The Great Barman’s Bake-Off for MacMillan Cancer Support
Last week Barman’s and drinkstuff joined in the world’s biggest coffee morning, in aid of MacMillan Cancer Support. Every day last week the warehouse canteen was inundated with cakes and fancy treats, all on sale to raise money for this worthwhile cause.
This also sparked an in-house competition to discover who was the Star Baker here at drinkstuff?! Judging was tough as the standards were very high and quite a few people raised their game to bring in creations worthy of a top patisserie!
Through our efforts at the office we have managed to raise £131 so far, which all goes towards helping to improve the lives of people affected by cancer across the UK.
Here’s a selection of our entries from last week:
Competition was hot for the Drinkstuff Master Baker Award. It ended up getting split 3 ways with Sales’ Tony and Paul and their white chocolate fudge cheesecake and cherry bakewell taking equal points with Customer Support’s Charlie and her blueberry and lemon cupcakes.
Well done to everybody that took the time to make cakes and to all who donated and ate cake! Now for the great Drinkstuff Diet!
Gin and Tonic? On your bike!
This summer the new social phenomenon seems to be pop-up bars which are springing up in the capital and beyond. These temporary fixtures are proving popular with drinkers and party-goers who are seeking something fresh and original from their experience.
From Richmond Park to the Olympic village there is a vast selection of exclusive and open-house events taking place if you require some quirk for your day in London. There are bars popping up all over the country offering anything from a generic selection of bar fare to drink–specific installations with Vodka and Gin bars tucked-away in not-so-secret locations.
Our favourite so far has to be Ed Godden and Joe Lewis’s Travelling Gin Company who dispense high quality Gin and tonic refreshment from their converted vintage butcher’s delivery bicycle. Since their inception during a trip to Amsterdam and launch last year they have seen their company expand to festival and exhibition appearances to jaunts across the water to Germany for a pop-up tour.
Using only the best Gins from Sipsmiths, Sacred and Bloom and tonics such as Fentiman’s Botanically Brewed as well as a selection of their own cocktail recipes, their philosophy is only to use the best ingredients to create the perfect G&T experience and what could be more refreshing on a hot day in London!
They are also licensed to cater for events, parties and even weddings – as long as you like Gin!
They are popping up all over London during the summer and their schedule looks like it will only get busier as the good weather continues and bookings are already rolling in for 2013. Catch them if you can!
Sunday 19th August - ‘Out Of Hours’ / Garden Of Reason. At the National Trust’s Ham House & Garden, Richmond. 5pm - 9.30pm
Saturday 15th September: GAIL’s Garden Party at Oriel Place, Hampstead.http://www.gailsbread.co.uk/
Sunday 16th September. Labour & Wait. Store Sample Sale. Redchurch Street E2.
More dates tba.
For more information on Ed and Joe’s Travelling Gin Company visit http://thetravellingginco.tumblr.com/ or find them on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/thetravellingginco or Twitter @TravellingGinCo.
The Great British Beer Festival – Fight the Tax Hike
The Great British Beer Festival - http://gbbf.org.uk/
Today is the launch of CAMRA’s Great British Beer Festival at London’s Olympia. The Olympia is transformed this week into a giant pub offering over 800 different Beers, Ales, Ciders and traditional Perries to over 50,000 attending pub fanatics.
This arena gives credit to Individual and established brewers from all over the world who continue to brew exciting and original beverages that keep the fans of traditional brewing coming back for more. It’s not only the real ale veterans who keep coming back, more and more younger drinkers are turning to real ale despite a downfall in pub sales. Also CAMRA has recorded a doubling of female ale drinkers ensuring the scene continues to be fresh and lively.
It’s not all about the drink though, supporting the event this week are food stalls from around the world and daily entertainment from bands such as Mad Dog McRea and the Deborah Bonham Band and more.
Tickets are on sale now from http://gbbf.org.uk/
Fight the Tax Hike!
During the festival CAMRA will be taking the opportunity to gain support for its campaign to abolish the above inflation tax increase which has seen the price of a pint in the UK rise by 42% in 4 years. This hike is stifling the pub industry and as a result 8,000 pubs have closed in the last 5 years and the increase in price has meant that over 50% of adults prefer to drink at home instead of supporting their local. Needless to say CAMRA is driving the petition towards parliamentary debate with over 72,000 signatures already they are a whisker away from securing the 100,000 signatures needed to force the issue in parliament.
To sign CAMRA’s petition; follow this link and support your local pub! http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/29664/
It’s Jamaican Independence Day – Bring on the Rum!
It’s a Great Day for Jamaica, not only after the lightning-fast Olympic antics of Usain Bolt and Johan Blake in last night’s 100m final but also today is the 50th anniversary celebration of Jamaican Independence.
Rum is definitely the flavour of the day, however take your time with it, and certainly don't knock it back in 9.63 seconds! (especially if it's Jamaican overproof!). Perhaps join the celebrations in style with a refreshing chilled Jamaican Iced Tea? We highly recommend mixing it up with our Cocktail Starter Pack which is currently available at a 38% discount from our website and includes a The Bar Book, the most comprehensive cocktail guide ever written, with over 1000 recipes. In case Rum or Iced Tea aren’t your thing!
Jamaican Iced Tea (per Serving)
50ml Dark Jamaican rum
300ml Iced tea
1 pinch cinnamon
1 pinch nutmeg
1 Teaspoon of Brown Sugar
1 Lime cut into 1/8 size wedges
Pour 50ml of Dark Jamaican Rum into a Cocktail Shaker. Add Spices and sugar if desired and the Ice Tea. Shake well and decant into a chilled glass with a handful of Ice Cubes and a wedge of lime. Chill out, pull up a chair and sip along to the Athletics finals!
Job Opportunity: Buying Admin Assistant
As our business grows we're on the lookout for more staff members! We are looking for a new team member to assist with the daily administrative tasks to ensure the smooth running of the Buying Department. This is a varied, demanding role in a busy team that requires an organised individual with the ability to multi-task.
Tasks will include:
- Raising Purchase Orders for special order items, to go direct to customers or come into stock
- Placing Purchase Orders with suppliers
- Checking order confirmations and raising any queries
- Chasing deliveries and booking goods in with the warehouse
- Speaking to suppliers to sort out any delivery problems, e.g. Shortages, breakages
- Maintaining supplier database and ensuring the information is kept up to date
- Updating cost, retail prices and setting and managing some sale prices
- Competitor price monitoring, analysis and research into the market to ensure we are competitive.
- Helping out with the phones, taking orders, dealing with enquiries and some Customer Service work
We are located in the village of Melbourn on the border of Hertfordshire and Cambridgeshire. If you're interested in this position please email your C.V. to paul@barmans.ltd.uk. We look forward to hearing from you!
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We're moving our blog from here: http://drinkstuffcom.blogspot.com/ to WordPress under the all new http://blog.drinkstuff.com subdomain!
To Infinity and Beyond!
Drinkstuff’s going up in the world...or more precisely, the warehouse! We’ve been busy planning and building a new mezzanine floor so that we can store even more products in our warehouse! We now have plenty of space to store our Home Cinema Seating, Lay Z Spas, Bar Stools and Bar Equipment, so we can offer even more of our products on a fast delivery service. Check out the progress of the construction below!
Of course, we had to get in a celebrity for the grand opening and while the queen wasn’t available, we managed to get the biggest movie star of the moment...Buzz Lightyear!
Happy shopping,
The Drinkstuff Blog
Meet the new recruits!
At drinkstuff we always like to test our products before selling them and what better way to try out our new Cocktail Fish Bowl than with real fish! Despite not having a name yet, the newest recruits seem to be settling in well, enjoying regular lunchtime breaks and enjoying the scenery.
There’s been some office debate over the names of our two fishes, ‘Big’ and ‘Brother’, ‘Sharkey’ and ‘George’ or ‘Fish’ and ‘Chips’, we’d welcome your ideas and suggestions! While we love the novelty of having fish in a fish bowl, we’ll soon be re-homing our little friends into a bigger tank, before training them to answer the phone!
Our Fish Bowl will hold a little over 6 pints, just enough to hold a fish, but we’d recommend making an extra large cocktail punch for you and your friends instead! You could try making a Blue Lagoon and adding some Gin and Titonic Ice Cubes, maybe try a Disco Fizz with some carefully placed Indoor Sparklers or even a Paradise Martini with some Palm Tree Straws and Paper Cocktail Umbrellas. It’s the ultimate party piece!
We’d love to see some photos of your cocktail creations in our giant fish bowl! Here’s a recipe for a Blue Lagoon to get you started...
How To Make A Pitcher Of Blue Lagoon:
Lots of ice
500ml Vodka
500ml Blue Curaçao
1800ml (1.8 litres) Lemonade
Fill the bowl with plenty of ice, fine or crushed ice works well too. Then pour in the Vodka and Blue Curaçao before filling to the brim with lemonade (approx 1.8 litres) and giving it a very good stir! Garnish with fruit slices and fill with plenty of cocktail decorations and straws. Remember, this is a cocktail pitcher, designed to be enjoyed by a group of people, so don’t try drinking it all to yourself! Enjoy!
Drinkstuff showcase the Oscar Home Cinema Seating at Grand Designs Live!
On 10th, 11th and 12th of October, Drinkstuff proudly showcased their Oscar Home Cinema Seating at the Grand Designs Live! Show at Birmingham's NEC. The seating was warmly received with many customers expressing great interest in this popular product.
The Oscar Home Cinema Seating is the latest in luxury furniture. Available in black and brown leather as well as micro-fibre coloured fabrics, each chair features an electric foot and backrest, full body massage system with remote control and heat function, a refrigerator located in the arm rest as well as a cup warmer/cooler.
The Oscar Home Cinema Seating can be purchased as individual chairs or connected together in an arc to form a complete cinema experience set up. What's more, prices start from just £595!
For more information - click here to go to the Drinkstuff website.
