London Cocktail Week: The Whisky Edition
Whisky with red wine, anyone? Doesn’t really sound like the ideal cocktail testing experience but who am I to judge- it was my first one ever.
I got lucky enough to be given a couple of tickets to JULEPS, COBBLERS & SOURS, which is a part of London Cocktail Week, and was held at Cuckoo Club, just off Regent Street. I didn’t really know what I was getting myself into – but after years of alcohol practice, I felt quite confident I could take it. And hey – never say no to cocktail testing. Especially when they are 19th and 20th century American cocktails. So, raw eggs, mango purée, lots of sugar and more- my whisky cocktail testing experience.
First impressions of the venue: classy, cosy, massive bar.
The bar at Cuckoo Club
So far so good.
We were greeted by a very friendly bartender, and we entered Whisky Wonderland with a pretty simple mix: good old Jack with ginger ale. Rather minimalist in comparison to what was to come.
Our first cocktail presenter, Nidal Ramini from Brown-Forman (think Jack Daniels), seemed to really know what he was talking about – his whole appearance spoke “professional”, and if JD were ever looking for a male model, I imagine they’d shape him after Nidal.
And here is the first cocktail:
Ingredients:
mint
bourbon
sugar
water
Shockingly simple, this cocktail was once very popular in Kentucky. I have to say, it wasn’t really much to my liking. Maybe the bartender was right, maybe I do have a “gentle palate”. Or maybe just a modern one. If you do decide to try it home, we were told that you have to smell the mint before you take the sip – for a better sensation.
Gentleman Jack was a big part of the evening
Cobbler
Ingredients:
2 oz. bourbon
1/2 oz. Dubonnet Rouge
Half of a ripe peach
1/4 oz. Mango purée
Ice cubes
This one was just delicious. Strongly recommend trying it out – I couldn’t find a recipe online of the version that I was presented with, but I do believe you can be creative with this one, and add different ingredients. We were told that back in the day, this was THE DRINK to have when you were out. How things have changed.
Ingredients:
Sugar, 1 lump
Seltzer, 1 dash
Ice, one square piece
Orange bitters, 1 dash
Angostura bitters
1 dash Lemon peel, 1 piece
Whiskey, 1 jigger
This one was a wee too strong for me as well, but do try it out. Apparently it’s the first ever drink to be called a cocktail.
Ingredients:
3/4 oz sweet vermouth
2 1/2 oz bourbon whiskey
1 dash Angostura® bitters
1 maraschino cherry
1 twist orange peel
You probably all know this one. Again, very simple- but do bear in mind that these are all traditional, historical recipes: the bartenders at the time only used whatever was around. As Nidal said, the whisky back then was not finely distilled, it was rather rough, so most of the cocktail recipes from that time have different kinds of sweeteners, added to them.
The cocktail masters
This one can actually vary. The first version is the Boston Sour.
Ingredients:
2 oz blended whiskey
1 cherry
juice of 1/2 lemons
1 tsp powdered sugar
1 egg white
1 slice lemon
I have to admit, I was a bit sceptical about tasting something with raw eggs in it – but this was possibly the best cocktail of the night. And here are the ingedients for another version:
2 ounces Rye Whiskey or Bourbon
Juice of half a lemon
1/4 ounce Simple Syrup to Taste
1/2 ounce Red Wine
Egg white Optional
Lemon Slice & Fresh Cherry Garnish
Yep, you read it correctly: red wine and whisky. Again, delicious. 20th century Americans sure were creative.
London Cocktail Week doesn’t end until this Sunday, so definitely look into some of their events, you won’t regret it. And if you’re interested in more whisky recipes, here are a few places you should definitely visit:
www.scotch-whisky.org.uk
Pretty much everything you need to know, regarding whisky: history, cocktails, food recipes and desserts…
www.drinkinghabits.com
A few more whisky recipes, if these weren’t enough.
www.greatcocktails.co.uk
And even more recipes!
Enjoy!
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Sounds like a great trip through some classic whisky based cocktails, shame to have missed out on this one. Definately intrigued by the red wine in the whisky sour! Have to give that one a go.