Inventory for May 7th, 2017

Welcome to this week’s inventory! Hendrick’s launches a new ‘other wordly’ gin, though only for the British on-trade for the time being, opioids are taking over the restaurant industry, and making the addiction crisis even deadlier, and Bombay accidentally released a 70% instead of a 40% gin in Canada.

What is urban tourism? And what part does the restaurant and gastronomy industry play in it? All these questions will be answered at this year’s conference on Urban Tourism in Berlin. Held on the 11th and 12th of May, the two day conference aims to explain this new take on traveling. See the whole program and register here. The attendance fee is only 40,- Euros. 

Hendrick’s new Orbium Gin

Hendrick’s has launched a new gin. The Orbium gin is currently only available in the British on-trade, but is already making waves. Their tagline is “It is what Hendrick’s might taste like in a parallel universe”. Master Distiller Lesley Gracie re-imagined Hendrick’s gin with additional extracts of Quinine, Wormwood. and Blue Lotus Blossom. The results is meant to be a “oddly exquisite gin that sits roundly on the palate”. We really can’t wait to try this one. “Orbium contains the same distillates as Hendrick’s Gin, however, the same remarkable mind that broke conventions by infusing gin with essences of cucumber and rose has now taken gin in an altogether new direction by infusing flavours that are traditionally associated with classic gin libations; quinine found in tonic (Gin & Tonic) and wormwood found in Vermouth (Martini Cocktail). But it is not yet quite Orbium. The addition of Blue Lotus Blossom exquisitely balances the overall flavour”.

Opioids Make the Restaurant Industry’s Addiction Crisis Even Deadlier

As if gastronomy didn’t have enough worries behind the counter. Last week Laura Hayes wrote an in depth article on the danger of addiction in the restaurant industry for the Washington City Paper. She tells the tale of heroin addiction and other opioids. “An opioid crisis has made the menu of drugs more lethal than ever before, commanding fresh attention. November 2016 was the deadliest month for drug-related deaths the District has seen in five years”.

Whereas back in the 1980s and 90s, “all” people were doing was coke, the drug culture since has changed. “They started prescribing opioids to these parents, and I think a lot of kids got into that stuff, and now it’s rampant. It’s no longer the bikers, gangsters, and low lives. Drugs are hitting across the board.” An ongoing problem of course, is the conditions many restaurant employees work under. 15-hours shifts, six days a week? Of course you need to blow off some steam.  A harrowing read on what something that affects so many of us working in the industry today.

Canada Authorities Recall Bombay Gin Accidentally Made Twice as Strong

This feels like a #ourbad hastag waiting to happen. The Guardian reports that “Investigation on batch of Bombay Sapphire London Dry Gin finds alcohol content to be almost double what was noted and ‘not safe for consumption’”. Bottles of Bombay gin labelled at 40% were found to contain 77% alcohol, provincial authorities across Canada issued a recall shortly after these findings. Quickly labelled “not safe for consumption”, the province of Ontario was the first to sound the alarm. “Bacardi Canada – which manages the import and distribution of Bombay Sapphire across the country – said they believed that the unusually high alcohol content was limited only to bottles distributed in Canada. ‘We do not recommend consumption of this product,’ the company noted in a statement to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation”. One for the books.