BAR.07

For the unfortunate souls who have never experienced BAR, I sincerely advise you to mark it in your diaries for June 08! This year’s unrivalled professional trade show had more exhibitors than ever before, offering the widest range of products and services to the contemporary sector, and it was my personal mission to check it out!

By far the most important thing to mention is that not only were Beam sponsoring ‘Bar Talks’, seminars designed to focus on the burning issues facing the industry this year, but the global brand secured its biggest presence at BAR to date. Hosting 3 aesthetically appealing bars offering Courvoisier, Maker's Mark and Sauza cocktails, exquisitely mixed by 'Movers & Shakers', the Beam bars were constantly busy and buzzing with excitement. Result!

A deliciously refreshing Sauza cocktail still lingering on my taste buds, I was off to explore the delights of free samples, flaring entertainment and healthy brand competition. I am definitely one for presentation and impact and there were a few brands who excelled in this area, notably Effen Vodka, Innocent and Peroni, enforcing their strong brand identities in creative and impressive ways.

Following on from the recent trend in organic food comes organic vodka. I kid you not and it is a taste sensation. Brought to us by Newtons Organics Limited and launching in the UK and Ireland this summer 07, Jucifer is a truly fruity and delicious organic vodka crush made simply from freshly squeezed fruit and a splash of high-quality vodka, great for the fast approaching summer evenings!

Other brands to mention would be Bulldog Gin with its distinctive packaging and unconventional ingredients (natural poppy, dragons eye and lotus leaves!), Beefeater, who chose not to go with a traditional stand inside the arena but instead entertained the growing crowd at the entrance with their head bopping beats played from the top of a big red double decker bus, and Antica Sambuca whose colourful, vibrant display enticed thirsty and curious consumers.

A test tube taster of Jagermeister and a large shot of Parliament Vodka (vodka purified with milk) later and my BAR mission had come to an end. Fun and merriment was had by all and I would certainly recommend attending what I’m sure will be an even bigger and better BAR show 2008. If that’s possible!!

Take a look at the link below and see what you think for yourself.

www.barshow.co.uk

Trusted Places

Trusted Places: This is awesome. Just what I've been looking for. A foodie review social network. A bit like This Next meets NotCot meets London Eating meets Tastespotting. I love it. Get yourself signed up and you can earn reward points.

Mini Pepsi Cans

This is in French so it's a bit beyond me... but I like the creative and thought it was worth posting. Made me think of "The Borrowers"!

Winery Channel TV

Via Slashfood:

"Here's a clever idea: online wine videos! It's The Winery Channel, and they have everything from instructional videos that teach you what foods go with what wine to visits to various vineyards and vacation spots.

The site has a sense of humor too. Make sure you watch Rex Havoc (and his horse "Brokeback"), who shows you the best wine bottles to use for shooting practice, and Dave in Los Angeles, who rants about his neighbor Walter, a wine snob. The stuff he says...well, you know people like Walter (and not just when it comes to wine). You'll be quoting a couple of Dave's lines to your friends later this week.

There are many "shows" to watch, including "Hot Legs," "The Wine Bar Show," and "Got Wine?" (the videos can be kinda glitchy - took me a few clicks to get each video working, but it's worth it)."

It's Pimms O'Clock on Facebook

This is a great case study of how to make the most of facebook for booze brands.

It's Pimm's 'O Clock! has over 16,000 members and 661 wall posts. Not to mention a very actice picture gallery and discussion board. It's full of innovative drinking solutions, brand enthusiasm, creativity and brand love.

One of my favourite facets of it is the fact that an entire group of people turned on two people who consumed Pimms in the wrong manner.

Pimms hater:

"My relationship with Pimms is over after drinking half a bottle of the stuff...straight... (catch-up before meeting my mates) \"stumbling\".. across something not so nice, trying to make a co-herant 999 call to the police and then trying to give a semi co-herent statement. The Pimms re-appeared later in the night aimed at the porcelin of course..."

Pimms lovers leapt to defend their prized drink:

"You two REALLY don't belong in this group."

"PIMMS SHOULD NOT BE DRANK STRAIGHT
it should be civilised with lemonaide and fruit chunks"

"I tried some pimms straight, yeuch!! Not advisable. It's not a drink to be used as a tool for getting drunk, it is highly sophisticated and belongs at cricket matches and garden parties. xxx"

The brand's ATL campaign spreads through the line and is now a part of the modern vernacular. If the brand's aim was to target a younger audience then by Golly they've achieved it! And they will continue to reap their rewards from now on. Focus groups, drinking trends, word of mouth... done.

Sailor Jerry. Why treehuggers should kiss our ass.

From Sailor Jerry's website:

1. Whenever possible, we make our stuff here in the USA - so we're not causing boatloads of global warming emmissions.

2. We make quality shit in classic styles that will look good your whole life if your kids don't steal if first - not the kind of trendy shit you throw away in a year.

3. Because we make more of our stuff here, we rely less on shitty third world factories that have slack environmental rules and treat their employees like dirt.

4. Every goddamn one of our employees bikes or walks to work. If EVERYONE did this, we'd kick global warming's ass from here to shanghai.

5. Our store, office and warehousing in 150 year-old re-habbed buildings - not some cookie cutter suburban office park where farmland used to be.

6. We're a small family-owned company that is not publically traded. So we make rational growth decisions based on our personal passions, beliefs and ideologies, not greed and quarterly profits.

7. And our rum? It's 92 proof, which means you need buy less (and we need to ship less of it) of it to get the job done. Our bottles are simple on purpose - to make recycling easy.

Party Clock

From a supplier in Russia these wall mounted party clocks are good fun. They respond the level of vibe at your house party / bar and measure the type of party you're having. Would make a good piece of branded Ooze.