From Trinidad to Savile Row: Andrew Ramroop tells Cindy Lawford about his journey to the top of his trade
From Trinidad to Savile Row: Andrew Ramroop tells Cindy Lawford about his journey to the top of his trade
Whisky lovers from across London can experience Scotland’s smallest Scotch-producing region – Campbeltown – at an interactive pop-up event currently being held in the capital. Award-winning distiller Glen Scotia are welcoming enthusiasts to the Glen Scotia Grand Tour in London’s Borough Market until Sunday where they can enjoy the distinctive whisky region from the comfort of their own city.
Attendees are fully immersed in the Campbeltown environment via an interactive pop-up event reproducing the sights of the Glen Scotia distillery and the surrounding seaside town. The 60-minute experience begins with whisky-based cocktails and canapes, inspired by local producers, in the Victorian-themed distillery manager’s office. Next, guests experience Glen Scotia’s dunnage warehouse, tasting a variety of offerings from the independent distiller including a whisky exclusive to the Glen Scotia Grand Tour.
The Glen Scotia distillery, which has a history dating back to 1832, is located in Campbeltown, on the Kintyre Peninsula. In Victorian time, Campbeltown, which is the smallest and one of the most remote of Scotland’s five Scotch whisky producing regions, was known as the ‘whisky capital of the world’ and home to more than 30 distilleries. Today, Glen Scotia is one of just three surviving local distilleries. Its award-winning whiskies are known for their distinctive maritime influence and are representative of the traditional Campbeltown character.
Iain McAlister (pictured above) distillery manager at Glen Scotia, said: “We are the first to admit that Campbeltown isn’t the easiest place to get to, but when whisky fans visit Glen Scotia they are deeply impressed by our whiskies and the unique character of the region. The Glen Scotia Grand Tour gives whisky lovers a chance to share that sense of discovery and experience the lure of Campbeltown for themselves. It is wonderful to bring a taste of the region to whisky lovers in London, and our aim is to deliver the experience to audiences around the world. The first international stop for the Tour is the USA, where we will be heading in a few months.”
Glen Scotia Proud May
The Proud Mary cocktail pays tribute to Scots poet Robert Burns’ love interest, Mary who lived opposite the Glen Scotia distillery in Campbeltown and was born and bred in the town. The Glen Scotia Double Cask is one of the sweetest Glen Scotia expressions, matured in first-fill bourbon barrels before being finished in Pedro-Ximénez sherry casks, providing the perfect balance of spicy fruits, sea spray and vanilla.
To make the cocktail you will need:
Method
Glen Scotia Grand Tour
Created exclusively for the event the self named ‘Grand Tour’ is a prohibition style cocktail, with sweet and citrus flavours to live up to its moniker. The Scottish honey gives warm, floral undertones, creating a complex maze of flavours and a refreshing libation reflecting the smooth maritime flavours of Campbeltown perfectly.
To make the cocktail you will need:
Method
Whisky lovers from across London can experience
By Adam Jacot de Boinod
By Adam Jacot de Boinod
They sell to the stars but are known only to the few
They sell to the stars but are known only to the few
We at George Brummell Bespoke Tailors of London pride ourselves on having the experience behind us to confidently advise our clients when it comes to choosing a suit and making those important decisions of style and material choices which will meet their specific needs.
The process begins when the client meets with us to place an order. Time is taken to select a garment material for the weight, colour and design which we feel will suit our client’s build, lifestyle and skin tone. We offer a comprehensive choice from hundreds of the highest quality fabrics, mainly from English and Scottish mills and supplied by Savile Row’s top cloth merchants. All our materials are the best quality available and will vary from the most common normal wearing Super 90s to the more luxurious Super 100s, 120s and 150s: the higher the number the more luxurious and softer the material will be, going right up the scale to cashmere and vicuna.
The client will then meet the cutter who will be responsible for every aspect of the suit-making process. He will take approximately 20 measurements of the client, from which he will cut a paper template using an intricate cutting system. In the next step of the process, the garment is cut out by hand using the client’s template and taking care to match checked and striped patterns where necessary. The item is then trimmed using the highest grade materials possible, from the inside body canvasses to the linings, from horn or mother of pearl buttons to matching silk twist for the hand-made button holes.
The garments are then given to individual tailors who, under the supervision of our master tailor, will make them up for a fitting following the cutter’s instructions. The inside canvas is called a loose canvas, forming a ‘soft shaped’ mould which the tailor needs to take particular care making up because it needs to retain its shape for as long as the coat is worn. This is very different from the usual construction nowadays which sticks the canvas on to the cloth using heat treatments and glue, which means they are unable to retain the shape and style which is associated with Savile Row.
After the first fitting, the cutter rips everything apart, lays the pieces flat and recuts the garments for the tailor. We like to make sure the client is happy and we will only take the garments to the finished stage when this is the case. For new clients, we usually request a minimum of three fittings for his first suit but normally this process can be shortened when the client places future orders because, as the client is fitted, the cutter amends the paper pattern giving us a tried and tested template. This will allow us on occasions to finish the outfit without primary fittings, thus drastically reducing the length of time it takes to finish the suit. In addition, when clients change shape it will not be necessary to make a new template because we can alter the existing one; please be aware that our suits incorporate inlays that allow outfits to be made bigger by 3 inches (7.5 cm) to cater for the expanding waistline.
This very labour-intensive process will take a minimum of 60 working hours to complete. We pride ourselves in our product, using traditional and reliable construction methods to produce an individually made suit by hand which exactly meets the needs and demands of our clients.
The first order for bespoke suit from George Brummell Bespoke Tailors of London can take up to 12 weeks as this may require between one to three fittings before the bespoke suit can be finished. For subsequent orders, the time can be around six weeks, as we keep our clients’ measurements and paper patterns.
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