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Laundy debuts on BRW Rich 200 for 2013

22-05-2013

By Clyde Mooney - editor Australian Hotelier Veteran hotelier Arthur Laundy has debuted in the 30th anniversary edition of the BRW Rich 200, to be released tomorrow. BRW has announced its latest Rich 200 list, featuring ? to his great surprise ? industry stalwart Arthur Laundy, after his $400 million deal with Woolworths-backed ALH last year pushed his fortune above the $235m benchmark. Speaking to TheShout from New York, Arthur?s son Stuart Laundy expressed surprise and a little consternation at the announcement. Stu Laundy conceded the pair had done an interview with the Financial Review around 12 months ago, but had no knowledge of inclusion on the Rich list.? ?This comes as a complete surprise,? said Stu, who is vacationing with his wife and four children. ?And having heard the news, I may stay here for a while ? dad is not fond of this kind of thing.? The latest Rich list also features poker machine legend Len Ainsworth, whose interests in Ainsworth Game Technology and Aristocrat Leisure have increased his fortune by around $500m to $1.54 billion. Also gaining ground amongst Australia?s richest individuals is John Singleton, whose Paddy Coughlan-led Riversdale Group has enjoyed well-earned success in the past year. Strategic Riversdale acquisitions this year have helped Singo to a ten per cent increase in worth to $355 million. ?

BWS to open first store in Northern Territory

22-05-2013

By Amy Looker - editor National Liquor News Woolworths Liquor Group will open the doors to its first BWS store in the Northern Territory today. Located 20 kilometres east of Darwin in the city of Palmerston, today?s opening is the first of 12 BWS-branded stores due to be rolled out across the Northern Territory. BWS?s national rollout manager, Shane Smith, said the Northern Territory?s 12 new stores would feature cutting edge store format design, while there would also be significant investment in staff training. ?The new store format will create a modern liquor outlet giving customers access to a wide range of over 2000 products, including regional and international reds and whites, big name beers and craft brews with a wide selection of popular spirits,? he said. ?Our highly trained staff will bring an in-depth knowledge of BWS? extensive selection, with the expertise to recommend matching wine with a meal or a bottle to cellar. Our staff have also received the latest training in the responsible service of alcohol.? ?

Keystone venues now featuring Discgos

22-05-2013

One of Australia?s leading hotel groups is leading the charge for patrons to get more and stay longer in venues. Citing a point of difference and opportunity to keep satisfied patrons staying longer, The Keystone Group (TKSG) has fitted ?Discgo? phone chargers (pictured) at all of its venues. The portable Discgo Charger unit features connectors for modern smart phones and older phones, and can fully charge up to six phones before itself requiring recharging. TKSG director, Paul Schulte, says the Discgo Charger platform helps the company?s venues better service patrons, and differentiate from the competition. ?We go out of our way to ensure our customers have the best possible experience,? Schulte said. ?Discgo is the ultimate in customer service and it gives us a competitive edge. By taking on this product we?re tapping into a modern day need to remain connected and our customers are doing so in our venue and not in other venues nearby?. The units are free for patrons to use in exchange for ID as security, but an inbuilt security system also helps prevent theft. An app incorporating the user?s proximity that will offer the locations of venues carrying Discgo Chargers is scheduled for release in early June.? ?

AGE 2013 to bring final gaming bang to SCEC

20-05-2013

Clyde Mooney - Australian Hotelier Preparations are heating up for the 2013 Australasian Gaming Expo in August, with 85 per cent of exhibition space already secured by the gaming industry?s elite. Taking place Tuesday the 13th to Thursday the 15th at the Sydney Convention & Exhibition Centre (SCEC), a wide range of companies showcasing the world?s best gaming and related equipment and services will pack the 15,000 square metres of exhibition space. Event owner and operator, the Gaming Technologies Association (GTA), will again be offering a surprise trip for two visitors to Las Vegas on each day of the Expo. Industry feedback prompted last year?s event to introduce changes including the mid-week schedule and a new logo and theme, and visitor surveys indicated that 99 per cent indeed saw what they attended to see. The research reports that 93 per cent of visitors attend the AGE to see new products and technology, and the 110 exhibitors on board to date have every intention of providing exactly that. The winner of ?Best Stand? at the 2012 AGE was Task Retail Technology, which will be returning in 2013 with an even bigger stand. ?

Picklebacks at Lily Blacks

20-05-2013

By Sacha Delfosse Melbourne?s Lily Blacks bar has combined two hospitality industry favorites ? the pickleback and the boilermaker ? in its new Picklemaker menu. For $15 dollars patron can select a beer of their choice and combine it with a number of different spirit shots that come with a complementing pickle chaser. The menu features a twist on the ?classic? pickleback option ? Jameson with dilled cucumber ? as well as some other options such as The Dirty South ? a shot of Maker?s Mark bourbon with chipotle and paprika carrot. Another selection of the menu, the Mad Max, combines lemon and juniper onion with a shot of West Winds The Sabre Gin. ?Our favorite is the Beet It ? rosemary and ginger beetroot with Cruzan Rum. We like to think of it as your daily serve of veg, with a nice kick in the arse,? said a Lily Blacks spokesperson. The bar has also added four modern twists on the Negroni to the menu, including the Big Nasty (West Winds The Sabre, Campari, Averna and orange) and the Smokeahontas (Tequila Tromba Blanco, Dolin Rouge, Campari, liquid smoke and orange). ?

Time Out shakes it down tonight

20-05-2013

By Sacha Delfosse Five of Sydney?s finest bartenders will be showcasing their skills and serving up signature cocktails tonight at the 2013 Time Out Shakedown competition. The 2013 Time Out Shakedown will be held at The Standard tonight, kicking off at 630pm, and will round out the World Cocktail Week programme of events. Guests attending the Great Gatsby-themed party will get a chance to enjoy five prohibition-era cocktails made by the five competing bartenders ? Natalie Ng from Mojo Record Bar, Michael Chiem from Sokyo, James Irvine from Hinky Dinks, Jason Williams from The Rook and last year?s Shakedown winner, Brendan Keown from The Hazy Rose. There will also be plenty of wine, cider, beers and snacks for guest to enjoy as well as some 1920s-style entertainment including flappers, tap dancers, roaming magicians and a swing band, as well as a gangster wall where guests can get their mug shot taken, and a costume competition. The bartender that wins this year?s Shakedown will receive an ?ultimate day in the life of Jay Gatsby? prize package that includes pre-dinner drinks at the Establishment Gin Garden followed by dinner at est, late-night cocktails and smooth jazz at Palmer & Co, topped off with a night at the Establishment Hotel.? ? Tickets are $50 and available here ?

Melbourne bartenders triumph in World Class semi-final

20-05-2013

By Paul Wootton Melbourne?s bartenders nearly made it a clean sweep in the second semi-final of Diageo?s World Class Australia cocktail competition, held at the Noosa Food & Wine Festival on Friday. Of the four semi-final winners, three work in Melbourne: Evan Stanley of Black Pearl, who won in the Ketel One Citreon vodka category; Daniel Warren of 1806?s The Understudy, who was top in the Johnnie Walker Gold Label Reserve whisky category; and Ben Lancaster of the Kodiak Club, who won in the Bundaberg Master Distillers? Collection dark rum category. Rinna Kato of Brisbane?s Bacchus bar was the fourth semi-final winner; she triumphed in the Don Julio Reposado tequila category. All 12 semi-finalists served up their competition drinks in a marquee on Noosa Main Beach, where the results of the contest were later announced. A professional judging panel, which included celebrated chef Colin Fassnidge, Delicious magazine food editor Valli Little and last year?s Global World Class winner Tim Philips, made an initial assessment of the drinks before 250 members of the public had their say. Daniel Warren, whose drink Gold Reflection was voted the best in the Johnnie Walker category, revealed how thrilled he was to have won. ?To know that something I?m passionate about is appreciated and enjoyed by all these people gives me a massive buzz,? he said. All four semi-final winners will now go through to the national final, which takes place in Sydney from 9th to 12th June. First prize is a package valued at $100,000, aimed at helping the winner open their own bar. ?

Former XXXX boss advising Tassie distiller on global expansion bid

17-05-2013

By James Atkinson Former XXXX senior executive Ken Freer is advising Tasmanian single malt whisky distillery Nant as it executes an ambitious blueprint to increase production tenfold, open a total of 20 bars and ultimately pursue a stock exchange listing. Freer was managing director of then Lion Nathan subsidiary Castlemaine Perkins between 2001 and 2005. He is now a senior associate of BlueMount Capital, which has been engaged as corporate advisor to Nant. "Ken gives us more liquor and beverage experience from a retail point of view, he's fantastic," Nant founder and CEO Keith Batt told TheShout. Nant recently converted to an unlisted public company and is now known as The Nant Distilling Company Limited (NDCL), ahead of a likely float. "We're setting up this corporate governance and a really good structure so that when the time comes in four or five years time to actually list on some recognised exchange somewhere, we're able to do that," founder and CEO Keith Batt told TheShout. In the interim, he said Nant is looking to raise $5 million through a convertible note offering to invest significantly in its ongoing expansion. [continues below] Nant Whisky founder Keith Batt "When the time comes to list, those noteholders will be able to convert their investment into shares, if they wish," Batt said.? The expansion plans include opening 20 new Nant Whisky bars within the next two years, both nationally and overseas, and boosting distribution channels. Further planned development includes the construction of an onsite malting plant and the expansion of its brewing and distilling operations to enable full "barley-to-bottle" production of a single estate malt whisky. Batt told TheShout the existing Nant bars in Hobart and Brisbane, along with the Nant cellar door in Bothwell, Tasmania, are trading well. "We've got about 1000 people every week visiting our three venues at the moment, we have been very pleasantly surprised with the interest from people," he said. Immediate plans include a third Nant Whisky Cellar & Bar to open in Melbourne in August, with an exclusive members-only Nant Whisky Lounge to open in Brisbane?s CBD location of Edward Street, also in August.? Batt, whose background is in construction and development, said that by the end of 2013, Nant is predicted to produce close to 20,000 bottles of whisky with capacity to bottle 200,000 bottles by 2016. "My vision is to grow the company into a global premium whisky brand recognised as one of the best whiskies in the world," he said. Dr Mark Rainbird, managing director of advisor BlueMount, told TheShout Nant has already demonstrated its ability to successfully grow a "very profitable business". "Growth is underpinned by the staged roll-out of retail outlets in major capital cities leveraging off their successful retail outlets in Tasmania and Queensland," he said.

Sail & Anchor kicks off limited editions

17-05-2013

? By James Atkinson Woolworths-owned craft beer brand Sail & Anchor has made its first foray into limited edition beers with the release of Jack Tar, a 9.5 per cent ABV Imperial Stout. "Jack Tar certainly lives up to its name by appearing glossy black in colour, topped with a layer of dense foam, creamy in both colour and consistency and should be served cold," Sail & Anchor says. "Brewed for 'brass monkey' weather it is nevertheless the perfect pour for Australia's winter months." Jack Tar joins the existing range of four Sail & Anchor varieties. It is exclusive to Dan Murphy, BWS, Woolworths Liquor stores nationwide and is available in a single 640ml bottle priced at $12 or a case of 12 for $100. It is also available in a few ALH venues across NSW and WA.

Craft beer 'paved way for cider'

17-05-2013

? By Clyde Mooney, editor Australian Hotelier Craft beer played an integral role in establishing Australia's burgeoning artisanal cider market, according to the owner of Melbourne venue, Cider House. Cider House owner Ben Day told TheShout craft beer has firmly established its market share over the last seven years and has opened people's minds to trying independently-produced products. "This has opened the door beautifully for the craft market of cider; these local cider-makers are creative and push the boundaries of market trends, and patrons are able to identify easily with them and share their passion for the quality of product they produce," said Day. "Our role in this industry is to educate customers about what cider is, what it has been and what it can be ? a blend of current market trends with the old artisan cultures of cider production and the many ciders produced by different countries around the world." IBISWorld research says the cider industry surpassed $300 million in 2012, having averaged 19.1 per cent growth since 2006, with forecasts for compound annualised growth 2012-2017 of 13 per cent.