A decade at the forefront of drinks

By Dave Hunter

The website for Glasgow-based creative agency The Drink Cabinet states that the company ‘gets shit done’.

It’s a typically straight-talking description of how the female-led agency, which marks its tenth anniversary this month, does business. 

Founded in 2014 by Lauren Stewart and Andy Gemmell, and now headed by Lauren along with Bea Bradsell, the agency will be familiar to a sizeable share of SLTN readers through the work it’s done in the trade – and wider drinks industry – over the past ten years, from brand activations to training and strategy. The team has worked with a wide range of clients, from the drinks as well as venue sides of the industry. 

Client-wise, the company’s track record reads like a ‘who’s who’ of hospitality and drinks industry names, from big Scottish heavyweights such as William Grant & Sons, Whyte & Mackay and IBHL to hospitality movers and shakers including Buzzworks Holdings and Kained Holdings. 

Introducing a little ‘chaos and creativity’ into projects has always been the company’s raison d’etre, whether the project has been an interior redesign of the Caorunn distillery, multi-city activations for Jack Daniel’s or training teams of staff for Hendrick’s across the UK.  

Like most good ideas, the original Drink Cabinet proposition was a simple one: big name Scottish drinks brands – and whisky brands in particular – were relying on agencies in London, while creatives in Scotland headed south for opportunities. 

Why not create a drinks focused solution at home? 

The original Drink Cabinet was an Australian agency – founded by industry figurehead Jason Crawley – and over a couple of drams, the foundations of what would become TDC UK were formed. 

Both founders were well versed within hospitality when TDC opened its doors – Lauren from restaurant, hotel and events management before making the jump to creative agencies and Andy having managed venues before moving to the drinks side as a brand ambassador.

The concept took off pretty quickly, with early clients including Glenfiddich, The Whisky Shop and G’Vine Gin.

“Over those first few years it was just apparent that we had a bit of a can-do, gallus Glaswegian attitude,” Lauren told SLTN. “I think from working in hospitality and having to deal with constant problems arising and you have to fix them and nobody should know about it. Think of it as swan theory – everything looks smooth on the surface while you’re working hard underneath.”

The hospitality grounding wasn’t just for the company directors – on-trade experience has always been a key ingredient in the agency’s makeup. 

“We knew how important bartenders and front of house teams were to brands, and sought to employ, consult and collaborate with them,” said Lauren. 

Many of those alumni have since gone on to prominent positions in the drinks industry, working in roles as diverse as global brand ambassadors, distillers and innovation. 

Lauren said: “We’ve got this list of alumni that have worked here. And these people weren’t here for five minutes and moved on. These people came to us, maybe, as graduates with limited or no experience and worked with us for years. And a lot of our old team members are now clients, which is quite nice. It’s lovely to think that we’ve contributed to the drinks industry in that way.”

Andy left the business in 2019 to launch Glasgow bar The Gate. By then The Drink Cabinet was working on international projects that included full scale production of Glenfiddich’s World’s Most Experimental Bartender competition – a project that took the team to countries all over the world. 

Then 2020 happened: “Early 2020 we were at our best; we had moved from a start up mentality and put processes in place,” said Lauren. 

“Our team was really strong, and super creative. Then we lost a huge volume of work due to the global travel restrictions, then it was lockdown, and then the [closure] of the on-trade.

“We opted to keep folks working from home, coming up with new ideas to keep us going. We worked on a beautiful rebrand and pack design for Jean Sebastien Robiquet’s new Celtic Whisky Distillery in Brittany. We created an online ambassadorial program which benefited (and paid) bartenders and launched new to market brands in the UK. 

“Then we identified the need for online training and tastings, and associated sampling packs. 

“And that, really, is how our production facility was born. Now the production house in Central Scotland has been upgraded to house facilities that allow for the full-scale design and manufacture including bottling, photography studio and flavour lab. The team are able to manage the build of products including pre-mixed drinks, show stands, bars and other experiential spaces.”

In fact, in 2024, The Drink Cabinet is the largest stand build supplier for The Whisky Show in London. And 2024 is shaping up to be a huge year for the business. 

At the beginning of the year the company returned to Glasgow, re-taking office space in the Glasgow Collective in the city’s east end.

The business has always been at least 70% female and so the appointment of hospitality veteran Bea Bradsell as co-director has been a hugely important moment for the business. 

Bringing experience from London bars including Callooh Callay and El Camion as well as New York powerhouse The Dead Rabbit, Bea – the daughter of legendary London bartender Dick Bradsell – was literally born into hospitality.  

“I got started in the drinks industry when I came out of the womb,” Bea told SLTN. 

“I looked up to my Dad so much. I read cocktail book after cocktail book. I was this ten year old that knew the name of every single type of glass. And they weren’t the proper cocktail books bartenders would read now. It was really cheesy 1950s cocktail books. I just loved them.”

Splitting her time between London and Glasgow, Bea is now helping to steer The Drink Cabinet and bringing her considerable knowledge to the agency’s clients. 

Looking ahead, the company has ambitions for even more expansion. Bea said the agency is eyeing growth in London and overseas, and next year the business will be hosting events to mark the 40th anniversary of iconic cocktail the Espresso Martini – one of several famous drinks created by Bea’s father. 

The ability to adapt and evolve didn’t end with lockdowns, of course; the drinks industry continues to change in 2024 as the culture shifts and old attitudes fall away.

Bea said factors such as sustainability and ABV are now ‘core’ for many clients. 

“A lot of our clients have responsible drinking policies in place,” she said. “Always making sure there’s at least one non-alcoholic, one low-ABV (available). Making sure there’s something for everyone. 

“And then working as sustainably as possible. When you are doing agency work what the client wants is what we go with, but we can try to guide towards that more eco-friendly side. So we always try to suggest the most sustainable option possible. We avoid using non-reusable, non-recyclable materials as much as possible. We come up with reusable solutions to most things.”

Tastes are changing, too. 

Lauren said: “Covid, as much as it was painful, has been a great disruptor. It has been disruptive in terms of the consumer as well; we’re seeing less stereotypically gendered interests and that also applies to drinks. There’s much more focus and interest  on women and whisky and we’re seeing much more genuine interest around mixing whisky. The actual consumer dynamic is changing.”

It’s a change the team at The Drink Cabinet are happy to be a part of it. 

“I am proud of how the industry is moving forward,” said Bea. “I’m very proud to be a part of that conversation as well.”

The Drink Cabinet will be celebrating its 10th Birthday in August.