The last 18 months have been a rollercoaster of emotions for those in events. A storm of restrictions, social distancing and mask wearing took hold and tore through the industry with no remorse. For us 2020 was looking to be our busiest year yet. Fully booked for the summer season with weddings, birthdays and everything in between. Then the lockdown hit, and it hit hard! The news broke when we were surfing in Sri Lanka (getting home would prove to be another struggle all together). The next week was haze of pushing back weddings, cancelling events and all the while thinking ‘what do we do now?’. Bars were out of the question as Boris had introduced his ‘Stay at home’ mantra to the nation, so, after some socially distanced brain storming meetings over Zoom, we had a lightbulb moment. The TDJ cocktail delivery service was born.
We got cracking creating a quarantine cocktail menu full of our favourite drinks and sent them to the couples who had to cancel their weddings. The word quickly spread, and we were making 300 a weekend.
We tried out a range of solutions to make the experience as simple as possible and found glass jars were the way forward. Not only are they a ready-made cocktail shaker, but also completely recyclable and re-usable. All that was needed was a little ice, garnish and you had the perfect cocktail!
A few weeks into our new business venture and the cocktails kept flying out! The constant summer lockdown sun meant we were selling out week on week as word kept spreading. Always looking for ways to give back to everyone supporting we started to launch a range of competitions and giveaways. What started as a bit of lockdown fun began to grow our business amid a pandemic. Then came the collaborations.
We were fortunate enough that not only did our audience love the cocktails, but brands wanted to get involved too. From local distilleries such as Gulliver’s 47 and Distillers of Surrey, skincare industry heavy-weights L’occitane and meat connoisseur Tom Hixson, we teamed up with some amazing companies thanks to our lockdown cocktails. With such a range of different collaborations, the business continued to grow from strength to strength.
By the end of summer, the lockdown had eased. Pubs and bars were back open, we had barely slept, but there was a light at the end of the tunnel that events would return. Just as the new content for our Summer 2021 Look book was ready, Coronavirus decided to strike again. The second wave saw the return of the lockdown restrictions and this time around, the weather wasn’t on our side.
Before long Christmas was around the corner and staff parties were unfortunately cancelled. As they say, when one door closes another one opens. Virtual parties replaced the annual work-do and we began to host virtual cocktail masterclasses sharing how to make a range of drinks with a cocktail-based quiz to add some healthy competition between colleagues.
The long list of hurdles that had to be overcome to successfully deliver to 2000 attendees and carry out over 30 masterclasses was staggering. But needs must.
The New Year came around and with it, lockdown 3. By now we had made and delivered over 15,000 cocktails and had expanded our service nationwide. The cocktail orders kept somehow still flying in and the Valentines weekend was exceptionally busy.
This brings us to summer 2021. Since the start of lockdown last year, we have made over 22,000 cocktails, conducted over 50 masterclasses and continue to deliver our delicious cocktails nationwide every week.
Now event can finally take place again this doesn’t mean the end for the cocktail delivery service. Our new summer menu has brought back our best sellers so our freshly made cocktails can still be enjoyed well beyond the 19th of July. They have been a lifeline in a world of uncertainty and, most importantly, connected us with so many people.
If you would like to order some freshly made cocktails straight to your door, take a look at our summer menu on our website or Instagram highlights and get in contact today!