UK bartenders, have you heard? A super cool advocacy programme has launched and it kicked off in fine style last month during London Cocktail Week. Called SIP, the programme is spearheaded by Pernod Ricard UK and their fantastic team of Ambassadors.
If the name sounds familiar, you’d be right. SIP Global has been running since March 2021. But this is SIP UK – so same umbrella, same family but rather fittingly, like the other that have launched in markets including Germany, France, China, Vietnam, South Africa and Spain (with eight more markets set to open this year) it comes with a decidedly British accent.
But before getting on to the programme itself, the big question is, what exactly is SIP? The clue is in the name; it’s an acronym for share, inspire and pioneer and the UK team did a magnificent job of curating a programme that well and truly ticked each of those boxes.
SHARE
The share part came into play even before the official launch, starting with an informal but exclusive event for the guest speakers who were in town which took place at the Beefeater Distillery. Talk about a true London icon, this is the home of Beefeater Gin, where they’ve been making their incredible gin to the same recipe since the 19th century. A tour of the museum and the distillery led by Beefeater Global Brand Ambassador Jon Gray, tutored tastings of four Beefeater expressions from the marvel that is Master Distiller Desmond Payne MBE, followed by a decidedly British fish and chip supper and cocktails from the team from Happiness Forgets primed the guests (and us) for the two days of talks, takeovers and tasty cocktails that followed.
Another genius example of the share part ran throughout the SIP Sessions. This was the SIP Swap Shop where guests could trade in any of their old merch for some amazing new kit which they could have personalised whilst on site. Among the items they could rifle through the rails and take their pick from – a gorgeous, limited-edition Jameson ‘Lovers’ top, Altos denim jackets and some fab T-shirts designed in collaboration with Hephee, all of which could be exchanged for sharing something old which in turn will go on to be recycled with Neem London. How fabulous is that?
The guest shifts: Nicky Craig from Panda & Sons, Joerg Mayer from Bar Le Lion, JJ Goodman and Matt Dakers and Nathan Larkin from Speak In Code
And of course, there was the sharing of bars, with some nifty takeovers including Agave A Go Go where the teams from Limantour from Mexico City, Candelaria in Paris and Leyenda in Brooklyn each shared the flavours of their bars at Side Hustle at the NoMad Hotel; Nathan Larkin from Speak In Code in Manchester stepped behind the stick at Happiness Forgets to showcase his contemporary techniques in one of London’s most legendary independent bars, and Red Light, the speakeasy-inspired bar where absolutely everyone is welcome shared their ethos, drinks and special guests at Seed Library.
INSPIRE
Inspiration came from everywhere. Take the venue for instance. The team couldn’t have picked a better spot than The Apartment at the Hoxton Hotel to set the tone and intention of the programme. Cosy but chic, informal and inviting the suite of rooms created the ideal atmosphere to chill, connect and learn, not just from the talks but the guests who signed up to attend the two days of SIP Sessions.
Left: Camille Vidal; Right: Bartenders putting Camille’s breath work techniques into practice
Camille Vidal aka Mindfully Cami got both days started, on Monday with a session on Mindful Drinking and on Tuesday by easing out the knots and eeking out all traces of stress with a lesson that guided those in attendance through a series of simple meditation, gentle movement and breath work techniques. As a former bartender and brand ambassador balancing a hectic schedule travelling the world, she knows all the tips and and tricks that can be used to calm or liven, decompress or reset at the beginning, middle or end of a shift.
The rest of the two days was packed with inspired talks, from inspiring people covering topics like From Bar Back To Bar Owner, with JJ Goodman (The Cocktail Club, nationwide), Matt Dakers (11th & Social, Norwich) and Hebe Richardson (Soda & Friends, London); Top 50 Aspirations with Dan Garnell and La’Mel Clarke (Seed Library, London) and Coral Richardson (Swift, London); AI and Hospitality with Peter van Jaarsveld (Oliver Agency) and From Waste To Taste, The Silo Story with Doug McMaster (Silo, London). And that was just day one…
On Tuesday, after Camille’s session it was Trailblazing Women: Navigating Careers in the Drinks Industry with Anna Sebastian (Celebrate Her/freelance consultant), Clotilde Lataille (Pernod Ricard) and Lottie Malin (Lab 22, Cardiff); Inclusive Teams, Exceptional Experiences with Javan Healy (Red Light, Bristol), Nicky Craig (Panda & Sons, Edinburgh) and Vicky IIankoven (Equal Measures), followed by Classics vs Creations – What Do Consumers Want? with Joerg Meyer (Le Lion, Hamburg), Nathan Larkin (Speak In Code, Manchester) and Tyler Zielinski (Freelance journalist/consultant), last but by no means least it was Agave On The Rise, with Carlos Londoño (Café Pacifico, London), Deano Moncrieffe (Hacha, London) and Steve Olson (Del Maguey).
As intended, the SIP Sessions attracted people from all across the industry – from bartenders and bar owners, through to consultants and creatives. Some guests signed up for specific sessions, others like Jazzey a psychologist from Miami, booked up for the entire two days. “It’s my first London Cocktail Week and I signed up for SIP Sessions because I love learning, love hearing from the leaders in the industry and this is a safe place for me to be on my own to grow and learn. I also really like the mission: share, inspire, pioneer – that sounds exactly what I’m all about.”
Glynn from Mexico Agave Group, Mexico, booked for Agave On The Rise: “I’m interested to see the level of interest that already exists around the agave category in the European market in general, where we can add positive impact around that and how we can help the rest of the eco-system by learning new ways and understanding how people can share knowledge between them and where we can be useful. I found out about SIP Sessions because a million bartenders sent me the information! They told me I should come along and meet new people, network and see how we can help each other – I’m glad they did.”
Catherine Saunders from Doghouse Distillery and Kasha from Phoenix nightclub, both in London, attended separately but both booked for the Trailblazing Women session. Like Catherine, Kasha is part of the Celebrate Her community set up by Anna Sebastian. “It’s my day off and I really wanted to come along to network, see what opportunities are out there and hear what Anna and the other women on the panel have to say.” It was a similar story for Catherine: “I’ve recently joined the Celebrate Her network and heard about the women’s session through that. I wanted to come along because I haven’t been supported enough in my own work life – I have a child and want to find out what we can do as a brand to support more women. I absolutely loved the session, it was very collaborative, made everyone feel comfortable and my mind was just sparking with ideas throughout the whole session. I thought the whole thing was wonderful.”
PIONEER
Aha, there’s plenty of that to come. Follow JoinSIP_UK to find out more.
We picked up with Pernod Ricard UK’s Advocacy Manager, Jon Hepplestone, after the event to get his thoughts on the launch.
“Our team have been planning the UK roll out of SIP for some time and to have the concept come to life during one of the biggest events in the UK On-Trade calendar was fantastic to see. We couldn’t have asked for better engagement from everyone who attended and I have to say that the bit I enjoyed most was the atmosphere in the rooms over the two days. There was so much interest, conversation and positivity and there were a couple of moments when I stood back and just listened to the warmth and buzz in the room – it’s exactly what we want to bring to life with SIP. We’ll be heading around the UK with some slightly smaller format SIP Sessions from January onwards so keep an eye on JoinSIP_UK to find out when we’ll be in a city near you.”
