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Editor Hamish Smith introduces the latest magazine

When I asked Chris Tanner to define All My Gods in a few words, he simply replied: “It’s a modern London dive bar.” He was wearing dungarees and a biker jacket at the time, but the pitch still painted much of the picture. Here is a bar that is inspired by the London dives of yore, but is modern, with a wide enough bandwidth to take in his Roxy Velvet, Simo Simpson and Jack Wallis’ off-the-clock passions: tattoos, bikes and Rock ’n’ Roll.

In today’s market, your bar’s pitch – its purpose, even - must be chiselled to within an inch of its existence. People need to be in one mind as to why they’re spending their shrinking disposable cash in your venue. God knows there are plenty of other causes vying for the public’s attention.

Probably about now, the premiumisation of everything the industry does, ever, might need some rethinking. Perhaps heading a little down market on price and vibes but heightening and sharpening the concept – just as All My Gods has – isn’t such a bad idea. Value for money needn’t die at the door of the cocktail bar. Who isn’t going to head down there for a game of pool and a few £8 Martinis?

Cool and different needn’t be expensive and bars up and down the country are capturing this budget-luxury opportunity. Not least Jack Wakelin’s new place in Sheffield, which offers £5 Negronis.

In this edition of Class we try to cultivate this idea of finding growth in what seems a shrinking market. Over at UK Hospitality, Kate Nicholls continues to wage the #TaxedOut campaign on the government, but in the meantime has news for us on licensing changes that should allow hospitality to be more agile. In the spirit of proactivity, I present the case that inner-city cocktail bars pinched by reduced custom and rising costs may have to stop waiting for the winds to change but make changes themselves. It’s called fish where the fish are.

Nathan Larkin of Speak in Code makes the argument for batched cocktails to shift the focus on the bar experience – and increase revenues, he says. Oli Dodd has a piece on five of the best-value brands out there – lower-priced liquid that might help drag that creeping cocktail price back to something more affordable.

Meanwhile, Mark Low from Mr Lyan Studio spots the missed opportunity in bars’ shelves of bottles with no prices – bring back the spirits list, he says.

Outside of our topical commentaries, Iain McPherson has advice on how to market your bar brand to an international audience, while Kevin Armstrong unpicks the nebulous dynamics of brand work. We have advice on the classics you should consider – courtesy of Clinton Cawood – and those you shouldn’t, by Jake O’Brien Murphy.

There’s our quarterly foray into seasonal ingredients, pieces on local spirits, RTDs, and dives into fermentation and solvents. Yes, and lots more. We also have a reminiscence from Ben Reed, who tells the story of how London’s bar culture evolved, starting in the 1990s. It’s worth a read, if only to contextualise the high perch cocktail culture still currently enjoys. The industry’s struggles are real, but they needn’t be mortal. If we can adapt to the world around us.