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Brown's Hotel bar unveils emotion-inspired cocktail menu

EVOKE Menu, The Donovan Bar, Brown's Hotel, UK

EVOKE Menu, The Donovan Bar, Browns Hotel, UK

UK – Brown’s Hotel's Donovan Bar in Mayfair, London, has introduced an innovative cocktail menu crafted to evoke a journey into, through and beyond emotions. Curated by industry icon Salvatore Calabrese and director of mixology Federico Pavan, the menu presents pairs of cocktails designed to provoke a range of responses.

The menu’s first pair is Red and Adrenaline. Red is created using Patrón reposado, Amaro Santoni, ancho reyes, red bell pepper, Montelobos mezcal and bubbles, and Adrenaline features Old Tom gin, Lucano Anniversario, liquorice, Grand Marnier and balsamic vinegar.

Another duo is Wonder and (In)decision, with wonder using ingredients including Patrón silver tequila, coconut and raspberry – ‘a moment to impress’, while, (In)decision reflects ‘which one to go for?’ and is made with pisco, Campari, Theorie Cuoir Lontain, rose and soda water.

The bar's Vintage Menu lists ‘treasured rarities’, elite cocktails priced from £120 ($154, €140) to £5,500 ($7,070, €4,311).

As explored in our Hotel Bar Market report, hotel venues are turning into destinations in their own right. By betting on unique experiential hospitality, the Donovan Bar aims to attract a non-resident clientele expecting a festival of flavours in a luxurious space. For the hotel, this 'placemaking' appeals to overnight guests.

Strategic opportunity

Emotionally curated food and beverage experiences offer opportunities for upselling and premiumisation. Consider how to seduce a cohort of consumers seeking exclusive and memorable experiences

Meta introduces open-source AI tool to create music

N-Gen x Spotify image generator, Global

US – AI is coming for music creation. Thanks to Meta’s new AI-powered tool AudioCraft anyone can create audio content in a few clicks – no instruments or musical education required.

The latest AI set developed by Meta is slated to make audio creation more accessible and easier to master for brands and content creators alike. The AudioCraft AI tool enables anyone to easily play with sound creation, using text-based prompts to generate realistic audio, music or sound effects such as a dog barking, traffic noise or footsteps on a wooden floor. The tool can enable small businesses to get their hands on audio that is free from copyright and which can be used in content for social media, and help musicians experiment with new compositions among other uses.

While generative AI for images, video and text is now widely used, audio use is lagging, and Meta has shared its intentions to change this. The tech giant has made the tool open-source, allowing developers to tweak the model and move music to new frontiers.

Strategic opportunity

Creating video content comes with its challenges – consider how tools like AudioCraft can offer an alternative to copyrighted audios and allow personalisation of a brand’s sonic identity

Stat: Extreme weather puts 200m people under heat or flood advisories in the US

Sego Charger by Sego Innovations, US

Global – Some 200m Americans, accounting for 60% of the US population, have been under heat advisories or flood warnings since Thursday 27 July 2023, according to the National Weather Service. The ongoing heatwave, affecting regions from the Midwest to the Northeast and mid-Atlantic, has prompted excessive heat alerts due to expected higher-than-average night temperatures. This extreme weather scenario coincides with the prediction of severe thunderstorms in various areas, resulting in flash flood warnings for Great Lakes, Ohio Valley and parts of the Missouri Valley.

The World Meteorological Organisation and the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service have declared July 2023 as the hottest month on record. Heat experts emphasised the inequitable impacts of heatwaves which disproportionally affect marginalised communities such as homeless individuals, low-income residents and people of colour.

As explored in our Global Drivers 2030 and our Sustainability series, extreme heat will become a new normal for swathes of territories and disrupt all sectors. The era of global boiling has already started, according to the UN secretary general António Guterres – meaning businesses must adapt now to survive tomorrow.

Strategic opportunity

Consider how the new normal of disruptive weather will directly affect your business; from retailers to hospitality players, short- term considerations include how to upgrade your venues and services immediately to retain consumers when temperatures rise. Long term, consider how these issues will further influence consumer mindsets and demands for more sustainable living and what this means for your business.