Bacardi Commits To Helping Bars & Bartenders In The UK & Ireland Who Need It Most

Bacardi, the world’s largest family-owned spirits company, has launched #RaiseYourSpirits, a multi-point plan to help bars & bartenders in the UK & Ireland combat the coronavirus crisis. One of the plan’s key activations kicks off next week (April 16) as Bacardi launches the #RaiseYourSpirits virtual bar with Deliveroo Editions, giving over 120 bars a platform to sell their cocktails to local customers.

The temporary closure of bars and restaurants has prompted the #RaiseYourSpirits initiative, backed by an initial £1.5 Million investment by Bacardi, which will ensure that at a grassroots level, members of the bartender community across Western Europe receive the support they urgently need.

Whilst acknowledging that many governments are putting in place measures to help support industries, #RaiseYourSpirits will not only help bars and bartenders in the UK & Ireland through the crisis, it will ensure that they are stronger than ever when the industry reopens its doors. 

Focusing on smaller, independent bars who have no corporate back-up but do have a fighting spirit, #RaiseYourSpirits recognizes that there is no single, magic solution. Instead Bacardi is taking the time to understand the particular needs of each of its bar industry partners and how it can best answer those needs through #RaiseYourSpirits. 

“Our strong relationships with bars and bartenders in the UK is incredibly important to us, and as we face the current challenges together, we’re doing all we can to provide the support they need,” said Amanda Almond, Managing Director for Bacardi, UK & Ireland. “We have 158 years’ experience of overcoming crises and coming out fighting, and through our #RaiseYourSpirits initiative, we intend to do exactly that for our On-Trade partners.” 

In the UK & Ireland, the help offered by Bacardi’s #RaiseYourSpirits initiative includes:

• Deliveroo partnership – With the launch of the first-ever virtual bar, in partnership with Deliveroo Editions, Bacardi is providing over 120 outlets and their bartenders with a platform to generate revenue from their cocktails. The #RaiseYourSpirits virtual bar kicks off in Deliveroo Editions kitchens in London and Manchester on April 16, enabling bars to deliver premium cocktails for their local customers to enjoy at home; 

• One of the many bartenders who will be creating cocktails for the #RaiseYourSpirits virtual bar is Chris Tanner, who works atThe Proofing Room cocktail barin East London. He said of the initiative: “The Bacardi #RaiseYourSpirits virtual bar has given us a huge boost. Having a way to earn money, keep busy and be creative while doing what I love most is fantastic. The current situation is changing everything for the bartender community, but this kind of online platform is a huge opportunity for us to step up our skillset and showcase our cocktail creativity. Personally, I can’t wait to get making our ‘Le Golden Highball’ cocktail with local Bermondsey Bees honey and Aberfeldy whisky – our locals love it, so we look forward to being able to deliver it to their doors soon!”

• Bartender support – Bacardi is hiring bartenders to host training events or to serve cocktails at events and pay their fees in advance. As an example, Bacardi is commissioning bartenders to film themselves making their favourite Bacardi cocktails and share them on social media so people at home can learn how to do it too; 

• Other initiatives – Bacardi will also help support the industry through the buying of cocktail vouchers and prepaying for events held in bars.

“In the first week of the crisis we made over 100,000 calls across Western Europe to lend our advice and support for our friends in the On-Trade. We’ve crafted our #RaiseYourSpirits initiative in response to everything we heard,” said Steve Young, On-Trade Sales Director for Bacardi, UK & Ireland. “We’re proud to be taking positive action to help, but this is just day one. Our support for bars and our bartender community will continue right until the day they can reopen their doors, and then beyond. We’re in this together.”

Hand sanitizer production

In addition to its #RaiseYourSpirits initiative, Bacardi is helping to combat the spread of the coronavirus in the UK & Ireland through the production of hand sanitizers. In the UK, the BOMBAY SAPPHIRE distillery in Hampshire is producing 2,000 litres per week, for donation to local doctors, chemists and care homes. Meanwhile, in Scotland, DEWAR’S Blended Scotch Whisky has donated over 650 litres of hand sanitizer to local frontline services including the Scottish Ambulance Association. 

Source: Bacardi

  #RaiseYourSpirits, Activation, Bacardi, Virtual bar