London Cocktail Week : Friday - West London Crawl

It was my last free day to enjoy LCW and it had been pretty busy so far. Being well acquainted with East London I thought it was time to see what the West had to offer. And I was impressed, here are my mini reviews:

We started at Westbourne House

Ambiance: laid back but with an edge that given a few more hours the dancing would start...
Decor: upmarket gastro pub, tables round the edge of what would no doubt be a busy area
Staff: knoweldgable, friendly
LCW cocktail: a whole week's work of Grey Goose drinks to chose from, the key lime was OUT OF THIS WORLD, with a delicious sharp drink topped with sweet meringue, YUM

Then onto Beach Blanket Babylon Portobello

Ambiance: bit snobby with lots of stiletto and LBDs, dinner still going on further back, but friendly enough
Decor: Pans Labyrinth meets Jean Paul Gauthier, absolutely fabulous, so many nooks and crannies to explore, however if you haven't booked a table it'll be a long night on your feet
Staff: Dreadful; on arrival one barman knocked over the raspberry drink he was preparing, covered my bag (and boyfriend's shoes) with no apology, no napkins, nothing. It was left to us to reach over the now-pink bar and grab tissues
LCW cocktail: they didn't even tell us what it was despite asking, it was overly sweet even to my friend's taste who loves sugary drinks. They also added 50p per drink tip AFTER SPILLING DRINK OVER ME!!

We stayed long enough to finish our drinks, keen to move on, with Portobello Star within sight

Ambiance: laid back and friendly
Decor: simple, clean and hilarious watching people try to get in/out by doors only open during market days!
Staff: friendly, knowledgeable
LCW cocktail: I was not at the bar to see it made but not too impressive...it was tasty yet but was simply a Gin (Portobello Road) and tonic in  a glass. No ice, no garnish but a shot glass in the bottom. Perhaps the key was in the preparation...

And then finally Trailer Happiness

Ambiance: PAAAAAATY, but quite a squash!
Decor: tiki happy, bit 70's
Staff: dealt well with a busy bar and serving everyone in time
LCW Cocktail: a nuclear green daiquiri and delicious it was too, i'll be trying Midori with mine next time. In fact I would have stayed for more having bumped into the Bacardi team but alas, LCW got the better of me and flu was acomin'! 

So top West London bar: Portobello Star
Worst West London bar: BBB but I doubt they care if their barman's attitude is anything to go by

London Cocktail Week : Tuesday - Mini Ginstitute

So, first event of London Cocktail Week, and something I was sooooo excited about. It was a mini version of Jake Burger's Ginstitute usually based above the Portobello Star, a fabulous Portobello Road bar. Do not miss their Whisky Mac No 2 if you pass by.

The Ginstitute Batch Still

This had moved from west to east and set up shop in Seven Dials. On arrival we were offered a gin drink straight off with their own - very tasty - gin, Portobello Road. Then we settled in for some gin history from Jake himself. I have worked in the gin industry for almost year and I would say that about 40% of what we were told was new to me so totally interesting, even for the pros.

Then we had a quick break, moved on a Gin Collins, and started tasting. We had about 25 botanicals to work through, both smelling them and tasting them. We started with juniper, obviously, which Jake suggests makes up at least 40% of a gin. (Remember a gin by definition is a juniper forward distilled spirit) Then we worked through the spices from angelica to liquorice to cardamom. Next up was the fruits like lemon, lime, apricot stone and lavender. All the while we were taking notes as the important part was still to come...making our own!

Mixing Up My Gin!

I was up first and spent a few minutes discussing my favourite gins with Jake to decide which direction to take the gin. The conclusion - 'masculine', spicy, with body. Jake's assistants then stepped up and started measuring out my gin in a huge test tube. We then tried it and (very) happy with the results it was bottled, labelled and numbered so that Jake has my recipe when I want to reorder. And I will.

I did ask if anyone has tried their gin and sent it back to try again. Apparently not but that is why Jake is there, to guide you through the process, and advised you choose between 8 and 14 botanicals. I was hoping to be in the lower range but ended up with 11.

Bar Hopper Gin

The surprise of the day was the Yorkshire tea botanical. As a non-tea drinker I thought this would not be my favourite but I added a generous whack into my gin. It was slightly sweet and added nice tannins. This was specially designed between Jake and Yorkshire tea so I am not surprised it tastes so good!

I would thoroughly recommend this experience to everyone. It is not cheap but you do get a complete history of gin, you are surrounded by history and you leave with your own bottle that can be re-ordered for £37/bottle.

Fabulous.