Inventory on November 15th, 2015

Hello friends! Let’s learn something, shall we? The dream team of Kratena and Caporale have left the Artesian, Borgmann 1772 releases a special edition with Josefsohn images, Koji Esashi is crowned the Don of Tequila, the OECD lets it be known what countries drink the most, and Farlap Partners buys shares in Bulldog Gin. 

November is here but Das Brunch is back! Set in Berlin’s beautiful Prachtwerk location there will once again be Bloody Mary’s, delicious baked goods, and runny yolks to celebrate a Saturday well spent. The whole menu will be announced soon, but save the date folks: Saturday, November 28th you will be brunching.

1) Kratena and Caporale leave Artesian

Named the World’s Best Bar fourth year in a row, there’s a reason success has been so generous with London’s Artesian bar. A great bar is nothing without a great team and the Artesian is about to lose two of its greats.

Last week Drink International exclusively reported that Alex Kratena and Simone Caporale have left the bar. After the two handed in their notice, just hours before the World’s Best Bar ceremony, nine of their staff followed suit. Though the departure isn’t necessarily a surprise, the timing is. The two certainly won’t be out of work for long, Kratena and Caporale have at least three projects planned for 2017. There’s going to be a lot of risk, a lot of freedom and a lot of creativity – that’s the future. Our new projects are bigger than anything we have worked on before.” “Bigger, yes, but very different,” interjects Caporale. “More different than bigger”.  All projects sound somewhat mysterious, the first is a “multidisciplinary collective”, the second a mixture between bar, a workshop, and a lab, and the third will “will take the form of a not-for-profit organisation that will “work to improve the industry and the future of drinks”, says Kratena”. All bets are off, we can’t wait to head to London to see what these two have up their sleeves in 2017.

2) Borgmann 1772 Edition Daniel Josefsohn

Earlier this month, Borgmann1772 released its limited edition with images by renowned photographer Daniel Josefsohn. The typical aluminium Borgmann bottle is adorned with provocative images by the artist titled “The hottest ass out of the Jewish girl school Berlin Mitte”. Josefsohn is famous for work which often does not shy away from depicting ugly reality, he simply celebrates life at its best and at its worst. Borgmann1772’s Jörn Clausen: “As fans it’s a huge honor that he’s allowed us to use his imagery on our bottles. No further explanation needed. We want to think differently with this edition and surprise our customers, a little bit of fun and a wink of an eye simply belong together”. The limited edition No 10 by Daniel Josefsohn is available in selected retailers as well as online.

3) Koji Esashi new Don of Tequila 2015

Last week the Japanese bartender Koji Esashi won the first Jose Cuervo Don of Tequila Competition. He’s now able to call himself “Don of Tequila” as well as winning a trip to Mexico, complete with 500 liters of his own Jose Cuervo Tequila blend. Esashi was joined in the La Rojena distillery by 16 other finalists from all around the world. Over 1,800 barkeepers sent in a recipe for a Jose Cuervo shot. Board member Juan-Domingo Beckmann says that “after the exciting finals we’re very happy to have named Koji Esashi as the new Don of Tequila. Amongst hundreds, we’ve the one that has the passion and creativity we expect in a Don”.

4) Hardest-drinking Countries Revealed

The OECD just released its report on “which countries consumed the most alcohol in 2013” and compared it to the amount people consumed back in 2000. The Independent reports that, according to their data, Lithuania has the highest consumption of alcohol at 14 liters per capita per year. It’s closely followed by Austria, Estonia, and the Czech Republic with around 11-12 liters per capita.

Another interesting fact: “alcohol consumption is highly concentrated, as the large majority of alcohol is drunk by the 20% of the population who drink the most … The 20% heaviest drinkers in Hungary consume about 90% of all alcohol consumed, while in France the share is about 50%.”

5) Farlap Partners buys Shares in Bulldog Gin

Farlap Partners, an investment firm, has just acquired a minority investment in Bulldog Gin. This means Farlap Partners will be one of Bulldog’s largest shareholders and will continue to work on expanding the brand and building the business, both domestically and internationally.

Founder and  Chief Executive Officer Anshuman Vohra says “This transaction represents a major step up in our financial strength and comes on top of recent major distribution and route to market gains for Bulldog, which today is a top 5 premium gin worldwide. Farlap has deep relationships and a coveted investor base. They will be a fantastic investment partner and we look forward to building the next few chapters of Bulldog with their help.” It will show if Bulldog and Farlap’s vision for the company are really one and the same.