No 3 Gin : The Making Of (For Gin Geeks!)

So these are the botanicals for No 3 Gin; the 3 fruits are juniper (ok, its a cone!) grapefruit peel and orange peel then the 3 spices are cardamom, coriander seed and angelica root

They go into the still, like this

The copper helmet gets bolted on

Fred, a one man show, hand crafts the gin, attaching the swans neck here

The condenser 

And all for this...No 3 Gin. The final word in a dry martini.

Kyoto meets Edinburgh: Burns Night Japanese Style

We all know that the Japanese do whisky. And they do it well. So I was more than delighted to be invited to join Hakkasan CEO Niall Howard along with successful Scottish business (wo)men and “celebs” (courtesy of 360 Communications and Bacchus PR) for a Burns Supper with a unique Asian twist hosted at Chrysan.

Welcomed with traditional bag pipes – the Scottish ones, I know that the Japanese have their own version too – and a glass of Champagne, I opted for a non alcoholic drink (thank you Worship Street Whistling Shop for my boozy early evening!) and received a deliciously tropical Iced Tea with an orchid on top. I have to say this was a good call as what was to come was a real education in taste.

A mere two minute welcome speech led us straight into the meal, starting with a small “dish” that has sake poured into it. Well they said it was sake, it tasted like warm lychee tea and was the perfect palate cleanser with the warm flannels too. (I opted for a hand wipe, my neighbor went for a full facial wipe down!) Next was Tori Leekie soup (chicken, leek and ginger) with Suntory Hakushu 12 yr old and soda; this is very popular in the East as an introduction to whisky and palate cleansing too. The soup was fabulous, so was the whisky with a smoky hint coming out too.

Next was Nabe Burns – “Japanese haggis”, dashi turnips and wasabi potato salad – served with Suntory Yamazaki 18 yr old. Now, the Japanese do not have Haggis. However Niall had taken the ingredients to chef Daisuke Hayashi and with some Japanese spice and magic it become a delicious plate of nummy – official term - which was wiped clean. And the whisky? Something about the hand carved ice ball had a profound effect on the whisky beyond dilution. It was incredibly approachable and disappeared worryingly quickly.

And lastly, one of my food nemesis’ – Cranachan. If you don’t know it, it’s like we took Eton Mess, swapped the meringue for oats (?!) and threw in whisky and honey – hideous. Yet this was transformed – or deconstructed I should say. Firm whipped cream was encased in oats and topped with raspberry coulis, accompanied by macha ice cream, Hibiki soaked raspberries and honeycomb pieces. Drooling yet? This was accompanied by the star drink of the night – Suntory Hibiki Old Fashioned which my brother and dining partner had finished before dessert arrived!

Coffee was short and strong, toilets were heated and complicated to the point of fear. I loved both.

The best thing about this evening is that although Burn’s celebrations are over for another year, this was a trial run for Chrysan's larger plans next year to celebrate the --- anniversary of Kyoto and Edinburgh’s city twinning, So in about 11 months’ time when you start thinking about how to celebrate, Chrysan may well be doing something a little special and a lot tasty.

Slainte.

January Offer - £5 House Cocktails at Dabbous

Blood and Sand

I have long been a fan of Dabbous (Whitfield St) and the genius of Oskar behind the bar, but for some reason that I cannot fathom I had not visited in many a month. So with the announcement that it was back open after a THREE week break I headed off to prop up their bar. 

And here is the best bit - get yourself down there in January to enjoy their house cocktails at just £5. £5! This bar is already excellent value with most drinks coming under £10 and being totally delicious. So what should you drink? 

Pump Up The Jam

The Mellow Yellow is a curious mix of smoky whisky and yellow pepper. Order it, but make sure your friend orders something different so you can share as this is so complex you'll need a breather. The Bulletproof was staggeringly good - if impossible to lift - with bourbon, greengage and gooseberry all coming together with mint and citrus. The Dewars 12yo used in the Blood and Sand adds a lovely smoked note to the drinks. And the Pump Up The Jam is one for the girls. No denying it when this pink flower topped vanilla and pumpkin jam concoction turns up with an added twist of whisky bitters. Men, you have been warned.

So, get down there and enjoy a £5 cocktail, then stay for the food, music, ambiance and everything else. 

Happy 2013!

Hello

Welcome back

Happy New Year etc etc

So, what were your 2012 bar highlights?

Instead of looking back I am going to look ahead. Antico, Bermondsey Street, is revamping their bar - a plus to have a bar to wait for a table in their fab restaurant but never quite got the feel right - and is re-opening the second week of January. Dray Walk off Brick Lane is going to be the foodie haven for 2013. My own little project with The Table in Southwark is almost at take off point, watch this space for a soft launch on their cocktails menu. 

And my personal ambition - hitting those 5* hotel bars. Now I have the money (work allowance), motivation (our brands are well placed for these venues) and time (with just one full time job to run!) I look forward to drinking well and making new friends. 

I also vow to visit Callooh Callay on a regular basis, do not make enough of my Jub Jub status and I apologise! 

If you have any suggestions or you'd like to know if I've been somewhere just drop me a note. And if you fancy a review just let me know where you are, but no free drinks accepted, that's bribery...

Presenting...Patron Naughty or Nice

House of Wolf opened its doors to a huge Patron Tequila party last night, and its only running for two more nights (Tuesday 4th and Wednesday 5th).  I wish I could say hurry to buy your tickets but the advance ones are sold out so head to the doors about 10pm and hope that someone will drop you you to squeeze in. Its runs till 4am so chances are pretty good! 

We started in the naughty room - obviously - where we had a Tequila Sunset with a pomegranate yolk, a Chilli Stimulant (espresso martini style) and a Chocolate Apaixonado before sneaking behind the pigeon holes for a quick fortune telling. Apparently I will be in the Himalayans in 4 years time and will be collected and taken to Vegas in a golden helicopter...cool.

Then we were allowed to be nice where in a spacious upstairs bar we had Juan Collins and Mexican 75s, not as good as downstairs I do not believe but interesting canapes including hay-infused potatoes (?) and ceviche sea bass with tequila jelly. 

When the live music started at 10pm we headed all the way to the ground floor and enjoyed my favourite drink of the night, Black Mexicans, with Mexican Mules and good ol' fashioned rock and roll. Yes, I was the idiot dancing all night, so shoot me. I enjoyed myself! 

Great night, great drinks, great team (360 Communications) and great friend Sarah for allowing me to be a part of it!

Brixton Village #2 : Happy Dumplings, Mama Lan and Relay

I love Brixton Village. I think everyone knows that. And I have been trying to eat my way around it, and to eat enough each time that I can offer a valid opinion. I have had a buckwheat crepe and a chocolate chili cake but do not real ready to review those two yet, I will have to return! I am afraid that I still have not worked out opening hours, basically a Saturday is good, but here is where I have been enjoying:

Happy Dumplings

We could not tell if it was open or closed. Yes, a couple were eating outside, but all the tables had been put away in the shop. When we showed interest they pulled a table and chairs out straight away and started making recommendations. This was just to be a quick meal so we opted for 20 dumplings (they are small!) between two people and turned down – this time – the shredded duck. We were also told that this wold be quick, as if they were closing, curious. And then negotiated to ensure these were steamed and then pan fried, for a crispier coating. This was not as easy as you’d think; I am not convinced either of the – lovely – owners speaks English.

By the time the chili and soy sauces had made it to our table, the dumpling were not far behind nestled on a salad of carrot, cabbage and cucumber which I enjoyed nibbling between dumplings. Ah, the dumplings. Steamy, packed full of fillings, flavoursome (though we cannot say which was which, we ordered a mixed batch). They even offer cookery classes on Sundays however I cannot imagine where the space is for that. And I am a little apprehensive that my Chinese is not at the necessary level to understand!

Without a doubt I will be back here. It is open when the rest of the market is shut (week nights). It has tasty food and friendly service at great prices. I want to try the duck.

On the way back an hour later (grazing the other sites for dessert) we noticed that people were still being drawn in, with a table brought out for you if interested. I wonder if they ever manage to shut…

Mama Lan

Bejing Street Food. I had been looking forward to this for a very long time just to put my expectations into perspective. And I was not disappointed.

We sat outside – again, inside space is limited in Brixton Village – but came prepared with spare jumpers and the restaurant themselves had a basket of fleecy rugs. And since we were “eating round the village” as we say (kind of like tapas hopping from place to place where space appears) we only ordered the spicy chicken wings and pork and chive dumplings. Now this should have been tough. Happy Dumplings set the bar high on, well, dumplings. And Riding House Café did the best Wings I have ever had with Bread Street Kitchen an exceedingly close second.

So how were they? The dumplings were tasty, steamed and full of fillings though perhaps lacking as much flavour as their rivals across the road. The chicken wings were fabulous. They were sticky and hot and spicy and so good we forgot to take pictures, so here are some from the website!

Drinks, overpriced as most of the village and with no toilet in any but one of the sites (Seven) we opted out, however have since found a well maintained public toilet the end of this street so do keep that information for your own visit, an a 20p!

I am not sure the menu offers enough variety to return for a second time. But I am glad to have been and recommend a visit to you if passing.

Relay

Look out Bourne and Hollingsworth, there is a new kid on the block. Well, not really.

However there is a similar idea going on in the ever innovative Brixton Village. A little space has been occupied in the Market Row side (5^th Ave) called Relay Boutique/Tearoom (@relay_3) which combines cocktails and cake in your Granny’s front room. Now this may have started as a tea and cake kinda place but what I went for was the after hours option – cocktails and cake. We sat outside with the inside being full – as with so many areas in Brixton this space is compact at best – but never fear, there were rugs available in case we got chilly. The menu, in fact the whole place, is run by Jess. Jess is a man by the way, and more than happy to personalise your cocktails. We opted for a Pink Secret (£8) and a Daily Tribute (£7.50) with a slice of Victoria sponge cake on vintage crockery.

My Daily Tribute was really interesting, in a good way, with Four Roses complemented by camomile flowers muddled with mint. The Pink Secret, as girly as it sounds, also had a lovely sweet/sour balance between the raspberry juice, grenadine and bitters. Great froth too. The cake was moist and was a generous slice too.

So, are there any negatives? We were on our way to the cinema and due to a lack of space, Jess’ attention to customers and the need to hand crush ice we got rather tight on time. But it was worth the results. Tasty all round. And even better you can wait here if Honest Burgers is full (it will be) and they will come to get you when a table is free. Brilliant! 

Brewdog, Shoreditch: 17/20

Location: 51-55 Bethnal Green Road, E1 6LA

Wesbite: www.brewdog.com

Visit: Several occasions, always early evening

To Note: Underdog to open soon…oh and don’t trust google maps to get you there!

Scores

Ambiance: 4/5

Design: 4/5

Drinks: 5/5

Staff: 4/5

Extra LBS star: Not this time, perhaps when the bar opens proper…

I had heard a lot about Aberdeen-shire based Brewdog before I first tried the beer – at a fine bar in Borough Market called The Rake (see here). My first experience was the classic “Punk IPA” and then I moved onto “Trashy Blonde”; I loved both but they are unusual beers, not for everyone and nothing wrong with that either.

Brewdog Imperial Nail

So I have watched the expansion of the Brewdog “pub” empire with interest from their arrival in England in military tanks to their share purchase scheme and two days ago I finally organised a meeting with friends at the new Shoreditch venue. We arrived at 4.30pm on a Saturday to find there were no free seats but plenty of standing space not obstructing the bar and 30 minutes in and we managed to bag a booth, made for 6 or 8 really friendly people. You need to be close anyway with all the old wall tiling and concrete everything (floor, ceiling, pillars) the sound has nowhere to be absorbed and a few hours in it was hard not to shout across the table.

You come here for the beer, our one non-beer drinker had a choice of two ciders. I wouldn’t even ask about wine. And what really makes this place great is the staff. I explained that I loved their Punk and Trashy, they suggested an Imperial Nail which looked like Guinness but tasted really fruity. I was offered a taste and when I ordered a pint was advised it came as a 2/3^rd, because at 8% a pint is a little too much. Then I reverted to a lighter, fizzier (perhaps one for imported larger drinkers) Dead Pony IPA at just over 3% and the last one… a small glass of 14% Isle of Arran which, frankly, just tasted like Port. Very nice but the glass I had was more than enough.  It is a sign of London living that £4 a pint seems reasonable, but I have paid more than that for bad Stella in this city so have no issue at this price for excellent beer with knowledgeable staff and a really nice buzz. We also had a great time trying each other’s different beer choices, a conversation starter really from the name “tactical nuclear penguin” to the taste.

It is not accurate to say Brewdog is a “pub” despite their beer emphasis, it is kind of a bar/pub which serves innovative Japanese snacks to complement the drinks list. And in a short while their “Underdog” will be open too. The downstairs area has already been host to some live music and the new vintage of hops tasting but there is more to come, just follow here… @Brewdogshored. I look forward to many more beer sessions here though watch the percentages, you have been warned!