Graffiti Spirits Group, Liverpool’s leading independent restaurant-bar group, has been shortlisted for a national award.
The award-winning group operates nine different venues across Liverpool and this year launched a sustainable drinks lab which focuses on helping the group to reduce their carbon footprint and cut their waste by 70%.
The pioneering lab, which is spearheaded by GSG director John Ennis, has been shortlisted for Innovator of the Year in the Restaurant Marketer and Innovator Awards alongside huge nationwide brands including Carluccio’s, Cafe Rouge and All Bar One.
GSG’s lab focuses on producing its own syrups, creams, liqueurs, bitters and jams that make up the cocktails which are available across the group’s multiple venues including Slim’s on Bold Street, speakeasy bar 81 Ltd, Rodizio pizzeria Santa Maluco, Bold Street Coffee and Duke Street Food and Drink Market, where its mezzanine bar is entirely supplied by cocktails that have been made from the lab’s ingredients.
The lab was created when the group realised they were wasting a lot of perishable products and set about making a big change to adopt more sustainable methods, with the lab helping to heavily reduce waste and speed up service.
The lab also ensures quality control as cocktails are produced in batches meaning that guests receive the same great cocktail every time.
The lab team handle the ingredients with care to ensure they get the most of them with preservation being taken to the next level to ensure the cocktails have a fresh taste. They also use other techniques from sous vide cooking, carbonation, freeze distilling, filtration and pressurised batching.
The new year will also see the lab launch new products, with a focus on sustainability and innovative packaging.
Director of GSG, John Ennis, said: “We’re very excited that the lab has been acknowledged alongside some big national brands. As a group we’ve made a real transition into adopting more sustainable methods and there’s a huge focus on reducing our carbon footprint across the whole group.
“The lab is an innovative way for us to reduce waste by 70% whilst also guaranteeing our guests’ wait time is less and they receive the perfect cocktail each time they order.”
The winners of the Restaurant Marketer and Innovator Awards will be announced in a glittering ceremony on 22nd January 2020 at Cafe De Paris in London.
The full shortlist can be found via www.restaurantinnovator.