Lauren Bowes

Coventry, London

Bars Editor at The Spirits Business

Bars editor @spiritsbusiness Eating, drinking, writing, reading. She/her

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Articles

Dram founders to open All My Gods

4 days ago | thespiritsbusiness.com | Lauren Bowes

Part of a partnership with burlesque performer and tattoo artist Roxy Velvet, All My Gods in London’s Bethnal Green will launch this summer. Chris Tanner, Martyn ‘Simo’ Simpson and Jack Wallis opened Dram in Soho in November 2023. Tanner is also behind newly opened east London spot Câv. Câv will soon have a neighbour in All My Gods, which ‘will pay homage to the lost greats of London’s dive bar scene’.
The Macallan refreshes visual identity

4 days ago | thespiritsbusiness.com | Lauren Bowes

Edrington-owned The Macallan has collaborated with designer David Carson to reimagine the design of its Double Cask, Sherry Oak and Colour Collections. Carson has a longstanding relationship with the single malt Scotch whisky brand, having visually directed the launch of the Colour Collection in 2023. He has also worked with the brand on travel retail activations globally and at LAX.
Preview: BCB London 2025

4 days ago | thespiritsbusiness.com | Lauren Bowes

The Bar Convent family will debut its first London show this month, taking place at the capital’s Tobacco Dock. The drinks trade has a new fixture in its calendar, as BCB makes its long-awaited London debut. Formerly known as Imbibe Live, the show will host its first show under the Bar Convent family of brands from 30 June to 1 July. As well as a new name, the event has moved from its long-time home at Olympia London to Tobacco Dock in Wapping. This is no simple rebrand.
Top 10 most popular whisky distilleries in 2025

5 days ago | thespiritsbusiness.com | Lauren Bowes

The Cask Connoisseur’s third list of the UK and Ireland’s most-loved whisky distilleries has been released. The marketing firm is run by Luke Slater, beer connoisseur; Chris Walster, whisky connoisseur; and Isobel Walster, marketing connoisseur. It released its first most-popular distillery list in 2023 and revisited the concept last year. In its first two years, England’s Cotswolds Distillery took the top spot – however, this year it’s all change.
Cocktail stories: Get The Worm, Fura

5 days ago | thespiritsbusiness.com | Lauren Bowes

Singapore’s Fura grubs up interesting ingredient for its innovative cocktail, called Get The Worm. *This feature was originally published in the February 2025 issue of The Spirits Business magazine. The co-founders of Fura in Singapore, Sasha Wijidessa and Christina Rasmussen, aim to make every drink on their menu ingredient-driven, with perhaps none more so than Get The Worm, which contains – you guessed it – worms.
Schweppes taps Simone Caporale for advocacy platform

6 days ago | thespiritsbusiness.com | Lauren Bowes

Simone Caporale, Millie Tang, Iain McPherson and Vasilis Kyritsis have joined the newly created Schweppes Pioneers programme. The advocacy platform reinforces the mixer brand’s ‘dedication to amplifying its position at the very top of the global hospitality industry’. The four bartenders will educate and inspire the next generation of young mixologists, as Jacob Schweppe did with his method of carbonation in 1783.
London bar hosts Wes Anderson pop-up

6 days ago | thespiritsbusiness.com | Lauren Bowes

Bob Bob Ricard in London’s Soho has revealed a limited edition menu and takeover to coincide with the release of The Phoenician Scheme, the new film by Wes Anderson. The film debuts on 23 May, with the takeover beginning the same day and lasting til 22 June. Bob Bob Ricard’s Red Room will be transformed into Marseille Bob’s, the bar featured in the film.
Pisco Masters UK selects winner

6 days ago | thespiritsbusiness.com | Lauren Bowes

Mandi Tabatabai of London’s Cocktail Trading Co was named the winner of Pisco Masters UK, held by trade organisation ProChile UK. Six finalists gathered at London’s Rhum Tavern on 15 May for a chance to win an all-expenses-paid trip to Chile. Entrants had to create a unique cocktail using 35ml of Waqar pisco and up to six additional ingredients. They then had eight minutes to create and present their cocktail, which should have incorporated storytelling about Chile’s heritage, terroir and history.
US tariffs temporarily reinstated

1 week ago | thespiritsbusiness.com | Lauren Bowes

A day after a court ruled Donald Trump did not have the authority to impose his global tariffs, an appeals court has allowed the regime to continue. Trump announced global tariffs in early April, which were then paused for 90 days. Last week, he proposed a higher tariff on the European Union (EU). On 29 May, the US Court of International Trade (CIT) ruled that the tariffs were introduced unlawfully and ordered a permanent injunction within 10 calendar days.
Ten new cocktail menus from May

1 week ago | thespiritsbusiness.com | Lauren Bowes

It was all change all over the world in May, with dozens of cocktail bars mixing up their menus. Here are 10 we’ve had our eye on. Is there something in the water? At first, we thought it was just London that was having a belated spring clean for its cocktail menus – which makes sense, after what felt like the longest winter of all time. But the ‘out with the old’ vibe seems to be happening all over the globe – as these 10 menu launches prove.