Expert Insights


NEWS FROM


“After the first glass of absinthe you see things as you wish they were.” Oscar Wilde


Pocketful of Stones Distillery was founded by Shaun Bebington, a publican, who’d had his fill in the big smoke. He packed his still in his Golf and headed to the Cornish coast to pursue his dream of making gin and whiskey. An avid surfer and lover of the ocean, his crafted booze creations are inspired by this passion for the sea. Here he tells us how it went down......


This year’s Spring Equinox fell on the 20th March, which means we have officially banished the last memories of winter and are now belting headlong towards the long evenings and unnervingly early mornings of summer.


“Having worked in hospitality for almost two decades I was constantly surrounded by booze. It took a while but eventually I started to separate the good stuff from the bad, the quality beer and spirits from the average. Once I started appreciating alcohol for what it was one thing lead to another. From brewing beer in the kitchen, to making infusions, to eventually getting a little copper pot still and making gin.


My brother, Dale, has been and continues to be a huge inspiration. He’s one of these cocktail boys and is right at the top of his game. Whenever we’re together it’s an introduction of new spirits, flavours, recipes and ideas.


This is abysmal news for vampires but great news for anyone not dedicated to a nocturnal existence. It’s also almost certainly great news for you and your venues. Balmy summer evenings seem to coax people out from their homes to enjoy a drink or a meal and open up a world of possibilities. We all enjoy making the most of the weather before Autumn rolls around again and we return to a mole-like life of gloom, drizzle and perpetual darkness. Our customers should be no exception.


The distillery is only small and centred around two beautiful, hand-crafted copper pot stills. The process is hands on. Nothing is automated and everything is done by taste and smell. I like it this way, it’s a throw back to a centuries old tradition of distilling, the way it’s always been done. Heads and tails are done by taste and smell, the gin is then rested and is only bottled after another taste test.


In our Caspyn gin, we have tried to capture the Cornish spring in a bottle. Not only by using fresh and local ingredients, but


With the days now happily longer than the nights, it can only mean we are inching closer to Easter, Bank Holidays and the start of the cricket season. It’s around this time of year that a minority of my staff get excited about what is, they insist, the greatest spectacle in live entertainment, Wrestlemania. If you haven’t already tapped into your local grappling fanbase, then now might be a good time. They tend to be a dedicated bunch and often like to enjoy the show in a pub or a bar. With this year’s event set to clock in at a gruelling seven hours, there is a golden opportunity to pack a captive audience into your venue throughout almost the entire night.


Lycra-clad beefcakes may not be your thing, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t think hard about catering to niche interest groups. Morris dancers, metal detectorists, ghost hunters and cosplayers all need a place to regroup and unwind, and, if you cater to them,


Pocketful of Stones brings you fresh flavours from the deep


Kate Nicholls UKHospitality Chief Executive


your venue may well turn out to be a regular headquarters.


As the days continue to get longer and the nights shrink, additional spaces in your outlets, like gardens and patios, come into their own. These areas are ripe for exploitation and if you have the space and the manpower, can prove invaluable. Last year, we saw pubs and bars turn their gardens into ad-hoc fan zones during England’s run to the World Cup semi-final. This summer we are lucky enough to have both the Women’s World Cup, and the Cricket World Cup as well as the Ashes. Think laterally about how to use your spaces and see what you can do to make them a stone-cold success.


Last month the Business, Enterprise and Industrial Strategy Committee published a report lamenting the challenges routinely faced by live music venues. They will be many of the same challenges that you face, including spiralling costs. I have seen many pubs and bars excel at hosting temporary, small- scale festivals, garden parties and ceilidhs. If the live music scene in your area is under pressure, then such an event might generate the interest needed to formulate a more sustained renaissance.


With costs continuing to spiral and the political horizon looking uncertain, we are all going to have to employ a bit of lateral thinking if we want to see success. That may mean taking a punt in a previously unexplored direction.


6 April 2019 www.venue-insight.com


Nominations open for Operations Managers Awards


Nominations are now open for the 2019 Operations Managers Awards.


also by using those flavours that remind me of my childhood. That excitement of spring, when the mornings are crisp and fresh and the winter is fading. New flavours are coming into season, new smells fill the countryside.


Caspyn Cornish Summer Cup is an embrace of summer. Each batch is slightly different as we are dictated to by the local produce that is available to us. Think strawberries,


raspberries, loganberries,


foraged whortle berries, blackberries all go into an infused gin which is then mixed with Polgoon Vineyards raspberry juice and fortified wine. A delicious take on the traditional British cup.


The Operations Managers Awards, the only awards of its kind, identifies and celebrates the best Area Managers and Business Development Managers in hospitality. The Awards, now in its 24th year, is widely regarded most rigorous test of a manager’s skill and determination, and the innovation and dedication they bring to their businesses.


The process is hands on. Nothing is automated and everything is done by taste and smell.


We’ve just released our new Absinthe. Morveren Absinthe comes in at 66% but its freakin’ tasty and oh so, so sexy. The design team at Roots Branding have done the most unbelievable job on this one. But don’t let that take away from the liquid, we’ve put in all the usual hard work. Josh from Wild St Ives has been growing wormwood for us for the past year, the guys at Cornish Seaweed have helped us with the sea lettuce and of course we’ve been uber safe with the head and tails cuts. Making sure none of those nasty


alcohols are getting into your glass.


We’ve been distilling whiskey and cider brandy lately but for those you’ll have to wait a couple of years.”


The Operations Managers Awards is unique in hospitality and recognises the expertise, insight and professionalism that the best operations managers bring to their businesses and to a vibrant and varied sector.


Nominations are open to both Area Managers working in managed outlets and Business Development Managers working in leased or tenanted outlets across the entire spectrum of hospitality.


Please visit www.pocketfulofstones.com for more info on the range, great recipes and their contact details.


Operations Managers Awards Founder Nick Bish said: “Area Managers and Business Development Managers with responsibility over multiple sites, operate between the head office and the team members on the front lines. Operations Managers are absolutely essential to the successful running of venues and they need to be dynamic, responsive and intuitive. The Operations Managers Awards celebrates the valuable work they do and they unique role they play. I encourage businesses from every corner of hospitality to get involved and nominate the best leaders they have.”


UKHospitality Chief Executive Kate Nicholls said: “This is a crucial time for the hospitality sector. Unprecedented political turmoil and increasing costs continue to pile pressure on businesses and the recruitment and retention problem we are facing is well documented. Identifying, nurturing and celebrating the best operations managers is absolutely key to the sector’s ongoing success.


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