Equal Measures UK

Looking forward to ! Make sure you come along to our panel, Beyond the Buzzwords: Real Diversity in Hospitality on Tuesday 12th May at 1pm on the Main Stage.

will be speaking alongside an incredible lineup of panelists about the real value of true representation: what we gain from it, what we lose without it, and how to move beyond performative approaches toward meaningful, practical change.

See you there!
🖤🤍❤️‍🔥

🌟 We are super excited about our first EMbers Community Day of the year, featuring a “Freak in the Sheets” training with the wonderful , followed by a social for our EMbers 🙏🏽🖤🤍❤️‍🔥

💌 This is a private, RSVP-only event for our community of EMbers funded by .

🫂 If you’re in the area and want to come say “hello”, please do swing by Royal Cocktail Exchange after 4pm when the venue opens 👋🏽🍹🤗

🚨Applications for 2026 are now open!🚨

Looking to join the Equal Measures UK community of intersectionally inclusive drinks & hospitality professionals?

🔗 Apply now via the form on our website here: https://bit.ly/em-application-2026

Successful applicants (please check eligibility requirements before applying) will receive:

🌟 Fully funded WSET in Spirits & Wine
🌟 Mentorship with key figures in the global industry
🌟 Community Days
🌟 Career support & opportunities
🌟 Access to a diverse community of passionate professionals
🌟 Invites to trade & exclusive events
🌟 and more…

Our Education & Mentorship programme is made possible this year thanks to the continued support of WSET (Wine & Spirit Education Trust) , Gerard Basset Foundation & our other Brand Partners.

🙌🏽💸 We are delighted with our collaboration with . Tito’s has been an incredible supporter of Equal Measures UK since 2024 when they first came on board as a Brand Partner.

☕️🍸 Last year, Tito’s Vodka and Simmon’s Bars partnered to donate 50p of every Espresso Martini sold at their venues to Equal Measures, up to the sum of £35,000 (So now you know where to head for a caffeinated cocktail!). What makes this collaboration all the more wonderful is that Equal Measures was chosen as Simmon’s Charity Partner by its staff!

🫱🏿‍🫲🏻❤️‍🔥 Working hand-in-hand with organisations such as these that value the people who make our industry and work with us to help uplift & support the marginalised workers within it, is what galvanises us.

🖤🤍 A massive thank you to the Tito’s & Simmons’ teams!

📧🗣️ If you would like to find out more about Equal Measures and how to work with us, DM us or email [email protected].

Looking forward to sitting on the panel for ’s “Fight for the Right to Party: Accessibility & Inclusion in Nightlife Spaces” at the NTE Summit 2026, at 1:30pm on Wednesday 11th February.

See you there!

🔔🥃 RARE AUCTION LOT LIVE 🥃🔔

We are delighted to share that an auction lot of, not one, but TWO rare signed items is currently live on .auction, and available for bids!

This incredibly lot (perfect for a whisky collector or a incredibly unique festive gift) includes:

🌟 A bottle of Johnnie Walker Blue Label Year Of The Snake 2025, signed by the Master Blender Emma Walker. This is bottle number 004590.

🌟A Limited Edition, Signed, Year of the Dragon Print by world-famous artist, James Jean.

The auction ends 16th December 2025, with all proceeds going towards Equal Measures UK. This lot was kindly donated by to raise funds to support marginalised people working in the drinks industry.

🍾 THE BOTTLE
Housed in a stunning bottle designed in collaboration with influential visual artist, James Jean, this special edition Johnnie Walker Blue Label provides a vibrant, yet smooth drinking experience mirroring the irridescence of the planet’s most gorgeous reptiles. Expect notes of fruit, spice and smokiness.

🎨THE ARTWORK
James Jean is a world-renowned and celebrated contemporary artist and bold cultural pioneer. His hyper-stylized aesthetic floats between dream like fantasies with emotional undertones, he imbues his worlds with multiple references — from traditional Chinese scroll paintings to more modern movements, such as anime and comics. Just as maturing whiskies blossom into life after careful aging in wooden casks, in 2024 the Year of the Wood Dragon helps good fortunes flourish. Re-imagined by James Jean, the evergreen Wood Dragon springs from bountiful flora and fauna, and bursts to life with auspicious ambition. His artwork of the mythical dragon, interwoven and layered with botanical elements, echoes the visceral flavour experience of this exceptional Scotch.

🍇 As part of our ongoing partnership with , Equal Measures UK will be funding 3 tickets for the next Curious Vines panel on 12th January 2026. These tickets will be available free of charge to drinks professionals working within the wine space who are from the underrepresented & marginalised backgrounds Equal Measures supports.

📧 To apply for a ticket, please email: [email protected], with a bit about yourself and why you are interested in attending.

EVENT DETAILS

Explore sustainability as a driver of commercial success in the wine industry with our panel of sustainability experts and thought leaders.
Sustainability is now a business imperative. As customer expectations and economic pressures evolve, the wine industry must adapt to protect long-term financial stability.

Future success depends on balancing Profit, People and the Planet through practices that build resilience and growth.

Featuring a panel of industry leaders and sustainability experts, this discussion will offer insights, research, and practical strategies to turn sustainable thinking into a financial advantage.

Whether you’re in a customer-facing role, run a business, or you plan to start one, join us for a dynamic discussion on how sustainability can enhance profitability and strengthen the sector’s stability, as we prepare for future regulations and market shifts.

Through the partnership with Equal Measures UK, a number of complimentary tickets for people from underrepresented and marginalised communities working in the wine industry can be attained by emailing [email protected]. Equal Measures UK supports workers from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds, as well as those who are q***r, genderq***r and neurodivergent.

🚀 Equal Measures UK has announced its expansion into the wine sector. Since its formation in 2020 by , the multi-award-winning non-profit has focused on providing marginalised hospitality workers with spirits qualifications, mentorships, community days, upskilling & more. Now, it is growing to support underrepresented people working within the UK wine industry.

🍇 As part of its journey into wine, Equal Measures UK will be working alongside the prominent UK wine collector, connector and champion (Founder of Curious Vines; No. 5 in Top 100 Most Influential in Drinks).

🍷WSET will also continue as Equal Measures’ Education Partner in 2026, expanding the collaboration to now support the non-profit’s beneficiaries with wine qualifications.

📥 Applications for 2026 wine beneficiaries are now open (Apply via the EM website – link in bio).

🖤🤍❤️‍🔥 Equal Measures is also looking to grow its pool of Wine Mentors. Apply by emailing [email protected]

***r

Somehow it’s the end of September and we haven’t done a post 🤯🤦🏽‍♀️🤷🏽‍♀️

We are going to partially blame this on the fact that there was SO MANY incredible things going on this year at Tales that we couldn’t decide where to start! However, we wanted to mention our first seminar at Tales as a particular highlight for us 💖

🏆 After being awarded the Tales of the Cocktail Foundation Bartender Wellbeing & Welfare 2023 grant at our first Tales, taking a seminar to our second Tales (as well as having the honour of sitting on the Education Committee) was a wonderful experience.

💖 Our “How to be an Ally: Diversifying DEI Spaces & Evolving our Approach” panellists were the inimitable .cav13 alongside our own . The discussion was informative, hard, funny, powerful, empathetic and solutions-driven, with all in attendance engaging and bringing their thoughtfulness and desire for change to the space.

🙏🏽 Thank you so much to the panellists, all attendees, and Tales for making this happen. With the world being what it is right now, it is more important than ever that we look at how we can form cognitive and active alliances, engage with our own learning/unlearning, and put genuine measures in place to move our industry and society forward together.

🔗 To help with some of this, please check out our free Toolkit creates for the TOTC Seminar in our bio.

🤙🏽 For further information about how you can work with Equal Measures to drive greater intersectional inclusion – whether that be through EDI training for your team or Brand Partnership – get in touch.

📸

We are so thankful to our Donor . Through our partnership this year, we have managed to support a number of our beneficiaries with:

🌟 courses
🌟 Mentorship with key figures in the global drinks industry
🌟 Conscious Inclusion training
🌟 Trade networking, with drinks kindly donated by via Gérard Basset

Partnerships like this are so important to us. They not only allow us to provide invaluable opportunities to our EMbers, but they allow us to connect parts of our industry so that we can learn from one another, grow together, and make this a sector that all can thrive in. We cannot wait to do more with Gérard Basset and look forward to driving positive change together 🚀💫🖤🤍❤️‍🔥.