Claire Phoenix is FoodBev Media managing editor – magazines. This is a personal blog and views expressed are her own.
We are entering a new era – that of gin and tonic as the new drink of choice. And not just any old gin – these are serious gins boasting multiple complex botanicals and a heritage of mixologist input.
Trending currently is: Monkey 47 from Black forest distillers containing spruce tips, lingonberries, elderflower, sloes and blackberry leaves.
Others of note are The King of Soho from London Dry Gin; Bloom gin – a great blend of botanicals that is perfect with Fentiman’s Tonic; and Bombay Sapphire and Hendricks were the first to out-premium Gordon’s and still hold court in many bars.
From the other camp – the Vodka fraternity – just recently we saw the ‘Valhalla pop up Vodka bar’ at London’s Skylounge with a Viking theme of roasted meats and furs – rather like living it up in Game of Thrones – you expected to see Jon Snow or Joffrey walk in at any moment. Open til the end of February, it serves Snow Queen vodka cocktails, mulled wine and hot spiced cider, alongside flame-cooked meats and Scandinavian cheeses.
In another London hip bar, Chotto Matte brings the energy of underground Tokyo to the streets of Soho. The ground floor’s expansive cocktail lounge, featuring a curved bar cut from lava stone, with the well skilled mixologists shaking up Nikkei inspired Pisco, Sochu, and Sake cocktails.
Prohibition bars serving old-fashioned drinks are de rigeur right now in the metropolis with sawdust clad underground bars reached through secret bookcase entrances a suitable backdrop for expensive cocktails. The Cary Grant and Humphrey Bogart baggy trousers, with braces worn by the staff all add to the atmosphere. This drinking in the experience, not just the alcohol – and it helps if you dress the part too. The main place for this is Earl’s Court based Evans & Peel detective agency – warning: have your case prepared.
Finally there are few cities in the UK now hosting The Breakfast Club – where you need to have an appointment to see the `Mayor of Scaredycat Town’ if you want to enter the bar through the Smeg fridge.
Cocktails have held court for quite a few years now. We’ll aim to keep you informed of the next move in this arena.
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