Bank holidays, stag dos, government health warnings and other great thoughts!
Having challenged Henry to write a post... he has hammered out three, good on him for doing that. As we write these, feel free to post comments (just click the little link below each post) or drop us an email (rupert@muddlerdrinks.com or henry@muddlerdrinks.com). We can then try to write post about things that people want to hear about, rather than what we deem to be important to you.
Lets be honest, it may well get to the point when we are struggling for ideas on what to write. Today this has not been the case for me, the subjects are the most varied yet: stag dos; bad weather; politics; producing a drink; life on the TV screen; and any other random thoughts that I have.
Some production issues at the end of last week caused Henry and I to keep on our toes. We had to re-jig some of the production dates and the order in which the product is put together. The bad news is that this has put back our expected delivery date for the final product by about a week. The good news is that it re-assures us that the work we have done over the last few months putting together a team of various suppliers (rum importer, juicer, bottler, label printer, box printer, freight company and guys that put our fancy sleeves on) has been well spent. It was the suppliers commitment to quality and getting this product right at launch which allowed them to catch the issue. They all being very flexible and many have had to change dates around to make sure that we get the best possible drink out with only the slight delay. Its all pretty amazing considering that they measure the Muddler production volumes in the thousands of bottles and they are much more used to dealing with MILLIONs.
Having got all the production re-arranged I then ran off to perform some intensive research into the European alcoholic drinks industry, also known as Steve's stag in Madrid. Determined not to repeat my mistakes of a couple of weeks before I managed to catch both flights this time! I'm not sure there is any conclusion to my research other than a belief that an all natural drink should produce easier going hangovers than shots of sambucca or the filth they put in cola and other mixers. I'm sure time will tell as people throw themselves into the world of natural alcoholic drinks.
Like the governments announcement today (on alcoholic labelling) I don't suggest anyone drinks to excess, but the reality is that people will (and we all have at some time in the past). I think it is right that people get the information they need to make educated decisions on what to do to their bodies. At Muddler Drinks the conversation on whether to include the number of units on the bottle (1.8 units) took less than 10 seconds when it came up a couple of months ago.
People deserve to get the information they require and with bottles/ measures of varying size and strengths the legal requirement to have % strength on the bottle does not seem good enough. Sales of Muddlers are being focused on the pubs/ bars/ clubs (the 'on trade') first and after watching the news today this raises a couple of questions:
1. Bottled drinks are always stocked in a fridge located behind the bar with the majority of the label out of sight. How are people supposed to make educated choices when they can't see the label?
2. Are spirits and mixers or draught products just going to be ignored? The TV news I watched earlier today had video footage of 'binge drinking' that included people 'downing' pints of lager and slamming shooters. My understanding is that there will be no extra information for these products.
What is clear is that all this will be voluntary and not legislation based (at the moment). As the details become clearer and we consider future production runs we will certainly be looking to see what Muddler Cocktails should be doing. We have already adhered to the voluntary code of conduct that the Portman Group puts forward and have every intention of being a provider of a responsible product. My nerves are that I'm not sure where all this info is going to go on the bottle. The size of the required logo would be enough to break up any packaging design, let alone a small bottle:
I just really don't want to see this go the way of the cigarette packets where the message seems to dwarf the other information on the label. Well lets see what happens... your thoughts are always welcome on this and any other subject.
As I look out of the window and see the rain pouring down, it is not a time for me to think only of Bank Holiday blues (it's so nearly over now) but also of the number of weddings I have coming up this year and the joy that some Muddlers could bring! With the sun beating down (hopefully) is there a better way to start off a wedding reception than with a real fruit cocktail served over ice? I doubt it.
If you're getting married we're happy to supply to your caterer or hotel, just let us know. Think of something that's great tasting and will get people talking at the start of the reception on your special day! Not just the same old Pimms or Champers.
Henry has come up with one of those bright ideas again today! These are always frightening moments for me... the last one he had made me give up work and start on my quest to find the ultimate alcoholic drink! He's suggesting we apply for a business reality TV show thing and I 've now agreed. This may be the best way we have of showing everyone what we're up to. The frightening thing is that they may edit it all together and make us look like bigger idiots than we are managing ourselves! Anyway, we're only dropping them an email so there is a long way to go before anything may happen, and we'll be sure to keep you updated.
Well it must be the weather, but I seem to have written another load of incoherent rubbish... certainly don't expect them always to be this long. So the pressure is on, will Henry continue his initial blog excitement and post another 75 pieces or will our freelance designer (Alex Smee) who has already contributed so much to the company step up and write a piece? He is threatening to do so, and I think many of you may appreciate some insider info on the design and what it is like to work with Henry and I. He has already done so much... will he publish the thoughts that go on in his head from behind his Apple Mac?
Lets be honest, it may well get to the point when we are struggling for ideas on what to write. Today this has not been the case for me, the subjects are the most varied yet: stag dos; bad weather; politics; producing a drink; life on the TV screen; and any other random thoughts that I have.
Some production issues at the end of last week caused Henry and I to keep on our toes. We had to re-jig some of the production dates and the order in which the product is put together. The bad news is that this has put back our expected delivery date for the final product by about a week. The good news is that it re-assures us that the work we have done over the last few months putting together a team of various suppliers (rum importer, juicer, bottler, label printer, box printer, freight company and guys that put our fancy sleeves on) has been well spent. It was the suppliers commitment to quality and getting this product right at launch which allowed them to catch the issue. They all being very flexible and many have had to change dates around to make sure that we get the best possible drink out with only the slight delay. Its all pretty amazing considering that they measure the Muddler production volumes in the thousands of bottles and they are much more used to dealing with MILLIONs.
Having got all the production re-arranged I then ran off to perform some intensive research into the European alcoholic drinks industry, also known as Steve's stag in Madrid. Determined not to repeat my mistakes of a couple of weeks before I managed to catch both flights this time! I'm not sure there is any conclusion to my research other than a belief that an all natural drink should produce easier going hangovers than shots of sambucca or the filth they put in cola and other mixers. I'm sure time will tell as people throw themselves into the world of natural alcoholic drinks.
Like the governments announcement today (on alcoholic labelling) I don't suggest anyone drinks to excess, but the reality is that people will (and we all have at some time in the past). I think it is right that people get the information they need to make educated decisions on what to do to their bodies. At Muddler Drinks the conversation on whether to include the number of units on the bottle (1.8 units) took less than 10 seconds when it came up a couple of months ago.
People deserve to get the information they require and with bottles/ measures of varying size and strengths the legal requirement to have % strength on the bottle does not seem good enough. Sales of Muddlers are being focused on the pubs/ bars/ clubs (the 'on trade') first and after watching the news today this raises a couple of questions:
1. Bottled drinks are always stocked in a fridge located behind the bar with the majority of the label out of sight. How are people supposed to make educated choices when they can't see the label?
2. Are spirits and mixers or draught products just going to be ignored? The TV news I watched earlier today had video footage of 'binge drinking' that included people 'downing' pints of lager and slamming shooters. My understanding is that there will be no extra information for these products.
What is clear is that all this will be voluntary and not legislation based (at the moment). As the details become clearer and we consider future production runs we will certainly be looking to see what Muddler Cocktails should be doing. We have already adhered to the voluntary code of conduct that the Portman Group puts forward and have every intention of being a provider of a responsible product. My nerves are that I'm not sure where all this info is going to go on the bottle. The size of the required logo would be enough to break up any packaging design, let alone a small bottle:
I just really don't want to see this go the way of the cigarette packets where the message seems to dwarf the other information on the label. Well lets see what happens... your thoughts are always welcome on this and any other subject.As I look out of the window and see the rain pouring down, it is not a time for me to think only of Bank Holiday blues (it's so nearly over now) but also of the number of weddings I have coming up this year and the joy that some Muddlers could bring! With the sun beating down (hopefully) is there a better way to start off a wedding reception than with a real fruit cocktail served over ice? I doubt it.
If you're getting married we're happy to supply to your caterer or hotel, just let us know. Think of something that's great tasting and will get people talking at the start of the reception on your special day! Not just the same old Pimms or Champers.
Henry has come up with one of those bright ideas again today! These are always frightening moments for me... the last one he had made me give up work and start on my quest to find the ultimate alcoholic drink! He's suggesting we apply for a business reality TV show thing and I 've now agreed. This may be the best way we have of showing everyone what we're up to. The frightening thing is that they may edit it all together and make us look like bigger idiots than we are managing ourselves! Anyway, we're only dropping them an email so there is a long way to go before anything may happen, and we'll be sure to keep you updated.
Well it must be the weather, but I seem to have written another load of incoherent rubbish... certainly don't expect them always to be this long. So the pressure is on, will Henry continue his initial blog excitement and post another 75 pieces or will our freelance designer (Alex Smee) who has already contributed so much to the company step up and write a piece? He is threatening to do so, and I think many of you may appreciate some insider info on the design and what it is like to work with Henry and I. He has already done so much... will he publish the thoughts that go on in his head from behind his Apple Mac?
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