Hamish Smith introduces the latest edition of CLASS

---

In this Winter issue of CLASS, we lead on local. And there can’t be many places in the UK that does ‘neighbourhood bar’ better than Couch in Stirchley, Birmingham. With the help of its owners Katie Rouse and Jacob Clarke, we narrow in on how a bar can think locally and be recognised nationally.

Wherever your bar is in the UK, the costs associated with running it are only going upwards, with new taxes announced at the budget adding further weight to the burden. To this, UK Hospitality chief executive Kate Nicholls provides us with an incisive commentary.

In the meantime, rising costs and a consumer hard pressed to absorb them, means we have to cut costs somewhere or try to add value if we are to maintain margins. To the first approach, Marcis Dzelzainis debuts with a piece about rethinking supply, while in my review, I look at how we best create a valuable bar experience, visiting Inception Group’s latest themed venue, Cahoots.

Differentiating your offering could be another route. Kevin Armstrong isn’t the only one to notice that cocktails have become samey, while Tyler Zielinkski picks up the thread in his piece on what he thinks are the early signs of garnish rebellion. Ellen Manning meanwhile explores the idea of an entirely B Corp back bar. I myself write on how bars could be less reverential to cookie cutter internationalism.

For more of a long-term tilt at success, Edmund Weil suggests the sweat equity model, but if you’re just starting your industry journey, Iain McPherson advises education, education, education.

In the tasting glass is tequila and a piece on why 100% agave might no longer be the best marker of quality. We have five experts pick their five favourite cognacs and an explainer on pisco.

For those of you still in the festive spirit, we have wintery pieces on hot cocktails, a champagne bar crawl of London, and a piece on making your own mead. As ever, there’s much more.