Meet our UK import, seasoned drinks industry raconteur Jake has a devotion to cocktail history, a passion for sharing knowledge, a wealth of experience on both sides of the bar, and a knack for distilling.
Jake first started bartending in 1992, the day after his 18th birthday, and quickly immersed himself in the culture of bars and cocktails.
Quickly obtaining a bar manager position Jake found himself as one of the leading figures of influence in Leeds burgeoning bar scene and by the time he joined the opening team for The Townhouse in 1998 had already established his name in the industry on a local and national level.
During 5 years of running the hugely popular and much respected cocktail bar at The Townhouse Jake saw his reputation grow and during this time enjoyed no small degree of success on the British cocktail competition scene, perhaps most memorably as the winner of the £10 000 Smirnoff Penka Diamond.
It was also during this time that he became friends with Ged Feltham- the founder of neighbouring bar Oporto. When Jake's time at Townhouse came to end he joined forces with Ged and in 2004 the company opened Jake’s Bar and Grill on Call Lane in Leeds. Jake's was an overnight success and quickly established itself as one of the favoured Leeds haunts for the modern cocktail aficionado and the more discerning Leeds drinkers. Winner of numerous awards and just as popular as ever, though neither Jake nor Ged are involved anymore Jakes Bar lives on and is now a firmly established institution of the Leeds bar circuit.
On the back of this success the company went on to open The Portobello Star in London's Notting Hill - a diminutive, self styled, Cocktail Tavern. The Star established itself as an antidote to the overarching self importance of the London bar scene and was home to the phenomenon that was The Alternative Bar Awards, amongst many other irreverent events.
In late 2011, after Jake vacated the flat above The Star, the top two floors were transformed into The Ginstitute. Dedicated to educating consumers about the history and production of Gin and offering a unique opportunity for the guests to create their own unique recipe gins.
The second part of that project was the creation of Portobello Road Gin, where Jake oversaw much of the creative side of that process, developing the recipe, packaging, brand identity, alongside creating the content for the Ginstitute experiences.
Launching in 2011 right at the start of the modern gin renaissance, both the Ginstitute and Portobello Road Gin, have become part of the modern gin landscape., with 100,000 guests through the doors for gin education, and two million bottles having been sold.
During these years Jake has been closely involved in all things Portobello Road Gin, his many roles have included new product development, brand education and representation, signature serve creation, he has also found himself working with some incredible people to help create the many Portobello Road Gin collaborations, working with chefs like Andrew Wong, Brett Graham and Carlo Cracco, bars and restaurants including The Wright Brothers Oyster Houses, The Ledbury, Speak in Code, and The Savoy, as well as helping the Portobello Road team create their signature Directors Cut gins and working with such luminaries as Mark Knopfler, of Dire Straits, to create the Local Heroes range of gins.
A keen amateur historian on all things to do with drink, drinking and drinking culture 2021 saw the release of a limited run of Jake’s first books “An Anthology of Twelve Classic Cocktails.” Detailing his take on the creation, evolution and story of some of histories most important cocktails and mixed drinks.
Over a career spanning four decades Jake has spoken at countless International drink/bartending events: Tales of the Cocktails, Athens Bar Show, Lisbon Bar Show, Tales on Tour Edinburgh, CLASS Bar Show and Imbibe Live in London, oftentimes collaborating with good friend and fellow longtime West London Bartender Bex Almqvist on topics including sustainability in spirit production, and their joint hopes and desires to maintain the credibility of the gin category.
In August of 2025, Jake accepted a new position at The Almqvist Destilleri in Sweden, where he hopes to help the exciting young brand build its portfolio of products, expand sales of their existing gin and akvavit, and hel[p expand and build their tourist offerings.
In February of 2017 Jake was honoured to receive The Lifetime Achievement Award at The CLASS Magazine Bar Awards in London.
Let us guide you through a selection of our favourite classic cocktails, along with simple instructions on how to make them. These recipes will help you get the most out of our spirits when entertaining guests at home.