Hamish Smith

The top-ranked non-abv spirits from the BBAs

Hamish Smith reveals the workings of the no-low category at the BBA 2026.

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21 May, 2026

Hamish Smith

World Class Cocktail Festival to take place at The Ned

Diageo has announced that a World Class Cocktail Festival will take place at The Ned in London from 27 May - 7 June, sandwiching the World Class GB final on June 1-3.

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20 May, 2026

Hamish Smith

Sotiris Konomi receives Raffles London promotion

Just weeks after taking the coveted crown of Bar Manager of the Year at the CLASS Bar Awards, Sotiris Konomi has been promoted to Beverage Manager of Raffles London at the OWO.

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20 May, 2026

Hamish Smith

Rachel Orange takes on new head of operations role

Rachel Orange has joined Liverpool group Glory Days Hospitality as head of operations.

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19 May, 2026

Hamish Smith

Bar Arriba to launch at Olympia London

Bar Arriba, a new venue set under the rooftop of Olympia London, is to launch in West London on June 15th.

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18 May, 2026

Hamish Smith

The highest ranked mixers in the BBAs 2026

Hamish Smith took the notes during the mixers session and reveals what happened.

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18 May, 2026

Hamish Smith

The bartender-approved liqueurs from this year's BBAs

Hamish Smith gives us the run down on the best-scoring liqueurs from the BBAs 2026.

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11 May, 2026

Hamish Smith

The best tonic waters from the BBAs

Hamish Smith rounds up the results from our tonic water assessments.

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11 May, 2026

Hamish Smith

The World's 50 Best Bars announces 2026 host city

The World’s 50 Best Bars 2026, sponsored by Perrier, will be unveiled in Milan, Italy in early October.

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11 May, 2026

Hamish Smith

The winners of the CLASS Bar Awards 2026 revealed

CLASS magazine announced its highly anticipated CLASS Bar Awards 2026 tonight (May 6). Having debuted in 2003, the CLASS Bar Awards is the longest-running UK bar industry celebration.

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06 May, 2026

Hamish Smith

Review: Bar Posie, Manchester

Dave Marsland is at Bar Posie, one of Manchesters big openings of the last six months.

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05 May, 2026

Hamish Smith

Diageo World Class GB's top 10 finalists announced

Diageo World Class GB has chosen its top 10 finalists for 2026.

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04 May, 2026

Hamish Smith

Fortnum & Mason reveals 2026 award winners

The winners of the 14th annual Fortnum & Mason Food and Drink Awards were announced last night at The Royal Exchange in London, with spirits writers prominent among the winners.

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01 May, 2026

Hamish Smith

Coca-Cola launches MIX platform

Coca-Cola today has launched Coca-Cola MIX, a new platform repositioning Coca-Cola as a mixing ingredient.

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30 April, 2026

Hamish Smith

Join us for the CLASS Cup football tournament

THE CLASS CUP

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29 April, 2026

Hamish Smith

Register now for The Tuesday Roast comedy night during CLASS Week

THE TUESDAY ROAST WITH JAKE PATRICK, BOATYARD GIN AND CLASS

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29 April, 2026

Hamish Smith

Emanuele ‘Lele’ Mensah to launch West African inspired cocktail bar

Emanuele ‘Lele’ Mensah, winner of World Class GB 2025 and former Connaught Bar and Lyaness bartender, is to open his debut bar: Asase.

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24 April, 2026

Hamish Smith

The top rums from the BBAs 2026

Next up in our seriisation of the Bartenders' Brand Awards, Oli Dodd tells us what happened in the Rum category.

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16 April, 2026

Hamish Smith

Callooh Callay owner opens new cocktail venue

The team at Callooh Callay will open 'cocktail pub' The March Hare in Chelsea to the public today.

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15 April, 2026

Hamish Smith

Review: The Nest, Perranporth

One of Ellen Manning's more recent watering holes was The Nest at The Watering Hole.

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02 April, 2026

Hamish Smith

Nightcap to open Hidden Society

Nightcap is set to launch Hidden Society, a new standalone cocktail bar at the former site of The Cocktail Club Goodge Street, in April.

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01 April, 2026

Hamish Smith

NoMad London sees director of bars change

Davide Segat will leave NoMad London next month, with Maxim Schulte replacing him as director of bars.

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31 March, 2026

Hamish Smith

The standout vodkas from the BBAs 2026

Next up in the serialisation of the BBAs, we look into our judges top five vodkas.

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31 March, 2026

Hamish Smith

Review: Bar Shrimp, Manchester

Hamish Smith's reviewing is normally confined to London, but an unplanned visit to Bar Shrimp in Manchester required documenting.

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31 March, 2026

Hamish Smith

The best agave spirits from the BBAs 2026

Agave Spirits always make up a good chunk of our Bartenders' Brand Awards judging sessions - here's the lowdown on the class of 2026.

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31 March, 2026

Hamish Smith

The BBAs - how it works

Hamish Smith explains the process and how points are scored in the annual Bartenders’ Brand Awards.

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25 March, 2026

Hamish Smith

CLASS Week

What is CLASS Week? It’s a new free-to-access cocktail festival in London for the UK bar industry. The week will see a mix of CLASS-organised events and affiliate industry activations such as talks, masterclasses, tastings and guest shifts.

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24 March, 2026

Hamish Smith

Josh Linfitt becomes new Class Bar Awards Regional Chair

Josh Linfitt has been appointed Class Bar Awards Regional Chair for the West of England and Wales.

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04 March, 2026

Hamish Smith

Government called on to widen rates relief and provide clarity over bars’ eligibility

UK Hospitality has called on the Government to broaden its relief package for pubs and music venues to the wider hospitality industry.

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28 January, 2026

Hamish Smith

Are you the UK bar industry's Front of House Star?

The Class Bar Awards' Front of House Star award is open for entries.

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27 January, 2026