Inventory for July 13th, 2014

Borco-Marken-Import expanded its rum portfolio and a questionably named bar opened in London.At the same time American craft beer hits a milestone and Jamie Oliver’s search for a new Cocktail Star begins.

This week, on July 10th to be specific,  the Gin Basil Smash, the internet’s first viral cocktail sensation, turned six! Back then, we hailed it as the Summer Drink of 2008. In its heyday Joerg Meyer, of Le Lion, used to go through over 10 bottles of Gin a night to keep up with demand. We’ll be sure to make numerous Gin Basil Smashs over the weekend to celebrate this iconic drink.
1) Relaunching Lamb’s Navy Rum & Lamb’s Spiced in Germany and Austria
Hamburg-based producer Borco-Marken-Import proudly announced its rum portfolio expansion this week, it will begin distributing Lamb’s Navy Rum and Lamb’s Spiced Rum in Germany and Austria as of now. Founded in 1849 by the young entrepreneur Alfred Lamb, the Navy Rum is aromatic and dry and intrinsically bound to British culture due to the fact that it used to be served to seamen on a daily basis.
Only 100 years after its founding Lamb’s collection was extended by Lamb’s Spiced Rum. Much like the original, the Spiced Rum is also available in the infamous hexagonal bottle, with a golden liquid that is lightly spiced and discreetly sweet. In Great Britain Lamb’s Navy Rum is proud owner of 20% of the market share, and will available in Germany for ca. 13 EUR starting now.
2) Job Centre –The Bar
This week Jane Elliott reported on a new bar called “The Job Centre” opening in Deptford, London on the site of an actual, former job centre. It’s not hard to read how displeased The Guardian author is with this, she notes that the surrounding neighborhood is filled with many impoverished residents. This marks the beginning of Deptford’ gentrification, and the author is quick to point out that the bar has opened for the people who recently moved to the neighborhood, acting as an amusing backdrop rather than a severe, and very immediate, problem.
According to her, this brand of ironic recycling has become London’s gentrifications signature style and so second-nature that the offense might even be overlooked by the offenders. Meanwhile, for those who might need to make use of the real job centre, the gulf between it and the Job Centre as a bar isn’t an ironic smirk at gentrification but its most blatant manifestation.
3) Jamie Oliver Drinks Tube Competition
Jamie Oliver recently launched a brand new YouTube channel titled Jamie’s Drinks Tube. A celebration of all things drinkable it boasts with cocktail tutorials and history lessons on beer, wine and loads more. Now the channel, in cooperation with Bacardi, is looking for the next ‘Cocktail Star’. The process is simple: Create a fun and innovative drink that uses either vodka, gin, rum, prosecco, vermouth or whiskey. Film yourself in the process of making the recipe and upload it by latest 3pm (UK time) on July 31st, 2014.
The winner will by chosen by a judging panel made up of experts from the cocktail world. Ten semi-finalists will be selected to shoot a new cocktail, using two products from the channel’s partners’ range of drinks. Of those, five will be opened for the public to vote on. The winner gets an all-expenses paid trip to London that includes five nights in hotel, cooking classes at Jamie’s cooking school and a cocktail masterclass.
4) The Milestones’ Been Hit: 3.000 Breweries in the United States

On July 9th the Brewer’s Association announced that the American brewing industry had reached another milestone: More than 3,000 breweries operated throughout the month of June. BA notes that it’s very likely that this is the first time this number has been crossed since the 1870’s. According to the announcement, this number shows a strong trend of localization of beer production with the majority of Americans now living within 16 km of a brewery.
That percentage is only going to grow within the coming years. It also means that competition is growing, encouraging the brewers to improve their products. However, the BA is quick to note that this number in no way represents the fact that a saturation point has been reached. Most new entrants tend to be small, local neighborhood operations. This number paints a glowing picture for the future of American craft brewers.