Barconvent is the biggest cocktail and spirits trade of Europe. Imagine a fashionable legion of 9000 eager bartenders and mixologists in Berlin’s Gleisdreieck Station, exploring, tasting and learning about new drinks. Like Rum expert Ian Burrell said: “It’s a Bartender’s Christmas. Yet the jingling you hear are not bells ringing, it’s literally thousands of ice cubes”.
Foodpairing® a tool for mixologists
We were there to spread the Foodpairing® story further into the mixologist’s scene, get acquainted with more premium spirit brands and catch up with the latest drinks trends.
As you know, the flavour experience and Foodpairing® is all about aroma. On average 80 percent of our flavour experience is defined by our sense of smell.
“Even more than with foods – which tend to variate more in terms of texture – drinks are mainly defined by their aromas.”
This makes the Foodpairing Inspiration Tool the perfect instrument for drink combinations.
Spotted trends: The Gin & Tonic fuzz is here to stay, Mezcal & Tequila and Vermouth are on the rise
We were curious to find out which spirit would take over the crown from the long standing Gin & Tonic. It seemed that the Gin & Tonic is there to stay for now, with dozens of brands being present at BCB. In fact, even many Belgian Gin Brands were exposing at the fair (such as Spring gin – Copper gin – Buss N°509).
However, the presence of spirits as Mezcal and Tequila didn’t go unnoticed. Read more.
Also, a high amount of rum brands were represented. And Vermouth is definitely making its comeback, such as Belsazar Vermouth.
Most surprising Foodpairing cocktail at BCB?
Hard to pick an example out of the many cocktails being served, although – to be one step ahead of trends – we picked the following one: Mezcal chocolate cocktail served with lemon and chruncy mealwurm.
Foodpairing® breakfast @ BCB Business Hour
We organized a breakfast for the BCB exhibitors with the perfect coffee pairings. Starting from an analysis of Nespresso’s Colombian Cauca coffee, our chef Peter created a surprising Foodpairing breakfast!
This resulted in beetroot bread, cucumber-white chocolate croque monsieurs, yoghurt with special toppings and more.
Curious? Check out the breakfast menu here.
Want to know more about BCB? Check the blog of The Cocktail Nation.