Aperitif

Dear all,

Although spring might not have quite sprung yet, we've been working hard on our spring drinks list which will be out in the next few weeks. More about that in the next newsletter, but suffice to say there are lots of interesting new things on there to try, including some atomised aromas in place of the traditional cocktail twist, more home-made syrups and cordials, plus a lot of new wines and some great beers.

We have also been re-thinking our food menu, and are delighted to welcome a new Head Chef who has been feverishly beavering away in our tiny kitchen to bring you a much-improved new selection. This will be available from the start of March. Again, more about that in the next newsletter, but if you have any feedback on the new offering before then, please get in touch through the link at the end of this email.

Cheers,

Paul

Tuesday Tastings

Our Tuesday Tastings cost £10 per person. Tastings start at 7pm and last around 2 hours. They are a mixture of tasting, talk from one of us, a wine maker, spirit producer or expert of some kind, general chat, plus a little bit of food to pair with the tastings.

They are held in our back room, so we are limited to 25 participants on a first-come basis. We can take reservations for the tasting. Please let us know if you would like a table in the bar afterwards as well.

Tuesday 9th March, 7pm
Champagne Ayala

Ayala very kindly provide our most regular, and our most popular tastings. Unsurprisingly, this tasting of a wide range of fantastic Champagne from Bollinger's second house is always booked up a way in advance.

As well as the fantastic Brut Majeur that we use for our house Champagne (and in our Champagne cocktails if you wondered), Ayala produce some delicious zero-dosage fizz (i.e. unlike most Champagne, no 'dose' of sugar is added - also known as Ultra-Brut). This stuff goes brilliantly with seafood, or is a great aperitif.

At the other end of the range, Ayala has an incredible vintage Champagne, Perle d'Ayala, which is a treat not to be missed.

We hope you can join us to learn a little more about the blends that go into the different Cuvées, and taste them side-by-side - the best way of working out what suits your palate.

Tuesday 23rd March, 7pm
History of the martini with Beefeater 24

Beefeater 24 is so called because of the 24 hours that the botanicals are steeped in alcohol to impart the flavour. Apparently it also relates to London's reputation as a 24 hour city. Try telling that to anyone that has to get a tube home past midnight...

As well as the steeping process, Beefeater 24 is unique in using Japanese Sencha and Chinese green teas in the mix of botanicals. Whilst these don't give a strong tea-ness, they do add some wonderfully fresh and grassy notes that work a treat.

Given it's a pretty good gin, we recommend drinking it without too much extra fuss. Beefeater clearly agree, and are coming along to talk a little bit about the history of gin, the martini as the best way of drinking the stuff and Beefeater itself (they're just down the road in Oval after all).

Click here to reserve a space at a tasting

Digestive

Bottles & bottles

Bottles, we've got a few. I guess that's only sensible, being a bar and all, but for the sake of this piece, it's the bottles themselves I'm interested in.

A spirit manufacturer recently asked me about bottles. They were looking to redesign the bottle shape, and were interested in my opinion as both bartender and consumer. Over the course of this discussion, I realised firstly that the two opinions were very different, and secondly, that I hadn't really given it much thought before.

As a consumer, first and foremost I want something that catches my eye. As consumers go, I'm pretty well acquainted with drink brands, so I look for something I don't recognise. Even if I can't recognise the label, I can spot bottle shapes and colours a mile off. Something I don't recognise peaks my interest. Once attracted, I want the bottle to give some indication of its contents. Whisky bottles are characteristically traditional, with curved shoulders and a tapering base; gin bottles usually shorter and more compact. Something outside the norm either suggests thought has gone into the packaging and therefore the product, or that style might be winning out over substance; it's 50:50 without knowing more! As a rough rule of thumb, the taller the bottle, the more 'premium' it's intended to be.

Once I've got the bottle in my hands, weight is good. It gives a feeling of quality and makes the ritual of pouring all that more satisfying. Whilst on the quality thing, poorly made bottles with obvious seams are out, but so are over-engineered architectural pieces (I'm particularly looking towards Cognac when I say this) - it's a fine line. Embossing is good. Etching is good, but not over more than 50% of the bottle's surface otherwise I think you're trying to hide something.
 
To side-track for a moment, all of these characteristics (weight, embossing, acid etching and the like) were originally developed to protect the brands. They're all expensive, time consuming and fiddly, but helped to tell originals from fakes, and in doing so, protect reputations. This is not such an issue in today's Western markets, but in China, bottle design has gone to quite extreme levels to protect the contents from forgery. Many Chinese spirits now come with elaborate glass, metal or pottery decorations and locks, some of which must be smashed or cracked with a special key to access the spirit inside. Not only does this make forgery more expensive, it prevents re-filling of the bottle afterwards. Unfortunately, you need safe-cracking qualifications, a mallet and a fine strainer to get the bits out afterwards!

As a bartender, my requirements are somewhat different. I have two places to put my bottle: either on the back bar where all can see, or in my speed rail at waist-height where I can access it quickly and efficiently. The latter has limited dimensions. Your bottle needs to fit, and be roughly the same size as all the others or, no matter how lovely the contents, we're just not going to use it. The back bar location is the prime spot, and there is a constant battle to fill it. Brands vie for prominence with bigger and better bottles - taking up more than their fair share of space to exclude the competition (again, I'm looking at you, Cognac). The bartender, however, wants variety as well as quality and would prefer three smaller bottles to one huge lump of glass.

One last point from the bartender - opaque bottles are intensely frustrating and good for only one thing - 15 year olds raiding their parents drinks cabinets and hoping not to be noticed (oh, and maybe hiding unpleasant egg liqueurs)!

Paul