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Beefeater rocks Venuez Bar Show in Amsterdam

Beefeater, the global premium gin brand, took centre stage at the 2009 Venuez Bar Show in Amsterdam earlier this month (31 March – 1 May) with a range of activities themed around its widely acclaimed Forever London positioning, underscoring the fact that it is the only international London Dry Gin to still have its distillery in London.

Demonstrations to the assembled audience of global bar influencers featured a veritable who’s who of mixology over the two days of the show. Beefeater educated and entertained visitors with a feature by Henry Besant, of Worldwide Cocktail Club, Peter Dorelli, BBC’s Something for the Weekend’s Andy Pearson and World’s Best Bartender Nick Strangeway’ on Forgotten London Cocktails.

Taking inspiration from the book ‘London’s Classic Gin Cocktails’ - recently published by Beefeater and written by Jared Brown and Anistatia Miller - Henry and Peter recreated the development of gin cocktails in the capital from the 1700s to the present day, touching on the current trend for rediscovering forgotten classics and giving them a modern day makeover.

Meanwhile, London squared up to Holland with a Gin versus Genever tasting, hosted by Desmond Payne, exploring the common roots of the two spirits and how London Dry Gins such as Beefeater evolved from Genever in the 17th century.

Spirits guru Mark Ridgwell was on hand to host a tutored tasting that included all three gin products in the Chivas Brothers portfolio – Beefeater London Dry, Beefeater 24 and Plymouth Gin.

Rounding off the activities was a touch of star bartending, all in the name of charity, which featured an all star line up including Nick Strangeway, Peter Dorelli, Beefeater Brand Ambassador Tim Stones, Lab Bar founder Douglas Ankrah and Create Cocktail’s Charlie Homberger stepping behind the bar to take part in London Calling, organised by Beefeater and The Fabulous Shaker Boys, and highlighting Beefeater’s undisputed position as an essential cocktail ingredient.

Brand director for gins at Chivas Brothers, Nick Blacknell, comments: “Bar shows are always alive with the energy and passion that our industry is famous for and it was crucial that Beefeater harnessed that in order to drive its education message home. From the feedback we received at the show, this was achieved many times over and we are confident that there are now even more ardent Beefeater fans spreading the word around the world.”

The Amsterdam Bar Show is the first in a series of international bar shows that Chivas Brothers will be participating in during 2009 with its award-winning gin portfolio. Both of its internationally acclaimed gins, Beefeater London Dry Gin 47% and Plymouth Gin, scooped Gold medals at this year’s San Francisco World Spirits Competition.

About Chivas Brothers
Chivas Brothers is the Scotch whisky and premium gin business of Pernod Ricard. Chivas Brothers is a global leader in luxury Scotch whisky with a portfolio that includes Chivas Regal, Ballantine’s, Beefeater Gin, The Glenlivet, Royal Salute, Aberlour, Longmorn, Scapa, 100 Pipers, Clan Campbell, Something Special and Passport.