share escaping from the distillery.
After the barrel production de Kuyper launch their first products the crème de menthe and the well-known de Kuyper blue curacao.
In the 2007 De Kuyper open the doors to a limited public in their new bar “the works” where before it used to be the de Kuyper museum, the guys from Barrelproof also have another bar called “the DR” a real speakeasy bar with tongue sticks as business card, with the surgery smell and atmosphere inside, do I really have to say that the doctors really know how to mix drinks and cure anyone mood? Anyway let’s forget about doctors for now, and let’s be focus on Michael, an amazing bartender well known in London as well, after setting up the bar he started to mix drinks, 10 cocktails, twists of classic and non-classic, very well balanced and with a reason and a history behind each one, and funny enough I have something in common with these guys, easy to make a drink but hard to find the right name!
If you need some inspiration for the National Competition, feel free to look
in our Cocktail recipe section and give it a go!
After the masterclass our taxi bus and limousine take us to the hotel, where I must admit the room was huge and amazing, and the gin and tonics too! After the great aperitif we move to the restaurant, where as usual the dinner spent with this crew are memorable forever!
Impeccable food and service, and the wine... just fantastic! The night was young and it was time for the first bar visit: the bar "the Dr"; www.drrottendam.com (see the pictures at the bottom of page 9!) that I mention before, we then move to another couple of cocktail bars, and perhaps due to the alcohol and some crazy taxi drivers every now and then the crew was splitting and then we had to make plans and phone calls find each other again. The night ended up in a
Mike
night club.
The following morning, early rise and check out, we are taken to the De Kuyper works. There we meet Myriam Hendrickx, the Master Distiller. She welcomed us with a fantastic smile and loads of coffee, Myriam started with an introduction to the company, the history and then we walked in to the distillery, we had to go through a road, where I am not surprised they use it to shoot movies, it really looked like an old cobbled street back in the days of the 18th century.
The first stop was the old distillery, Inside the room where the old still was built in a brick wall, there we find many Jack Daniels barrels laying on the floor and resting in the shelf, this is part of an interesting project they are testing, the clients are able to buy the barrel and decide what product they would like to age in, whenever they wish they are able to go back to the distillery and fill their own bottle from their own cask! How cool is that?
We than moved into the new distillery where they have two original stills used only for two products, gin & peppermint, and a new column still. Myriam explained their raw materials are sugar beet and grain, distilled at 96% abv is used as base spirits
for their liqueurs. They distil in single batches, one botanical at the time. Of course the maceration process and distillation is done on site.
On the wall we see a board with notes of botanicals and their process, looks like they never stop experimenting, and along the wall many stainless steel bins with the botanicals ready to be the next one in the process. We then moved into a different room, perhaps the most exciting one.
THE LAB!
With big wooden tables with stools already set up for us with all the tools needed to make our own liqueur, Myriam starts to explain their process, mix the water, with the sugar, then pure alcohol and your favourite flavours. We had a wide range of flavours to choose from and blend. Each of us pick their favourite and starts to work out their blended creation.... sounds easy hum? We had to work out the ABV with the water and sugar syrup and flavours and alcohol, you needed to be good in maths and chemistry after a day full of cocktails and night full of fun?
Well thanks to the calculator and Myriam we had a great result, my liqueur was based on cucumber and orange, and honestly that was a great opportunity for tasting some unusual and inedited
Liqueurs! We all definitely learned something about how a Liqueur is made
The time to move on came, and sadly we had to say bye to “De Kuyper Works” our super taxi cab and limousine were waiting for us again to take us to the restaurant, useless to say how amazing it was! I wasn’t really missing London and I think none of us at that time did, but it was nice be back is a sunny London!
I would like to thank everyone for this amazing opportunity, it was really like a family gathering! A special thank you goes to Mike Sweetman that in a first place was up to give up his place for me, youngster hungry for knowledge and to Paul and his team, for making this amazing dream happen and let everyone enjoy this trip! I must mention a sad note in Regards of Salvatore Damiano, amazing friend and colleague that had to give up this trip for family reason, we had you in our mind all the time!
In a separate article you can find more info about the de Kuyper history, the Rules are on our Website and our Facebook Group, under the file section!
So no excuses here hit your browser and join us! This year to make it bigger and better this year we have a Scotland Heat too!
So if your dream is to compete at the next IBA World Cocktail Competition what are you waiting for? Sing up and keep update with our news... no one else in the UK can give you this amazing challenging opportunity!
Claudia Carrozzi
De Kuyper background
The De Kuyper family has been involved in the Dutch gin industry since as far back as 1695.
The 11th generation of this dynasty is actively involved in the day to day running of the Family
Business: Mark De Kuyper in the USA & Remy De Kuyper in Schiedam.
Today not only is the 9th oldest family business in the Netherlands, but De Kuyper is the world’s
largest producer of cocktail liqueurs. Do you know how?
The De Kuyper picks only the best ingredients...
The fact that De Kuyper chose to settle in Schiedam had to do with the ports. The finest flavourings,
peels and fruits were brought to the Netherlands from distant countries via the ports of Rotterdam and
Schiedam. Together with the supply of European fruits and flavourings, these imports enabled the De
Kuyper distillers to conduct endless experiments with various drinks.
The flavouring ingredients used by the distiller can be divided into a number of categories: Berries and
fruits, Rinds, Leaves, Seeds, Roots, Bark, Flowers or parts of flowers.
The distillation...
De Kuyper uses distillation to produce the main flavouring ingredients for clear liqueurs and colourless
spirits such as lemon-flavoured gin. The De Kuyper distillery still features the copper pot stills from
1910. Along the walls dozens of glazed pottery jars are displayed, in which special extracts and distil-
lates are maturing for use as ingredients in limited product ranges. And below the ground, large tanks
are used to extract flavours. De Kuyper flavours alcohol according to traditional distillation and
extraction methods. The decision to use distillation or extraction depends on the desired flavour and
colour of the end product.
The time...
The alcohol-soluble substances and water-soluble substances are incorporated into the mixture during
the maceration process. Depending on the type of flavouring, the maceration process takes between ten
days and six weeks. Fine essential oils are rapidly absorbed into the solution. Insoluble substances, such
as bitter substances, take a long time to dissolve. Producing an extract with the right balance of soluble
and insoluble substances is a matter of time. The Master Distiller’s experience is a decisive factor in this
process
Since the introduction of liqueurs in 1920, De Kuyper has grown to become the world’s largest producer
of these products. Their range of forty-six liqueurs has found its way to more than one hundred
countries around the world, with more than fifty million bottles produced every year. Besides liqueurs,
De Kuyper also produces a number of nationally and internationally popular brands such as the peach
liqueur Peach Tree, liquorice liqueur Dropshot and the mandarin liqueur Mandarine Napoléon
Please note: William Grant & Sons UK Ltd don’t list all of these but carry the flavours that suit the current UK
palate.
De Kuyper A family business with a history and a future. Discover more details on:
www.dekuyper.com
Recipe
50 ml De Kuyper Apple Brandy XO
50 ml Arecha Ron Dorado 4 yrs old
Drops of De Kuyper Classic Bitter
Recipe
4 Wedges of lime
Gomme Syrup
40 ml Vodka
10 ml De Kuyper Butterscotch
Recipe
40 ml del maguey Mezcal
20 ml De Kuyper Blue Curacao
20 ml fresh lime juice
10 ml orgeat Syrup
Recipe
40 ml Pineapple Shrub
50 ml London gin N. 3
15 ml Passion fruit syrup
Recipe
Gin,
De Kuyper Lemongrass
Fresh Lime Juice
Egg White,
Yoghurt
Recipe
40 ml Rooster & Walf
20 ml De Kuyper White Cacao
10 ml Gomme Syrup
25 ml Double Cream
1 whole egg
Recipe
40 ml De Kuyper Lapsang
Souchong 10 ml Elderflower
25 ml Fresh lemon Juice
10 ml Gomme Syrup
2 Drops De Kuyper Classic
Recipe
35 ml Vodka
15 ml De Kuyper Spicy Chilly
10 ml De Kuyper Créme de Café 10
5 ml Gomme Syrup
VII Hills Gin
Is one of the new exciting range of gins coming to the market at the moment and I was delighted to
meet Danilo Tersigni GM at Mr Fogg’s with the Bar Manager Francesco Medici, and Filippo Previero
the former head bartender, now Bar Manager at Cahoots; the creators of this new arrival on the gin
scene. Three friends with a passionate interest in bartending and gin, and after some years bartending
around the world they met up again in London where they opened the successful Mr Fogg’s Bar.
With their interest in gin they decided to launch the first Italian gin to be distilled in London and so
VII Hills gin was born, the name originating from the Seven Hills of Rome. Their idea was to pick the
botanicals that grew on each hill and distil them in small batch, copper pot stills using sugar beet as
the spirit base. Heads and tails are discarded, therefore no filtration is required, with each botanical
added at a specific stage to optimise the flavour extraction.
The resulting spirit gives hints of juniper, sweet orange and vanilla on the nose followed by mild
peppery bay and sparkling Szechuan pepper mid tones, finishing with a creamy artichoke and
almond finish and a lingering buttercup petals aftertaste.
VII Hills is the first ‘Italian’ London dry gin combining ancient Roman botanicals with the great British art of distilling, to
create a unique flavour of past and present.
With the first Italian gin, finally we can have the first Italian Negroni, in fact their Signature drink is the Perfect Negroni.
Visit www.viihills.co.uk to find out more.
Claudia Carrozzi
Edgerton Pink Gin
Edgerton Gin, the elegant pink gin, has been rebranded last year and officially lunched at the London
cocktail week 2014 where I had the pleasure to get closer to this brand and the Edgerton Team of
Sandra Baker, International Director Claudio Martins and U.K. Director Ry Leon.
Founder Martin Edgerton Gill told me some very interesting stories about how he introduced the ‘Tea
Bag’ with Doctor Stewart in the ‘70s, his inspiration for the London N1 Blue Gin and the Edgerton
Pink Gin. How can a man with five daughters produce a blue gin but not a pink one?
It is very interesting how fifteen botanicals can make such a unique, well balanced gin. The citrus and
floral notes come through on the nose and spices such as cinnamon and cassia on the palate, creating
the same effect, fruity and floral at the beginning and spices in the background.
With excellent tasting notes and so many botanicals I can highly recommend Edgerton Pink Gin for
your cocktail. I feel I should worn you that Edgerton Pink Gin is the only gin with one particular
botanical, the Damiana! This is an aphrodisiac so if you are in need of a love elixir, this is the one for
you!
Edgerton Team with Mr, Gill seems to be very active with their portfolio, infact I find out they just
launched their Blue gin. To find out more about visit their website www.edgertonpinkgin.co.uk and
follow them on twitter @Edgertongin
Discovering Unique Gin...
40 ml Pineapple Shrub
50 ml London gin N. 3
15 ml Passion fruit syrup
Shaker Bar School Official UKBG Training Partner For more details e-mail at: [email protected]
or visit: www.shaker-uk.com
