Marc Warde

It's official. We have more stars than Gordon Ramsay 😎 With the awarding of seven new Great Taste Stars this week, Tom Savano Cocktails is now the company with the most stars awarded in a single year, and the most Great Taste Stars of any cocktail company, with a grand total of Eighteen - one more than the total number of Michelin stars Gordon Ramsay's restaurants have received 😉 But what else do I have in common with Gordon Ramsay? To start with, I'm a huge fan of his. Whenever life calls for me to whip together a fine dish, my first port of call is to look up a Ramsay Recipe from the internet. When it comes to quality and taste, he's hard to fault. Looking at his approach, and why I admire him so much, we both share these qualities 😤 A relentless obsession with perfection, and the highest quality product. Not the cheapest or the easiest to make, but unquestionably the best 📚 A belief that complex, exciting layers of taste are what makes great products, but the way to achieve this is not being too fancy, just perfecting the basics and executing them WELL 🔥 A passion for the food and drink we create 🥇 A ruthless desire to be the best, with no compromises for mediocrity 👊 A belief in ourselves and our vision, and not deterred by naysayers, critics, or the opinion of every man and his dog ❌ I'll say it again. NO compromises. With every drink I've ever mixed, I've had a ruthless attitude that second place isn't good enough, and if the cocktail didn't taste as good as one of the world's best bars, I wouldn't release it. I've spent thousands of hours in the kitchen, obsessively iterating recipes, trying new routes, researching flavour trends, discovering what other food and drink artists are creating, and learning cocktails inside out, so that I can create authentic flavours and cocktail profiles that simply can't be replicated. One of our biggest innovations is our citrus, which is perennially a difficult flavour to create in a pre-mixed drink with any sort of authenticity or freshness. Rather than accept the solutions on the market at the time, I invented something of my own. The first ever lime juice that tasted like it had just been squeezed, with 18 months shelf life. More on this in a future post... But today, I'm happy to celebrate being the most awarded cocktail brand, and to have one more thing in common with - in my humble opinion - the world's greatest chef. So what do you think Gordon Ramsay, shall we celebrate with some Hot Honey Margaritas in the sunshine? 🌶 🍸 ☀ #awardwinning #food #drink #rtd #cocktail #cocktails #awards #brand #entrepreneur #startup #business

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New blog! 5 of my favourite cocktail recipes from 2024 🍸

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Tuscan Wine: An Overview of Its Legacy, Key Figures, and Iconic Wineries by Katarina Andersson London Wine Competition (London Competitions). Tuscany is known for its beautiful landscape, medieval castles, and hamlets, as well as art, culture, history, and, of course, its world-renowned wine production. Tuscany is located in central Italy and is indeed one of the most significant wine-producing areas in the country. Many are the internationally well-known wine areas and appellations in Tuscany, such as Chianti Classico DOCG, Chianti DOCG, Brunello di Montalcino DOCG, Bolgheri DOC, Suvereto with its two DOCG designations, Montecucco, Val d’Orcia, and more. Sangiovese is the king of grapes in Tuscany and is used in most of the different regional appellations. Often, you can find Sangiovese in blends with other local varieties such as Canaiolo, Colorino, or Ciliegiolo or with international grapes such as Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot. Monovarietal Sangiovese wines have become more prevalent in expressing the local territory better. The Tuscan landscape, with its rolling hills where vineyards often dominate, has both higher (the Tosco-Romagnolo Appenines, Apuane mountains, Monte del Chianti) and lower altitudes, closeness to the Mediterranean Sea, a temperate climate, and the characteristic alberese (calcareous sandstone and limestone) and galestro (schistous clay soil) soil in many parts of the region.

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Wine Vocabulary | Wine Marketing - Most of the fruit salad of words that we wine writers use to describe our speciality mean nothing to most drinkers. You have to train yourself, however haphazardly to recognise the those notes. Wine should be accessible and we need to adapt our descriptors and storytelling #wine #wines #winemarketing #winearoma #aromas #descriptors #Vocabulary

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Fine Wines - Bordeaux dominates the secondary market this week  Bordeaux led weekly trade by a considerable margin this week, accounting for 40.2% of total trade by value. Burgundy trailed behind with a trade share almost half of Bordeaux’s, taking 21.4% of trade, slightly up from last week’s 18.5%. Champagne’s trade share kept declining, falling from 8.0% to 6.3% of trade this week. The region was overtaken by Tuscany, the USA and the ‘Others’ category, despite  Tuscany and Piedmont both saw their trade shares fall week-on-week, to 7.9% and 4.4% respectively. The ‘Others’ category also took a dip, falling from 17.8% to 9.4% of trade this week, despite a high value whisky trade. The Rhone and the USA, on the other hand, both recorded an uptick in their trade shares, to 3.0% and 7.5% respectively.  #wine #finewine #bordeaux #burgundy #bourgogne #vins #vinfrançais #tuscany #toscana #piedmont #piemonte #rhone #usa #california #whisky #Piedmont

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𝗜𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗛𝗼𝗴𝘀 𝗕𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗕𝗿𝗲𝘄𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗠𝗗 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗟𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗼𝗻 𝗰𝗿𝗮𝗳𝘁 𝗯𝗿𝗲𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝗠𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗼 𝗳𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗿𝗲-𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗮𝗱𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: 🙌 🍻 Hogs Back Brewery Ltd managing director and brewing industry veteran Rupert Thompson has agreed an investment deal with London craft brewer Mondo that secures the future of the Mondo brands, as well as its brewery and taproom in Battersea. Following a pre-pack administration, the deal will see brewing continue at Mondo’s Battersea site. As well as delivering a fresh injection of capital to drive continued growth of the Mondo brands, the financing will allow investment to be made in the Mondo taproom, and in additional sales and marketing activities. Thompson, who bought Surrey-based Hogs Back Brewery in 2011, becomes chairman of a new company, Mondo Beer, working to support the management team led by Mondo founder and managing director, Todd Matteson. Under the agreement, Hogs Back will support Mondo as a sister business in areas such as packaging, sales and marketing, while Mondo will be the exclusive distributor in London of beer from Hogs Back’s new subsidiary, One Planet Brewing, launched last year and brewing with 100% solar power. Thompson said: “I’ve known and respected the founders of Mondo for several years. We’ve sold their beer in our brewery shop and we brewed a collaboration beer in 2022. It is a challenging market, but despite that, Mondo has been growing. The beer and branding are excellent, and I think it has a bright future ahead. Partnerships such as this are one way that smaller brewers can continue to compete. Global players have taken a lot of share from London’s craft beer market through acquisition, but consumers still want choice. I expect to see more businesses focused on craft and quality working together, and I hope to continue be part of that process.” Matteson added: “We found ourselves in a situation where there is strong demand for our beer, but we were hit by all the challenges that have beset so many small brewers. So, it’s wonderful that Rupert has been able to help, and this allows us to move forward. His experience of developing successful beer brands will be invaluable and we’re delighted to have him working with us at Mondo Beer, and to have the back-up of Hogs Back Brewery. We are also excited to have exclusivity for One Planet beer in London and we think it will really resonate with our customers.” A former Carling brand director, Thompson was also previously a board member at Morland, developing Old Speckled Hen before its sale to Greene King. He went on to establish Refresh UK at the Wychwood Brewery in Oxfordshire, developing brands including Hobgoblin before selling the business to Marston’s in 2008. Mondo was founded in 2014.  

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The PCA welcomes the publication of the British Beer & Pub Association's cost benchmarking guide for 2024. This guide provides a breakdown of pub operating costs and is available for free on the BBPA’s website ➡ https://lnkd.in/d7uYbRq6 The Pubs Code requires regulated pub companies to refer to current and relevant benchmarking data in rent negotiations with tenants. The PCA thanks the BBPA for its positive engagement in promoting further clarity in the 'Background and Explanatory Notes' for tenants. #PubsCode #PubsCodeAdjudicator #TiedTenants

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Fine Wines - The Rest of the World 60 rises  Rising by 0.8% over the course of the month, the Rest of the World 60 was the best-performing index. Of the 60 component wines, 29 rose, 10 remained flat, and the remaining 21 fell.  #finewines #finewine #winebusiness #wineindustry #wineindustry

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This distribution partnership by famed Champagne house Billecart-Salmon & alt wine Jukes from the UK in July, 2024 didn't get as much press as the investments in the Non-Alc space, but it's encouraging to see some top French companies investing/partnering with Non-Alc brands. The question is still out if the investments by Pernod-Ricard & LVMH will actually work out as it's a waiting game to see if Pernod-Ricard's investments in Non Alc spirit brand Almave & AF Free RTD cocktails will provide a profitable exit in the future or implode like their multi-million dollar investment with US Non-Alc retailer Boisson that filed for Chapter 11 in April 2024 & who has since restructured with new investors. Boisson, despite supposedly making $10mill a year in revenue via their retail stores, DTC, & wholesale business, just couldn't make it work despite raising over $30mill in outside funding. UK alt wine brand Jukes Cordialities is working with Billecart-Salmon's distribution company Billecart-Salmon Selections for distribution in the various high-end/fine dining/hotel accounts that Billecart-Salmon is noted for and leveraging their connections in these channels. Who knows, possibly if all goes well with this distribution partnership, Billecart-Salmon will actually invest in Jukes. https://lnkd.in/gdkYBRKq

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The power of love These 2 amazing young men are leaders from our Bromley restaurant in the UK. They are more than colleagues, they are family. Today @NirenBista and @DevonteFalconer visited our seafood supplier Direct Seafoods. A note to all execs out there, L&D people, Restaurant owners.... Giving people meaning and providing them with experiences that are life-enriching will pay off 1000X over. Meaning, context and relationships trumps KPI's, scorecards and controls any day. I am not saying that a business does not need checks and balances - AND it is time to assess where we put our attention and money. Is it more on controls, audits and check lists versus creating meaning, engaging and enriching. It's about shifting the focus, not applying an 'either or' mentality. My colleagues have learnt a great deal about seafood while they have been part of our team, and now so many of their questions are answered, their minds opened up. Ocean Basket is committed to just one protein - the underdog of all proteins. What an incredible opportunity. The founders' dreams of creating opportunities for all who engage with our brand is alive and well. #seafoodrestaurants #seafood #employeeengagement #Londonrestaurants #leadership

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Good explanation of CM in case you missed it.

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New on the blog!

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As someone who was part of the original 1664 Blanc launch team in the early 2000s I had to share this phenomenal piece of brand activation. Kudos to Carlsberg Marston's Brewing Company 👏👏👏 🚀 My No 1 Golden Rule of Marketing: Invest at the point of purchase for maximum ROI. You get a huge sampling opportunity to recruit new consumers and drive sales but most importantly you create brand advocates who keep selling for you long after the activation ends. 💡💰 #SuperbWork #BrandActivation #MarketingStrategy Remember, it’s not just about the visibility of the product—it’s about the lasting impact you create 🙌

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In today’s evolving beverage landscape, the rise of low- and no-alcohol drinks is transforming the UK’s on-trade market. We’re thrilled to see Central Hall Westminster highlighted in The Caterer's recent feature on this trend, written by John Porter. With 30% of on-trade occasions now involving no alcohol, and another 30% blending alcoholic and non-alcoholic options, this sector is becoming an increasingly vital part of the UK’s hospitality landscape. At Central Hall Westminster, we offering a variety of options for event organisers who recognise the value of catering to today’s more health-conscious, alcohol-optional audiences. As more of the younger demographic moves away from alcohol as an essential part of their night out, we’re here to meet that demand with innovative, flexible solutions for every event. Link to the full feature: https://lnkd.in/eSyrzmxq

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