Swooping, dragon-back through the Welsh valleys and on to this spring edition of CLASS is none other than Lab 22, Cardiff's flag-bearing bar.

If Lab has represented Wales well over the years, it has done so without intending to be representative of Wales. Until now, that is. The old lab coat has been hung up, the award-winning science-inspired menus have been archived away – Lab has launched a menu that heralds a new direction. It now flies the flag for Wales – an ode to its community and producers. Lab has defined its sense of place.

And that – place-making – is a theme with growing resonance in the hospitality industry. In her column UK Hospitality supremo Kate Nicholls says we need to shout more about our impact on community – no other industry has the capacity to regenerate a city than hospitality.

The ability to shape-shift to the opportunity has long defined our industry. To that we feature new concepts such as Câv, in which Chris Tanner puts large-format bottled cocktails on the same pedestal as wine in its new restaurant-bar concept. There’s news on Andy Kerr’s Parasol in Dalston and elsewhere in trends, Tyler Zielinski reports on bars that are reacting to a spike in interest in the Ramos. Meanwhile, Kevin Armstrong discusses the emergence of savoury, culinary cocktails.

In spirits trends, we look at the growth – and credibility – of the burgeoning British rum industry and in my column I discuss the recent and never-ending onslaught of celebrity spirits.

If you prefer to place your trust in the experts, when buying spirits, this issue of Class is for you. Tried and tested by bartenders for bartenders, we bring you the official Bartenders’ Brand Award results. And that’s not even half of what we have in store for you in this Spring edition of CLASS.