Hamish Smith

2 weeks ago | classbarmag.com | Hamish Smith

Hamish Smith comes with the data that provides the narrative behind the bestselling mixers at the UK's Best Bars. When Fever-Tree launched, it created a market that didn’t previously exist. Premium tonic suddenly meant natural ingredients and provenance, not just classic branding. At a time when gin was rousing from its own slumber, Fever-Tree made people think not only of the G but the T. It quickly became the tonic and fanned out into a range of mixers.

2 weeks ago | classbarmag.com | Hamish Smith

Hamish Smith assesses the non-alc spirits market, highlighting the brands that do best in the UK's best bars. For spirits that aren’t technically spirits, non-alc products are certainly doing a lot for the spirits market – the category grew 28% in the on-trade last year according to CGA Data. A lot of that expansion is now coming from outside of London – where growth is flattening – with the rest of the UK now embracing the non-alc occasion.

3 weeks ago | drinksint.com | Hamish Smith

According to an interview with Class Bar Magazine, All My Gods will pick up on British rock and roll and motor bike themes, while the drinks will be low-concept, fun-forward classics. The bar is in partnership with burlesque artist, painter and tattooist Roxy Velvet, which came about when the trio behind Dram - Jack Wallis, Martyn "Simo" Simpson, and Chris Tanner – got chatting to Velvet about their shared love of “brash, authentic drinking spots”.

3 weeks ago | classbarmag.com | Hamish Smith

Alex Taylor, formerly co-owner of Pennyroyal in Cardiff, is to open a new bar in the city: Low Key. A table-service cocktail bar based in a quiet Grade 2-listed arcade, Low Key is billed as a retreat from Cardiff’s bustling high streets and volume bars. Designed to have a “calm” atmosphere, the bar will see dimmed, “jazz bar-inspired lighting”, with music pitched - in volume and style - to match the energy of the room.

3 weeks ago | classbarmag.com | Hamish Smith

The Spy Barat Raffles London at The OWO has launchedMartini No. 52, a cocktail created in tribute to the late drinks writer Forest Collins. In partnership with Boatyard Distillery and in consultation with Collins’ friends and family, the cocktail aims to honour her legacy, with the drinks community invited to visit the bar and raise a glass in her memory. As part of the tribute, Spy Bar will offer a tiny Martini No. 52, with their compliments, to members of the trade upon arrival.