On-trade supplier Speciality Drinks has appointed spirits educator Hannah Lanfear as advocacy manager, a newly created role.
In her role – starting March 1st - Lanfear will build and implement an advocacy program that seeks to “democratise spirits education" for the industry.
The advocacy program is intended to pave the way for trade education in the spirits and cocktail industry for bartenders, owners and customers.
Lanfear has taught WSET Spirits courses to thousands of industry experts and founded The Mixing Class, a company dedicated to delivering spirits education.
On joining Speciality Drinks as advocacy manager, Lanfear said: “I’ve always adored Speciality Drinks’ portfolio, and long admired the wealth of knowledge in their stellar team. The road ahead is incredibly exciting; I can’t wait for the world to see what’s in the pipeline.”
On the future of The Mixing Class, Lanfear added: "The Mixing Class will continue... I will now be in a non-exec position. The great Rose Brookman will be delivering all things TMC, and I feel certain that she will do a wonderful job."
Adriana Morris-Pérez, head of marketing at Speciality Drinks, said: “We are incredibly excited to have Hannah on board, as there is no one in the industry more capable of driving our advocacy program forward than her.
“We have only grown since the pandemic and are continuing to build a robust marketing team to focus on our customers’ journey, growing relationships with our suppliers and building ways of enhancing the customer experience, both online and offline. Hannah will be at the forefront of this and we can’t wait to get started.”
This new role coincides with the return of Raising the Back Bar and the launch of a new educational series, Speciality Sessions.
Raising the Back Bar will be returning May 15 as a one-day, trade-only portfolio tasting, showcasing the Speciality Drinks’ range of over 100 exclusive products.
Speciality Sessions meanwhile will be launching from June and will see monthly category-led sessions, hosted by Hannah, to educate bar staff with a detailed understanding of "how production influences flavours in spirits, exploring how to apply this knowledge to cocktail serves and also help with menu curation".
The sessions will see guest bartenders attend and provide the trade community with an opportunity to network after each session.