Notorious Beam Team

Maker's Mark have organised a series of distinctive sampling events which used young and upcoming artists to create one-off and exclusive art out of 50kg of Maker’s Mark red wax. Four bars across London and Brighton created the perfect setting for the Maker’s Mark experience, not only did you get to enjoy the pleasure of a Maker’s and Ginger served by a fantastic (and über cool!) promotional team, all clued up on what makes Maker’s Mark so special, you also got the opportunity to see inspired pieces of art unfold with every sip.

I was very honoured to be invited to the public unveiling of the "Tanqueray Taste for Life" photography exhibition at Liberty's in assocation with Magnum. A stunning space in Liberty's was transformed into a photography gallery showcasing the winning entries into the contest along with some classics from the Magnum portfolio.

The Taste for Life contest asked entrants to capture “rich, intense moments in life". Moments that Tanqueray would like to be a part of. It's a really interesting area from a strategic as well as photographic perspective. From a brand point of view it deliberately hasn't asked for "refreshing moments" which is what gin brands tend to do. They typically focus on the thirst quenching, refreshing territory. But as a premium gin brand, Tanqueray is playing in a more upmarket, premium space that almost feels celebratory. And from a photographer's point of view the area of rich intense moments in life" is a far richer playground than refreshment.

Tanqueray's involvement with photography also fits the TGI data that maps against drinkers of premium gin brands. Taking photographs and appreciating photography is something that fits well with a premium spirits brand.

Partipants were given the brief along with some inspirational shots from Stuart Franklin, the President of Magnum. Not only did this give the competition serious credibility, but also direction. It's interesting that Diageo always features 2 glasses in its ads... and likewise how Stuart Franklin's pictures show 2 people. The idea being that Tanqueray is a sociable drink for sharing life's rich moments.

"... a competition is being run by the makers of Tanqueray gin to give ten photographers a chance to feature in the Magnum Photos exhibition as well as winning a top prize of £5,000. Entrants in the two age categories (18-24) and (25+) will need to capture their interpretation of a 'Taste for Life' and provide their own rich, intense moments. To help guide entrants there will be five categories to enter covering adventure, relationships, cocktails & glamour, achievements and festivals & celebrations.

All entrants will be judged by a panel of experts including Stuart Franklin, President of Magnum Photos, Jeremy Langmead, Editor of Esquire magazine, Alan Sparrow, Picture Editor of Metro, Nicky Catley, Picture Editor of The Daily Telegraph and Kristof Fahey, Vice President of Marketing for Yahoo! Europe.

To inspire entrants, the makers of Tanqueray have commissioned Stuart Franklin to capture his own 'Taste for Life' images. To view these images and enter the competition visit www.ATasteForLife.co.uk. A shortlist of forty entries will be selected for the final judging process and all pictures will also be put forward for the public to vote for a People's Choice to feature in the exhibition."

Tanqueray partnered with Flickr to earn credibiliy in the photograpic arena. It's a great model for a contest and produced some fantastic images.

Here are some images from the event:











I love the Ali picture in its own right, but in a funny way I just find this shot more amusing. I love the fact that he looks like he is pouncing on the people in front of him at the event.





The winning entry: Daniel Clinch's image ‘Treading a Fresh Path'as covered in the Telegraph.

We were treated to some fabulous cocktails. My favourite was the English Garden, made with elderflower cordial and apple juice. But the Grapefruit and Passion Fruit number wasn't half bad either. Especially when accompanied by a scallop wrapped in pancetta!



I am also told that these people are famous... but I neither know who they are or have heard about them in conjunction with Tanqueray since.









I like Tanqueray's Taste for Life idea becuase...

1. It makes Tanqueray seem very premium
2. The area of photography fits with their target audience
3. Partnering with Magnum and Stuart Franlin adds gravitas and a media hook
4. Partnering with Flickr makes the engagement side work and amplifies the contest within the photographic community
5. The use of media and timescale ensured that the programme was talked about before (Off Licence News and Spitoon) and after the event on Londonist and in the Telegraph
6. It fits in really well with their ongoing sampling presence at Taste of xxxx events

Well done Tanqueray and Jo and the team at Trimedia and thanks for the incredible goodie bag.

Ever since I first read about The Tasting Sessions, via Londonist’s report on their Generation XO cognac event, where they showcased Courvoisier Initiale, I was hooked. So when the chance to participate in an unusual whisky tasting in a speakeasy popped up, I got rather excited.

The idea behind The Tasting Sessions, is to find surprising and interesting ways of experiencing wine and spirits tastings. They are always held in cool venues and find a way of being different but in a way that sets off the liquid being tasted. Their speakers tend to be very entertaining and the diverse crowd is full of people you’d like to spend the evening talking to. Their model is to showcase top class, unusual drinks in an interesting manner.

To get into the event you had to utter the password before you were let into the illicit speakeasy called Barts on Sloane Avenue. It proved to be a brilliant venue as you’ll see from the photos below.







Before the official tasting kicked off we tucked into some awesome whisky cocktails such as a stunning Manhattan and a Whisky Sour. Whatever ice needed braking, was smashed by the time the tasting officially started!

We were guided through a flight of 6 whiskies by Jen Dickson from The Whisky Exchange with each dram being paired with a cheese by La Fromagerie’s Jon Schofield. For each whisky we were encouraged to position it on a tasting map which helped to give us a frame of reference.



We started with Clynelish 14 year old which had a salt and pepper finish that meant it paired very nicely with some strong Tobermory cheddar from the Isle of Mull. Whilst the cheese matched well, it was the salty, caramely chocolates that appeared that stole the show.

My favourite whiskey came next. Stranahans from Colorado is an American single malt whisky which makes it very unusual. It contrasted strongly with the Clyenlish and had a mellow, vanilla note running through it. I’d love to have a bottle to tuck into whilst writing. The Doddington cheese is well known for its caramel flavours and nutty characteristics which brought out the almost desert like quality of the whiskey.

An Irish whiskey from Connemara emerged next with a puff of smoke that gave away it’s peaty charms. It matched well with a cheese from the Basque region called Zelu Korlaria.

Ever since seeing Lost in Translation, I’ve wanted to learn more about Japanese whisky. The Nikka Yoichi 10 year old was well balanced and, in my mind, quite delicate. Whilst I liked the whisky, the star was the Ami de Chambertin soft cheese washed in brandy from Burgundy which I am ashamed to say I had several helpings of!

Then we were subjected to the humiliation of a blind tasting where a peppery, slightly banana-ry spirit was showcased which blew the tasting apart. It was paired with a lemony, salty soft goat’s cheese which should have rung a few alarm bells as the “whisky” turned out to be El Tesoro Paradiso tequila. The idea was to show that top quality, aged tequilas can be sipped and enjoyed just like a whisky. I’m hoping Angella and Hayley think about hosting a tequila tasting soon as this is a really interesting area.

We finished on a stratospheric high with a glass of Port Ellen 1978 8th Release which is extremely rare and more importantly delicious. My palette by this point was pretty overwhelmed, so all I can say (rather hopelessly) is that it was very complex. Which meant it had to be matched with a pair of cheeses, making it the John Prescott of the whisky world – Two Cheese Port Ellen. The parmesan crumbled and gave a salty, granular edge whilst a Bleu d’Avergne added a creamyness and salty tang.

Hats off to Hayley and Angella. The whole event was brilliant from start to finish. Jon and Jen were both cracking experts and made the complicated world of whisky and cheese seem fun and accessible.

Barts is a tremendous venue and added to the illicit mystique of the night. I’m just upset I didn’t make the most of the dressing up box – given that I had a marmalade stain on my shirt the gorilla outfit would have been a huge improvement!

I’m now waiting on tenterhooks to see what The Tasting Sessions dreams up next. We should think about working with Hayley and Angella to showcase some of our drinks in their events as they have yet to do a rum, tequila or bourbon event.

All photos are courtesy of Nathan McDonald

From the Say Fromage website:

"Sayfromage is an alternative way to record and present the people who attend events or parties.

Sayfromage provides a digital photobooth that people use to take pictures of themselves and their friends. The privacy provided by a small curtain allows people to relax and control the pictures taken.

The photographs can then be projected on to a wall or printed for people to take home.

Then the pictures are published on this website the next day for everyone to see and share.

High resolution prints are available to order, so everyone can have their favourite pictures."

It could be a really cool bit of kit to take to on trade events, especially for our tequila brands...

Trawling through Technorati, I found this great pictoral review on Flash Eccentric of the Hornitos sponsored Day of the Dead party in New York...

"Firstly, nobody can beat Heidi Klum’s costume. Next, I can’t beat everyone else. I promise - next year, I’ll put more thought and effort into my Halloween costume. Refinery29 snapped some awesome costumes which the “it” people in NYC were dressed in, at the Hornitos Tequila sponsored Day of the Dead-themed party."

Here are some of the pictures.











And here's the commentary from Refinery 29's blog...

"With Halloween falling on the Friday before the election this year, there was a double-dose of pent-up energy for the holiday. And there was no better way to relieve it than at the Hornitos Tequila sponsored Day of the Dead-themed party. The fete was held at a huge warehouse-like space on Cortland Alley and hosted by Earnest Sewn's Carlos Quirarte, Matt Creed, Matt Kleigman, and Taavo Somer of Freeman's fame. Somer described the decorations as "like the set of ¡Three Amigos! during Día de los Muertos as seen through a tribal pink mescaline dew." With Hornipolitans in hand, guests rocked out to performances by local favorites Lissie Trullie and The Virgins. Party attendees of the night included Mary Kate Olsen, Nate Lowman, Theodora Richards, Harley Viera Newton, Leo Fitzpatrick, and Rogan, who was dressed as a giant Jesus roaming around on stilts.

Our Style Director, Piera Gelardi, was judging the midnight costume competition, along with Scott Campbell, Waris, and Julie Gilhart, but didn't hear her name called. Our absentee vote named Gia Bahm—dressed as this iconic Annie Leibovitz photo of John Lennon and Yoko Ono—the winner. Side note: Our friend Shelly lost her wallet that night. Ay carumba! But it was returned to her yesterday by the bartender Juan who found and returned three wallets that night. What a guy!"

Looks like a great event. And as an aside, these are some of the best event photographs I have seen for ages. Top work from snapper Olivia Jade Horner.

Click here to view presentation...

Just spotted this on Londonist:

"For those of you in London this Easter weekend, there's a treat for you. Oh yes.

Good Friday will indeed by very good because that's the evening of the Hendrick's Spring Masked Ball, a most glorious night of gin-flavoured hedonism, elaborate costume and fantastic facewear. Organised by the decadent chaps of The Last Tuesday Society, we know from their reputation at previous balls that this is going to be rather fabulous and as well as an intriguing musical line up of DJs and the frankly disturbing Punch & Judy show, there will also be the chance to...

"...Gorge Yourselves at Suzette Field's Famous Cheeseboard, Viktor Wynd's Midnight Feast of Yesterdays Cakes & The Fruits of Ridley Road & Their Chocolate Fountain

Detox Whilst You Tox as Martin Ahearne Brings The Little Organic Juicebar from Upper Street and helps you juice the surrounding fruit and vegetables and mix them with Mother's Ruin

Amuse Yourselves With the Broken Toys of Dalston Oxfam Shop & Their Preplayed Games"

So leave that full face zip-up gimp mask at home and wear something with room to sip a gin cocktail and nibble one of yesterday's cakes. It never suited you anyway. Apart from obligatory masks, the dress code is opulence, ball gowns and 'fancy' and prizes will be given out for the best dressed people, the most virginal smile and the greatest mask. Rah. See you there?

Hendrick's Masked Spring Ball, Arts Theatre (Covent Garden), Friday 21 March. Tickets are £12 in advance or £15 on the door, £50 for a family ticket for 5 in advance only. For more information and to book, go here."

What's great about this is that the event is very Henrdicks. It's niche. It's interesting. It's surprising. And they're doing brilliantly to sell tickets to the event and get publicity as a result. The readers of Londonist have all been exposed to a cool piece of Hendrick's activity. And at very low cost.