word on the street 35 be one with a magnetic appeal. “I’ve met people who were training to be lawyers but who suddenly found their passion in bartending; there’s something about hospitality that they love,” Sandrae says. “They love making people happy through drinks. I love how selfless that is.” Sandrae acknowledges that the perception of cocktails has changed in the last few decades, going from 1950s cocktail hours to naff 80s concoctions to a must-drink beverage. “Ten years ago, it was starting to come through, but it was still not as appreciated as it is now,” she says. “You would never have seen drinks trolleys in your high street interiors shops. Now, every magazine, whether it’s fashion or interiors, will have some reference to a cocktail.” She feels that magazine editors are now tapping into that trend – and some trend it is. “When we first started going out to bars, I’d say 90% of the people were drinking wine, beer or champagne. Now most of them are drinking cocktails. It has become very much part of people’s repertoire.” I tell Sandrae that, for me, cocktails conjure up glamorous hotel bars inhabited by authors like Graham Greene or F. Scott Fitzgerald. “Oh, I was born for a hotel bar!” Does she have any favourites, I ask? “Oh plenty!” she says. “They’re often too expensive, but you’re paying for old-school glamour. It’s a wonderful escape – and you’ve got the drinks that take you wherever you want to go.” Evolution Quite a few things have changed for the publication over the last decade. They have acquired a mentor to help them reconsider themselves as a brand, and who has advised them to include more of their personalities in the magazine. A new designer has also helped realise Sandrae and Gary’s original vision. “He has really helped us to get back to a consumer-facing magazine. We kind of lost our way a little bit, but I love the way the magazine looks and feels now.” Having been fairly London-centric (they’re both born and bred Londoners), they are continually thinking about how to open up to the rest of the world and include more voices. “We’re evolving as much as the drinks industry is evolving. You’ve got to try things out. You’ve got to change.” What’s the secret to making a magazine like this last ten years, I wonder? “It’s keeping that passion. When you when you set up a magazine – and I feel it’s important to be honest here – you don’t make money for bloody ages,” she says. “Passion is the thing that keeps you going.” has to be our voice, because we put so much of ourselves into the projects that we do. People know us for us, and would spot other voices coming through.” Each issue of the magazine is themed, which the pair believe keeps them focused, and allows for a diverse range of voices and stories. For example, their most recent issue is about storytelling. “It includes bartenders who use storybooks in their cocktail menus, or the myths around some of these crazy cocktails,” she says. “There are the stories behind where cocktails were born, we’re looking at the people who tell stories through their cocktails, we’re exploring the Seven Principles of Storytelling.” Their ‘colour’ issue was diverse in every sense of the word. “It was about colour in cocktails, the psychology of colour in cocktails… but also people of colour in the industry. We try very hard to be inclusive.” As Sandrae suspected, people in the cocktail community are much more communicative than restaurant chefs. “People in drinks are artistic – they’re so switched on, and are always thinking of ways to innovate and create and bring people into their worlds.” The hospitality industry, a horror for some (“it scares the bejesus out of me!”) also seems to
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