Presenting… GINSTOCK

8 gins. 8 bars. Offering 8 cocktails. This was Ginstock.

It was a great start as the sun beat down on the Fifteen sponsored British Street Food Award vendors. Shame that they almost to a man ran out of food just a few hours in but we won’t go into that, I’m sure others will…

PKD's Rhubarb

I was there for the gin, and not to forget this was also a competition. Here is how they rated in my humble opinion:

#1= Sipsmith and Zetter Townhouse with The Gimlet

This was utterly beautifully balanced with 2 parts Sipsmith gin to one part homemade orange and cassia cordial and lemon twist. So drinkable and love the tiny martini glasses for such a potent drink. Went back for more.

#1= Martin Millers and Powder Keg Diplomacy with Gin and Rhubarb Tonic

Another really well balanced drink with the sharpness of homemade rhubarb tonic working really well to created such a fresh drink and loved the stripy cinema popcorn cups too. Well done Matt!

#3 Gilpins and Liberty Lounge with The Herbalisor

Loved the story here, loved the passion of those working for Gilpins, loved the mini g&t sorbets, and although their berry cocktail was more “my thing” the boys loved The Herbalisor, very fresh

#4 Williams and Worship Street Whistling Shop with A Smoked concoction!

This was an interesting combination of citrus and smoke, though it was mainly smoke. Nice, but it could have been any gin in there 

Gilpins Berry Cocktail

#5 Bombay Dry and London Cocktail Club with a Custard Cream topped concoction

Bit forgettable but loved the custard cream!

#6 HVEN and Danger of Death with Dirty Bomb Martini

Good lord, why would you swap olive brine for MEZCAL?! Barely drinkable

#7 Beefeater and Polpo with Negroni

This pre-mix was way WAY too bitter, and I was not the only one saying it, given away

Not tried: Bombay Sapphire and Nightjar with Singapore Sling

I was advised not too so since we were several drinks in I heeded that advice!

Gilpins G&T mini sorbet

Top surprises

§         Williams Gin new Extra Dry Gin offering - delicious, great progress

§         Gilpins Gin and Tonic sorbet in mini cones with a touch of absinthe – world’s BEST hangover cure – as well as their range of tonic waters

Thanks to the band (I recognised the lead singer and pianist from Nightjar) for great music, thanks to all the guys representing their bars and gins who were all more than happy to take the time to tell you about what they are doing and to @tweat_up for making it happen

69 Colebrooke Row, Angel: 18/20*

Location: Colebrooke Row, 10 minutes walk north from Angel


Website: http://69colebrookerow.com/

Visit: Friday evenings

To Note: aka The Bar With No Name, look out for the Martini awning

Scores

Ambience 5/5

Design 3/5

Drinks 5/5

Staff 5/5

Extra LBS Star: yup, it's got something that has me intrigued...


I first visited 69 Colebrooke Row, also called The Bar With No Name, when it opened and I was newly arrived in London. I didn’t get it. It was small, dark and expensive. On a cold Friday night, with due notice that I LOVE their sister bar the Zetter Townhouse, I returned to the scene of the crime to try again and it was small, dark and…really pretty reasonable!

The Bar With No Name similarly has no sign outside; Just walk north from Angel up Colebrooke Row for about 10 minutes and take the martini awning as a guide to their door. And make sure you book or you’ll have to take a stair and hope someone leaves.

So you may need to read the menu by the light of your mobile phone if you are not lucky enough to get a bar seat – you can ask and you will have the staff squeezing through but well worth the effort to enjoy the show – but who cares when the menu reads so damn well. Enjoy a glass of water as you browse (tick!) and if you look a little undecided they are more than happy to recommend both on and off the menu (tick!); then the staff dressed in a cross between a lab coat and a blazer will bring you your drink on a silver tray.

At £9 for all house cocktails I barely acknowledged the wine or beer overleaf – but the choices are there if you do not choose your drinking companion wisely. I opted for the Rhubarb Gimlet, of which several ingredients were homemade, and it was quite frankly fresh and delicious. A Manhattan similarly produced oohs and aahs from my friend.

As for the space it is small but does not lack atmosphere and they certainly are trying to fit us all in comfortably with a mixture of high barstools at the bar (surprise), against the back wall and then low tables and chairs throughout. Otherwise a few large drinks posters and wooden floors make up the rest. The music on the night had a latino flavour and I could definitely envisage dancing – in a reserved “limited space” kind of way – picking up as the cocktails go down.

I am not sure what I did not understand the first time round, perhaps it was the crowd I took, perhaps it was London prices still shocking me, either way I’ve booked onto one of Tony’s masterclasses here for March and look forward to more trips to North London in the not too distant future.

London Cocktail Week: Day 2 Kammerlings

Tuesday 11^th October

I was very disappointed to be hosting a work event just as London Cocktail Week kicked off…but delighted that by 11pm as it drew to a close, I found myself next door to long time favourite The Zetter Townhouse. I was not going to pass up the opportunity of being so close so nipped in for their £4 offering of the week

The Townhouse Tonic

This gorgeous little medicine bottle contained Kammerlings, Tanqueray, lemon juice, homemade lemon sherbet and a dash of tonic and bitters. And for all that when I poured it into the glass it had a curious orange colour. And it tasted of memories!

My companion smelt something coniferous – perhaps from the juniper in Tanqueray – and I was sent back to some sweet from my childhood that I could not quite place. Despite this sweetness this delight was perfectly balanced, so I ordered another one for the road.

As we tried to pull ourselves out of the reverie that deep leather armchairs and old French classic music will create, the rest of the Zetter team arrived with the news of winning Best Hotel Bar at the CLASS awards. Well done guys, thoroughly well deserved.