Ajabu!
Ajabu, Africa’s wondrous new cocktail and spirits festival, had its maiden rendition in March 2024. Watch the recap and discover what we can expect going forward.
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Drinks and a Show
Jim Meehan discusses the art of showmanship with Daniele Dalla Pola, GN Chan and Masahiro Urushido, who each combine world class mixology with laugh out loud entertainment at their bars.
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Age of Influence
Jim Meehan interviews three experienced bartenders to explore how bartenders today can leverage social media to cultivate authentic relationships online.
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No. 19 Set to Become Number 1!
Ghana leans into African pride with the launch of a high-end restaurant and bar that showcases the bounty of continent.
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The Trailhead
Jim Meehan interviews Claire Warner, Giuseppe Gallo and Lauren Mote to discuss different career paths in the trade and share advice for others.
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Africa’s 2023 Showreel
Leah van Deventer tallies the continent’s year-on-year wins in the global context.
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Africa's Got Talent
Six young slingers to keep your eyes on. Let’s get to know some of the rising stars in African bar industry.
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Awards for (South) Africa
Taking a look at the importance of bar awards in the African context, and how South Africa is celebrating its own.
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What's Cutting in Zim?
Way off the beaten track of most of the continent’s cocktail bars, Zimbabwe has a colourful and enthusiastic drinking culture, with drinking even being called the national pastime. So, if fancy mixed libations are not the average Zimbo’s cup of tea, what exactly are they drinking, and where?
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Reinventing the Aperitivo
Whether it’s Quattro Teste in Lisbon, Viva Madrid in… Madrid or Bar Olimpic in Barcelona, new-ish bars are giving the Aperitivo a facelift.
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The Rise of African Bartender Guilds
Around the world, bartender associations cater to the education, upliftment, organisation and fellowship of bar-industry professionals, where members work together for their mutual benefit. Let’s take a look at what’s happening in Africa.
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How Hero is Leading Bar Takeovers in Africa
When Hero quietly opened its doors in September 2019, in the leafy, out-of-the-way Gigiri suburb of Nairobi, it did so without fanfare. Fast forward three years – much of which was obliterated by the pandemic – and the underdog is now punching well above its weight.
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Spain's Smalltown Bartenders
A great cocktail scene is measured by the number of excellent bars outside the main cities. By that yardstick, Spain is really doing well.
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Hot Takes on Africa from Visiting Bartenders
To gain some perspective on Africa – and in particular its five cocktail hotspots - we chatted to three visiting global players to get their take on what’s shaking.
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Chasing Waterfalls: Discussing Employee Drinking
Jim Meehan discusses of of the most thorny issues in hospitality - employee drinking.
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Cause and Effect - Growing Your Brand Into a Franchise
Cause Effect co-owner, Kurt Schlechter details the reasons for and rewards of turning one bar into four.
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Dream Catcher: Teamwork Makes the Dream Work
Despite an industry focused on individual competitions and social media celebrity, hospitality work is accomplished collaboratively. Monica Berg , Jackson Cannon and Julio Cabrera tell Jim Meehan what teamwork means to them.
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How to Keep Slinging Drinks After a Decade
To find out how to go the distance, and have a chance at reaching your dreams, we chatted to five bartenders from around the continent who’ve been at it for ten years or more, and asked them three key questions.
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Social Networks - Nicolas Munoz Bisou
Les réseaux sociaux ont envahi nos vies personnelles et professionnelles. Mais quels usages en font les bartenders en 2023 ? Pour cela, FreePour a interviewé trois bartenders français, aux points de vue différents, pour comprendre et dérober leurs secrets. Nous commençons aujourd’hui par Nicolas Munoz, vainqueur France de la Bacardi Legacy 2017, et propriétaire des bars Bisou. et Divine à Paris.
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Over the Hill
Jim Meehan asks three friends and role models of what they do to remain vital after all these years in the business.
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Cocktail Competitions are Back
The Debate Continues. Bartenders went head to head in the Central Coast region of NSW, Australia as they showcased their skills in the Central Coast Cocktail Competition. Get inspired by the insights of industry legends, and the strategies of competition winner Alan Cameron.
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How Flip Lounge is Flipping the Script in Lagos
A milestone moment for African cocktail culture.
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Why is The Pornstar Martini Cocktail So Popular?
Using data points to discover the story behind Pornstar Martini cocktail Trend.
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Where is the Next Maria Dolores Boadas?
5 years after her death, Boadas remains in all minds. However, we need to also pay attention to other Spanish women in the bar industry.
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The Importance of Mouthfeel
Welcome to the seventh and final piece in this series on taste, flavour, and their importance to cocktail creation. So far, we’ve primarily focused on the understanding of our taste elements (sweet, sour, and bitter in particular) and how they interact with each other, but for this article, our attention will be on all thing textural, looking at the importance of the mouthfeel of our cocktails and how paying close attention to it can add the ultimate finishing touch.
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How Spain Fell in Love With Vermouth
Spain is now one of the world’s leading vermouth markets and probably the only country where it’s drunk straight rather than mixed. So how exactly did Spain fall in love with vermouth?
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9 Fascinating African Drinks
Exploring the continent through its traditional brews.
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Free Data at Your Fingertips
When you are running a business, using finite resources like time and money means making decisions about marketing budgets and campaigns becomes a roll of the dice. Unless that is, you become data-literate.
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Bitter - The Flavour Lengthener
Welcome to my sixth article on taste, flavour, and their importance to cocktail creation. In this penultimate piece of the series, we’re going to focus on the most peculiar of all the taste elements, bitterness.
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Africa Rising
Recapping some highlights from the African continent in 2022 and what to look forward to and work towards in 2023.
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Data Driven Trends for 2023
What Does Data Tell Us About The Year Ahead?
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Spain's First Cocktail
The vermouth-loving country's early breakout cocktail unsurprisingly involved a hefty dose of aromatised wine.
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Everything, Very Quickly
Jim Meehan speaks to three of his role models to glean tips on how a hospitality newcomer might navigate their aspirations to move up through the industry swiftly.
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Womandla: A War of Serves
African women share their battles behind the bar.
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Acid: The Flavour Balancer
Welcome to the fifth in my series of articles on taste, flavour, and their importance in the art of cocktail creation. In this issue, we’re going to get into the nitty gritty of acidity, looking at what this wonderful taste element is, what it does for our cocktails, and what the best sources of sourness are.
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Are You Ready for AI?
Moore's Law states that roughly every two years, advancement in technology doubles. Some estimate it's more like one year than two. So like it or not, there are some changes afoot, and new technologies can be disruptive to the industry. Just look at how downloads changed the music business or GPS changed cartography. So what's around the corner in hospitality?
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Sugar: The Flavour Carrier
Sweet – the most important taste element Welcome to the fourth in my series of articles on taste, flavour and their importance in the art of cocktail creation.
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Sustainable Spain
Bars are looking at sustainability in a myriad of ways: there’s no one size fits all if you want to do better by your planet or your workers.
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Visualising Data
A man walks into a bar…and leaves a data trail, ba-dom-cha. Not the answer you expected, but maybe the answer you need? Whenever a customer uses your product, they leave a data trail. If you want to capture and analyse these points of sale, you need a data ecosystem.
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The Other Barcelona
François Monti takes us on a journey through Barcelona's traditional bar scene.
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Balance: Taste, Trigeminal Sensations and the Myth of Precision
Welcome to the third in my series of articles on taste, flavour and their importance in the art of cocktail creation. In this piece, we’re going to explore balance. Balance is arguably the most important factor in high-quality mixed drinks and the part bartenders most commonly fail to achieve. Mastering balance is not easy. It takes expertise, experience and a well-trained palate. But, with a bit of practice, and a proper understanding of the science behind the principles, it is a skill that will take your mixology to the next level.
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The Scoop on Today’s Bar Tools
Jim Meehan talks with 3 icons in the industry about developing bar tools for today's bartender.
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3 Wonderfully Weird African Plants and How to Use Them
Move past garden-variety mint and expand your world of flavour.
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Major Decisions
Jim Meehan speaks with 3 pioneering operators across 3 continents for tips on standing out today.
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A Sensory Exploration of Taste, Aroma and Flavour
In Joey's second article, he dives deeper into the difference between 'Taste & Flavour'
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Using Data for Profit
An overview of how basic data can help balance the books and more.
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A New Approach to Cocktail Creation
Thinking about cocktail training differently.
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Library Card
Jim Meehan discusses if bar literature still matters in our industry today.
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What's Shaking in Africa?
Uncovering 5 of the continent's cocktail hotspots.
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Role Call
Jim Meehan discovers how some of the industry's leaders achieve excellence throughout their roster.
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7 South African (Inspired) Libations You Should Be Mixing
Taking a look at some interesting recipes and the stories behind them.
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Help Wanted
Some of the industry’s most respected leaders discuss how they’re approaching recruitment after a tenuous time.
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Emerging Cocktail Markets in Africa
Africa has some noteworthy cocktail hotspots that are already starring on the world’s stage, but what else is shaking on the continent? We chat to Cameron Hawkins, an advocacy manager who oversees the Sub-Saharan region, to find out.
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African Bartenders Abroad: The Pros and Cons of Leaving the Continent
The highs and lows of expat life from African bartenders who left the motherland and also Europeans who moved there.
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The Sober Drinks: 11 Local Drinks You Must Try in India
Here's a list of 11 non-alcoholic local drinks in India that everyone needs to try.
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Making Cocktails with Indian Flavours
Over the last decade, the Indian mixology scene has risen to establish the perfect balance between contemporary cocktail trends coming up globally and our local taste and palate.
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Indian Mixing Techniques
Many cocktail techniques and trends that are in vogue can find their parallels in many age-old Indian culinary practices.
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Spices: A Rendezvous with India
Spices, a now rather mundane and overlooked part of our lives, played an integral role in shaping India’s history.
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Meet 15 Movers and Shakers in the African Cocktail Scene
15 key bartenders, bar owners, educators and industry players across Africa.
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The Birth and Boom of Cocktail Culture in South Africa
How South Africa became one of the most significant cocktail destinations in Africa.
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