Bottle Bar and Shop, our London-based premium cocktail brand, was co-founded by Xhulio Sina and his wife, Natalie John, seven years ago. It is a family-owned operation—Xhulio leads the mixology, personally mixing and bottling each cocktail by hand with our team, while Natalie ensures our brand’s strong presence and growth through strategic marketing and content creation. Our teamwork and dedication are the heart of the business, infusing each luxury cocktail with our passion. We would like to think our dedication has paid off and are so proud to have won a total of 17 awards in just seven years.
Chelsea Burnell from SME Local CIC sat down with Xhulio to discuss the success of our premium cocktail business, the science behind crafting unique cocktails, and the newly formed partnership between Bottle Bar and Shop and SME Local CIC.
A New Partnership of Local Commitment
Xhulio first heard about SME Local CIC through Business Network International (BNI). After speaking with directors, Craig Constantinides and Josh Mansell, Xhulio realised the shared community-focused values between Bottle Bar and Shop and SME Local CIC, leading to a new partnership between our two organisations.
“There’s a lot of good the guys at SME Local CIC are trying to do,” stated Sina. It made sense for Bottle Bar and Shop, as a small and independent business, to partner with SME Local CIC because supporting the local community has always been central to the ethos of our brand.
While the business was based in Catford, Xhulio and Natalie made efforts to hire and train local talent, particularly young individuals who are eager to learn about the drinks industry, said Xhulio. “We are very small, tiny business, but we do our best to work with local and support local,” he explained.
At Bottle Bar and Shop, we also currently collaborate with Ignition, a non-profit brewery that employs people with learning disabilities. Even our ingredients are sourced locally, with rum from Brixton, gin and vodka from Battersea, and vermouth from Kent.
The Ingenious Idea That Started It All
Xhulio has worked in the mixology industry for over 24 years. His early career involved managing some of London’s top bars, including prestigious venues like Sketch in Mayfair and the Royal Opera House. With the challenge of overseeing multiple bars simultaneously, Xhulio quickly recognised the need for a solution to maintain cocktail consistency across all locations.
“I came up with the idea about 15 years ago to just pre-make all the cocktails,” he stated. After years of refining the pre-made cocktail formulas, Xhulio and Natalie decided to open a shop, Bottle Bar and Shop, to bring the unique, carefully crafted bottled cocktails to customers, offering some of the best cocktails in London in a convenient, ready-to-drink format. Although a fantastic idea, the initial start-up did prove to be challenging, according to Xhulio.
When the shop opened in Catford, many bars and restaurants were sceptical about serving pre-made cocktails, as people had previously associated them with sugary, mass-produced options, he explained. “It [high-quality pre-made cocktails] was a completely new concept at the time,” he said.
It was during the pandemic, that people started warming to the idea of pre-made cocktails. The concept, once dismissed, has now firmly been established in the industry, said Xhulio. “So, it [pre-made cocktails] was not just a phase; it’s now here to stay and that's a good thing,” noted Xhulio.
Quality Ingredients for a Premium Product
When it comes to quality, we hold nothing back at Bottle Bar and Shop. We are committed to using natural ingredients that are of the highest quality in all our cocktails to deliver a premium experience.
Xhulio had wanted to replicate the experience of a London bar cocktail by using top-notch ingredients in a bottled format. Just as a well-crafted wine makes all the difference, high-quality ingredients elevate the flavour of cocktails, said Xhulio. At Bottle Bar and Shop we recognise that our clientele appreciates the care we put into selecting the best ingredients, because after seven years, our customers have kept coming back for more. “I'm sure our customers have tried other products, but they're coming back to us because of the quality of our products,” he said.
Probably the most rewarding stage of the process, however, has been the praise that Bottle Bar and Shop has received in the form of awards. “It’s incredibly rewarding,” stated Xhulio, reflecting on our accomplishments as a small, independent business.
Crafting a Perfectly Unique Cocktail
Xhulio’s cocktail creation process can be likened to that of a chef. “As a chef, you have to make sure the sauce is right, with the right amount of salt, ingredients, ect., ” he said. “A bartender is similar to a chef because you have to make sure your recipe and the cocktail that you are making is good.” Every ingredient is carefully balanced to create the perfect drink, Xhulio further explained.
For example, it took over 100 iterations to get our award-winning Remedy cocktail right. The Remedy cocktail, a blend of unusual ingredients like Fernet Branca, orange liqueur, and honey bitters, has now become a customer favourite, Xhulio said. Another standout creation is the Horseradish and Wasabi Bloody Mary, which puts a bold twist on the classic cocktail. Infusing the vodka with horseradish and wasabi gives it a fiery kick, making it both vegan and full of flavour, he explained
“You sometimes have to mix different ingredients to experiment,” he explained. “You know you can't play it safe all the time.” At Bottle Bar and Shop we willingly embrace creativity, take bold risks, and break away from the norm to create our award-winning cocktails.
The Future Is Bright
At Bottle Bar and Shop, the festive season is extremely busy, but it is an exciting time of year for us. This is because some of our best-selling products are Christmas-themed drinks, such as our Christmas Negroni and Christmas Gingerbread Espresso Martini, according to Xhulio. “It’s like Christmas in a bottle,” explained Xhulio. These holiday cocktails require months of meticulous infusion and preparation.
“It’s a long process,” he said. “But I'm really looking forward to that.”
We warmly embrace our new chapter of online sales, and collaboration with SME Local CIC with excitement, as we head towards the festive season.
Get 10% Off Your First Order Today!
Did you know that when you sign up via the Bottle Bar and Shop website you receive 10% off your first order? Go to our Christmas page to explore our Christmas inventory and claim your discount today!