Classic cocktails come of age
An in-depth survey on the state
of the classic cocktail in 2015
Zetter Townhouse
We trawled 40 of London’s finest
cocktail bars to report on the very
latest news and views from the
world of the mixologist. Yes, it’s
been tough work, but someone
has to do it.
There’s never been a better time in histor y to be a cocktail
drinker. Restaurants and bars can no longer pass off belowstandard booze with sugar and a gaudy umbrella. Creative
bartenders have worked hard to revive the art of cocktail
mixing, so any establishment worth the salt on its Margarita
glass now ser ves a sophisticated selection of spirited beauties.
Given our passion for heritage at LoveA ntiques , cultural
antiquities and style icons of days gone by, it’s natural we’re
celebrating the comeback of the classic cocktail.
To mark the rebirth of 42 treasures, ranging from the 1850s’
Brandy Daisy to the Common Market (created in 1973 to mark
Britain’s entr y into the EEC), we’ve devised The 2015 Classic
Cocktail Map Of Britain. The map highlights 159 bars, up
and down the UK, with a reputation for mixing classics to
perfection, or with an innovative, contemporar y twist.
Our self less reporters worked noon, night (and even later
night), to delve deep into the drinking culture of London,
capital of the classic cocktail. Talking to 40 of London’s
top mixologists brought fascinating results.
We discovered an industr y that’s recaptured its groove.
Recipes from the Prohibition Era are being reworked, using
futuristic technolog y and interesting new ingredients, to
make the f lavours of the 19th and 20th centuries make
sense to the palates of the 21st.
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Our Classic Cocktail Survey
London 2015 revealed:
95% 92% 84%
of bartenders have seen
an increase in demand
for classics over the past
few years.
of bartenders produce
their own infusions,
syrups, bitters or purées.
87%
of bartenders agreed with
the statement: ‘The Classics
can be improved ’.
of bartenders believe
that preser ving the original
presentation of a classic
cocktail is important.
The bars we visited
were in
Central London 17
Shoreditch 7
The Old-Fashioned
36.2%
is by far the most popular classic in the
bars sur veyed, followed by the Martini (19.1%),
Mojito (8.5%), Margarita, Negroni,
Sazerac (6.4% each), Manhattan,
Cosmopolitan (4.3% each), Daquiri,
Planter’s Punch and the Mai Tai (2.1% each).
West London 5
North London 5
The City 3
Docklands 1
3
What defines a classic cocktail?
Staying power. Plantation holders
in old Havana drank the same
Mojitos as today’s accountants
on a night out.
The Southern Belles of yesterday share the love of a good
frozen Julep with today’s girls on a hen night. Sharing the
taste for Martini with Frank Sinatra and James Bond is a
major part of the charm.
In 1806, a reader wrote to an upmarket New York newspaper
to ask what the word cocktail meant. ‘Cocktail,’ the editor
replied, ‘ is a stimulating liquour, composed of spirits of
any kind, sugar, water and bitters…it’s supposed to be an
excellent electioneering potion.’
The earliest cocktails were simple, but spirited, with the
base spirit packing a punch. Few include more than five
ingredients and many use just three.
In the Prohibition, cocktails such as the Gin R ickey
were designed to mask the illicit alcohol, so when that
age ended, cocktail quaffers developed a liking for
drinks that tasted strong, such as the Old-Fashioned.
Tastes have changed through the eras, from the sweet
and sour Margarita to the bittersweet Negroni, the savour ysour Bloody Mar y and the fruity-creamy Piña Colada.
Newly-professional bartenders are now turning to old
recipe books to unearth long-lost gems and reinvent
vintage favourites.
4
How do London’s mixologists
handle classic cocktails?
“If you don’t know
the classics, how
can you make any
other cocktail?”
ER IK LOR INCZ
Head Bartender
A merican Bar at
The Savoy Hotel, London
Reverence towards the classics varies among bartenders.
Erik Lorincz at the Savoy’s A merican Bar, London’s oldest
cocktail establishment, and Thamas at Rules restaurant,
once frequented by Charles Dickens, view classics as the
cornerstone of the cocktail industr y.
The A merican Bar ser ves an Original Sazerac, made from
the original ingredients: 1858 Sazerac de Forge brandy, 1950s
Pernod absinthe and Peychaud ’s bitters from the early 1900s.
Management at Barrio East in Shoreditch and nearby NOL A
agree that you can’t improve on a classic recipe. ‘If a customer
orders a classic, that’s exactly what they should get,’ they say.
In other newer bars, such as the London Cocktail Club,
thought has gone into crafting a list that combines classics
with contemporar y cocktails, including the Pornstar Martini.
Daniel Stoilaki, Head Bartender at Mint Leaf, believes
classic cocktails are “the base of the drinks industr y.” He
says that customers and bartenders are richer for knowing
their classics, as it makes them more willing to experiment
and understand how alcohol f lavours bring out the best in
each other.
To Hebe R ichardson and Nate Brown of the Merchant
House, it is the style of a classic that makes it interesting.
Rather than sticking to the precise approach of David
Embur y’s The Fine A rt of Mixing Drinks (1948), they
give their team freedom to express themselves with
original twists.
Steve Mankeltow, Manager at Chelsea’s Goat, agrees that
the classic cocktail recipes are as ‘concepts,’ which can be
adapted to suit our modern palates. “If Harr y Craddock,
David Embur y and Gar y Regan all have different recipes
for a ‘classic’, which is correct?” he points out.
5
“You take the classics and
play around with them…
you take an Old Fashioned
and you can do anything
you want to it — as long
as it tastes right!”
PA O L O T E L E S C A
Manager
The Ape & Bird
Merchant House
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Is old and new the ultimate
classic combination?
Paolo Telesca thinks it’s vital for a
bar to develop its own personality,
reflected in its drinks menu.
Order an Old Fashioned in The Ape & Bird and you’ ll be
offered their speciality, a Rye London Old Fashioned, made
with r ye whiskey, f lamed orange peel and A maro London.
Stephen Pennack, Head Barman at The Zetter Townhouse
in Clerkenwell, presides over a plush bar, full of antique
sofas, carpets, gramophones and paintings, including one
of ‘The Great Aunt,’ affectionately known as ‘Wilhelmina.’
To resonate with the décor, his cocktails are made with
traditional English ingredients, such as nettle, dandelion,
burdock, port and sherr y.
Head Bartender at The A rtesian, A lex K ratena says:
‘Mixing a cocktail is like a work of art. Both the bartender
and the customer need to unfold and explore its f lavours.’
Fred of the Portobello Star believes that classics should
only ever be changed for a reason – for example, to
complement food – but has no problem with experimentation,
which is how the classics came about in the first place.
Maria Jordan, of Canvas Bar in Old Street maintains that
the original f lavours of a classic must still be present in any
new interpretations. Referring to their Smoked Old Fashioned,
she says it is: ‘a combination of elegance and sophistication,
yet it upholds the classic taste of the original cocktail.
Putting a twist to a classic is an art and getting it right is
absolutely essential.’
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“It is hard to improve on a
classic. But interpretations
and twists can be good. In
the same way a talented
musician riffs on a standard
tune and makes it his own.”
EDMUND W EIL
Owner
Nightjar
Zetter Townhouse
8
Old School, High Tech
Living Ventures, a Manchesterbased company behind some
25 bars, including The Alchemist
in the City of London, believes
in innovation on the technical
side of bartending.
Behind the scenes, their mixologists use various proteins
and chemicals to bring a drink closer to its ‘perfect’ edition.
Shane Dobson, Head Bartender at The A lchemist, tells
us their Smoky Old Fashioned takes 10 minutes to reach
optimum dilution, giving it intense depth of f lavour.
The Zetter Townhouse collaborates with 69 Colebrooke
Row in producing bespoke ingredients which bring out
the best in their cocktails.
Using modern techniques such as centrifuging, sous-vide
cooking and rotar y evaporating to extract f lavours,
their lab produces ingredients such as rose-essence sugar
cubes to tie up their cognac-based champagne cocktail
with a f lourish.
9
Twist and Shout
Lab Bar manager Marco
Piroli sees it as his duty to
push boundaries.
He’ ll ser ve you a rum matched with peanut butter
or bourbon with marshmallow. Your Mint Julep will be
made from Bovril, maple syrup, Gentleman Jack, fig, mint
and bitters, ser ved with a garnish of beef jerky. It might
surprise some drinkers, but he insists the f lavours go
wonderfully well together.
Peter at The London Cocktail Club, and Charlotte Ir vine
of Trader Vic’s, are also groundbreakers, but agree that
if you’re twisting a classic cocktail, it should be renamed.
Think the Espresso Martini and Sunset Negroni.
The pros agree that the customer must come first and
if they ask for a particular cocktail, that’s what they
should get.
According to Nate Brown of the Merchant House: ‘The
palates of the 1920s are a million miles from modern
tastes. It’s important to us to adapt the way in which
a classic is put together, in order to bring the most
out of the premium spirits that we use in our bar.’
This is a view shared by Maria Jordan and James
Huertas of Canvas Bar and Trailer Happiness respectively.
James points out that the quality of alcohol has
drastically improved, so less sugar is needed today.
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Should classic cocktails be
presented in a classical way?
“If it looks good,
it tastes good.”
SH A NE DOBSON
Head Bartender
The A lchemist
Daniel at Mint Leaf believes classic presentation is important,
although he allows experimentation with garnishes on his
bar. He is especially keen on garnishing whisky drinks with
fresh chocolate. He believes the drink itself will only account
for 90% of the customer’s experience and the final 10% can
be reached only through exceptional presentation.
Ruben, of Zenna Bar, weights the visual experience of a
cocktail at closer to 50%.
Living Ventures’ top bartenders pass through a training
program called ‘The Top 100,’ where they are encouraged to
experiment and innovate with ever y aspect of a drink. Many
of them enter cocktail competitions, where the visual impact
of a drink is scored as much as the way it tastes. As a result,
like many Living Ventures bars, The A lchemist is a highly
theatrical place.
Nonetheless, 85% of the bartenders we spoke to placed great
importance on ser ving the classics in the expected way – for
instance, Mint Juleps in a silver cup and Martinis in a Martini
glass (stemmed, inverted bowl).
George Mazur, of The Macbeth in Hoxton, firmly believes
that the taste of a drink changes depending on the glassware
used, so he places great importance on original presentation
of a classic.
This may not be all you think it is, though. Before you go
moaning that your champagne cocktail isn’t handed to you
in a f lute, bear in mind they were historically ser ved in a
tumbler with ice.
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“[Classical Presentation]
is extremely important…
without it, it’s like having
a beautiful outfit and not
wearing the right shoes.”
M A R I A JOR DA N
PR & Marketing Manager
Canvas Bar
Merchant House
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Are classic cocktails more
popular than ever?
An overwhelming majority of 95%
of bartenders surveyed answered
this question with a yes.
“Certain drinks
articulate a certain
lifestyle.”
NAT E BROW N
Co-owner
Merchant House
Some pointed to cyclical trends to explain this. Others
cited the popularity of shows such as Mad Men, Boardwalk
Empire and Sex A nd The City for the upturn, thanks to
their cocktail-downing stars.
Shane at The A lchemist puts it down to the prevalence of
better-educated bartenders. He describes them as ‘ knowledge
freaks,’ obsessed by f lavour combinations, as well as spirits
and bitters they hadn’t come across before. He sees it as
their job to educate customers and sees the cocktail industr y
becoming more accessible, as new drinkers work their way
through the classics.
Beatrice Bradsell of Pink Chihuahua at El Camión in Soho
draws a connection between make-at-home cocktail kits,
such as those provided by Shaken Cocktails on a parcel
subscription ser vice and the knowledge level of the capital ’s
cocktail drinkers.
James Triffo at NOL A believes the resurgence began around
10 years ago with the publication of books by Esquire
magazine’s cocktail correspondent David Wondrich, followed
by Mixologist: The Journal of the A merican Cocktail Volume
1 by Jared McDaniel Brown and A nistatia Miller.
Lifestyle writers and the emerging blogosphere fed into
social media and it was then ‘only a matter of time before
mainstream bars caught up, recognising the profit
margins are greater on cocktails than beer and wine.’
Nate Brown and Stephen Pennack see the renewed interest
in classic cocktails as a product of our economic climate.
Nate claims that ‘people want heritage and value for their
money these days, and classics play to that.’
13
Stephen looks back at the Golden Era of classic cocktail
creation as a time of prohibition and war. Now more
people can afford to drink, they’re looking to drink fewer
drinks, of better quality.
“Tastes follow a
cyclical pattern
of human
behaviour.”
SIIM PEETER SIMISKER
Polpo
There is an undeniable mytholog y around the classics,
and in the opinion of Thamas at Rules, customers
want to feel they’re buying into that heritage – luxur y
or decadence, depending on the cocktail.
Robert Gaggl, of Connaught, sees the rise of
Speakeasy-inspired bars as leading customers towards
tr ying the classics.
The few who disagreed that interest in classics has
increased, such as Sergio at R ise 46, were typically
bartenders who pushed their own concoctions and
had established a reputation for doing so, which
might explain the discrepancy.
Canvas Bar’s Smoky Old Fashioned
14
Do artisanal spirits and made-inhouse bitters, infusions and
purées create new opportunities
for interpreting the classics?
The attitude towards artisanal spirits, which have become
increasingly available over the past few years, is
over whelmingly positive in London’s cocktail bars.
This is especially seen in the number of gins stocked on the
capital ’s bar shelves. In the words of Martin Baeta, a bartender
at Good Godfrey’s in the Waldorf Hilton: ‘Four years ago, we
stocked maybe 70 brands of gin…now we have closer to 250!”
In his native Portugal, a countr y not known for its gin,
there are now a number of artisanal distilleries, devoted to
producing fine-quality gin, such as Sharish, Big Boss and
Templus. He doesn’t believe that this gin obsession will last
forever, though.
His tip for the next big spirit is rum, a trend for which the
Merchant House seems ideally equipped with its selection
of some 500 gins and rums.
A ll bartenders owned up to being hesitant when it comes to
making their own spirits, apart from James of Trailer
Happiness, where they make their own batch of rum, and
Fred of Portobello Star, where the Ginstitute supplies the
bar with premium quality gin.
Erik Lorincz summed up the popular attitude when he said
that he prefers to leave that to the experts, because they have
a far better understanding of the f lavour compounds which
make up a spirit. It is then the bartender’s job to work out how
to complement them with bitters, syrups and other alcohols.
Marco Piroli of Lab Bar concurs. “We prefer to get spirits
from the people who have been making them for 100s of years.
They have the expertise and the physical space to produce
excellent results.”
15
“Modern techniques and
technologies allow us
to match flavours in new
ways.”
ST EPHEN PEN NACK
Head Barman
The Zetter Townhouse
Zetter Townhouse
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“While I love trying
someone’s home
made bitters I
think it’s more of
a novelty than
of commercial
interest.”
ST E V E M A N K ELTOW
Goat
While making their own spirits might be a hurdle too far,
many bartenders in London’s cocktail bars are encouraged
to experiment with a myriad of their own purées, infusions
and bitters. Many bartenders are welcoming the challenges
presented by mixolog y, which will lead them towards unique
creations and variations.
Martin, of Good Godfrey’s, makes his own syrups, which
he adds to his classics. Order a Daquiri and he’ ll offer to
add a dash of his lime and tobacco-infused syrup.
He and his comrade Paolo at The Ape & Bird see such
individual ingredients as a unique weapon in a barman’s
arsenal. Paolo and his team ser ve lemony cocktails with
their own thyme-infused syrup, just one element which
makes his bar stand out from the competition.
Going against the grain, Steve Manktelow of Goat states:
“While I love tr ying someone’s home-made bitters, I think
it’s more of a novelty than of commercial interest.”
At the Merchant House, Hebe tells us that in ever y drink
ser ved there is at least one home-made component. She feels
this is important because customers are not looking for a
carbon copy of a classic, but for a bartender’s interpretation
of it, a view shared by Mint Leaf ’s Daniel, who is working
towards producing his own bitters and barrel-aged cocktails,
such as a Patron Negroni and a Gin Negroni.
Beatrice Bradsell believes that while an infusion can aid a
classic, it doesn’t necessarily make it better. In her mind,
they should only be used when they work. Incidentally at
Pink Chihuahua, they make a Sangrita fresh ever y day.
Guillaume, of 69 Colebrooke Row, urges caution, pointing
out that infusions and syrups can have a substantial effect
of altering the taste of a cocktail and when a classic’s taste
is completely altered to the point where it’s no longer
recognisable, it’s not a classic anymore.
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It’s hard to imagine what
cocktail-drinking legends such
as Winston Churchill and Ernest
Hemingway would have made
of the results of our Classic
Cocktail Survey: London 2015.
New-fangled mixing techniques
and ingredients such as
rose-infused sugar cubes may
have baffled them – but we
bet they wouldn’t have been
able to resist.
London’s cocktail scene is
experiencing something of a
renaissance, and the classics
are at the heart of that.
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Classic cocktails come of age
An in-depth survey on the state
of the classic cocktail in 2015
Room 102, 134-146 Curtain Road,
London EC2A 3A R
Call 020 8045 3745
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