Negroni

If ever I’m craving a specific drink it’s inevitably this one.
If ever I fancy a drink and don’t know what to make it’s this I turn to.
And if anyone asks me what my favourite drink is, although I’m not sure I really have one, this name is always what I answer

It’s a Negroni- simple to make, easy to source all the ingredients and ways delicious.

I first had one of these at Quo Vadis (if you order one there it’s worth asking if you can have it without one of their ridiculously large ice-balls that make it impossible to enjoy your drink) and although I’ve had many since I don’t think anyone does them better

The recipe is simple- equal parts gin, Campari and sweet vermouth stirred together with ice- so can be whipped up in a matter of seconds.

The taste is equal parts sweet and bitter with a strong fruit/ citrus flavour reminiscent of orange or grapefruit,

Though perfect as an aperitif this drink can be enjoyed at any time and if needed can be lengthened with orange or grapefruit juice or even soda or tonic water

Hix at Selfridges

After a nightmare day shopping in the West End Hix at Selfridges seems like a magical oasis.
Situated within the store, looking down on the noise and chaos below, you manage to seem removed from it all and the space amazingly feels private despite all that’s around you.

With an extensive drinks list, and some tempting cocktails on offer, I began with a cocktail containing watermelon and chili. Sadly I forgot to take a photo of the menu and their website is very out of date so I can’t tell you what it was but I was long, fresh and tasteful with just a subtle hit of warmth. It went perfectly with the smoked salmon and soda bread i ordered.

One drink wasn’t enough so I ordered a Negroni and even though what I got annoyingly had one of those ubiquitous overly large ice-balls the drink itself was good.

If ever you find yourself in the west end and need an escape and/ or a drink then this is a friendly and satisfying place to head to.

Quo Vadis

Quo Vadis in Soho has long been one of my favourite places to go. Sadly between it being slightly more awkward to get to now we’ve moved and geenral travelling and busy-ness we don’t go as much as we used to.

The food, drink and service are alays exceptional and no their ‘theatre set’ menu runs all evening it’s an affordable option for a fantastic experience.

Tonight we began with a Gin & tonic and a Hemingway’s Breakfast (Belvedere grapefruit, maraschino, grapefruit, lime)

Then I had chilled pea soup followed by roast goose- all delicious and all worth making a trip for.

Vestal Voyages

An evening out with The London Cocktail Society and Vestal Voyages tonight to experience the vodka and distill some gin- a perfect plan for an evening. Sadly they managed to run out of gin and rum which meant cocktail choice was very limited but we made the most of it on our cruise along the canal and through a 1/2 mile tunnel.

 

The boat we journeyed on

The Still

The view inside the tunnel

 

 

 

 

Shaken Cocktails- Poisoned Oak

Followinf on from yesterday’s post the second cocktail in the latest Shaken Cocktails/ Cocktails by Post kit is a Poisoned Oak, again from  Trailer Happiness (and if I ever needed an incentive to visit them these two cocktails have been more the enough)

The recipe (and as always a lot more detailed and descriptive in the kit) is:

• Juice of a lime
• 2 level teaspoons of eucalyptus sugar (stirred into the lime)
• 50ml white rum
• 5ml Maraschino
• 5ml Pomegranate molasses

All shaken over plenty of ice

The end result- wow! I thought yesterday’s was good but this was even better. The mix of sweet, sour and tangy is lip-smackingly good and the combination of flavours means it’s a drink that keeps you coming back for more. It has a real rum hit but the mix of other flavours perfectly compliments this and they are all well balanced. A winner.

 

Shaken Cocktails- Daiquiri

Moving house has meant I haven’t had a chance to use all the Shaken Cocktails/ Cocktails by Post kits I’ve received but when the latest one popped through our letterbox we wasted no time in trying it.

Daiquiris are often on a menu as something frozen, sweet, artificial and out of a packet so I have long avoided them. But this one promises rum with fresh ingredients so we took no convincing to try it.

The recipe, from Trailer Happiness, (and as always a lot more detailed and descriptive in the kit) is:

• Juice of a lime
• 2 level teaspoons of caster sugar (stirred into the lime)
• 50ml white rum

All shaken over plenty of ice

The end result- amazing! It was fresh and flavourful with a real rum kick and the balance of sweet and sour was perfect. This is a drink I know I’ll return to again and again now I have tasted it in its purest form (and writing this weeks later this has now become a go-to drink when anyone comes over and it proves endlessly popular) For a drink that is so simple to make it has a taste that belies that and will keep you coming back for more. I can’t wait to try it with a dark rum and see the difference.

Cocktail Hour With The Talented Mr Fox

The London Cocktail Society tonight hosted a great event with Matt Whiley of Talented Mr Fox at One Leicester Street.

The menu began with some specially selected drinks (which were amazing) and then moved onto their full menu (also amazing) This really is a bar to come to if you’re serious about good drinks with amazing flavours using unusual ingredients well.

We indulged in a couple of drinks each but some of the highlights were:

‘Have a Word’ Few Gin, TMF Dandelion flower spun yellow chartreuse with lime and maraschino bitters

‘White Ape’ Moonshine Kid corn whiskey, Kamm and sons, Antica Formulas, sweetcorn

The special menu

The regular menu

After a few drinks we headed off to HK Diner for chinese food and taro bubble tea– the perect way to end any evening out.

 

 

 

Callooh Callay Sweet Menu Launch

Normally I stay away from whisky and sweet drinks but an invite to the opening of ‘The Candy Store’ at Callooh Callay proved irresistible even though it was billed as ‘whisky, cocktails and candy.

The menu of course featured lots of treats but sadly the one I was most interested in, featuring liquorice, wasn’t yet ready so we had to instead dive into the sweeter side of things.

Due to a combination of heading off soon after to another bar and the physical menu here being entirely edible I can’t give you names of what we enjoyed but rest assured we did enjoy them and will be back.

I apologise for the poor mobile photos- it was all much more tempting than I’ve made it look!