The Cocktail Lovers Magazine Issue 13 Autumn 2014

ISSN 2052 0603

Brilliant minds:

In praise of the drinks innovators

Cocktails with quirk 10 of the best kooky London bars

The science of colour and how it affects your taste

+ Unveiling the oldest gin recipe in the world

On the cover

Sharp on style, cool on cocktails

IN-tro

INNOVATION:

NOW T HERE’S A WORD WITH A

BIG IMPACT

Particularly when it comes to cocktails. The past few years have seen a wealth of talent making waves on the drinks front and this issue celebrates their creativity.

London takes centre stage. Well, Blighty Central is renowned for its forward-thinking. It’s also our way of doffing our caps to London Cocktail Week which runs 6th to 12th October.

So what’s inside? We kick off by asking 50 people in the drinks industry for their definition of innovation and how it applies to cocktails (p. 12); Rebecca Milford goes in search of the kookiest bars in the capital (p. 32), and Lizzy Barber celebrates the brilliance and sheer bonkersness of some of the mavericks currently rocking the drinks world (p. 30).

Having innovative ideas is one thing, implementing them is something else entirely. We meet two companies helping pioneering bars and brands stand out from the crowd (p. 34), while Thomas Aske lifts the lid on the bits of kit behind some of the most original cocktails (p. 46).

There’s a bit of history too, with Ben Norum and Phillip Duff both looking to the past as the source of inspiration for the drinks of the future (p. 24 and p. 26); Professor Charles Spence provides the science bit with his thoughts on how colour affects the way we think about what’s in our glasss (p. 28), and art comes courtesy of eight bright sparks in the drinks world with a background in the creative industries (p. 38).

We also have interviews, recipes, travel and restaurant reviews, in fact, everything you need to make your winter just that little bit more bearable – mix yourself a cocktail and enjoy!

Happy imbibing!

Ms S & Mr G www.thecocktaillovers.com

The Cocktail Lovers - 3

IN-gredients

6. IN-the know 25 reasons to be a cocktail lover this season Things we’re looking forward to in the next three months

10. IN-terview In the hotseat – Zoe Burgess Head of Research & Development at the Drink Factory

12. IN-spire Innovation is…

50 inspiring minds share their thoughts on innovation

How to drink responsibly by Claire Warner-Smith and Georgia Van Tiel

46. IN-focus Putting the ‘mmm’ into molecular Thomas Aske lifts the lid on the tech speak behind modern mixology

49. IN-focus The craft of: the Cellar Master with Eric Forget from Hine

50. IN-focus Mixologists vs. bartenders Which gets your vote?

22. IN-spire

52. IN-dulge

Hannah and her (abv global) sisters Meet the ladies behind London Cocktail Week

Blow the budget Cocktail kit worth splashing out on

24. IN-spire

Mince source Like mince pies? Then you’ll love these seasonal recipes from Richard Woods.

Book of wonder & delight Recreating the recipe for the oldest gin recipe in the world, by Phillip Duff

26. IN-spire Timely but timeless Ben Norum looks to London’s past and how it’s shaped the new wave of spirits

28. IN-spire

54. IN-the mix

56. IN-dependent spirits A roaring success The rise and rise of Ryan Chetiyawardana and White Lyan

58. IN-dustry greats

Drinking in colour Professor Charles Spence on the science of colour and cocktails

Mixing it up with the Maestro Hats off to Salvatore Calabrese, almost 50 years in the business and still at the top of his game

30. IN-the spotlight

62. IN-formed

Bonkers but brilliant Lizzy Barber celebrates the most creative minds in drinks

Mains & Martinis Five restaurants where the drinks are as good as the food

32. IN-the spotlight

64. IN-formed

Cocktails with kook 10 London bars where originality is key,

by Rebecca Milford

Word up…

News, views, reviews and interviews from the cocktail front

34. IN-the spotlight

68. IN-sider’s guide

Creative streaks Meet two companies injecting innovation into bars and brands

Top toon Where to get quality cocktails in Newcastle, by George E. Fellows

38. IN-style

70. IN-ternational

Get the drinks in with…

The arty set. Eight creative talents in the world of drinks

Pole stars Vodka shots and zakaska in Warsaw

44. IN-focus

Snap-shot The best bits from the last three months

Drink, eat, live

74. IN-vite only

Editors: Sandrae Lawrence, Gary Sharpen Sub-editor: Sally Briggs Creative Director: James Cheverton at Burnt Studio burntstudio.com Illustrations: Melanie Milne mellmadedesign.com pezandpencil.co.uk Nick Schon nickschonillustrator.com Photography: Johnnie Pakington johnniepakington. com Travis Watson traviswatson@hotmail.com Contributors: Thomas Aske; Lizzy Barber; Peter Chua; Philip Duff; George E. Fellows; Rebecca Milford; Ben Norum; Professor Charles Spence; Lauryn Tomlinson; Georgia Van Tiel; Claire Warner-Smith; Richard Wood For all editorial and advertising enquiries, please contact: mail@thecocktaillovers.com 020 7242 2546 www.thecocktaillovers.com Printed by Polestar UK Print Ltd. Reproduction in whole or part of any contents of The Cocktail Lovers magazine without prior permission from the editors is strictly prohibited.

Cover shot: Johan Ekelund, occasional bartender and director of Sharp & Dapper.

For details see p. 40.

Issue No. 13 Autumn/Winter 2014 The Cocktail Lovers magazine is published by The Cocktail Lovers in London, UK

PLEASE DRINK RESPONSIBLY

The Cocktail Lovers - 5

25

REASONS TO BE A COCKTAIL LOVER THIS SEASON

N1 o

Having a Hendrix experience Andre 3000 as Jimi Hendrix in ‘Jimi: All Is By My Side’, now that’s something we must see. To drink? A Purple Haze cocktail of course. Mix six parts Absolut Vodka, two parts lime juice, one part Chambord Raspberry Liqueur, one part gomme syrup. Shake over ice and serve in a chilled (out) glass.

6 - The Cocktail Lovers

Illustration: mark reihill markreihill.com

Intensifying the G&T experience, stirring things up then taking it sloe, just three of the things we’re looking forward to in the next few months

IN-the know

03

02

TUCKING INTO WINTER WARMING DISHES

getting our gin on

such as plain old pasta given the VIP treatment with Venison, Mushroom & Whisky sauce.

Summer salads don’t come even close. davidandoliver.co.uk

There’s nothing like a London Dry Gin actually made in London. Try this new one from eastlondonliquorcompany.com

FOUR

Dressing up

‘Tis the season for getting your swank on. Ladies, 20th Century Foxy has got party frocks down pat – flattering figures in sexy 1940s through to 1960s styles, in sizes 8 to 24. 20thcenturyfoxy.com

08 Rocking out to wine

Seriously. Whether you’re into Metallica, Mozart or Madonna the sommeliers at D&D Wine have the tipple that’s in tune with your palate, they even pair it with a suggested playlist. Rock on! danddwine.com

05

TAKING IT SLOE

Woah tiger, not so fast, during winter time gin benefits from some sloe action. Make your own sloe gin by piercing the skin of 450g sloes, then adding 275g sugar and 750ml of gin to a sterilised jar. Stir and leave to do its stuff for two to three months.

Indulging 07 in creamy drinks Shhh, don’t tell anyone but come winter we have been known to partake in a cheeky creamy cocktail or two. Try a Brandy Alexander: 1 part brandy, 1 part créme de cacao, 1 part double cream. Shake over ice and pour.

06.

Or cheat…

Too much like hard work? Don’t worry, we won’t judge. Get into the sloe groove courtesy of Sipsmith – its Sloe Gin is the business in a Negroni. sipsmith.com

NINE...

KEEPING IT IN THE FAMILY

Parent wears gin, mini-me is the tonic – happy families all round. Gin and Tonic organic cotton twin set, Twisted Twee. notonthehighstreet.com The Cocktail Lovers - 7

IN-the know

11 Hitting the sweet stuff

Mojito, Peach Bellini, Pina Colada – winning combos that taste just as good reworked into non-alcoholic Jelly Belly Cocktail Classics as they do in your glass. jellybelly-uk.com

10

BEING CHARMED

Drop the fat bloke in the red coat a hint and if you’ve been good, one of these charms may well end up in your stocking. linksoflondon.com

12

Making friends with Cocknies

Not the cor blimey guv’nor types, we’re already down with those, we’re focusing on the cocktail brownies from South East Cakery. Bite into cocktail-licious combos including sublime Strawberry Daiquiri. southeastcakery.com

13.

UPPING OUR VEG QUOTA

We’re aiming to get at least one of our fivea-day in a cocktail. Veg out on the Laroche Cocktail featuring heirloom tomatoes, basil, celery, apple juice and mushroom syrup, on the menu at The Balcon until the end of October. thebalconlondon.com

POPPING STYLE AT THE SAVOY

14

The new menu in the Beaufort Bar is literally a work of art. Each of the 15 delicious cocktails is depicted with a stunning pop-up illustration, followed by a knock-out drink. fairmont.com

FIFTEEN

DRINKING IN THE RAW At Tanya’s Cafe the cocktails on the menu after 4pm take in super foods and cold-pressed juices. Get fresh with drinks combining raw honey, coconut palm sugar, matcha powder and chia seeds, given bite with a healthy splash of alcohol. tanyascafe.com

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Adding salt to our cocktails

16

Just a pinch of sodium chloride makes your cocktails sing – don’t take our word for it, it’s the must-have ingredient behind some of the world’s best bars. Try it and see.

18.

adopting bartender style Bow ties aren’t just for guys, girls can rock the look too. We’re loving the natty tartans, tweeds and paisleys in the Edinburgh Bow Tie collection.

Add a clean shirt and bags of attitude. edinburghbowtie.co.uk

17

Applying longlasting lipstick We’ve put them to the test and if you want one that remains on your mouth, not on the glass, we recommend L’Oreal Rouge Resist – it’s a stayer. loreal.com

IN-the know

N 19

20

No freezer should be without this l’il gizmo. Freeze the cooling pouring spout, pop it into a bottle and it will be cold in a matter of minutes. handpickedcollection.com

with BTW tonic syrup. Handmade in Bermondsey each week to a traditional Victorian recipe, it’s the secret weapon to a cracking cocktail. btw-drinks.com

o CHILLING

Intensifying the G&T experience

STIRRING 22 THINGS UP Want to save your wrist action for more important things? Then this little gizmo will help you out. Add your ingredients to the Cocktail Spinner, press the lever and simply watch it do its stuff. root7.com

TWENTY ONE Bringing the sunshine in

Bog off winter, we’ve got our defence sorted. The Duppy Share rum is bursting with heat from the Caribbean – sure beats bulky woollies. theduppyshare.com

24

Honouring tradition

There’s mulled wine and there’s Cornelius Ampleforth Christmas Mulled Cup. To make the perfect winter drink take one bottle of fruity red wine, 65g of caster sugar, heat in a pan with 50ml of this spiced elixir and you’re done. masterofmalt.com

23

Going for glassware with bite

We mean it. Edible glassware is a thing. Get your teeth into the biodegr(edible) cups currently available in pink grapefruit and yuzu flavours. Forget washing up, when you’ve finished drinking, just eat! loliware.squarespace.com

KEEPING HANGOVERS 25.

AT BAY Be prepared for the party season. Keep some magnesium in the kitchen, Apply Me Hangover Rescue Balm in the bathroom cabinet and a litre bottle of water by your bed – that should do the trick. applymebeauty.co.uk The Cocktail Lovers - 9

Photography: addie chinn

IN-terview

IN THE HOTSEAT

Zoe Burgess

MEET ZOE BURGESS, HEAD OF RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT AT DRINK FACTORY. SET UP IN 2005 AS A SPACE WHERE LIKEMINDED BARTENDERS COULD EXPAND THEIR KNOWLEDGE OF COCKTAIL CRAFT AND PUSH CREATIVE BOUNDARIES, IT’S GEEK CHIC IN EXQUISITE LIQUID FORM What is the Drink Factory?

Drink Factory is a research hub run by Tony Conigliaro.

We focus on flavour and aroma in a liquid format and develop drinks for our bar 69 Colebrooke Row. We also create the drinks lists for Zetter Townhouse and Grain Store as well as work on various in-house projects such as the Drink Factory magazine.

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

I always enjoyed making things as a child and knew that I wanted to go into the arts or a creative field.

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As an adult, how close do you feel you have come to achieving this?

I feel very lucky; I’ve ended up in one of the most creative environments I can think of. Drink Factory is an ever-changing space so there’s lots of scope to get involved in different projects and flex various creative muscles.

Is there an element of childlike curiosity to the work you do?

I would say there is, in terms of how we peruse ideas, we never dismiss any thoughts and we’re never afraid of something failing. I find this approach, and lack of negative judgment, quite childlike.

Who is the team and how do you fit into it?

Tony leads the group at Drink Factory, we consist of five full-time people who manage the admin and creative side of the company. My role is Head of Research and Development.

IN-terview

What does your role as Head of Research and Development entail?

I look after the research and development of new drinks and ideas, after brainstorming with Tony and the team it’s my job to start looking into the ideas in more detail and push them into finished drinks. I also look after the lab as a whole, making sure everything is running as it should and that we have the equipment required to complete our work.

How did your previous experience equip you for the role?

I previously worked with chocolate so had developed a palate which was focused on looking for the nuances of flavour, this really helps in my current work.

As Head of Research and Development, what’s the one tool you couldn’t work without?

My notebook, I’d be lost without it!

Who’s the most inspiring person you’ve ever met and why?

I’ve been lucky enough to host some talks with some great scientists such as Professor Charles Spence (p. 28) and Professor Andrea Sella, which is a great opportunity to open up a dialogue into different areas of science and f lavour.

What qualities are prerequisites for the job?

Attention to detail is a must, along with not being afraid to try new things.

How has your job evolved in the 3.5 years you’ve been at Drink Factory My role is ever evolving. When I first started I worked on the floor at 69 Colebrooke Row, which gave me great insight into the running of the bar and what’s involved in the drinks.

How have you evolved in the years since you’ve been at Drink Factory and how much of this do you attribute to the job?

I would definitely say my confidence has grown a great deal. As we work with such a diverse range of ingredients at the Drink Factory I’ve been lucky enough to really build my palate and repertoire of aromas and tastes, which is invaluable.

What’s the best part of your job?

I don’t think I could pick out one thing!

What projects are you proudest of working on and why?

Working on the Drink Factory magazine has to be one of my proudest moments. For the first issue we explored the theme of gothic in great detail, allowing ourselves as much creative freedom as possible. The goal wasn’t to create drinks that would necessarily be used in a bar, though all of the drinks were made and do work. We wanted to explore the limits of what a cocktail can be and play with this boundary a little.

Do you and the team purposely set out to be innovative?

I think this is part of the nature of Drink Factory. We start with what we’re interested in at the time, be it an ingredient or something more abstract like a piece of music, take a narrative from this and see what can be translated into the drink.

From issue one of the drink factory magazine

What does innovation mean to you?

Not being afraid to try new things.

What are the most important innovations you’ve seen in drinks and the way we drink in the past five years?

I think people are much more open minded and willing to try new things. I really like how drinking environments have become all encompassing and involve the full sensory experience, not just the drink itself. thedrinkfactory.com 69colebrookerow.com grainstore.com thezettertownhouse.com

The Cocktail Lovers - 11

ASK 50 CREATIVE PEOPLE FOR THEIR THOUGHTS ON ONE SUBJECT AND YOU’RE ALWAYS GOING TO GET INTERESTING ANSWERS. THE QUESTION? WHAT’S YOUR DEFINITION OF INNOVATION AND HOW DOES IT APPLY TO COCKTAILS?

IN-spire

INNOVATION IS...

IAN …a new or better way to prepare or present your drink, a way that inspires others to want to replicate it, or the regurgitation of forgotten styles of drink-making brought back to life for a new, discerning audience. For example, throwing or rolling your cocktails, blazing your spirits or even using abstract vessels to serve your cocktail in.

Ian Burrell, Global Rum Ambassador

EGOR

ALEX

…a modernist approach to one of the elements of constructing cocktails. One of the main and last innovations in my opinion is flavoured ice and the smoking gun, both of these innovations are helping bartenders rethink classic cocktails.

…the application of better, different and more interesting solutions to drinks and everything which surrounds them.

Egor Stepanov, Time Out Bar, Moscow

Alex Kratena, Artesian Bar, London

NATHAN …something that comes from passion and desire. Passion is the influencing factor that comes from cooking, art, books, drinks or just life. Desire is the drive to constantly create new avenues to explore and constantly look at new ways to improve what we do on a daily basis.

Nathan O’Neill, Dandelyan, London

SimONE …challenging people into a new experience. The consequence of a good innovation is evolution. Some traditional products are still popular after decades because they were a result of a new discovery which was successful and set a new standard.

Simone Caporale, Artesian Bar, London

DEE

…something new and/or different. In the cocktail world this means finding new and exciting ways of making the most interesting, tasty, best-presented drink and standing out from the crowd.

Dee Davies, Western Europe Brand Ambassador, Jinzu, Bristol

MONICA …something that either challenges what already exists, making it better, or something completely new that changes the way we look at things from that point on. I think the cocktail industry has seen a lot of innovation, in how we approach drinks-making and our understanding of why.

Monica Berg, Pollen Street Social, London

The Cocktail Lovers - 13

INNOVATION IS...

DENNIS

MARTIN

…the ability to trigger all the senses at our disposal will be the future of food and drink – think about enjoying a drink with a scent of salt, listening to the waves crashing on the beach. As for food pairing, the kitchen is increasingly approaching the bar, or vice versa, and I’m sure this will be the culmination of a tasting experience at the highest level.

James …creating new answers for a problem or question. A few years ago the emphasis was on original cocktails. The question now is how we create a bigger and diverse cocktail culture, how do we make it genuine in different cultures?

Innovation is more important when looking at the whole picture.

Martin Auzmendi, Journalist, Buenos Aires

MARTA

…discovering the undiscovered or bringing back the forgotten using a better vision than before. When it comes to cocktails, I believe going back to the original recipes, the way they were made in their native countries, makes people appreciate the simplicity of balancing fresh fruit, simple syrup and alcohol. When it comes to new drinks, replication is key. These drinks may have the potential to become future classics. Here I salute Sam Ross, who invented my favourite drink in the world, The Penicillin.

…creating a new story or adding a modern look on a timely classic.

For me it’s really about bringing the history of the spirit or cocktail into the limelight. In the UK final of World Class I had to design a best of British cocktail. I simply took iconic British ingredients such as strawberries, Sarson’s Malt Vinegar and tea and created a Punch. As I created the drink, cuts of Queen tracks were played. Under Pressure when making a pressurised infusion, We Will Rock You when I served the whisky an pear flavoured stick of rock as a garnish.

James Fowler, The Larder House, Bournemouth

Dennis Zoppi, Smile Tree, Turin

AN DY

…the ability to think outside the box and take inspiration from everything around you. Real cocktail innovation is the ability to take a seemingly mundane thing and transform it into an exciting and unusual creation.

Andy Mil, drinks consultant, London

NEIL

…someone who is able to think outside the box. It’s not always about creating something new, but turning it on its head, it’s about challenging people’s perceptions. The rise of the bottled cocktail is a great example of innovation in terms of a service system: “How do we serve 100 cocktails a night without making the guest wait for ages?” White Lyan did it perfectly, amazing drinks all bottled, original concept with all systems in place to make it a success. This is innovation at is best.

Neil Rivington, Aberdeen Street Social, Hong Kong

Marta Gronowska, freelance bartender/events organiser, London

LYNNETTE …an essential part of the growing cocktail movement. To me it’s the ability to take something that seems normal or second nature and find another, cleverer way of doing it. This can be as simple as the dry shake for egg white, better ways to make infusions where the flavours are more pronounced or a new stirring technique.

Lynnette Marrero, Co-Founder, Speed Rack, New York

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TRISTAN …a word that is perhaps becoming over-used, and more to the point, confused. It’s easy to mistake something that is simply ‘new’ for innovation, but in my mind it must fulfil a need and genuinely improve the customer experience, either directly or indirectly.

Tristan Stephenson, author; Director Fluid Movement, bar owner Surf-Side, Cornwall/Worship Street, London

IN-spire

GUY

…something you can’t put a box around, as soon as you do, you kill it.

Innovation exists outside the box. In regards to how it applies to cocktails I believe that it’s all about personality and people, if you are letting your personality influence your bartending and drink-making with the agenda of giving people a new, comfortable and exciting experience, then our industry will stay healthy Guy Jacobson, Charley Noble, New Zealand

CAMPER

…taking materials or processes into one’s own hands in order to change the status quo (with the goal of making improvements, though that’s not always what happens). In cocktails this can be as simple as using an ingredient in a new/unintended way, like bitters as a base spirit, or as complicated as controlling production, like pouring house-carbonated, custom-distilled gin into a nitrogen-cooled, hand-blown tumbler filled with wormwood tonic and laser ice.

Camper English, Drinks Journalist, San Francisco

LUIS …the creative process that explores the imaginary concept. In cocktails innovation is to question the source of the known, and challenge methods and techniques in order to develop new ways to improve flavours, balance and harmony in drinks. Innovation is the endless search of new concepts and inspiration.

RIKARD

Luis Simoes, Chiltern Firehouse, London …

ALBERTO

CLAUDIO …keeping up with the times and surprising your customers while maintaining a high level of hospitality. A few years ago to create a cocktail everyone started from the recipe, but now everything has changed – the aim is also very much about what is around it; glassware, food pairing, the history, the smells, the touch, the technique. For innovative cocktails we have to stimulate all the senses because you drink a cocktail in a multi-sensory way. Therefore, the ingredients of true innovation – the limit is your imagination and fantasy!

Claudio Perinelli, Bartender’s Academy, Italy

…the result of a conscious change. It doesn’t mean an improvement, but a different way of thinking/making/ presenting a cocktail/technique/ vessel. There is no such thing as innovation without being conscious of changing the past.

Alberto Pizarro, Bobby Gin Barcelona

…understanding the past. When it comes to cocktails I’d say that there are a lot of people who know where and when, but not too many who know why! The only way to get to this ‘Joda’ state of mind is through experience, laughs and a little bit of nerdiness.

Rikard Enell, Taverna Brillo, Sweden

PETER

…the increasing interest in designing cocktails to go with food, particularly wine-based cocktails. It’s an exciting and growing innovation as it showcases both the food and the cocktails. It also allows the bartender to develop a new way of looking at their creations. We have some way to go to reach perfection with wine-based cocktails but we are getting there and I can see a future with sommeliers being trained to suggest cocktail and food combinations in the same way as they do with wines.

Peter Dorelli, former Head Bartender, The Savoy, London

The Cocktail Lovers - 15

INNOVATION IS...

JACK

…to constantly challenge yourself. When it comes to our creative process, we don’t sit and think, ‘how can we be innovative’. We try and figure out what we want and then how we make it happen.

Oisin

Jack McGarry, The Dead Rabbit, New York

DAN

…cyclical trends. Innovation often draws inspiration from the past and shapes it into something, if not completely new, at least modern feeling. The difference today is that the execution is more refined and I believe that the focus is firmly on quality and hospitality. Customer experience is definitely, and correctly, the driving force these days and when innovation is driven by a desire to elevate that customer experience that’s when we get great cocktails.

Dan Warner, The 86 Co, London

JON …being driven by curiosity, to see what happens when you combine one ingredient with another, or apply an interesting technique to something. I don’t think we’ve reached the limit of what can be done with mixed drinks, but new, creative ideas strike me as being a product of evolution rather than revolution – we build on things, react against things, and that’s how we push the craft forward.

…when a brand can give me a product, that is better than one I can produce myself. If a company comes along with something that’s brand new, such as Solbeso, then that’s the ultimate innovation. If the likes of Hendrick’s can get people used to enjoying cucumbers in their drinks, then that too is a great innovation as it broadens the scope of the public palate.

Oisin Davis, Great Irish Beverages, Dublin

Jon Hughes, Bramble, Edinburgh

JJ

…finding new ways for people to think, feel and interact with their drink, through the manipulation of the senses.

JJ Goodman, Entrepeneur, London

ALBERT LUCA …a new insight or development that can be used to improve the guest’s experience.

Albert van Beeck Calkoen, Mister Cocktail, Director of Hospitality, Amsterdam

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…a fresh new idea, an idea taken from another industry, popularising something that has been done before but has been forgotten, breaking boundaries of what is generally accepted.

Luca Cordiglieri, China Tang, London

KENNY …a process to translate an idea into something that creates value for my customers. I love to surprise my clients with new products that I use for my cocktails or special serves. But most of all, I love to challenge myself by finding new, interesting products for my cocktail creations.

Kenny Klein, Maniac Bar Artists, Austria

IN-spire

DANIL …in cocktails where the name, glass, garnish, ingredients, story and presentation ritual all form together into one whole concept. A story of a drink which you don’t need 30 minutes to explain to a customer because it clicks already when they receive it. You can call it avant-garde bartending (ripped straight from the world of chefs and cooking) or method bartending (ripped straight from acting).

TONY …not using other peoples’ ideas and always striving to find new flavours and combinations. Also, finding new ways to befriend and entertain your customers.

Tony Conigliaro, Flavourist, The Drink Factory, London

RAN …self-innovation and global innovation. Self-innovation is working on your skills and training them to high levels. Global innovation is based on re-thinking some classic methods but doing them with so much care and precision you find new methods.

We have Heston Blumenthal, who mixes cooking with chemistry, Tony Conigliaro, who mixes bartending with alchemy and chemistry, creating mixology. These are true innovators for me. They explore beyond the boundaries of imagination.

Ran Van Ongevalle, The Pharmacy, Gent, Belgium

Danil Nevsky, Tales & Spirits, Amsterdam

JUAN …the search for new ways to make drinks, new flavours, new garnishes and application of the latest techniques. For me it is not enough to make good drinks, you need to make a special and unique experience, like a performance.

Juan Valls, El Nino Perdido, Valladolid, Barcelona

GR ANT

…necessary for any bar to succeed.

Bartending is an art and art thrives off innovation. We’re lucky enough to work in an industry where the ability to channel our creativity is rewarded... Or sometimes requires someone on your team to listen to the crazy ideas and make sense of it all.

Grant Sceney, Fairmont Pacific Rim, Vancouver

Mannmohan …making whatever the guest wants and catering to their needs. It also means coming up with new ideas to enhance the taste and presentation of a cocktail – that could be with crazy garnishes or in the serve. In terms of cocktail menus, we have mood cocktails on our list, it gives us the freedom to make something innovative and exciting for our guests, mixing cocktails according to their preference.

Mannmohan Singh, PCO, New Delhi

The Cocktail Lovers - 17

INNOVATION IS...

MARIAN …original style and a unique approach with a personal touch. It doesn’t always mean impressing or doing new serves, but it should be about creating experiences that surprise and impress guests.

Marian Beke, Nightjar, London

PAUL

…an entirely original concept, or a new way of achieving or interpreting something that’s already out there. In cocktail terms, innovation might be developing a novel system of carbonation in order to batch sparkling cocktails in greater volumes and with greater consistency; working out how best to recreate a classic drink using a different base spirit so that it captures the characteristics you want, or even developing different serving vessels that change consumers’ perceptions of a drink. I would say most cocktail innovation goes on behind the scenes to improve speed, efficiency and flavour for the customer, so your innovative serve with a unique garnish might only be a glimpse of a continuous process of improvement and quiet revolution practised by the best bars and most conscientious bartenders.

Paul Mathew, Blood & Sand Limited, Phnom Penh and London

VASILIS

GA RY

THANOS

…doing things differently.

Gary Regan, bartender/ author, New York

MARIAN …a passion for discovery: being openminded and eager to explore new fields or revisit those already known. My inspiration comes almost from everywhere; a nice dish from a restaurant, a trip, driving, a song, the sound of the waves, the smell of a perfume, a piece of clothing, every detail of everyday life could set my mind free.

Vasilis Kyritsis, The Gin Joint, Athens

…about daring to do! You might lose, but if you succeed you’ll stay forever and you will be the one who leads the way. Most importantly, you’ll fulfil yourself. It’s about creativity and the feeling that you can’t be conservative and do the same things all your life.

Thanos Prunarus, Baba au Rum, Athens

…in cocktails, created by the knowledge of flavours.

It’s like the periodic system of a chemist. If you know the DNA of a cocktail or liquor then you can adjust all the ingredients in it. New herbs, techniques or the presentation of drinks help to make interesting innovations.

Marian Krause, Cologne

Spirits,

MAX

ROBBIE

Max La Rocca, World Class Ambassdor for Western Europe, Rome

Robbie Bargh, CEO, Gorgeous Group Consultancy, London

…removing the boundaries between cocktails and other areas like art, literature, music and of course food; showing the world that bartenders are on a par with the world’s best craftsmen and elevating cocktail culture to become an integral part of consumer lifestyle.

18 - The Cocktail Lovers

…to innovate we need to first adapt to the environment, which is why as an international consultancy we spend time researching and understanding our clients needs and comparing that to what the environment needs and expects, then surpassing both with a game changer.

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AL EX

Sipheng

…the ability to harness inspiration from the world around you and use it to create a product that feels novel. If the drink actually works and tastes good then it’s probably because there is method and common sense behind its creation, no matter how simple or crazy the ingredient combination might seem.

…bringing a new idea that will benefit the greater good and supercede the previous methodology. In cocktails innovation improves the production and the experience for the drinker such as the invention of the cocktail shaker, blender or machine that makes crystal clear ice.

Sipheng You, Pimp Shuei, London

Alex Turner, London

ADRIAN

CHRIS …constantly looking to improve, develop and better what you are doing. If you follow this train of thought you will naturally innovate, because boundaries start to fade away and you begin to look at drinks as a vehicle through which you can deliver amazing experiences.

Chris Moore, Beaufort Bar, London

ALEX …pushing the boundaries of what we think is currently the norm, making us question what has been before and to see things in a new way. From a drinks PR perspective, innovation is obviously a great asset for generating media worthy content however, it’s important to ensure it has relevance, is communicated appropriately and doesn’t appear gimmicky.

Alex Irving-Smyth, Bacchus PR, London

JON …breaking boundaries and attempting things that have never been done before. Whether it be in terms of technique, presentation, ingredients, methods or the show.

My father (Salvatore Calabrese, see p. xx) used to tell me a drink should please the eyes, the nose and the tastebuds, so for me this is the core rule.

Jon Calabrese, The Hoxton Pony, London

…taking the longer/harder/ sometimes more costly route to achieve a better outcome. The drinks industry has never been more open to it than it is right now and our guests are reaping the results.

Adrian Gomes, The Tippling House, Aberdeen

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illustration: mark rei

Promotion

TAKE THREE LONDON BARTENDERS AND ONE BOTTLE OF ANGOSTURA® AROMATIC BITTERS… Ah yes, the views. To your left there’s St. Paul’s and the Gherkin, on the right you’ve got the Palace of Westminster and Oxo Tower in your sightline. Just right for sitting back and admiring with a cocktail in hand. “Our guests go for easy-going drinks, which suits my style and the bar perfectly,” says Doumer.

Best-sellers include fruity numbers such as the Flower in the Rain with vodka, strawberry, raspberry and cranberry juices. “We do have classics as well,” she adds, “but nothing too adventurous. We have tried but you have to listen to what your guests want.”

Angostura® aromatic bitters play a part in the dialogue too. “Angostura® aromatic bitters speak to everyone, they have the most personality and their own distinct flavour profile – you always know they’re there”.

Wise words. melia.com

THE PEOPLE PLEASER:

JULIE’S ANGOSTURA® AROMATIC BITTERS CHOICE: Rum Old-Fashioned 70ml rum

JULIE DOUMER

Small bar spoon of sugar infused with vanilla 2 dashes of Angostura® aromatic bitters

Want to know where the beautiful people are hanging out these days? Have a peek on the rooftop at ME London. During the summer Radio, its tenth floor bar, is a veritable magnet for those looking to top up their tans, in winter it’s no less of a draw. “It’s a busy spot, particularly at weekends,” Assistant Bar Manager Julie Doumer confirms. “We have a late license, cool DJs who play on Saturdays and Sundays and then of course, there are the views.”

MAKE IT AT HOME: Mo d ern Mu l e

Method: Add sugar and two dashes of Angostura® aromatic bitters to a Rocks glass. Pour in rum and stir until sugar is dissolved. Add ice (optional).

35ml vodka 50ml ginger beer 25ml fresh lime juice 25ml sugar syrup 3 dashes Angostura® aromatic bitters

20 - The Cocktail Lovers

Method: Shake and strain over crushed ice into an Old-Fashioned glass.

Find out more at Facebook.com/angosturauk angosturabitters.com

Photography: travis watson

Knowing how and when to engage with guests is another important factor.

“I was taught that as a bartender you should be a storyteller – whether that’s telling a story through the drinks you make, or having banter for 20 minutes or so, and that’s what you can expect at Radio.”

Promotion

THE TASTEMAKER: OSKAR KINBERG

“I started in nightclub bars surrounded by really cool people, the geekiness came later,” jokes Oskar Kinberg. If he is a cocktail geek, the Swedish bar owner keeps that side of his cocktail offerings firmly under wraps. Check the menu at his eponymous bar Oskar’s at Dabbous and there are none of the contemplative heavy drinks, it’s all puns and fun a-go-go.

“The style here is very light and fresh – very consumer-friendly,” he says referring to a menu boasting drinks with names like Basil Fawlty, Shisho Fine and Grape Balls of Fire. “We use ingredients you won’t find in your regular high street bar, things like Aquavit, Somerset cider OSKAR’S ANGOSTURA® AROMATIC and Piscos which may seem BITTERS CHOICE: weird to read but in the drinks we’ve created, they’re very accessible.”

Rum Direction The bar and Dabbous, the restaurant above, opened just over two years ago and both 45ml rum have been on the radar for London’s tastemakers ever since. “I set out to create a value15ml Cocchi Vermouth Amaro for-money good-times bar and, considering the time, care and attention that goes into 15ml banana liqueur infused with a cigar our homemade ingredients, I think I’ve fulfilled my own brief,” he smiles.

5ml homemade velvet falernum While Oskar and the team pride themselves on making artisanal syrups and infusions, there’s a special place for Angostura® aromatic bitters behind the bar.

Dash of Angostura® aromatic bitters “Angostura is the daddy of bitters, it’s the forefather of all the millions of brands Method: that have followed since. There’s a saying in Sweden which translates directly to Stir over ice. Pour into rocks glass and garnish something like, ‘old is oldest’, meaning that whoever or whatever has been around with a lime twist. the longest knows best. That’s definitely the case with Angostura, there are no other bitters quite like it.” dabbous.co.uk

to Uma Thurman, Jada Pinkett-Smith, Elton John and Bill Clinton all in one evening, which actually happened once. You definitely have to enjoy meeting people to be in this profession and you need to know how to engage with them at every level”.

He can do that alright. “It’s funny, I remember walking down the street with my mum when I was a young boy and it used to be a nightmare – we’d have stop and talk to people every two minutes because everyone knew her,” he laughs.

Now, thanks to his fun-loving personality and stints behind and managing bars like The Big Chill House, Mahiki and The Box, he’s like The Fonz of the bartending community.

Which is a bonus when it comes to managing hip all-day hangout Loves Company in Shoreditch and running his events consultancy Specific Gravity.

They may be two separate ventures but they have one thing in common: Angostura® aromatic bitters as a staple.

THE DON:

RUSSELL BURGESS “My mother is a psychologist and my father is a social worker,” explains Russell Burgess when asked if being sociable is in his DNA. “I guess that people side runs in the family, so yes, bartending suits me perfectly. One day I can be at a festival interacting with up to 1,000 people; the next I might be at a function serving drinks

“You can’t call yourself a bartender without using Angostura® aromatic bitters.

Even in an average pub you’ll find a bottle on the shelf – that oversized label making a statement amongst the other ingredients. Just a few dashes can make all the difference to most cocktails and if you’ve never used 25ml of Angostura® aromatic as a base to a cocktail – try it. It’s a revelation.” lovescompany.co.uk specific-gravity.co.uk

RUSSELL’S ANGOSTURA® AROMATIC BITTERS CHOICE: Dandy Cocktail 37.5ml bourbon 37.5ml Dubonnet Red 12.5ml triple sec 1-2 dashes Angostura® aromatic bitters Method: Stir all ingredients together. Pour into a chilled coupe. Garnish with lemon and/or orange twists.

The Cocktail Lovers - 21

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HANNAH AND HER (ABV GLOBAL) SISTERS London Cocktail Week is back for a fifth year and it may sound like a cliche but it really is set to be bigger and better than ever. Meet the ladies behind the Drink Up London umbrella

22 - The Cocktail Lovers

“We’re in the business of showing people a nice time, it doesn’t get much better than that,” says Hannah Sharman-Cox, head honcho at ABV Global. She’s right.

Having launched London Cocktail Week five years ago, she’s facilitated ‘nice times’ for more than 75,000 people through the week-long event alone.

That’s one heck of a lot of traffic going through the doors of London’s bars. And every person who enters is in search of quality cocktails. Given the premise: sign up for a wristband, flash it at any of the participating bars divvied up over all points of the capital’s compass and bam! you’re entitled to a specially created drink at £4 a-pop, it’s hard to think that it was originally intended to be a trade-only affair. “I didn’t think for a minute that it would be consumer-driven,” says Hannah laughing.

“Somehow the consumer press got hold of it, their readers found our website and signed-up for the 5,000 wristbands we were giving away – it was only after going through the registration emails I realised most of the people who came along had nothing to do with the industry at all.”

Not that she saw that as a bad thing. It just meant the initial ‘business plan’ (read loose idea) took a different route from then on. “We now charge for the wristbands, but at £10 they’re still really good value. So much so we’ve moved into tourism territory now,” she says. “When you consider we’ve been responsible for getting that volume of people through bars in the capital while we’ve been running London Cocktail Week, it makes you realise how important this industry is.”

Photography: trarvis watson

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LEFT/RIGHT Siobhan Payne Hannah Sharman-Cox Emma Murphy

The ‘we’ she refers to are Siobhan Payne and Emma Murphy. Siobhan joined the business in the summer of 2011 while Emma came onboard just after London Cocktail Week last year. All good friends but super-hard workers, with valuable backgrounds in events, venues and PR, they’ve tapped into the mood of what the drinking public wants and how brands and bars can successfully engage with them. “So much has happened since all three of us have been working together,” says Hannah excitedly. “Initially we operated under the diffordsguide umbrella but as of February 2014 we’ve become a company in our own right – hence setting up ABV Global”.

Nice name (abv is an acronym for alcohol by volume). It also declares the company’s vision. As well as London Cocktail Week there’s now London Wine Week which launched earlier this year, with beer getting its own festival in 2015. “That means we’ll be running an event every four months – all very different but all aimed at getting people drinking better. For anyone who thinks it’s about getting drunk and acting irresponsibly, it’s not”, says Siobhan vehemently. “The people who come along to our festivals genuinely want to learn, it’s not just a big piss-up – it’s the reason why good bars are doing so well”.

They’re each Directors of one of the festivals. “It suits all of us as it means we each have ownership of our part of the company but work together on making it all happen,” says Emma who heads up London Wine Week. “All the decisions we make are for the benefit of the company as a whole.

We’ve got a template that works and whether that applies to wine or beer, we’ve worked hard to make it as efficient as possible.”

But for now the focus is London Cocktail Week, which is Siobhan’s baby. “This year we’re aiming for an attendance of 20,000, up from just over 17,000 last year,” she confirms, not looking the slightest bit panicked even though when we meet, it’s only four weeks away. “We’re also increasing the number of wristband collection points from two to four – we’ve had to, this year we’ve got around 250 bars taking part compared to 160 in 2013”.

And that’s not all. With a bigger team comes more ideas, more focus. “We’re going back to our original intention and will be doing more to acknowledge the trade,” chips in Hannah. “The consumer stuff makes money but anything we do for the bartenders will be free, including the addition of a new theatre space on the programme so bartenders can host seminars on anything from how to use PR effectively to how to travel the world – at the end of the day, London Cocktail Week is about education, whether you’re a newcomer to cocktails or an experienced bartender”.

For details see londoncocktailweek.com

We’re in the business of showing people a nice time, it doesn’t get much better than that”

The Cocktail Lovers - 23

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BOOK

OF

WONDER & DELIGHT Philip Duff brings the oldest gin recipe in the world to life

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I

’ve never been much of a man for buying coffeetable books. But when I saw ‘Genever in the Low Countries’ (Dutch title: ‘Jenever in de Lage Landen’) sometime in the early 2000s, while I was still living near Rotterdam, I didn’t hesitate.

‘Genever in the Low Countries’ is the magnum opus of Professor Eric Van Schoonenberghe, and in it, he refers to a recipe for ‘burned wine’ from 1495 that originated in the Netherlands, in the area between Arnhem and Apeldoorn. Some rich dude there – my words, not Van Schoonenberghe’s – had self-published a book of kitchen recipes.

After the date, the second thing that caught my eye was the recipe’s ingredients. It was for gin. Gin with nutmeg, ginger, galanga, juniper, grains of paradise, cloves, cinnamon, sage and cardamom, on a base of distilled wine. Gin before the word ‘gin’ even existed. There was no easy way to get exotic spices in Europe until the 1600s, when the Dutch and English East India Companies were founded. These spices must have been hand-carried on the Silk Road. This would have been the most expensive spirit of its time. Back then nutmeg was worth more per gram than gold, and this recipe used 12 of them alone.

Around 2009, I started creating the education program for G’Vine Gin de France, based in Cognac. Since G’Vine was made from distilled Ugni Blanc grapes, they loved the idea of including these tidbits of gin history in the bartender trainings we gave. Then last year, they asked me to make Gin 1495. I was honoured, a little intimidated, and very, very excited. This would be like cloning a dinosaur. Jurassic Gin! Over some leisurely dinners in Cognac – there are no other kind in Cognac, frankly – I agreed with JéanSébastien Robicquet, owner of G’Vine’s parent company Euro Wine Gate Spirits & Wine, that we wouldn’t sell 1495. We would auction it for charity, give it to gin, genever and cocktail museums, and even gift it to competing gin brands who had their own visitor centres. It would be Euro Wine Gate’s gift to the whole gin category. We’d make two versions: one an exact emulation of the original recipe, called Verbatim, and one a modern interpretation of it using the original recipe as a base, called Interpretation. I would spar with my old friend Dave Wondrich about the original recipe, we’d supervise it’s production, and then a second panel with luminaries like Dave Broom, Gaz Regan, The Cocktail Lovers and Drinks International would build on that for a modern version. Gin 1495 would only ever be available as a set of two.

More importantly, I’d get to see the recipe. The original.

In over a decade, I never had.

So we all rolled up to a private room in the British Library one day in June 2014. The recipe is in the massive

Sloane Manuscripts, bequeathed to the British Museum

by Hans Sloane on condition that they be safely housed and available for scholars.

There was quite a crew of people in the room with us: cameraman, sound man, the senior management of Euro Wine Gate, agency staff, British Library staff and myself. I saw the book as soon as I entered the room: it’s quite small. I gave a little talk about the recipe and what it meant, and I identified the text that described the recipe, pointing out the crucial ‘gorsbeyn’. Everyone crowded around the book and I was rather distant; I guess I thought they deserved to see it more than I did.

After the tumult died down, I bent over to look at the book. It is so gorgeous, a perfect example of the good things that money can do. This self-published, hand-written book was the equivalent status symbol in 1495 that a private jet is today. Whoever commissioned it had demanded the finest paper and inks, so it looks brand-new five centuries later. It is the only known copy in existence.

I read the recipe and, corny as it sounds, my heart began to beat faster. I could read every word, and it was all there, just as Van Schoonenberghe described it; the scribbling in the margin, the second distillation, everything. It seemed to me I had just taken a minute or so to read it, but when I finally straightened up, the whole room was silent and all eyes were on me. I’d been engrossed for quite a bit longer than a minute, and my eyes had welled up. Myself and Dave had spent long hours the week before making Verbatim, and later that week I would take the group to Cognac to make Interpretation, before I finally returned home to my wife and daughter in New York. But in that moment, it felt as if it was just me and that small, beautiful piece of history, all alone in the room, and I felt happy, humbled and privileged beyond measure.

Gin 1495 will be presented to the world in November 2014, starting in the UK. philip@liquidsolutions.org

Genever in the Low Countries’ is the magnum opus of Professor Eric Van Schoonenberghe, and in it, he refers to a recipe for ‘burned wine’ from 1495 that originated in the Netherlands”

The Cocktail Lovers - 25

Illustration: melanie milne mellmadedesign ©2014 mellmadedesign & the cocktail lovers

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Innovators are shaking up London’s drinks scene, but its classics remain unstirred. Ben Norum drinks in the old with the new You need only look out over London’s skyline – perhaps from The Shard’s new bar Gong, or the terrace at Sushisamba – to see the city’s rich layers of history. Centuries-old buildings such as St. Paul’s Cathedral and the proudly illuminated Tower of London, sit comfortably alongside all manner of affectionately named, shiny new skyscrapers.

I like to think of the skyline as the best kind of cocktail list. One that takes good care of the classics, while lining up impressive new creations that are big, bold and truly innovative. If classy St. Paul’s is a Dry Gin Martini, the Tower is, perhaps, a simple G&T and the Gherkin a Pickleback. The Walkie Talkie is something light-hearted and molecular that steams outrageously with dry ice, but probably won’t stand the test of time.

The view is also a neat encapsulation of London’s wider drinks scene. Timeless hotel lounges and disused buildings that housed some of the world’s first breweries and distilleries

26 - The Cocktail Lovers

are scattered among many of the most modern and creative drinking dens known to man.

It’s a powerfully creative environment to live in, and this has spurred on London’s latest wave of drinks entrepreneurs: “The history and diversity of London is its strength and this has led to more varied innovations than anywhere else,” Ryan Chetiyawardana tells us.

At his Hoxton bar, White Lyan, Chetiyawardana refuses to add ice or citrus to cocktails as he finds they lack consistency.

Instead he use cordials, shrubs and vinegars to impart sharpness and adds water to dilute them. Drinks are premade during the day rather than freshly mixed to order, and served straight from the fridge. It’s a concept for the openminded, and something he thinks could only work in the capital: “There’s already such a great range of bars in London that people realise the importance of being different,” he explains. “White Lyan is about great drinks, but it is also about stimulating a discussion.”

Recently launched City bar and restaurant Silk & Grain is also pushing boundaries. Most of the drinks on the list sound fairly standard, but they are made almost entirely using aged spirits.

You can opt for a barrel-aged Negroni, or one of a plethora of cocktails made with leather-aged whisky, oak-aged rum and other treated spirits. These varyingly add unique flavour, richness and roundedness to drinks more effectively than any flavourings: “It’s about giving classic cocktails a new lease of

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life,” says the company’s managing director Alexander Salussolia. “Drinks which have tasted the same for years such as a Negroni or a Hanky Panky have taken on new personas through the processes we use”.

Making, not just mixing, drinks is high on the agenda for London’s new wave of alcohol entrepreneurs. Gin is leading the way, and it is the most obvious example of London’s drinking habits of the past inf luencing those of the future.

Back in the eighteenth century, London was a hotspot for distilleries. Almost 2,000 were recorded in the area around the Thames, with most serving Londoners’ voracious appetite for the juniper-infused spirit. But over the years this number dwindled as brands closed and many more left London for places where land was cheaper and transport easier; at a low point just over five years ago, Beefeater was the only independent distillery left in the capital.

Inspired, perhaps, by the near-simultaneous launch of Sipsmith and Sacred in 2009, Londoners have wholeheartedly embraced an exploration of their ginsoaked history. In 2012 the City Of London Distillery became the only distillery to open in the Square Mile since the 1700s, and East London’s first distillery in over 100 years opened a few months ago in the form of the East London Liquor Company.

Bermondsey-based Jensen have embraced tradition wholeheartedly with an Old Tom gin that’s made to a recipe straight out of the 1840s, while other brands have pushed boundaries in more modern ways. Laura Sullivan, founder of Peckham-based Little Bird gin, chose to add ginger into the mix, along with large doses of grapefruit and orange. “We’ve learnt from and continue to be fascinated by how gin really has seen it all,” she tells us. To her, “a vital part of gin’s resurgence is just how creative you can be with it,” and its ability to work with the palates and trends of the time.

The history and diversity of London is its strength and this has led to more varied innovations than anywhere else in the world ” London’s once lost art of beer brewing is also booming, with creative new styles arriving on shelves and tap by the day. As well as brewing their own creations, pubs such as Stratford’s Tap East, Notting Hill’s Portobello and Hackney’s Crate are teaming up to make collaborative beers with names that sound more like DJ remixes than pints.

Innovation is contagious. As London’s gin and beer industries reach the highest levels since their worldleading peaks in centuries gone by, we’re also starting to dabble in areas we never did before. Last year, the Battersea-based London Distillery Company started to make whisky in the capital. Now East London Liquor Company are following suit. The latter are also distilling vodka on site, as are the Chiswick-based Sipsmith.

London Malt and London Standard Vodka could be regular fixtures down the pub before you know it. And rumour has it they’re thinking of opening up a cactus farm and Mezcal distillery in Kew Gardens. Maybe not…

It’s hard to predict what’s next for London’s drink scene, but you can be sure that alcohol architects somewhere are working on some boozy blueprints as you read. What I will put money on is that we’ll be watching the scene grow and develop from a bar that’s higher in the clouds than ever.

Now, get me another extra dry St. Paul’s with an olive, please.

The Cocktail Lovers - 27

DRINKING IN COLOUR B Y

P R O F E S S O R

HOW COLOUR AFFECTS THE WAY YOU THINK ABOUT YOUR DRINKS For thousands of years, people have been saying that we eat with our eyes. However, we drink with them too. What this means is that as soon as we see a drink, a cocktail, say, our mind immediately tries to guess what the flavour might be, how sweet or sour the drink is, and how much we would like the taste. All of these expectations then anchor our subsequent flavour experiences should we come to put the glass to our lips.

Normally, we like food and drink more if it tastes as we expect them to taste. Generally speaking, we don’t like surprises, especially not when it comes to something that we are about to swallow and which might poison

C H A R L E S

S P E N C E

us. There are, however, exceptions. Diners in modernist restaurants expect (demand even) the unexpected. The food cannot be just as it appears on the plate. There has to be an element of surprise. Take the beetroot and orange jelly dish served at Heston Blumenthal’s The Fat Duck restaurant in Bray for instance.

This comes to the table a bright purple colour on one side and bright orange on the other. The waiter instructs the diner that the recommendation from the kitchen is to start with the beetroot. The unsuspecting diner then goes straight to the purple jelly, and remains blissfully unaware that they are actually eating the blood orange jelly, which has a natural purple colour. On the other side of the plate, golden beetroots are used to give the jelly its orange colour. As they say, we eat with our eyes!

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The other place where people are happy to be surprised by what they see is in the world of cocktails. Cocktails are undoubtedly more about entertainment and multisensory stimulation than nutrition. They are also characterised by their bright colours. Blue Curaçao is one ingredient in the cocktail maker’s arsenal that provides a sensory disconnect between the vivid blue of the spirit’s appearance and the intense orange flavour that fills the mouth on tasting. This is but one example though of surprise, or sensory incongruity, in the glass.

Everyone tends to associate green drinks with sour tastes and red drinks with sweetness. We all assume that more intensely coloured drinks will deliver a stronger taste. But it is important to realise that different colours sometimes carry different meanings for different people.

Marketers are partially responsible for this. They have recently taught the young British consumer that a bright blue colour in a drink means raspberry flavour.

In Taiwan, the very same colour sets up expectations of mint flavour (think mouthwash, something that you would swill around your mouth, but most definitely would not want to swallow).

Here at the Crossmodal Research Laboratory in Oxford University’s Department of Experimental Psychology we have recently been working with some very exotic South American fruits, like the guanabana, lulo and feijoa.

Fruits that you would never see in a British supermarket but which could give a cocktail an innovative flavour twist. What we wanted to know was whether, on tasting the juices made from these fruits for the first time, drinkers would be able to guess the colour (they were wearing a blindfold for the experiment). Can we literally taste colour? Intriguingly, while they were by no means perfect, people were nevertheless significantly better than chance when it came to picking the colour.

One other relevant area that we have been working on recently relates to glassware. Cocktails, after all, are distinguished by the wide variety of glasses in which specific drinks are served. In our internet-based research, we have been showing people around the world pictures of colourful drinks in different glasses.

People see a drink served in a particular glass and have to try and guess the flavour. Our results show that, on occasion, the meaning of a drink’s colour depends on the glass in which it is served.

Given that if you change the colour of a drink you can very often change the perceived taste and flavour, we are currently contemplating how to develop a colourchanging drink. In theory at least, the colour change could be used to make the drink taste different without having to alter the ingredients (note that scientists have recently developed a colour-changing ice-cream.)

Wouldn’t it be cool to be able to change the f lavour of a drink mid-cocktail simply by changing its colour?

However, even if one cannot change the actual colour of the cocktail I am convinced that it will be possible to change the taste/f lavour simply by changing the colour of the ambient lighting in the place where that drink is consumed.

Evidence in support of the profound inf luence that environmental lighting can have on perception comes from a recent study we conducted in which nearly 3,000 people were given a glass of red wine in a black tasting glass. Everyone had to rate the taste of the wine under normal white lighting. We then switched the lighting to a bright red and people rated the wine again. We then switched the lighting to green and got people to rate the wine for a third time. The results were dramatic. Switching the lighting from red to green resulted in a 15% change in people’s rating of one and the same wine. Even though the ambient lighting didn’t change the appearance properties of the wine itself (since it was served in a black tasting glass), it nevertheless dramatically altered people’s perception of the drink. Generally speaking, those who took part in the Campo Viejo Colour Lab experiment enjoyed the wine significantly more under red lighting. So, the next time you find that you’re not enjoying your drink as much as you think you should, why not change the colour of the lighting?!

And while room lights don’t literally have a taste, they can nevertheless modulate the taste we experience in the glass. What is more, with remote-controlled colourchanging LED bulbs now for sale on Amazon for only a couple of pounds apiece, the world of cocktails is likely to get a whole lot more colourful in the years to come.

Professor Spence head of the Crossmodal Research Laboratory at Oxford University He is also Head of Sensory Marketing at JWT advertising agency, and Professor in Residence at The House of Wolf restaurant in London. Anyone interested in finding out more about the multi-sensory world of flavour should get themselves a copy of his new book, The perfect meal: The Multi-Sensory Science of Food and Dining, out now, and published by Wiley-Blackwell.

The Cocktail Lovers - 29

Illustration: pezandpencil.com Š2014 pezandpencil & the cocktail lovers

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LIZZY BARBER meets THE CREATORS WHO ARE pushing boundaries in drinks Sam Bompas and Harry Parr are perhaps most famous for their elaborate jellies and the world’s first multisensory firework display, but their work on multi-sensory experiences has also led them into the world of drinks.

Their Alcoholic Architecture saw a building transformed into a breathable cocktail, piping out vaporised gin and tonics for recipients to inhale. This may sound, quite literally, like a lot of hot air, but there was some science behind it: the duo discovered that vaporising the G&T heightened its flavours, and that because the thick clouds of cocktail reduced visibility, the senses were muddled so the taste became an exterior sensation. In this way, “the cocktail became architecture – an immersive, habitable environment,” as they put it.

The core principle of this, and indeed all of Bompas & Parr’s work, is to create a multi-sensory experience rooted in cross-modal science, a form of neuroscience which looks at the relationship between multiple sensory functions. For their Alcoholic Architecture, this involved looking at how taste could be heightened through manipulation of the senses, but for the team at Condiment Junkie, the multi-sensory experience is also deeply rooted in memory.

Co-founded by Russ Jones and Scott King, Condiment Junkie is a sonic art and design house whose work explores how the senses can trigger associations which can both alter and enhance our experiences. Jones and King created an immersive seascape for Heston Blumenthal’s Sound of the Sea at The Fat Duck, an experiment where carefully curated seafood dishes were eaten whilst the diner listened to, well, sounds of the sea. Not great for conversation during the meal perhaps as diners had to listen to soundscapes through headphones, but plenty to talk about once the iPod Shuffles were taken away.

Condiment Junkie’s work with Blumenthal led them to use cross-modal science as a powerful tool in branding and marketing, where they have collaborated with an array of food and drink brands such as Ketel One Vodka, The Singleton Whisky and Coca-Cola.

For The Singleton, they collaborated with Professor Charles Spence, see p. 28 (who they worked with on The Fat Duck experiment) to create a ‘sensorium’ which explored the ultimate drinking environment for the expression of the whisky. The Singleton’s keynotes are grassy, sweet and woody, so they created three different

spaces reflecting these environments and asked visitors to record how the same whisky tasted in each room.

The ‘grassy’ room was filled with turf, green light and the gentle burr of lawnmowers; while wafts of vanilla and caramel were pumped into a red-lit ‘sweet’ room accentuated with chiming bells. To conjure up a ‘woody’ character they dimmed lighting, played sounds of a crackling fire and filled the wood-panelled space with a strong woody fragrance. It worked. In three days, the 400 participants who entered the meticulously made-over pop-up space had overwhelmingly similar reactions: each note of the whisky was enhanced by its corresponding environment. This re-enforced Condiment Junkie’s theory that these associations are easy to manipulate because they are intrinsic to our nature: “It’s all very instinctive; hard-wired within us,” Jones explains. Crossmodal science is universal: it transcends culture.

Tellingly, the work of Condiment Junkie and Bompas & Parr play on our nostalgia, triggering pleasant memories which often have associations with childhood (days on the beach, eating jelly). It’s therefore unsurprising to note that many of the innovations in the drinks world take the form of sweet treats.

The sweet-toothed Smith and Sinclair, aka the original cocktail confectioners, have done a rip-roaring trade in cocktail pastilles. Like most good things, the business was a happy accident, starting as a bi-product of a series of ‘playscapism’ board games events run by co-founder Melanie Goldsmith. However, the pastilles were such a success that Melanie and partner Emile Bernard started producing them full-time, collaborating with a number of drinks brands including Hayman’s Gin and Beluga Vodka.

Secret Cinema have scooped them up for their events, and stocks at Harvey Nichols and Selfridges are soon to follow.

More adult-centric sweet stuff comes from Charlie Harry Francis, the founder of Lick Me, I’m Delicious. With his background as an ice-cream maker, Charlie, nicknamed ‘The Edible Inventor’, wanted to take confectionary to a new level. His futuristic ice-creams, comprise all sorts of bizarre contraptions, from a liquid nitrogen ice-cream buggy to an instant lollipop maker, and let’s not forget his creation of the world’s first glow-in-the-dark ice-cream. When it comes to drinks he’s no less experimental – his Edible Mist Machine utilises ultrasonic vaporisation to make a micro-mist of flavours which are sucked up through a straw, rendering solid foods from apple pie to smoked bacon ‘drinkable’. Very Violet Beauregarde. “It’s a pretty fun machine,” Charlie says nonchalantly, “AND it’s zero calories.” bompasandparr.com condimentjunkie.co.uk smithandsinclair.co.uk lickmeimdelicious.com

The Cocktail Lovers - 31

IN-the spotlight

Cocktails with kook Fresh, unusual, original and unique, 10 London bars where innovation is key. By Rebecca Milford

WHITE LYAN Innovative how? It’s a bar without ice, citrus, sugar, cocktail shakers, jiggers or any recognisable spirits, a bar where your cocktails are pre-made and stored in large, futuristic-looking fridges.

Blow my mind: If it sounds like the alcoholic equivalent of having a meal in a pill, never fear. So as not to corrupt your drink with diluting ice or an overly-acidic lime, the crazy scientists, sorry, mixologists, at White Lyan use their speciality spirits and inventive ingredients to present a drink that’s perfect every time.

Kooky cocktail: Beeswax Old Fashioned, an amazing concoction containing beeswax egg, sugar, bitters and Mr Lyan Scotch.

THE SHRUB & SHUTTER Innovative how? These guys are serious about using fresh, seasonal ingredients and mixing them up in seemingly crazy combos. If this means a cocktail that incorporates chicken stock, mint clarified tomato and vodka, then so be it.

Blow my mind: From the presentation to the taste, there’s something to excite each of the senses. Expect garnishes of venison carpaccio, smoked salmon or even a toy soldier.

Kooky cocktail: You Can’t Handle Chartreuse! – gin, mescal and Chartreuse served in a miniature bathtub with a jelly mould and tiny Gummy bears. Beautifully eccentric.

336 Coldharbour Lane, SW9 8QH. theshrubandshutter.com

153-155 Hoxton Street, N1 6PJ. whitelyan.com

PEG + PATRIOT

BUMP CAVES Innovative how? Pyschedelic trips in a cocktail.

Innovative how? See that test tube bubbling in the background? It’s what the guys from Peg + Patriot use to make their house spirit infusions to marvellous and mind-boggling effect.

Blow my mind: Try the ‘bumps’ (aka infused spirits that can be matched to beer).

Blow my mind: No flavour combination is shied away from. This means indulging in drinks that taste of Chinese Pho soup and roasted rice ice-cream.

Kooky cocktail: The Electric Kool Aid/Acid Test with a battery to lick afterwards and a packet of citric acid.

Kooky cocktail: d. groner. Intended to evoke the taste of a salt beef beigel, it comes with a side of mustard to add according to taste.

206 Tower Bridge Road, SE1 2UP. bumpcaves.co.uk

Patriot Square, E2 9NF. pegandpatriot.com

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IN-the spotlight DUCK & WAFFLE Innovative how? As the name suggests, D&W like to play around with odd combinations. This means a menu that displays a Savoury & Sweet section – where you might plump for a Chocolate & Blue Cheese Martini or a Bacon & Caramel Manhattan.

Blow my mind: They’re also famous for serving food until 5am, perfect if you’ve got the cocktail n’ snack munchies in the wee hours but don’t want to opt for a kebab and a can of G&T.

ARTESIAN Innovative how? When it comes to presentation, ceremony, style and taste, the Artesian delivers in spades – no wonder they keep picking up awards.

Kooky cocktail: Marmite Black Velvet, a Marmite and Guinness reduction with Champagne. Well, you’re either going to love it or hate it…

Blow my mind: There’s a libation served in a weighty retro golden pineapple; a drink that is accompanied by an inflatable pillow filled with scent, and a ‘three-dimensional’ cocktail that changes taste with every sip.

Heron Tower, 110 Bishopsgate, EC2N 4AY. duckandwaffle.com Hutong

Kooky cocktail: Will of the Woods. Served in a wooden cup, it evokes the forest, complete with pine needles and mini-mushrooms.

Innovative how? This bar, thirty-three floors above London, has one of the most incredible views of the city you could ask for. Luckily, they’re also presenting gorgeous Oriental concoctions that are equally impressive, using Chinese ingredients and inspiration.

1c Portland Place, W1B 1JA. artesian-bar.co.uk

COMMUNION

CALLOOH CALLAY Innovative how? These guys are serious about their cocktails but manage to inject a huge amount of fun into the proceedings. Enter the bar, sit on a stool, and get handed someone’s Oyster card. But wait… there are surprises in store, as this is in fact the wonderfully eccentric menu.

Blow my mind: Come expecting the unexpected.

From hidden rooms to creative concoctions, Callooh Callay will have you wondering what on earth could happen next. And with drinks that incorporate carrot shrub and guacamole, and have names like Rye Me To The Moon and I Did It My Whey, there’s plenty to be curious about.

Kooky cocktail: Salt ’n’ Vinegar Martini comes with sherry vinegar syrup, olives and a sea-salt spray. It’s the little things that count…

65 Rivington Street, EC2A 3AY. calloohcallaybar.com

Innovative how? It’s the only bar in London to boast a stained-glass window, and the ecclesiastical theme doesn’t stop there: you’ll find Communion wafers and a tiny glass of wine on your table too.

Blow my mind: Taking inspiration from the cultural melting pot that is South East London, expect a host of exotic ingredients that might have you scratching your head. Mauby Bark Syrup? Galangal root? Granadilla? Ask questions later.

Blow my mind: Hutong have taken leaf teas and combined them with spirits to offer unique, refreshing and delicious cocktails. Plus the presentation is ultra-cool – dry ice and pretty teapots.

Kooky cocktail: Black Rice Old Fashioned, one of the best and most innovative twists on a classic I’ve tried – it’s made with a specially sourced Black Sticky Rice back-of-shelf liqueur.

Kooky cocktail: The Fujian Breeze Bing Cha – delicate White Silver Tipped Tea with Hendrick’s gin, mint, cucumber and Fernet Branca make for a herbaceous, delicate and soothing iced-tea cocktail.

29-33 Camberwell Church Street, SE5 8TR. communionbar.com

Level 33 The Shard, 31 St. Thomas Street, SE1 9RY. hutong.co.uk

THE ALCHEMIST Innovative how? All manner of scientific techniques resulting in cocktails almost too attractive to drink.

Kooky cocktail: Mad Hatter’s Tea Party.

Expect kitsch cups, an innovative use of apparatus and some spectacular dry ice.

Blow my mind: Making molecular cocktails accessible for all .

6 Bevis Marks, EC3A 7BA. thealchemist.uk.com

The Cocktail Lovers - 33

IN-the spotlight

CREATIVE STREAKS Behind every innovative bar, brand or bartender there’s a company that brings their ideas to life. When it comes to fresh thinking, two names pop up more than most: United Creatives for stand out labels and brand identity and Inkorporate for drop dead gorgeous kit. We meet the people bringing the x-factor to the world of drinks CHRIS EDMUNDS, UNITED CREATIVES “I didn’t set out to work as a designer for drinks companies,” says Chris Edmunds, founder and director of graphic design company United Creatives.

That’s as maybe but with cool-as-you-like commissions from the likes of Dodd’s Gin, The 86 Co., Compass Box Whisky, Maverick Drinks and BrewDog under his belt, you’d be forgiven for thinking he did.

Working in a small design space above one of London’s cocktail meccas Milk & Honey, was the beginning of the drinks link, with commissions to create the house style and menus for his neighbour and its various ventures that followed. “The proximity to a premium yet inclusive atmosphere must have rubbed off,” he says modestly.

“This, plus several of my clients have been very kind in recommending my services to other people”. Not that his work doesn’t speak very eloquently for itself.

There’s a striking simplicity to United Creatives’ style – ‘more thinking, less design’ is their way of putting it. Bold and beautiful, modern with a hint of nostalgia, playful but authoritative, is ours. While each project is different, this distinct signature style punctuated with an acceptable element of punk is what puts the United into their creativity and why forward-thinking drinks brands look to them to ensure they stand out from the pack.

“There’s been a distinct rise of challenger brands since I started out seven years ago which means more choice for the public and more competition for the more established brands,” Edmunds explains. “I’d also say that many of the brands I work with today are much more savvy and

34 - The Cocktail Lovers

conscious of what a market wants and how it works. They need to be. For example, our collaboration with The 86 Co. led us to learn how they have put the bartender at the centre of their thinking and sales of their spirit range: the ergonomic shape of the bottle, the information on the label, the design brief – everything stemming from the people that will pour, sell and mix that drink – that wouldn’t have happened a few years ago, nobody had the vision.”

Indeed. In such a competitive market and with the rise of the spirited consumer, how does he ensure the drinks brands he works with have a point of difference? “By ignoring the category,” he replies. “I think a lot of design thinks, ‘oh, this is a gin, it needs to be green and have scripted text and flourishes. Pish! We dig a bit deeper to try and find out the story behind a particular brand and start there. A great client will already know what that story is.”

In the case of Dodd’s Gin that was a heritage that dates back over 200 years when Ralph Dodd had a vision to provide the British public with genuine British spirits of the best quality. The result? A supremely seductive label – all geometric and perfectly aligned that’s guaranteed to make design buffs and gin-lovers drool. Understandably, the work is something Edmunds and the team, now based in Manchester, are immensely proud of. “For a great project the stars need to be aligned, any graphic designer will tell you that,” hesays. “With Dodd’s Gin which we created with The London Distillery we had a great client willing to give us a free reign, a reasonable budget, a fantastic brief and a talented letterpress print team at Blush Publishing. Add to this that the liquid was superb and it just all came together and it’s doing very well. We’ve since released a gold colour variant of the first red, white and blue label which uses honey from the bees which live up on the roof at Fortnum & Mason.

Dodd’s has outsold every other spirit in the store.”

What does innovation mean to Edmunds? “It largely revolves around pushing great printers to do great work and push the machines and production methods they have at their disposal. Great design is nothing if it’s printed badly and I place great stock in our other creative partners. In terms of design innovation I think it comes down to taking risks and willing to be different.” Amen. unitedcreatives.com

UNITED CREATIVES There’s been a distinct rise of challenger brands since I started out seven years ago which means more choice for the public and more competition for the more established brands�

IN-the spotlight

WESLEY PICKERING, Managing Director, INKORPORATE Wesley Pickering designs bar porn. Fact. From lavish bespoke drinks trollies you want to run your hands over in a slightly pervy fashion, to drinking vessels you can’t help but caress, he and his team have been providing drinks solutions that get pulses racing that bit faster for the past eight years.

“I set up the company because I believed the drinks industry needed it,” he says as if it was the most natural thing in the world. And for someone with a background in bars, running a drinks consultancy, and with an avid interest in design and luxury brands, it was. “I had the idea in 2005 although we set up in 2006,” he reminisces.

INKORPORATE

“At the time the cocktail scene in London was gathering pace, consumer knowledge was growing, people were starting to see bar tending as a career and drinks companies were aligning themselves with lifestyle brands like fragrance and fashion,” he says. “They were spending huge amounts on advertising campaigns but nothing on design-led products. I wanted to address that. Inkorporate was borne out of my frustration”.

Without Pickering’s understanding of the element of surprise and delight consumers want and the functionality and point of difference bartenders are looking for, we wouldn’t be privy to the wonderful and whimsical serves from the team at multi award-winning bar Artesian, or the sumptuous display case conceived to accentuate the luxury of the Louis XIII expression of Rémy Martin. Under Inkorporate’s direction simple things like a glass or ice bucket are at once beautiful, functional and aspirational; humble tools such as a bar spoon or muddler are transformed into works of art.

Little wonder why the company name is shorthand for excellence all round.

IN-the spotlight

Not bad for someone who came to the bar after studying psychology and artificial intelligence rather than design.

“I find most people with a bar tending background tend to think like designers,” he reasons. How so? “We consider the practical aspects like does it clean easily, can you store it efficiently, is it too fiddly, can it break? All this while taking into account things like engaging the senses through taste, sight and touch. We then think about how we can add ‘the reveal’, to our customers. That’s one of the joys of working with Alex Kratena and Simone Caporale at Artesian and Gareth Evans at the Blind Pig. They have wonderful, very creative ideas that might have just existed in their head but our team can help bring those ideas to life.”

He doesn’t only have forward-thinking bartenders as clients though, most of his commissions come directly from brands. It’s not often you’ll find the likes of Diageo, Bacardi and Pernod Ricard working with one company, but if they want a sexy piece of luxurious kit or look-atme barware, they know there’s only one place to go.

“We’re probably the only company who do what we do and as such we can work across brands,” Pickering smiles. “We have three basic principles that benefit all of our customers: an understanding of the drinks industry drawn from experience, an in-house team of creative and industrial designers – our team of eight have backgrounds in everything from fashion and luxury brands, to furniture, technology and industrial design.

We also pride ourselves on our network of manufacturers which we’ve painstakingly built up over the years – we work very closely with them all and know the very best people for each job. These things ensure that we bring a point of difference to every project we undertake.”

By his own admission there’s a touch of OCD about him, “I used to line up all my toys just-so,” he says laughing. Not typical behaviour for a young boy but essential training for the attention to detail that goes into Inkorporate designs. inkorporate.co.uk

I find most people with a bar tending background tend to think like designers”

IN-style

FABRICE LIMON Brand consultancy Previous: Furniture design “I wanted to be an architect or furniture designer but I deferred my art and design course for a year to go into bar management and I’ve been in the industry ever since. I’ve managed bars and worked with brands and I’m launching a brand consultancy in October. The focus will be seeding small brands and helping brand owners get into the UK market.”

Fabrice wears grey velvet jacket, £795; teal roll neck jumper, £110, both Chester Barrie.

IN-style GET THE DRINKS IN

with the the arty set Drinks folk are ideas people. Whether they’re devising new menus or dreaming up original products, you can bet they’ve got a creative background. Singers, dancers, architects and sculptors – here are a few of our faves

MEGS DEMEULENAERE Bar Manager, Pond Dalston Previous: Interior architecture “Lego is the coolest toy in the world. It’s what inspired me to study interior architecture. I worked in pubs to pay the rent but after sitting behind a computer drawing lines for 10 hours a day, I knew bar tending was what I wanted to do full-time – like tequila, my favourite spirit, it just brings people together.”

Megs wears emerald green brocade Foxy Lady wiggle dress, £145, 20th Century Foxy.

IN-style

JOHAN EKELUND

JULIAN DE FERAL

Director, Sharp & Dapper

Head of Drinks, Gorgeous Group drinks consultancy

Previous: Chef

Previous: Illustrator

“I always thought I was going to be a chef but I fell out of love with it in the last year of training – there was no social side, you just end up being angry. Bartending is the opposite – you can’t be in a bad mood behind the bar. I still do a bit every now and again but my company Sharp & Dapper, which supplies accessories to the hospitality industry and City folk, is my main focus.”

“My love of comics led me to illustration and the money I needed to supplement my time as an illustrator led me to bartending. My job is still very creative. I get to make up recipes through my understanding of flavours, and my art background comes into play in developing looks and stories for our various projects, as well as menu design – like this one for Silk & Grain.”

Johan wears green and blue window pane check jacket, £450, Hackett; shirt, Johan’s own; knitted tie, £45; pocket square, £30, both Sharp & Dapper.

Julian wears blue tweed window pane check jacket, £340, paisley print shirt, £130, all Simon Carter.

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DES YATIGAMMANA Bartender, London Cocktail Club Oxford Circus Previous: Hip-hop dancer “The film ‘Cocktail ‘did it for me. I’d been a dancer, teaching classes and working in a dance troupe but after seeing that movie I wanted to work in a bar, I’m at my happiest and most creative when I’m behind one. In fact, I was Assistant General Manager of LCC but I demoted myself so I could be a bartender again.”

Des wears chocolate brown roll-neck, £110, Chester Barrie.

The Cocktail Lovers - 41

IN-style

ROISIN STIMPSON

ELLIOT DAVIES

Director, Nightjar

Bartender, Hawksmoor Spitalfields

Previous: Singer

Previous: Fashion photographer

“I sang before going to university where Edmund my husband and partner in Nightjar and I met. I remember us going to see a wonderful gig in Dublin which evoked a sense of a 1930s bar – that became our blueprint for Nightjar. That was 10 years ago. We’ve been running Nightjar for four years in November and as well as the marketing and looking after events, I still sing at the bar.”

“Bartending was something I did when I was a musician at around 18 years old – photography came a year or so later.

I still take photographs but I love the hospitality industry, it’s such a direct contrast to fashion – it’s all about human interaction.”

Dress, Roisin’s own

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Elliot wears royal blue Paul Smith jacket (part of suit), £699; bordeaux Wyvern zip-fronted turtle-neck, £169, John Smedley, both available from Fenwick.

IN-style

Photography by Johnnie Pakington johnniepakington.com Make-up by Tareena Mody tareenamakeup.com 20th Century Foxy 20thcenturyfoxy.com Chester Barrie chesterbarrie.co.uk Fenwick fenwick.co.uk Hackett hackett.com Simon Carter simoncarter.net Sharp & Dapper sharpanddapper.com

ALEX KAMMERLING Founder Kamm & Son Previous: Sculptor “I was doing pretty well as a sculptor with exhibitions, commissions and private sales, the thing is, each piece took a few weeks to make which made them very expensive. Bar tending came along and I started winning competitions, writing followed then brand ambassador roles. Creating Kamm & Sons has brought all of these things together.”

Alex wears green tweed window pane check jacket with patch elbows, £340 Simon Carter. Shirt and accessories, Alex’s own.

The Cocktail Lovers - 43

IN-focus

DRINK, EAT, LIVE

by Claire Warner-Smith and Georgia Van Tiel

Is a spoonful of sugar really as bad for you as the media suggests? New research would have you believe that Mary Poppins wasn’t trying to make housework fun, but subliminally advertising one of the most highly addictive substances in the world. Forget cocaine or heroin, sugar is being touted as the stealth killer invading our bodies and clogging up our arteries. But are we overreacting? Isn’t sugar an important part of a balanced diet and most importantly, a balanced drink? If our cocktails are put on diets, will they also become less fun?

Mary Poppins was a drug pusher Let’s look at the facts: Sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) can increase our risk for diabetes, metabolic syndrome, a cluster of conditions that includes high blood pressure, high cholesterol and a large waistline, and more. Not to be a Debbie Downer, but here are some statistics: • 180,000 deaths worldwide can be attributed to SSBs • 70 percent of women who drank more than one SSB per week were overweight, compared to just 47 percent of women who drank less than one a week • 30 to 50 ml of sugar (roughly 10 teaspoons) and about 150 calories is what you’re slurping down when you pop open a 354ml can of soda • 6.8 kilos is the amount of weight you could gain a year if you had one soda a day without cutting calories elsewhere • 83 percent greater risk of diabetes was seen in women who had one SSB per month compared to those who had less than one per month Of course we know that drinking a can of cola every day is probably not a fast track to health and wellness. But consider the amount of sugar you’re consuming unwittingly.

Sugar is concealed in every day food like bread, pasta, ketchup and breakfast cereal. It’s easy to see how you can quickly consume more than the daily recommended amount of six teaspoons for women (nine for guys), (Source: World Health Organisation), and therefore how easy it is to put yourself at risk of the above maladies which are associated with eating too much of it.

However, it’s also really not your fault that you ate a Krispy Kreme for breakfast and then ate another one straight afterwards (or was that just me?) Evolution has conspired to ensure we’re biologically pre-programmed to seek sugar out, a relic from our hunter gatherer days, when Krispy Kremes hung on trees in the shape of an apple or berries. Today however, when we consume sugar, it creates a powerful reward pathway in the brain which has been shown to be more addictive than cocaine.

So, what does all this mean for the wonderful world of cocktails? Surely we’re exempt, right? Doesn’t the universal definition of cocktails allow for some sort of special license? After all, if the Columbian Repository included it, who are we to take it out?

‘Cocktail is a stimulating liquor, composed of spirits of any kind, sugar, water, and bitters’ Well, maybe it’s helpful at this point to take a quick look at what sugar actually is. Table sugar (sucrose) is made up of two monosaccharides, fructose and glucose. Glucose is the best form of energy for almost all living organisms on

44 - The Cocktail Lovers

earth and can be metabolised by all the organs in the body.

Fructose on the other hand is metabolised primarily in the liver and when it is overloaded with fructose, the excess is stored as fat. Fresh fruit contains naturally occurring fructose but doesn’t overload the body, as the fibre in the fruit slows the absorption of the fructose which allows your liver to do its job. Sadly, the same can’t be said of fruit juice since it has been separated from its fibre, putting additional pressure on the liver when it’s trying to metabolise it.

Particularly when you add alcohol to the mix.

So, what can we do to perhaps be a part of the solution, rather than the problem? Our advice, sweeten responsibly. Cocktails don’t have to be universally sweet or contain a default amount of sugar. In addition, there are a few interesting low fructose sugars that will place less stress on the liver.

Here are a couple of our favourite, low sugar or low fructose cocktails.

Matcha Milkshake 25ml Belvedere Vodka 125ml almond milk 15ml vanilla rice malt syrup 3 wedges pineapple ½ bar spoon matcha tea Method: Blend all ingredients with a few ice cubes. Pour over fresh ice. Garnish with a pineapple wedge.

Piña Kale-Ada 35 ml Belvedere Vodka 4 chunks fresh pineapple 3 kale leaves, destalked 10ml fresh lemon juice 1 basil leaf 35ml coconut water Method: Blend all ingredients with ice and pour into a tall glass.

Garnish with a cocktail umbrella.

Claire Warner-Smith is Head of Spirit creation at Belvedere Vodka and has been working with alcohol in its various forms for 15 years. Georgia Van Tiel has worked in the health and fitness industry for over 10 years and her company, FIX works to promote health and wellness in kids, youth and adults. Their dietary advice is underwritten by Janine Fahri, founder of NutriLife Clinic. For more information contact: csmith@lvmh.com; georgiavantiel@gmail.com

Promotion

Vines, wines, flowers and barrels The French grape revolution going on in the world of spirits Gins, vermouths, a liqueur and even tequilas.

Thanks to the passionate plan of a French wine maker and his company, spirits will never be the same again. Meet the man, hear his plan and taste the grape like you’ve never experienced it before.

The Man: Jéan-Sébastien Robicquet “I always wanted to work around wine. I studied the science of it, then I started to make it.” So says JéanSébastien Robicquet, a man raised in the French vineyards between Bordeaux and Cognac. Having also championed Bordeaux wines in the fledgling Asian market and worked with esteemed Cognac houses, he recognised there was more to the grape. “I wanted to share the passion and the culture of the wine, to educate people about wine-making, its versatility, and I always wanted to go back to my family roots to do something with the knowledge. That’s how I started my company”.

The Plan: blending French wine traditions with innovation “Euro Wine Gate Spirits & Wine was set up to answer a need I had for freedom. It started around wine but I needed to go beyond my comfort zone. We didn’t immediately think we would go into other areas but we were looking to find our point of difference. France has a relationship with fine-dining, luxury, savoir faire and also with wine and the grape. I wanted to create something that would educate but was also about luxury, the quality of the liquid.” He assembled experts not only in wine and spirits, but also perfume and cosmetics. The result was a blending of wine culture with innovative thinking to create a succession of exquisite liquids.

The Grape: Ennobling the spirits category Robicquet and his team continue to innovate with the grape ever present. “The grape is a very good base to start working on new spirits. Whether it’s gin, vodka, liqueur or other spirits we can express them differently. There are two elements to this. The technical; quite simply the grape is very smooth. And then there is culture; the grape brings with it, an environment, a history, an expertise – you are talking about all of these things in our liquids. It is about the grape ennobling the spirits category.”

We may never look at a grape in quite the same way ever again.

The discernible difference

Jamie Walker, Euro Wine Gate Head of Advocacy, on what the grape brings to the portfolio:

Vines: G’Vine, Gin de France

“While most gins are made with grain, our grape spirit is the perfect canvas for the botanicals to shine through, especially the unique vine flower which adds a freshness and vibrancy.”

Wines: La Quintinye Vermouth Royal

“Blending selected wines and Pineau des Charentes fortified wine, with carefully selected botanicals, allows us to craft particularly opulent vermouths.”

Flowers: June, French Couture Liqueur

“Delicate yet intense, we distill rare vine flowers picked from Ugni Blanc, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon vineyards which deliver intense aromas and flavour to this wonderful liqueur.”

Barrels: Excellia Tequila

“Using only the very best highland Blue Webber agave we mature our tequila in Sauternes wine casks and Cognac barrels to create singularly sophisticated tequilas.”

Gin Et Que 30ml G’Vine Nouasion 30ml La Quintinye Rouge 15ml La Quintinye Extra Dry Stir all ingredients over ice. Strain into a chilled Coupe or Rocks glass filled with ice. Garnish with an orange twist and two skewered red grapes.

Find out more at eurowinegate.com

Illustration: nick schon Š2014 nick schon & the cocktail lovers

IN-the spotlight

PUTTING THE ‘MMMM’ INTO MOLECULAR Don’t know your rotovap from your reptile fogger? Thomas Aske from Fluid Movement lifts the lid on the tech speak behind the most innovative bars

The Rotary Evaporator (aka the rotovap) Dehydrator What is it?

What is it?

A laboratory grade piece of distillation equipment used to flavour alcohol.

A warm air circulator used to reduce the water content in fruit, herbs or spices.

What does it do?

What does it do?

What differentiates a rotovap from a classic piece of distillation equipment is it operates whilst in a vacuum.

This piece of kit consists of a series of perforated trays that allow for a constant flow of warm air around a particular ingredient, reducing its water content.

If we were to take a handful of raspberries and begin to boil them in water we would quickly see the fruit begin to stew.

Now consider gently distilling the raspberries at 20˚C. The low temperature will result in little or no degradation of the fruit cells, only the extraction of its aroma and flavour.

A rotovap offers the delicate extraction of personality from sensitive ingredients, resulting in a crystal clear yet characterful liquid.

How does it work in cocktails?

The Worship Street Whistling Shop Cream Gin is a fine example of the benefits of a rotovap. A maceration of fresh cream and gin is gently distilled under pressure removing any of the solid particles in the cream. What’s left behind is a buttery, velvety gin that is perfect for our Black Cats Martini.

Sous vide water bath What is it?

Sous Vide means ‘under vacuum’. The process consists of two parts: a water bath at a constant temperature and a vacuum sealer.

What does it do?

‘Sous Vide’ allows the gentle infusion of flavour from an ingredient to a liquid. Ingredients are placed into a bag, vacuum-sealed and gently cooked in a water bath at a constant temperature for four-five hours. It’s this relatively low temperature (around 50˚C that allows gentle extraction and infusion of highly fragrant flavour, creating high-quality liqueurs, shrubs and cordials from natural ingredients.

How does it work in cocktails?

The Ferzi Fizz at The Worship Street Whistling Shop, contains a home-made rhubarb and white balsamic shrub.

Once cooked, the solid particles are strained through a muslin cloth before being cooled and bottled. This gentle maceration allows the fragrance of the rhubarb to be extracted without becoming too dominant or bitter.

How does it work in cocktails?

This reduction in water content results in a multitude of benefits. Firstly it acts as a preservative method for garnishes such as citrus fruit. Placing thinly sliced lemon into a dehydrator at 75˚C for six hours will result in a firm crisp of concentrated citrus flavour. The citric element gives way to a subtle bitterness and the fruit flavours take on a caramelised characteristic.

In our Panacea cocktail we use dehydrated sage dust.

Sage leaves are dehydrated at 80˚c for around five hours before being ground down into a fine powder.

Reptile Fogger What is it?

An ultrasonic fogger is a device generally used to increase the humidity in reptile tanks. We have recently used it to create breathable cocktails.

What does it do?

When submerged in a liquid, the device emits ultrasonic waves that break up the liquid into three to five micron particles. The resulting effect is a mist similar in composition to a cloud that sits above the liquid. Varying the type of liquid that the device is submerged in will result in the aroma and flavour of the cloud changing accordingly.

How does it work in cocktails?

The flavoured ‘cloud’ that is produced can be ingested by breathing in the mist through a straw, coating the palate with delicate aroma and flavour. We have recently launched our latest multi-sensory emporium.

The experience takes guests through a journey of gin, featuring a cocktail that is served accompanied by a camomile cloud. The alcohol content of the cloud is almost non-existent and as such its primary use is as a garnish to a cocktail.

Try the cocktails at whistlingshop.com

The Cocktail Lovers - 47

IN-focus

THE CRAFT OF:

THE CELLAR MASTER Eric Forget, Hine Vintage Cognacs

Definition: a person who supervises the making of wine in a winery.

What does the role entail?

The Cellar Master is in charge of the product, managing the ageing, blend-making, quality and the stock. They are responsible for all the various expressions of the spirit – rather like a perfumier. Also, the Cellar Master is the creator, so when you want to make a new blend, they also become the artist.

PAST How far back does the Cellar Master’s role go and how were the skills learnt?

Cognac houses have traditionally been family-run affairs, so the Cellar Master was originally the father passing on his knowledge to the son. Cognac is very complex because there are many different terroir with which you must become familiar, many intricate details of the distillation process to understand, plus there is the fine art of ageing to learn. This means that to be a good Cellar Master will take at the very least a minimum of ten years.

How far back does it go for you personally and how have you honed your skills?

I studied science and in particular chemistry. Shortly after graduating I started working in Cognac in 1985.

I worked at three different houses before joining Hine in 1999. I still taste more or less every day to remember aromas, to compare them to something from many years ago, to change them for consistency or to evolve them. It is important to always remember everything.

48 - The Cocktail Lovers

PRESENT What does your role involve?

At Hine I wear many caps. I am responsible for maintaining the quality of the existing blends and I also create new blends. I look after all the relationships with all of our wine suppliers and distillers. I’m also the Purchasing Director – this means everything that is required outside of the Cognac, for instance, the dry goods like glass. I check all of the production, like the bottling and I also run the estate.

FUTURE What does the Cellar Master’s future look like?

More and more the Cellar Master is also the PR person.

Years ago they would have been in an office in the cellars.

Now we study more, we speak English and other foreign languages. We are much more involved in the image of our brand and meeting with our customers. This is why I now travel quite a lot.

Will technology become more important?

Technology will play more of a part to analyse or check something. If I taste a sample of wine and I am happy with it then we go ahead. If I sense something is not quite right I will ask the laboratory to test it. However, Cognac is a natural product. It is still about the people and the things that are done by hand, from the Coopers making the barrels to the blending. Our quality is about complexity, legacy and finesse. It is still my nose that makes the decisions. hinecognac.com

Promotion

MIX IT UP PERFECT SPIRITS FOR PRESENTS AND PARTIES

FOR RUM CONNOISSEURS Lamb’s Navy Rum Available from major supermarkets, £14.50. lambsnavyrum.com Try it in a…

Lamb’s Sailor’s Kiss 35ml Lamb’s Navy Rum 10ml Green Chartreuse 15ml Benedictine 2 dashes Angostura® aromatic bitters

’s Lamb’s Sail or

Stir ingredients together over ice and pour into a chilled Martini glass. Garnish with a strawberry (or seasonal fruit).

Kiss

FOR GIN LOVERS Whitley Neill Gin Available from Sainsburys and Selfridges, £24. whitleyneill.com Try it in a…

White Lady 50ml Whitley Neill Gin 12.5ml shot Triple Sec 25ml freshly-squeezed lemon juice 10ml gomme syrup 1 fresh egg white Shake ingredients over ice and fine strain into a chilled Coupette. Garnish with edible flowers (optional).

W hite Lady

FOR SPIRITED ADVENTURERS Bootlegger White Grain Spirit Available from Harrods and premium retailers, £37.50. bootleggerspirit.com Try it in a…

Spiced Bootlegger Sour 50ml Bootlegger 1 fresh egg white 2 teaspoons fig jam 25ml fresh lemon juice Dash of sugar syrup Shake all ingredients vigorously to loosen fig jam. Pour into a long glass with ice, dust with cinnamon and serve.

Spiced B oot legger

FOR RUM NEWBIES Lamb’s Spiced Rum Available from Tesco, £14.49. lambsspicedrum.com Try it in a…

Winter Warmer 50ml Lamb’s Spiced Rum 25ml freshly-squeezed lime juice 100ml homemade rosemary and pear purée Combine ingredients into a small glass teapot and stir. Top with boiling water.

W inter War mer

FOR KEEPING THEM SWEET Tequila Rose Strawberry Cream Liqueur Available from drinksupermarket.com, £14.99. facebook.com/TequilaRoseUK Try it in a…

Christmas Angel Created by Walrus Bar’s Jacob Hewlett-Case

25ml Tequila Rose 25ml brandy Dash of chocolate bitters 25ml cream Shake ingredients over ice.

Strain into a chilled Coupette.

Garnish with grated nutmeg.

gel C hr istmas An

Sour

IN-focus

MIXOLOGISTS

VS

BARTENDERS Which gets your vote?

50 - The Cocktail Lovers

IN-focus

MIXOLOGISTS

says Mr G

Science is a funny old thing. The men and women who make it their life’s work have nothing but my deepest admiration.

All that discovering stuff and inventing things, very clever.

Try to explain it to me though and I feel my eyes glazing over. Many was the wasted school hour I spent in chemistry, physics and biology classes. As some well-meaning, whitecoated teacher droned on about periodic tables, atoms whizzing all over the place or cells reproducing themselves (filthy devils), I stared out of the window and day-dreamed.

Science and me, well, we just don’t get each other. That is with one particular exception. The mixologist. The mixologist is my kind of scientist. Dedicating themselves to the demands and challenges of the modern cocktail drinker. Inspired by the past and defining the future.

Endless hours spent not only shaking and stirring, but sphericating and centrifuging, these people are selflessly devoting themselves to our drinking pleasure.

I remember the first time Tony Conigliaro invited us beyond his bar and into his laboratory. I hadn’t been surrounded by such scientific equipment since those grim school days.

The air though wasn’t heavy with the nauseating smell of formaldehyde but the altogether more pleasurable aromas of liqueurs and spirits. On another occasion Thomas Aske and Tristan Stephenson patiently explained the method by which they had devised a truly ice-cold Dry Martini. In these situations I was rapt, attention personified.

If these scientists of the bar can take a classic cocktail and find a way to make it colder, drier or more intense I’m all for it. If they can devise a new taste or challenging sensation then bring it on. If they can discover a way of purveying flavour through vapour rather than liquid then test it on me. These men and women have taken the laws of physics, the intricacies of chemistry and knowhow of biology, and introduced them to premium spirits with eureka-inducing success.

As I sit at a bar sucking chocolate vapour through a straw before sipping a rum based liquid to combine them in my mouth, I will throw an admiring glance at the mixologist who has placed it before me. They may not be wearing a white lab coat but are every inch the scientist. Were there a Nobel Prize for mixology I should have my work cut out making a nomination. Moreover, had they been teaching their peculiarly delightful kind of science to me at school maybe I would have paid just a little bit more attention.

BA RT EN DER S

says Ms S

Let’s get one thing straight from the jump, a few of my favourite cocktail-making whizzes are what some might label ‘mixologists’. It’s not the people I don’t like, it’s the word. Swirl it around in your mouth for a moment, close your eyes and try it out for size: does it sound approachable? Does it feel friendly? Does it conjure up images of someone who will mix you a bog standard Mojito because, despite the wonderfully inventive drinks on the menu, that’s what you really fancy? And will they do it without smirking? Will they heck. There’s a cold, clinical feel about it that renders it judgemental and out of reach.

Bartender though, now there’s a word that feels like you’re in the company of someone who’s got your back. There’s a friendly nod and a cheeky wink about it that makes you feel instantly at ease. Mixologist equals perfection, bartender allows for the rocky, often precarious road that is called life. Whether that’s pretending to give a damn when you’ve had the day from hell, hating the idea of making one more Cosmo but if you order one, making sure it’s the best bloody Cosmo you’ve ever had, or simply smiling and acknowledging you when you’re queuing ten-deep at the bar, a bartender is a people person; a mixologist comes straight out of the lab.

Like I said I don’t blame those who are often labelled ‘mixologists’. For the most part it’s a word the media have latched on to – it’s their way of validating the profession, saying that bar tending has gone from being ‘blah’ in their eyes to something to be taken seriously. Bless them.

Ask most people behind the bar, that includes the top bods, right through to those starting out in the game what they consider themselves to be and bartender wins out pretty much all the time.

I like that. I like the fact that behind the constant stream of ideas, painstaking research, the clever clogs cocktails, rip-roaring puns, rock star travel, endless hours and laborious execution there’s a bartender at heart; it may be regarded as a sexy profession now but at its core it has and always will be about wanting to show people a good time.

That doesn’t make bar tending any less of an art form or take anything away from the care and attention that goes into making cocktails – it does mean however, you won’t be intimidated by either the people or the drinks.

Mr G’s top 5 for mixologists

Ms S’s top 5 for bartenders

69 Colebrooke Row London N1 8AA. 69colebrookerow.com

Baba Au Rum Kleitiou 6, 10560 Athens. babaaurum.com

The Alchemist 6 Bevis Marks, London, EC3A 7BA. thealchemist.uk.com

Employee’s Only 510 Hudson Street, NY 10014. employeesonlynyc.com

Artesian 1C Portland Place, London W1B 1JA. artesian-bar.co.uk

The Connaught Bar Carlos Place, London W1K 2AL. the-connaught.co.uk

Peg and Patriot Patriot Square, London, E2 9NF. pegandpatriot.com

The Dead Rabbit Grocey & Grog 30 Water Street, New York. deadrabbitnyc.com

Worship Street Whistling Shop 63 Worship St, London EC2A 2DU. whistlingshop.com

Le Forum 4 Boulevard Malesherbes, 75008, Paris. bar-le-forum.com

The Cocktail Lovers - 51

IN-dulge

BLOW THE

BUDGET

Christmas is coming and if your wallet is feeling fat here are a few bits of kit that should help to lighten the load. Your fantasy cocktail shopping list starts here…

THE COCKTAIL SHAKER: THE ICE BUCKET AND TONGS: Cool as you-know-what, this hallmarked sterling silver combo is definitely a case of less is more (apart from the price tag…)

Classic ice bucket, £4,000, and matching tongs, £795, Asprey. asprey.com

Does it make cocktails? No, but if you can afford this baby you’ve probably got a butler who’ll do that for you.

Carbon Cocktail Shaker, £7,850, Grant MacDonald for Aston Martin. grantmacdonald.com

THE BOTTLE SLEEVE: When uniformity is key, slip your branded bottles into a sleek silver jacket.

THE MARTINI GLASS: With a detachable bowl and solid base, as used and designed by the five-star team at Artesian Bar, London.

Tanqueray Silver Martini Glass, £78.90, Alexander & James. alexanderandjames.com

52 - The Cocktail Lovers

Silver engraved spirit sleeves and lid, from £2,850 each, Theo Fennell. theofennell.com

THE BAG:

IN-dulge

Waterproof, lightweight and with handy compartments for all your kit, this is perfect for bartenders or quality cocktails on-the-go.

Tumi + Ketel One Mixology Backpack, £695, Tumi. tumi.com

THE WATER JUG:

THE DESK ACCESSORY:

Who wouldn’t drink their eight glasses a day when it comes from a super-chic vessel like this?

We’re talking serious business with this plush desktop model – high-fliers only need apply.

Trafalgar Bar Box, £11,000, David Linley. davidlinley.com

Twisted Spitfire Water Jug, £595, Thomas Lyte. thomaslyte.com

THE WHISKY COLLECTION: Add a hint of colour to your drinks cabinet with a set of heavy-weight crystal tumblers and matching decanter.

Cubism whisky tumblers and decanter, price on application, Plesl Rony. moser-glass.com

THE BAR: An open and shut case for portable bars.

Isidoro drinks cabinet, price on application, Chaplins. chaplins.co.uk

THE COASTERS: If you have to ask why six coasters cost almost a grand, you’re really not playing the game…

Six coasters in hallmarked silver and black veneer, £950, Asprey. asprey.com The Cocktail Lovers - 53

IN-the mix

Mince source Richard Woods, Head of Spirit and Cocktail Development at Sushisamba and Duck & Waffle gets into the spirit of the season with some delicious recipes ranging in complexity, all based on very moreish mince pie filling.

“With autumn approaching, followed by the chilly days of winter, I’ve been scouring the market and internet for ideas for seasonal cocktails. Butternut squash, fennel, bark and maple have all made an appearance in my kitchen in the past few weeks, as well as mistletoe, holly, frankincense and myrrh and I’ve been distilling, reducing and clarifying a

MINCE PIE SUGAR SYRUP (makes 1 litre)

Great for warm drinks such as cappuccinos or lattes but this simple recipe works just as well in a cocktail.

500ml water 500g sugar 200g mincemeat (shop bought works great) Method: Warm the water and sugar in a pan over a low heat. Once sugar has dissolved add the mincemeat and stir to infuse. Turn heat off and allow to simmer. Strain mincemeat, bottle and reserve.

MINCE PIE OLD-FASHIONED 60ml Jack Daniel’s Gentleman Jack 3-4 bar spoons of mince pie syrup 1 dash orange bitters 1 dash Cynar Method: Stir ingredients over cubed ice. Pour into a Rocks glass over a large ice cube or hand chipped ice.

MINCE PIE INFUSED BRANDY You’ll need a Sous Vide for this (p. 46) but it’s worth it – the lovely warmth from the brandy really lifts this infusion and carries the flavour.

500ml Somerset brandy 200g mincemeat (shop bought works best) Method: Set water bath to 45˚C. Weigh mincemeat and place in a vacuum bag and add brandy. Vacuum seal bag and place in bath for 60 minutes. Transfer bag to a freezer to solidify the mince, making it easier to filter clear. In a cloth-lined chinoise, pour the mix and allow to drip through, reserving the mincemeat and infusing the brandy.

Bottle and reserve.

plethora of aromas and flavours to deliver the oh-so familiar nuances of the latter months.

Though each has brought back it’s own memory to me, one ingredient stood out more than the others as it not only delivered on aroma but taste – mince pies.

As it turns out, not only do these beauties taste as scrummy warm as they do cold with custard or whipped cream, they also taste amazing with whisky, gin and even Champagne.

Below are some of the recipes I’ve created when playing around with these exceedingly good pies.”

FESTIVE CHAMPAGNE COCKTAIL 35ml mincemeat infused brandy 1 sugar cube 100ml Champagne Method: Pour brandy in a Champagne flute and drop a bitters-soaked sugar cube in. Top with Champagne Tip: For a lovely aromatic lift I add a few drops of frankincense bitters on top of the drink.

SPICED WINTER VODKA 400ml neutral grain spirit (40%) 150g mincemeat Mineral water Method: Follow the steps in the previous cocktail, weighing mincemeat and neutral grain spirit and sealing in vacuum bag. Place in your water bath set at 45˚C and cook for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, turn the rotovap bath on and set at 65˚C. Transfer the mix to the evaporating flask and set the rotovap and reduce to the required level for ethanol. Distil until 300ml is achieved.

Add mineral water to bring the liquid up to 40 abv.

A WHITE WINTER FIZZ 50ml mince pie vodka 5ml Mozart White Chocolate Liqueur 25ml Half/Half (one part milk/one part cream) 5ml Orgeat 10ml clarified lemon juice Egg white Tonka bean Method: Dry shake all ingredients hard. Add cube ice and reshake.

Strain into a Highball glass filled with ice. Charge with prosecco and grated tonka bean.

Richard Woods @the_cocktailguy

Bartenders, have you got some recipes you’d like to share? Drop us a line at mail@thecocktaillovers.com 54 - The Cocktail Lovers

Promotion

&

SECRETS SERVES

Winter, spring, summer or autumn, whatever the time of year with Licor 43 you can always enjoy a little glow of Spanish sunshine.

Ice cubes and sunscreen at the ready.

Secrets

Serves

Smoooooth

Savour it neat or mix it long for an easy drinking Highball. Use it to introduce a twist to classic cocktails or create something entirely unique. Licor 43 was made for calling at the bar or experimenting with at home.

How you enjoy it is up to you.

Just add a little imagination.

On the nose Licor 43 has a seductive vanilla quality. Its texture is rather like that of a premium honey. And its taste oozes with subtle hints of mint, chocolate and rum.

Surprise, surprise!

Honestly, just when you think you’ve thought of everything you could mix with Licor 43 another ingredient pops up saying ‘choose me’ – juice, coffee, cola, cream, milk, soda and any spirit you care to mention.

Food glorious food

Licor 43 isn’t just for sipping. Add to a fresh fruit salad.

Or drizzle it over vanilla ice cream. Better still, combine the two for a maxxed out luxurious dessert.

Licor 43 is available to buy at Harrods and ASDA and to experience at Brown’s and Grand Union.

licor43.com

All around the world

With 55 countries now savouring the unique taste of Licor 43, it’s the most international of Spanish liqueurs. Ever.

Simple...

Sexy...

Seasonal...

Licor 43 Sour

Spanish Margarita

Licor 43 Apple Pie

Classic but easy, a Sour is the perfect way to enhance this complex liqueur.

An elegant twist on a classic cocktail for sophistication in a glass.

50ml Licor 43

35ml Licor 43

25ml fresh lemon juice

40ml tequila

12.5ml sugar syrup

20ml fresh lemon juice

Dash of Angostura® aromatic bitters

2 dashes orange bitters

1 dash Angostura® aromatic bitters

Method:

Method:

Method:

Shake all ingredients with ice, then strain into a Rocks glass filled with ice cubes.

Shake all ingredients with ice, then strain into a chilled Martini glass. Garnish with a mint sprig and a lime wheel.

Enjoy Licor 43 responsibly

Vanilla and honey notes blend beautifully with apples for the drink that thinks it’s a dessert.

25ml Licor 43 100ml cloudy apple juice

Pour Licor 43 into a glass mug then add the cloudy apple juice and Angostura® aromatic bitters. For extra indulgence top with whipped cream and a cinnamon stick.

IN-dependent spirits

MR LYA N:

A ROARING SUCCESS 2014 has been pretty awesome for Ryan Chetiyawardana and the Mr Lyan crew. There was the opening of White Lyan, a bar with no ice, no citrus and no shakers, which made it arguably the most talked about bar of the year, a window display in Selfridges, and a little matter of picking up the Best International Cocktail Bar award at Tales of the Cocktail.

Now what? Why another bar opening of course. But don’t go expecting anything that you’ve seen before…

There’s a part of Mr Lyan that was created out of my frustration with the industry When I started out as a bartender it seemed like no one would ever give me a satisfactory answer as to why things were done a certain way – I wanted to challenge that. Not for the sake of it, but to me it seems like you’re missing a trick if you don’t at least try.

The fact I hate doing events was a contributing factor to setting up White Lyan There’s a certain chaos about the preparation for events that really annoys me. So I started to question the setup – what if you didn’t need certain equipment like fridges or shakers? I separated the things you really need and those you don’t, which gave me a starting point for White Lyan.

One of the most exciting parts of working on White Lyan has been building the team It gave me the opportunity to turn something that was initially an idea – a labour of love to some extent – into something real. It’s been really rewarding to have people onboard with me, it’s given me a chance to explore my creativity and being able to bounce ideas off each other has made our collective ideas even stronger.

White Lyan was quite a daunting project given the concept The fact we don’t use ice or citrus in any of the cocktails, or use shakers behind the bar could have been construed as being challenging or even worse, insulting, to the industry. That was never the intention – it was simply a way of doing things differently.

56 - The Cocktail Lovers

I’ve always focused on creativity and innovation That’s my background. Lots of people go for the historical side of things which is amazing but I’m more interested in the opposite end of the spectrum.

By taking away the ice, citrus and shakers at White Lyan we can focus on hosting our guests After all, that’s what going to a bar should be all about.

I wanted White Lyan to be a conversation-starter for both trade and consumers My aim was to get the trade talking about ingredients and thinking about how they’re being used and for consumers to ask, what is a cocktail?

It took three years between concept and opening Finding the right venue took much longer than we’d originally anticipated which did make me wonder if we were doing the right thing. We wanted it to be a destination bar but somewhere that was accessible – hiding in plain sight. We knew what we didn’t want it to be and that was a Speakeasy, subterranean-style bar, but we did want it to be in East London. A former pub appealed as pubs have that unifying quality about them – we wanted it to be a cocktail bar for people who wouldn’t normally go to cocktail bars.

People seem to think we’ll be doing no ice, no citrus in all of the bars But that’s what worked for White Lyan, we want to continue the conversation by breaking things down and building them up again which we’re doing in a completely different way at our new bar Dandelyan.

IN-dependent spirits

Dandelyan is about modern botany We’ve divided the menu into ‘cereal’, ‘vegetal’, ‘mineral’ and ‘floral’ but the focus is on what happens if we use ingredients at different stages of the growth cycle. We want people to think what is a mineral, what is vegetal?

How does it look, how does it taste?

My end goal has always been to get people drinking better Whether that’s elevating their gin and tonics at home or having better Martinis when they’re out, I want to take away all the barriers and show people they can have all of those great experiences any time and anywhere they want.

Winning the Best International Bar at Tales of the Cocktails was amazing It’s the most prestigious award and wasn’t something we ever thought would happen. I’m not usually at a loss for words but when the announcement was made, I was genuinely flabbergasted.

Mr Lyan bottled cocktails take out the paraphernalia and faff of making cocktails They also get rid of the barriers some people have about cocktails, whether at home or at the bar. Seeing them on display in the window at Selfridges was a summation of everything I want the company to be – accessible innovation.

Stuart Bale orchestrated 69 Colebrooke Row with such finesse, he was like a conductor in the way he got the best out of everyone, making such high volumes of drinks in a really small space.

At Worship Street Whistling Shop I was given carte blanche to put my creativity to the test, the freedom and support I got was amazing.

I may get geeky on the details But essentially I see myself as making classic drinks.

Dandelyan, Mondrian London at Sea Containers, 20 Upper Ground, London SE1 9PD. mondrianlondon.com White Lyan, 153-155 Hoxton Street, London N1 6PJ. whitelyan.com Mr Lyan bottled cocktails are available at Selfridges selfridges.com and masterofmalt.com For a taste of Mr Lyan in New York, visit Henry’s on the Hudson, 141 Plaza II, Harborside Financial Center, Jersey City, New Jersey NJ 07311. henrysnj.com

What have I learnt from each of the places where I’ve worked?

Mike and Jason at Bramble taught me about putting customers first. The emphasis there is on great music and creating a fantastic atmosphere – it’s inventive, playful and still my favourite bar in the world.

Fine and dandy: the interior at dandelyan; right: one of the new botanically-inspired cocktails The Cocktail Lovers - 57

IN-dustry greats

S A LV AT O R E C A L A B R E S E

MIXING IT UP WITH THE MAESTRO

What do Sean Connery, Stevie Wonder and The Queen have in common? They’ve all been stirred by Salvatore Calabrese’s cocktails. 46 years in the business and showing no signs of slowing down you can find him at his bars in London and Las Vegas

I made my first Negroni aged 12 It was in a small bar in Maiori in Italy and was my second season. My boss Signor Raffaello tasted the drink and promptly slapped me. Not because I’d made it but because I’d added the ingredients in the wrong order. A Negroni might consist of three simple components but to make it well you have to understand when each one needs to be added, according to its weight and viscosity. It’s also about technique: you have to stir and lift to get it right.

That was a valuable lesson, it taught me not to run before I could walk.

From Signor Raffaello I learned that making cocktails isn’t just about putting ingredients together, you have to know when, why and how to use them. Now when I make a Negroni, I pray and duck!

Never underestimate the importance of being a good host It’s the key to being a great bartender.

58 - The Cocktail Lovers

IN-dustry greats

It took six days to create the world and five days for me to create the perfect Martini It was at Dukes Bar in 1985. Everyday one particular customer would come in and ask me to make a Martini and every day he would order one, then another and tell me it wasn’t quite right. On the fourth day I was watching one of my colleagues eating lunch, he added a drop of vinegar at a time to his fish and chips which inspired me to add the vermouth to the Martini in this way. Lastly, I had a little freezer under the counter to which I added the bottle of gin and glass so they were ice cold. That night the customer came in and ordered his Martini, drank it then took a sip of a second one then left. I only found out he liked it when he wrote in the Los Angeles Times that it was the best Martini he’d ever tasted. After that, people, particularly Americans would come to the bar just for a Martini and that’s when the Dukes Martini was born.

My Breakfast Martini has become a classic Every bartender would like to immortalise themselves in a drink that will hopefully be around for of years to comeand I’ve been lucky enough to do so with my Breakfast Martini.

I’ve written ten books which have sold over 2.5 million copies I’d like to write another one but instead of being about cocktails, it would be about the people behind them.

I think of chefs as the cinema and bartenders like theatre A chef can cut and edit until he gets the results he’s after as he’s hidden away in the kitchen. With a bartender, it’s a live performance right there in front of each guest – there’s nowhere to hide.

There’s not much new when it comes to innovation in the bar world Speakeasies, barrel-ageing, bottled cocktails – it’s all been done before, it’s just that bartenders today have brought them to a new level. One of the most important inventions for me has been the soda syphon, it’s brought a culinary aspect to bar tending.

It’s important that a bar has a beat The clink of the glasses, the rhythm of the shaker is all part of that. You can go to the best bar or restaurant in the world and if it hasn’t got an ambience, a pulse, you won’t return.

I didn’t think my sons Jon and Gerry would follow me into the business But I’m really glad they have – I’m incredibly proud of both of them. It must have been difficult for them to enter my world but they’ve done so and become successful in their own right.

As well as my bar at the Playboy Club, I’ve recently opened Bound at The Cromwell hotel in Las Vegas Vegas is a 24-hour place so I’ve created a section on the

menu for night owls and early birds based on coffee cocktails. My son Gerry created a cocktail using a mocha coffee pot when he did his residency at House of Peroni and I’ve basically elaborated his idea. There’s one called Wake Me Up Bro with Peroni-flavoured espresso, cardamom, aged rum, Galliano and honey; another called the Wake Up Negroni with Martini Grand Lusso, coffee, gin and Campari – we’ve even got one called Never Say Goodnight with Red Bull-flavoured espresso, vanilla vodka, absinthe, coffee and spices – all of them are served in frozen mocha pots.

A Negroni might consist of three simple ingredients but in order to make it well you have to understand when each one needs to be added When I’m judging cocktail competitions I’m looking for a number of things In particular how the bartender entertains and hosts.

Creativity and the cocktails are important of course but eye contact is invaluable.

What would I reach for from my vintage collection for my very last drink?

The 1805 Sazerac de Forge et Fils which I’d enjoy with a nice cigar.

As well as my team at Salvatore at the Playboy Club London, my fantasy bar team would be Julio Bermejo from Tommy’s in San Francisco – he’s Mr Hospitality and he’d be next to me, in charge of tequila. Peter Dorelli would be there charming the socks off everyone, he’d have to make his legendary White Ladies of course. I’d also have Ago Perrone from the Connaught Bar in my fantasy bar, he’s charming and sophisticated – he would make his Mulata Daisy.

Alex and Simone from the Artesian Bar would have to be part of the team too, to add a bit of craziness – but Alex would be banned from showering himself in Champagne! Dale DeGroff would be singing and Gaz Regan would be there finger-stirring his Negronis.

Who would play me in the film of my life?

My son Jon. He’s charming, charismatic and a better looking version of me!

Salvatore’s at Playboy Club London, 14 Old Park Lane, London W1K 1ND. playboyclublondon.com Bound by Salvatore Calabrese at the Cromwell, 3595 Las Vegas Blvd. South, Las Vegas 89109. thecromwell. com

The Cocktail Lovers - 59

a Warning from Warninks!

Maring snowballs Making snowballs this Christmas?

Be sure to use Warninks!

Warninks is synonymous with the Christmas season. Drink it neat, over ice or in a classic snowball cocktail.

The Warninks Snowball a Christmas Classic 2 measures Warninks over ice Top up with lemonade or soda 0.25 measure of fresh lime or cordial Garnish with a slice of lime or glacĂŠ cherry

It wouldn’t be Christmas without

GET THE PARTY STARTED...

New Warninks White is the perfect start to any evening out or in. A deliciously premium vodka cocktail liqueur that combines the luxury of creamy white chocolate with a hint of fresh mint. Drink it neat over crushed ice or for a little fizzy fun add a dash of premium lemonade.

Available exclusively at Asda for the special offer price of just £10 for a 50cl bottle (RRP £15).

All White On The Night • 50ml Warninks White • Premium lemonade or 7 Up • Mint sprig Add a couple of ice cubes to a cocktail glass, pour in the chilled Warninks White and top up with lemonade. Garnish with the mint and serve.

Enjoy Warninks White responsibly

IN-formed

MAINS & MARTINIS

RESTAURANTS WHERE THE COCK TAILS ARE AS GOOD AS THE FOOD

Kettner’s

Ynyrshir Hall Eglwysfach, Machynlleth, Powys SY20 8TA. T; 01654 781209 Ynyrshirhall.co.uk Who: Proud locals, foodie-centric out-of-towners and a whole lot of famous guests including Richard Gere, Robert Plant and Jimmy Page.

What: An enchanting restaurant in a country home, now hotel, once owned

by Queen Victoria. Recently awarded AA Hotel of the Year, Wales 2014-2015.

With good reason.

When: Stay at the hotel anytime but book for the restaurant daily 5 or 8-course tasting lunch served 12pm2pm; afternoon tea, 2.30pm-5pm; 5, 8 and 11-course tasting dinner menu 7pm-9pm.

Wear: Smart casual; no jeans or trainers in the evening.

Ms S says: Everything you hope for in a country house hotel, plus a whole lot more, including the most fabulous hosts, award-winning food, simply divine holistic treatments and the gentle house dog that’s the size of a small pony.

Hot dish: We’re not surprised that Gareth Ward has recently been awarded a Michelin star for his cooking, and is tipped as one to watch in 2015 in The Good Food Guide, his cooking is out of this world. It would be a crime to come here and not try the 11-course menu and it’s easier to manage than you might think. The dishes are tiny and immaculate, presented on ceramic vessels specially designed for each

62 - The Cocktail Lovers

course. Stand outs for me include the New Season Carrot given a starring role – baked in hay and salt for a sweet, deliciously soft explosion of flavour.

Cool cocktail: There’s nothing wrong with simple as long as it’s done right.

My Bellini was perky and fragrant, priming my palate perfectly for my elaborate meal.

Mr G says: Everything from the sumptuous rooms to the gorgeous countryside says, “relax, relax, relax”.

First off there are the sumptuous rooms full of little details including a complimentary nip to aid your slumbers (as if you needed it). Then there’s the breathtaking Welsh countryside. Either drink it in from the gardens or lace up your walking boots and stride out. Actually, that’s not particularly challenging but you will feel like you’ve earned an aperitif and a spot of dinner. Dinner? Call it culinary theatre. Dress up, enjoy that aperitif, then get ready for the rest of the evening. Plan on spending at least four hours on this event for maximum indulgence.

Hot dish: Each course is a mini meal in itself, trying (and succeeding) in surpassing its predecessor. Definitely opt in for the Optional Cheese. It’s quite simply the very best toastie you will ever have experienced.

Cool cocktail: There are only a handful of cocktails but the Daiquiri was well made and set things up nicely for dinner.

29 Romilly Street, London W1D 5HP. T: 020 7734 6112. kettners.com Who: Slightly older, more sophisticated types, along with cool professionals looking for a great backdrop for after work cocktails.

What: All-day dining, from Sunday brunch and afternoon tea, to late night dinner and cocktails.

When: Mon-Fri 12pm-12am; Sat 10.30am12am; Sun 12pm-10pm.

Wear: This place is the definition of smart/ casual attire – you wouldn’t want to dress down in such beautiful surroundings but dressing up too much could also leave you feeling out of place.

The Cocktail Girl says: The decor is gorgeous, with just a nod to its impressive history. This is the kind of setting you’d expect to see Bertie Wooster propping up the bar.

Hot dish: The fish soup starter was the stuff of dreams, deep and fishy without being too heavy.

Cool cocktail: It seemed rude to pass up the Cocktail of the Month, a Brits Spritz, which was a refreshing mix of Kamm & Son and sparkling wine with elderflower cordial and soda water.

The Cocktail Guy says: Good to find a restaurant and bar that looks elegant but you don’t feel out of place wearing jeans.

Hot dish: The phrase is often overused but the rack of lamb was cooked to perfection.

Cool cocktail: The Dirty Amigo (Havana Club Especial, Cointreau, agave syrup, fresh ginger and passion fruit) – first-rate.

IN-formed

T.E.D.

Boisdale

Barnyard

47-51 Caledonian Road, London N1 9BU. T: 020 3763 2080. tedrestaurants.co.uk Who: The chic new wave of King’s Cross residents, media-types from The Guardian and fashion students breezing in for after work drinks or environmentally-friendly dinners.

What: The emphasis here is on seasonal, sustainable British food and Fair Trade alcohol, simply prepared. Perfect for brunch through to cocktails – go at the weekend to avoid the crowds.

When: Mon-Wed 12pm-10pm; Thurs-Sat 12pm-10.30pm (kitchens closed 3.30pm6pm); Sun 12pm-10.30pm. Bar to 12am.

Wear: This is the kind of place you’d feel more out of place in heels than trainers.

The Cocktail Girl says: T.E.D. is a real gem – well-priced and ethically sourced food served in a super-cool dining room.

Stay for dinner or prop up the bar and sample the seasonally flavoured spirits.

Hot dish: The menus change constantly depending on what’s in seasaon but the monkfish with grilled vegetables and anchovies I had on my visit was sublime.

Cool cocktail: The Lassi, made with gin infused with seasonal flavours served with star anise is as beautiful as it was unusual.

The Cocktail Guy says: King’s Cross is no longer an area to avoid after dark. This newest addition to Caledonian Road is a great place to sample delicious modern British food.

Hot dish: The starter of scallop and oxtail was surf and turf at its best.

Cool cocktail: 3 dots and a dash is a delicious Fair Trade rum, orange juice, dram and honey concoction and comes highly recommended by me.

15 Eccleston Street, London SW1W 9LX. T: 020 7730 6922. boisdale.co.uk Who: Jazz, cigar and whisky fans, plus those with the hots for all things tartan.

What: Scottish-themed bar and restaurant with a large (and loud) helping of jazz on the side.

When: Mon-Fri 12pm-1am; Sat 6pm-1am.

Wear: Anything but a kilt – you’ll disappear into the background!

Ms S says: Just one plaid short of coming over like a Scottish theme park this lively venue is always busy. Go at lunch for a quieter but more formal visit, or dinner when the fun factor gets cranked up to the max.

Hot dish: Sautéed lamb sweetbreads and braised kidneys served with Savoy cabbage and smoked bacon, truffled mash and a Dijon mustard, lovage and tarragon sauce – er, hello! This is an absolute corker of a winter dish – rich, earthy and comforting.

Cool cocktail: Blood & Sand (Chivas 18 year-old whisky, Martini Rosso, cherry brandy, fresh orange juice), it could only be a whisky cocktail and this bad boy doesn’t disappoint.

Mr G says: A cocktail list bursting with classics, an extremely large selection of whiskies and haggis. What’s not to like?

Hot dish: Impossible to be here and not have the Roast Macsween Haggis with mashed potato and bashed neeps. Do yourself a favour and have a noggin of Chivas Regal 12 year to go with – you won’t regret it.

Cool cocktail: Tip-top whisky abounds here but with a craving for a Dry Martini still pressing the perfect solution was the fantastic Whisky Martini (Lagavulin 12 year old whisky and dry vermouth).

18 Charlotte Street, London W1T 2LY. T: 020 7580 3842. barnyard-london.com Who: Seriously laid-back cool hunters.

What: A knock-out menu of comforting small dishes.

When: Mon-Wed 12pm-10.30pm; Thurs & Fri 12pm-11pm; Sat 10am-11pm; Sun 10am-9pm.

Wear: Strictly casual.

Ms S says: Gloriously unpretensious, great fun and extremely welcoming, go with an appetite and prepare to tuck in.

Hot dish: Every one of the small plates here is a winner, I could choose at least three faves but at a push I’ll go for the meltin-the-mouth delicious roast suckling pig with tangy gooseberry relish, add the warm corn bread and I’m a happy bunny.

Cool cocktail: Hedgerow shandy (pink grapefruit, tonic, sloe gin, Wyld Wood Cider) – remember shandies? Here they get elevated to new heights and now they’re the epitome of cockatil chic.

Mr G says: Comfort food with a capital “C”.

Perfect for losing a Saturday afternoon.

Lovely neighbourhood feel, extremely well made drinks and sharing food that makes you want to try everything on the menu.

Hot dish: Get in a few plates to share, making sure to include the Sausage In A Bun With Burnt Onions. Most importantly leave room for Popcorn Ice Cream With Smoked Fudge Sauce – about as indulgent as it gets.

Cool cocktail: How good is it to see the return of the shandy? Six versions on the classic beverage of yesteryear, with the stand out being the Midsummer Shandy (strawberry, lemon, lime, tequila and Wyld Wood Cider). Yes it’s a shandy but not as we knew it.

The Cocktail Lovers - 63

IN-formed

WORD UP...

NEWS, VIEWS, REVIEWS AND HOW-TO’S

TALES FROM THE BAR Postcard from Singapore by Peter Chua Singapore was not, until recently, known to be a cocktail hub. However, being one of the fastest emerging countries in the cocktail world, Singaporean imbibers are now spoilt for choice when searching for quality drinking spots. Picking just a few bars to recommend was a daunting task as there are so many unique and interesting bars on offer. However, if you only have one night to spare in this sunny island, these shouldn’t be missed: The Tippling Club, 38 Tanjong Pagar Road, tipplingclub.com Probably the first restaurant bar to incorporate modern bartending techniques in its cocktail creations and presentations, the tipples from The Tippling Club are an experience in their own right. Imagine being served a drink with actual bubbles. Or a drink that comes with a box of scents paired specifically from Penhaligon’s perfumery.

Renowned for its sumptuous multi-course lunches and dinners, it’s no surprise that the bar snacks here are as delicious as the cocktails. Current Bar Manager Kamil Foltan, is in the midst of creating a new and exciting menu.

What to drink: Jersey Lightning (bourbon infused with Granny Smith apples, vanilla, cinnamon, gomme Arabic, lemon and egg white).

It’s a modern twist on a classic Whiskey Sour but with all those spices it seems like granny is baking us something special!

Manhattan Bar @ The Regent Hotel, 1 Cuscaden Road, regenthotels.com Inspired by the Golden Age of fine drinking from the 19th century, the Manhattan Bar looks like something straight out of The Great Gatsby. Sexy and sophisticated with a touch of cheek, the drinks are a nostalgic blast from cocktail literature. A quick chat with Head Barman Ricky Paiva and you can see how the drinks reflect this moustached maestro and his creative mind!

What to drink: 8th Ward (High West Campfire 64 - The Cocktail Lovers

Whiskey, Luxardo Sangue Morlacco, Cocchi Torino and Pierre Ferrand Dry Curacao, burnt cinnamon and orange zest) this is Ricky’s spirit-driven take on the classic sour, Ward 8.

Bitters & Love, 36 North Canal Road, bittersandlove.com This bespoke cocktail bar is a true reflection of Singapore. With drinks named after local delicacies, it balances its small menu with a potentially infinite combination of bespoke cocktails. Head barman Naz Arjuna honed his craft working with the best local flavours in this hemisphere, resulting in many exciting and flavourful cocktails.

ONE(S) FOR THE DRINKS CABINET

What to drink: Kaya Toast (Mount Gay Rum, peach liqueur, kaya jam, English Breakfast Tea, honey, lemon, simple syrup and egg white) – a savoury/sweet drink that was inspired by the eponymous local delicacy.

28 HongKong St., 28 HongKong Street, 28hks.com No visit to Singapore would be complete without a visit to my home, 28 HongKong Street (a.k.a. 28HK).

This was the place that taught me the ropes and groomed me to be the barman I am today! 28 HK is a no-signboard, word-of-mouth venue hidden in plain sight on the edge of Singapore’s CBD, focusing on artisanal spirits, craft cocktails, and modern comfort food. 28HK’s unique high quality and high-energy proposition has earned it a place in the hearts and minds of both the local and international guests that find their way into our bar. We’ve been extremely fortunate to be nominated for numerous accolades like Drinks International World’s 50 Best Bars list for 2012 (No. 32) and 2013 (No. 10) and more recently, winning the coveted Best International Cocktail Bar at the 2014 Tales of the Cocktail Spirited Awards.

More importantly though, we are a bar that strives to be a home away from home for wandering imbibers!

What to drink: Tropic Thunder (Leblon Cachaca, housemade Falernum, mango marmalade and AllSpice dram, lime, topped with chipotle/chilli padi/ Porter beer foam.) By yours truly, this drink was created to blend the style that 28HK is known for as well as to impart a local touch to it.

Call us greedy but we’re bagsying a bottle of every spirit in The 86 Co. portfolio. Not only do they work like a charm in the looks department, Ford’s Gin, Aylesbury Duck, Cana Brava Rum and Tequila Cabeza are a cut above in the glass as well.

And as each bottle has been designed by bartenders with bartenders in mind, we think you’ll find they’re the bases your cocktails were waiting for.

Just saying…

Available from selfridges.com

IN-formed

THINK PINK

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Pink up your drink with Rhuby, the all-natural rhubarb liqueur. Add equal parts Rhuby and Cava to a flute or Martini glass and serve. rhuby.se

Notable nibbles

Crack open the Ardens, it’s party time! We’ve munched our way through the flaky and flavoursome Twists, Curls and Melts in the awardwinning range. Our favourites? The Spinach and Gruyere Twists. Serve with a Whisky Sour. ardens.co.uk

LONDON COCKTAIL APP What better time than London Cocktail Week to get acquainted with the best bars in the capital? Load up Gin Monkey’s clever London’s Best Cocktail Bars app and start your research now. Available for idevices from the Apple app store, price £1.99.

MUSIC TO DRINK COCKTAILS TO...

Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett, Cheek To Cheek

C’mon, let’s hit the town, just the two of us. Shall we head for one of those clubs that are oh-so cool?

The clubs where everyone’s checking everyone else? Where you can’t hear a damn thing over the thump, thump, thump of the beat? And where the drinks are served fast and furious, and freakin’ indifferent? No sir, no ma’am. We like to think we’ve got just a little bit more style. Our club mixes up Mr Tony Bennett with the Lady Gaga. And serves classic cocktails just the way we like them.

At our club the modern miss and the iconic swinger are right there delivering the tunes. As we sink into our booth and order our French 75s they’re giving us Anything Goes. We kick back with a couple of Dry Martinis as they’re delivering It Don’t Mean A Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing). Then it’s smooch time as we slip on to the dance floor to dance Cheek To Cheek. Maybe an Old Fashioned and a Manhattan as our sophisticated couple give us Sophisticated Lady. Then is it that time already? Time for taxis. One last drink? We feel like we own the world so let’s go for Millionaire cocktails. The cool couple feel our mood with Ev’ry Time We Say Goodbye echoing to our departure.

Just because we don’t live in the 30s or 40s or 50s when there was just a tad more elegance around doesn’t mean we can’t make our own right here and now. Thanks to Lady G and Mr B we can listen to what we like. And we drink what we like. And we can do just what the hell we like. It’s our club after all.

Polydor. Available from www.amazon.co.uk

ESSENCE-IALLY HAVANA

Ladies and gents may we introduce you to the brand new edition to the Havana Club family: The Essence of Cuba, four drinks flavourings created by The Bitter Truth. Each bottle is bursting with one of the key aromas of Havana Club Añejo 7 – choose from Coffee, Honey, Island Fruits and Aromatic Leaf, add a few drops to your Havana and just like that, you’ve created your own personalised taste of liquid nirvana.

Available in the UK from end of October. havanaclub.com

The Cocktail Lovers - 65

IN-formed

CREATE A BOOK STIR EACH MARK MONTH The Savoy Cocktail Book

OCTOBER

Black History Month The Duppy Conqueror 50ml The Duppy Share Rum 30ml sugar syrup 25ml freshly squeezed lime juice 3 dashes Angostura® aromatic bitters Lime wedge and nutmeg to garnish

Whether you have the previous editions or not you need this in your life. The 2014 version of the 1930s classic features 750 original recipes, with additions such as American Bar Tom Walker’s Bacardi Legacy 2014 winner, Maid In Cuba and The Final Wonder from Beaufort Bar Manager Chris Moore – it’s a cocktail lover’s essential. constablerobinson.com

Method: Shake ingredients over ice. Pour into a Coupe over crushed ice. Top with three dashes of Angostura® aromatic bitters and garnish with a lime wedge and a grating of nutmeg.

Getting Iggy with it

NOVEMBER

Thanksgiving Holiday ‘Sauce’

Iggy Pop is not your obvious fashion icon granted but you’ve got to admit, the man does have style. Check out his clothing in the Flash Collection at sailorjerryclothing.com

37.5ml Hennessy VS Cognac 12.5ml freshly squeezed lemon juice Heaped tbsp cranberry sauce 1 dash Fee Brothers Cranberry Bitters (optional) Method: Shake first three ingredients over ice. Rub the rim of a Coupe glass with fresh lemon, then dip rim of glass in a plate of cinnamon sugar. Strain cocktail into the glass and garnish with an orange twist.

DECEMBER

Christmas Ginger Nut 25ml King’s Ginger Liqueur 25ml Amaretto 150ml hot apple juice Nutmeg and apple slice to garnish Method: Gently heat apple juice in a pan. Add King’s Ginger and Amaretto to a heatproof beaker, pour in heated apple juice and stir to combine. Grate nutmeg on top and garnish with an apple slice.

Available at Bumpkin South Kensington, Notting Hill Gate and Chelsea. bumpkinuk.com

DID

YOU KNOW? 66 - The Cocktail Lovers

A bottle of Champagne contains approximately 49 million bubbles.

SHAPE UP...

Ooh, hello! Giffard liqueurs have had a makeover. Longer, sexier, more streamlined than before the new look bottles are the business on the back bar or at home. mangroveuk.com

IN-formed The

Cocktail

Girl

In pursuit of spiritual enlightenment in London’s bars

BRING ON THE ZING

The Alchemist If you don’t like to attract attention when sitting at a bar, then avoid ordering the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party at The Alchemist. What has just occurred in front of me is some kind of Hogwarts-esque magic, wherein a variety of fruits and shrubs have been infused in a bubbling piece of paraphernalia, dainty tea-cups have been set on the table, and a mist of dry ice has momentarily encompassed both me and the cocktail I’m about to sip in a thick fog.

This is The Alchemist, newly opened in Bevis Marks.

Already collecting diehard fans in Manchester and Leeds, the bar has arrived in London to keep cocktailconnoisseurs on their toes. Their aim? To bring Molecular Mixology to the masses. This means extravagant, exciting and innovative drinks that don’t come with a high-end price tag.

The extensive menu offers about fifty different libations, all with twists on the classics. I couldn’t help myself from ordering the Espresso Hot and Cold Tini, which arrived half frozen, with warm coffee poured into a little milk bottle so there’s a pretty split-down-the-middle effect.

And you’re sure to adore The Bubble Bath, which is a gin, apple and Chambord mixture that actually froths in a pink explosion of Martini madness.

If your tastebuds stand to attention at the thought of new flavour combos, they’ll go into overdrive with the offerings at World of Zing. Flavoured salts and oils, hot sauces, speciality jams, gorgeous condiments and we won’t even go there about the wealth of herbs and spices on offer. Try them in cocktails, or go for the barrel-aged varieties including Ultra-Dry Vodka Martinis and Bordeaux Barrelaged Negronis, specially crafted by Thomas Aske. worldofzing.com

COCKTAILS IN SPACE

If you’ve made it a gazillion miles into space in 2015 you’re going to need a cocktail to toast the occasion. And you’re not going to want any freeze-dried nonsense either. Enter Grey Goose Galactic Martinis and Beyond The Clouds cocktails. The deal is sealed with Virgin Galactic and Grey Goose Vodka and they’re going to be out of this world…

The Smokey Old Fashioned was a delightful alternative which added sweet maple syrup and a blast of oak smoke to create a tantalizing drink that smelled of bonfires and tasted like autumn in a Rocks glass. Plus, delivered in a conical flask, it’s up to you just how much smoulderingflavour you want to create – and it’s kind of fun playing mad scientist too.

With items on the menu ranging from The Colour Changing One to Cereal Killer (hint – it involves a snack as well) then this Cocktail Girl was in her Alchemyelement when it came to picking what best to order. And with most of the drinks under £8, there’s no need to worry about the amount of precious metal in your purse – unless, like me, you are desperate to try them all.

6 Bevis Marks, London EC3A 7BA. thealchemist.uk.com

The Cocktail Lovers - 67

Top Toon Newcastle bars come under the spotlight with George E. Fellows, a bartender who has called it home for the past six years

T

here are few cities in the UK that are as strongly stereotyped as Newcastle; an El Dorado for the idiocies of Geordie Shore, countless stag and hen dos and an outsider’s perception that has changed little since the days of Michael Caine prowling the streets intent on telling everyone the age of his niece. Thankfully things have moved on, and in recent years a wealth of bars and venues have opened that cater for all manner of tastes and persuasions.

Propriety dictates that I should first take you to the bar that I know the best, the one at which I ply my trade; Alvinos.

Thankfully it is a venue of which I am immensely proud.

Set over two floors on Pilgrim Street, it has an utterly unique appeal, and is unashamedly fun. The menu is in a perfectly replicated 1950s comic book, with the tonguein-cheek humour of the names often hiding the quality of many of the cocktails on offer. Modern classics sit alongside ridiculously daft Tiki-style party drinks, whilst the slushie machine deployed at weekends has provided one of the best twists on a Bramble that I have ever tried. In the face of some bars that can take themselves too seriously, Alvinos has a relaxed, laid-back feel to it, and is hugely popular for this. The comic book theme continues across the walls

68 - The Cocktail Lovers

throughout the downstairs of the bar, whilst an AC/DC pinball machine buzzes and pings in the far corner. An eclectic mix of DJs on Friday and Saturday nights, coupled with a wicked Cajun-inspired food menu and the best outdoor terrace in the North East complete the scene, making this bar an utter joy to both work and drink in.

If I am not working and want a cocktail in quieter surroundings, my first port of call will almost always be Two Fifths. Only recently opened, it is a small restaurant and bar serving modern British food with flavours drawn from across the Commonwealth, set in the beautiful shell of an old bank. The bar itself is the brainchild of local cocktail impresario Tim Ward, and despite a limited selection of spirits, they offer a brilliantly varied menu of aperitif and digestif-style cocktails drawn from overlooked classics and original creations, as well as several ever-changing mixed drink specials. Pull up a seat at the antique haberdasher’s workbench that serves as a bar and simply enjoy what is a stunning building, complemented with some damn fine liquor. Just try not to get lost in the vaults on your way to the bathroom...

IN-sider’s Guide

At the other end of the scale when it comes to refinement sits No.28; located above the Grainger Market with an interior that looks as if it was donated by a repentant kleptomaniac, it is a veritable madhouse of a bar. In recent months however, its cocktail menu has changed dramatically, and now offers a carefully considered collection of staple classics, such as a pre-bottled Old Fashioned, alongside several perfectly balanced original creations. With a 3am license things can get a little raucous later in the evening, so if it is quality mixed drinks that you are seeking it’s best to visit before the wee small hours. After that, you’re in the hands of the gods.

than you would know what to do with), Flat Caps is home to the North’s premier barista, who specializes in siphonbrewed coffee and his own exceptional small-batch tonic water. At the opposite end of Newcastle’s centre sits Pink Lane Coffee, with it’s relaxed, minimalistic interior and intensely knowledgeable staff. Plenty of seating, and in spitting distance of the station, it can comfortably bookend a trip to the city of any length.

Flat caps coffee

dAt bAr on Market Street is another that has only recently begun to expand into cocktails. Better known for its mouthwatering Italian-American food selection and varied craft beer list, the team have begun to compile a modest but diverse cocktail menu. House infusions abound and are backed up, sometimes brilliantly, occasionally haphazardly, by a variety of beer-based vermouths and ingredients, dAt’s sister venue Bierrex Smoke and Tap House is yet to open, and promises to continue this dual emphasis on cocktails and beer, so watch this space for further developments.

Beer plays a huge part in Newcastle’s bar scene, and whilst the cocktail culture is still finding its feet in many respects, the same cannot be said for its craft beer culture. There are venues with their own microbreweries, such as the Bridge Tavern, and those with an astounding array of bottled beers such as Tilleys, but the pick of the bunch is without question a complete Newcastle institution; the Free Trade Inn. Located in the Ouseburn, an increasingly gentrified artistic hub on the outskirts of the city, the Free Trade Inn is everything that a pub could hope to be. The beer selection, be it hand-pulled, bottled or canned is definitive, it’s free to use the jukebox, and the view from the beer garden is a perfect riverside cityscape unrivalled by any. The pub itself is a self-professed dump (check their Facebook page), but if you can put aside its dishevelled looks you will be rewarded with a sense of utter satisfaction at having found such a rough diamond.

Gin has been embraced in the North East, evidenced in the locally produced Jack Cain’s and Durham Gin brands, and there are several bars in Newcastle that showcase the love of all things juniper. The unfortunately named Pleased To Meet You offers a kaleidoscopic menagerie of gins and genevers, but for a perfectly matched gin and tonic, the best place to visit is Dacantus. Situated on the gaudy Grey Street, there is a quiet, refined feel to the place, and its selection of over thirty gin and tonic serves are both well-considered and exceptionally presented. What’s more, its status as a licensed restaurant dictates that a small tapas dish comes with every drink, making it an excellent place to catch your breath away from the throb of the city on a weekend night.

Finally, it would not be a guide to a city without offering a curative remedy to these booze-fuelled haunts. Thankfully, good coffee is not an anathema, with two exceptional independent venues offering the best of the bean. Situated in the basement of new-age hippy boutique (more karma

Two fifths

This short list is by no means exhaustive. Should you find yourself in the city, chat to the bartender in any of the aforementioned places and entrust yourself to their hospitality. The friendliness of the inhabitants of Newcastle is another stereotype that has prospered over the years, but it is thankfully also a truism. Cheers! alvinosbar.co.uk dacantus.com datbarnewcastle.co.uk facebook.com/TheFreeTradeInn flatcapscoffee.com no28.co.uk twofifths.co.uk ptmy-newcastle.co.uk thebridgetavern.com pinklanecoffee.co.uk

The Cocktail Lovers - 69

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POLE

STARS You’d better like vodka if you’re planning to visit Poland’s capital – no night out is the same without it

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here are two things you need to know about Poland’s largest city, one: 85% of the historic centre was destroyed in World War II, and two: between 1945 and 1966, the whole thing was meticulously reconstructed by its citizens.

It’s that pride, stoicism and hardworking ethic that explains the character and people of Warsaw. Imagine it, every national monument, religious building and town house painstakingly rebuilt – the facades following every detail of the original architecture which dated back to the 13th century, with the insides updated to modern standards.

The vodka probably helped. Characterful, strong and inherently Polish, the ‘water of life’ is a national treasure and has been for centuries. Let’s face it, you need something with a little ‘oompf’ to give you that kind of fighting spirit…

Zubrówka is one of the oldest brands, dating back over 600 years. If you haven’t tried it yet, trust us, you will do during your stay in Warsaw – every bar, restaurant and club will serve an Apple Pie (simply Zubrówka with apple juice – fancy places will add a squeeze of lime and a pinch of cinnamon). But there are others too, ranging from the super premium Belvedere to the sweet styles sipped after dinner in the Soplica portfolio.

at the weekend. Keep it simple on the cocktails though, freshly squeezed juices and house made syrups haven’t made it here yet. Opt for something simple and delicious like the Hot Bison spiced up with a hint of chilli.

Coctail Bar Max & Dom Whisky, Krucza 16/22, 00526 Warsaw. +48 691 710 000. barmax.pl On the plus-side you’ll definitely get at least two of your five-a-day here, on the downside they’re in elaborate garnishes that almost make your glass topple over. The bold, bright cocktails certainly make you do a doubletake, we haven’t seen such fruity flourishes since DelBoy propped up the bar in the 1980s. Still, cocktails are supposed to be fun right?

If you can’t bring yourself to fight through the fruit the Whisky Room is very impressive – over 750 or so drams on offer with everything from your Johnnie Walker’s with labels in shades of Gold, Black and Blue, through to Chivas Royal Salute and Jack Daniel’s Sinatra Select. colourful cocktails at cocktail bar max

THE COCKTAIL LOVERS’ HOT LIST Column Bar, Hotel Bristol, Krakowskie Przedmiescie 42/44, Warsaw 00-325. +48 22 551 1000. hotelbristolwarsaw.pl The closest we came to cocktails as we know them. Piotr the head bartender is adept with the classics and has a few original creations up his sleeve as well. Sit at the bar rather than getting lost in the vacuous but majestic Art Deco space. Although very happy to stick to the menu (Old-Fashioneds, Sidecars, Sours etc), you can see his eyes light up when you ask him to whisk you up something according to your taste preference which he does with aplomb. Chic enough to cosy up with a date but classy enough to schmooze a potential client this a great little spot.

Panorama Bar & Lounge, Marriott Hotel, Aleje Jerozolimskie 65/79, 00-697 Warsaw. +48 22 630 63 06. panoramabar.pl Drinks with views you say? Panorama Bar on the 40th and 41st floors of the Marriott has got your back.

Offering a stunning vista over Warsaw’s skyline it’s a popular spot for tourists and locals alike – particularly

Drinks with views at panorama bar & lounge

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Pijaknia Wódki i Piwa, Nowy Swiat 19a, 00-030 Warsaw. +48 796 110 000 We don’t usually advocate cheap drinks for cheap drinks sake but we do like how they do things at Pijalnia Wódki i Piwa. With all liquids priced at around 1€ each – that’s everything from vodka, beer and wine, to coffee, water and tea – it’s probably best visited early-ish if you want to soak up the atmosphere rather than join the crowds who pitch up later to get blotto on booze. The bargain prices are a nod to 1960s socialist Poland, hence the harsh overhead lighting, brown-tinged newspaper-aswallpaper and purposely austere furnishings. Which doesn’t matter a jot as its still a magnet for students and arty types. Of all the bar staff we encountered, the ones here looked more like they fitted into the hipster groove with their waistcoats, bow ties and trendy haircuts.

Typically Polish ‘zakaska’ (bits of herrings in oil, paté and sausage or ‘kielbasa’) are served to soak up the alcohol, all priced at 2€.

Open 24 hours and because of the prices, busy for pretty much all of them.

Pawilony, off Nowy Swiat If you like Pijaknia Wódki i Piwa, you’ll love the low-key vibe at Pawilony (meaning ‘pavilions’) nearby (just ask for directions). Tucked off the main street and consisting of around 20 or so bars lined up next to each other, at one time this clutch of small shops was where you’d find crafts people like cobblers, lighting designers and the likes. But save for one or two that have survived, the traditions have mostly died out and the spaces have gained a new lease of life as a row of no-frills, no-fuss bars. Some people hang out inside but more pile into the street where they can mingle. Here it’s less about cocktails, more about beer, vodka and tapping into the bohemian spirit. Check it out.

TOP POLISH VODK AS: + + + +

Belvedere Chopin Wyborowa Zubrowka

Must visit Stroll around the Old Town, granted UNESCO status in 1980. Book a guide to talk you through its fascinating history.

If time allows, drive out to the Balowieza Forest, one of the oldest nature reserves in Europe. As well as deer, lynxes and elks, it’s home of the bison and it’s the long grass they feed on that flavours Zubrowka vodka (zubr actually means bison). Well worth a visit.

Must buy Handcrafted amber is a speciality. Check out the shops around the Old Town for best buys.

Of course, you must buy some Polish vodka – go for something you can’t find outside the country, like Zubrówka Biala, a clean-tasting, crystal clear version without the bison grass or the green tinge.

Must do Drink vodka of course. But always with food. Do like the Polish do: if you’re out for dinner go for clear to start, moving on to something lightly flavoured throughout the meal, ending with a sweeter variation like cherry, pineapple, hazelnut and quince Soplica vodka to round off the evening. For nights on the town, pick on ‘zakaska’ – tapas-style appetisers, mainly pickles and oily fish, to accompany drinks.

Nice and chic at the column bar

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panorama bar & lounge

coctail bar max – to the rear is dom whisky; right: more of the fruity cocktails

Eat

Need to know

Folk Gospoda, Waliców 13, 00-865, Warsaw. +48 228 901 605. folkgospoda.pl

It’s bloomin’ cheap. One Polish zloty is equivalent to just over five British pounds (a little over four Euros) and as prices are low anyway, visitors can do a Kanye and live like they think they’re kings.

Loosen your waistband and say hello to the belt-busting delights of traditional Polish food, here cooked and prepared to perfection. They’re proud to tell you that everything is locally sourced and freshly cooked – bread, butter, dumplings – the lot. Mix it up with excellent appetisers of herrings, beef carpaccio, game paté, roasted meats and steak tartare and if you’ve still got room, add a side of Pierogi (homemade Polish dumplings), filled with spinach and goat cheese, or sauerkraut and wild mushrooms. It’s a touristy setting but none the worse for it – go, sit back and enjoy,

Don’t forget to perfect your pronunciation of ‘na zdrowie!’ (naz-droh-vee-ah!) which means ‘to your health’.

Getting there Ryanair flies to Warsaw from most of Europe.

See ryanair.com

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SNAPSHOT: 1.

Pictures from the hottest events, competitions and openings in the last three months

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1. Ludovic Miazga welcomes the first guests to Le Logis, the new home of Grey Goose Vodka.

Charante, July 2014.

2. Team Europe celebrate winning the Ryder Cup, sponsored by Moët & Chandon.

Gleneages, September 2014.

3. Giancarlo Gianni, Jude Law and Jake Scott at the Venice Film Festival to showcase The Gentleman’s Wager in partnership with Johnnie Walker Blue Label. Venice, August 2014.

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4. Cat Deeley and Matthew Williamson at the Matthew Williamson London Fashion Week after party, at Sketch. Drinks sponsored by Ketel One Vodka. London, September 2014 5. Jourdan Dunn at the Maybelline New York London Fashion Week Party. Drinks sponsored

by Moët & Chandon and Belvedere Vodka.

Tredwell’s, London, September 2014.

6. Charles Joly wins Diageo Reserve World Class Global Finals. Old Billingsgate, London, August 2014.

7. The unveiling of the glasshouses at the Bombay Sapphire Laverstoke Mill.

Hampshire, September 2014

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8. Matt Fairhurst, Benjamin Davis and Ally Martin – the Three Most Promising in the Bacardi Legacy UK finals. Great Conservatory, Syon Park, London, September 2014.

9. Sveva Alviti at the Rankin Launch Search For A New Generation Of Rising Stars at the Vanity Fair Party, drinks sponsored by Johnnie Walker Gold Label. Venice Film Festival, Venice, August 2014 10. Ben Farlow, Sir Richard Branson and Francois Thibault celebrate the official partnership between Grey Goose Vodka and Virgin Galactic. Rose Space Center and Planetarium, New York. September 2014.

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