This post is meant to be a resource on how to help individual bars you love and the industry as a whole. Please let me know if you see something I missed and I will add it to my list!
I will try and keep it in alphabetical order and by country – starting with my own!
How to Help
UK
Bottle Bar Catford – Click to buy their yummy cocktails in a bottle
Bottle Bar and Shop is the brainchild of Xhulio Sina, passionate mixologist and his wife, Natalie John, a keen sampler of Xhulio’s cocktails.
Our vision was to open a bar and a shop that could offer home made, tasty, beautiful cocktails in a bottle, and here we are in Catford! We are extremely proud to have opened Bottle Bar and Shop.
Drinks Drop
Highball Brands, a luxury drinks distribution company, has launched a not-for-profit cocktail delivery service aptly named, ‘The Drinks Drop’. The contact-free delivery service has partnered with some of the top bars in London and Manchester to bring top-quality cocktails made by professional bartenders straight to people’s doors. All of the profits from sales of the cocktails will be evenly redistributed to the bars taking part, meaning people can enjoy an at-home cocktail hour in the know they’re supporting some of their favourite bars that are currently closed due to the lockdown of cities from COVID-19. Including: Nine Lives, Black Rock, Laki Kane, Kwānt, Dandy, Doña
Gin In A Tin
Gin In A Tin has a distinctive fresh approach. We are not only renown for our quality gin but also our innovative design. Each gin is presented in a tactile tin styled on the appearance of a book, inviting consumers to gather the delicious yet colourful collection on their bookshelves at home. Distilled in the Cotswolds, using seasonal influences, we create original and exciting blends. The collection is ever-growing but currently stands at 16. Each blend is a carefully distilled London Dry gin (40% ABV) using an unusual pallet of botanicals, such as, cardamom, samphire, angelica, beetroot, orange peel, hops, and sloe to name but a few.
Hacha – buy their Ready-to-drink bottled cocktails
Their award-winning cocktail, Mirror Margarita, is a crystal clear twist on the classic which when served looks like a glass of water, but is in fact a stunning Margarita with the perfect balance of sweet and sour notes. In addition to their award winning original they are selling their Mezcal Mirror Margarita by the bottle – a smoky twist on the much loved Tequila version made with Union Mezcal, homemade Hacha sour mix, cane syrup & mixed orange oils.
Happiness Forgets – click here for their GOFUNDME page
Every penny will go to the staff paychecks over the coming months, or how ever long this lasts.
But that’s not it, we are not asking you to just give money. Any amount that you donate, can and will be redeemable against any bill in either bar, just show us your confirmation of donation email. So in reality, you will get your money back. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts, and we will see you on the other side with a Martini in hand.
Heads + Tails – Order here: https://buff.ly/3e8zCPL
Heads + Tails in West Hampstead are bringing the party right to your front door. The team have been working behind the scenes to turn Tails into a basement laboratory for batching selected cocktails for local and national delivery. They deliver anywhere in the UK as well as partnering locally with Slerp, Deliveroo and Uber Eats, to deliver same-day drinks to the residents of North West London after 5pm. Special edition gift vouchers – available to purchase online for a limited period of time – have been created at discounted rates, redeemable for 12 months. So grab yourself a £50 voucher for just £40 or a £100 voucher for just £75… while stocks last!
Nightjar & Oriole – click here for Nightjar and here for Oriole
Finally, the moment you have been waiting for has arrived…Nightjar is delighted to announce that you can now enjoy some of our favourite cocktails, delivered to your door! This is our first venture into a service like this and we’ve missed mixing cocktails so much, we hope you are as excited as we are about the possibilities this may offer. Who know where this road will take us?
From next week, we’ll be delivering in selected parts of London on Tuesdays and Fridays! We’re taking orders now for our first delivery on Tuesday 19th May. Place your order by 5pm on a Monday or Thursday and you’ll have your cocktails delivered the following day.
To begin with we’ll be delivering within selected areas in Zones 1 & 2, but we are looking at expanding our delivery reach soon. In fact, for those of you based a little further away, we will be announcing a partnership next week which will provide us with UK wide delivery! So don’t worry, if you’re not in central London, you won’t be missing out for long! We’ll be adding more stock soon too, as well as other accessories like glassware.
Porter’s Gin – Buy it here
Porter’s Gin has now launched its first new canned cocktail, Hippy Fizz. The highball cocktail was created by Porter’s brand ambassador, Jack Wareing and features a tropical base thanks to a combination of pineapple shrub and malted passionfruit which blends seamlessly with the elevated citrus of Porter’s Gin and a herbal note of patchouli. The can is now available to buy on Porter’s online webshop in 12 packs which is aptly timed launch for this warmer weather and the fact that brands are now looking at pre-batched cocktails to survive during these difficult times.
Sager & Wild – click here for their GOFUNDME page
We are trying to do everything we can to make it through this and we are trying our hardest to not lose a single member of staff, from dishwashers through to management. Our staff have already graciously agreed to pay cuts in order to accommodate the severe dip in trade, but it’s time for us to ask for help, your help. So if you can spare any amount, we are raising funds to keep our wonderful teams employed over the next few months
Small Beer – Get 10% off all Small Beer using the code WORKFROMHOME
Skywalker Cocktail
Hospitality duo Anna Sebastian and Sam Ayling, in partnership with No.3 London Dry Gin and Seedlip, has launched Skywalker, a fundraising cocktail initiative that aims to raise awareness of the growing number of people sleeping rough in London as a result of COVID-19. Many newly homeless people in the capital used to be hospitality workers.
Whilst furloughed, Artesian bar manager Anna and Metropolitan Pub GM Sam started volunteering for Under One Sky, a non-profit organisation providing food each day to those living on the streets in central London. Moved by the dramatic rise in ex-hospitality workers they encountered whilst out, the friends decided to put their skills to good use to help those in need and raise awareness of the reality of homelessness within their industry.
The result? A range of pre-mixed cocktails using the World’s Best Gin and Seedlip that sees 100% of proceeds donated to Under One Sky, to support their ongoing work and outreach.
Swift Bar – Available to order from here. or donate on their JustGiving Page!
Swift have now launched its own bottled cocktails and cocktail kits from its new menu! So that people can now order Swift’s popular Irish Coffee cocktail to enjoy at home. The kit includes Irish Coffee glasses and Swift’s own blend of coffee and a full-sized Jamesons Caskmates whisky which serves 16 for £65!
The Cocktail Trading Co.: They are raising funds through a Crowdfunder page, click here to help!
If you’re ever been to CTC or Murder Inc. and had a great time, it’s because of them. While we’re all pressed now, if you can spare anything, it will hopefully help us in lasting through this dire time and keep us taking care of them. And we’ll 100% make it up to ya. (Plus, do you really wanna make it through this apocalypse and not be able to tell your stories in a decent bar…?)
Tonight Josephine: Click here for their Crowdfunder page
If you, a loved one or a friend has ever had an amazing experience at Tonight Josephine, we need you now more than ever. Any support you’re able to offer is extremely invaluable and will help secure the future of not only the company, but the employment of 135 employees that we care deeply about.
Trailer Happiness – Click here for their GoFundMe page!
My name is Sly Augustin and I’ve been the proud owner of the Trailer Happiness in West London for the last 8 years. Trailer has long been considered an institution among rum lovers but what makes the bar extra special is the connection to community, both local and global. We understand this is a rough time for everyone so we’re not asking for charity. The value of every donation made will be redeemable against your future bill at Trailer Happiness and if you’d rather not spend money on booze you can check out our web shop for some Trailer merch. 100% of profits go towards paying our staff and with your help we hope to come back stronger than ever.
USA
Death & Co – Donate to Death & Co.’s Employee Relief Fund
Lost Lake: Donate to Lost Lake’s Employee Relief Fund
Diamond Reef: Donate to Diamond Reef’s Employee Relief Fund
Fausto: Donate to Fausto’s Employee Relief Fund
Cane & Table: Donate to Cane & Table’s Employee Relief Fund
Also:
- Donate to Restaurant Workers Community Foundation. RWCF is a New York-based 501c3 non-profit that is directing contributions to organizations leading on-the-ground efforts in the restaurant community, providing zero-interest loans to businesses to maintain payroll and establishing a relief fund for individuals experiencing economic hardship.
- Donate to the United States Bartenders Guild. The USBG National Charity’s Bartender Emergency Assistance Program is collecting donations to support their philanthropic grant program providing assistance to bartenders and their families in need. (Recipients of the grant do not need to be members of the USBG. For more info on how to apply for a grant see here.)
- Donate to One Fair Wage. OFW’s Emergency Coronavirus Tipped and Service Worker Support Fund provides cash assistance to restaurant workers, car service drivers, delivery workers, personal service workers and more unable to work in 11 states. (For more info on how to apply for a grant see here.)
- Donate to Another Round Another Rally. ARAR is a Phoenix-based 501c3 non-profit that raises emergency funds for hospitality workers, and provides $500 grants from their Hospitality Tip Jar fund. (For more info on how to apply for a grant see here.)