Adam George

Yes, we try to be all things to all people, but even then, we do it our way. We stock some ten beers and they are all London based. They cover everything from light, dry lagers (not light lager like Bud or Miller) through ales, wheat and then a massive Stout. You can't get your Heineken or Peroni, though the staff here ask what sort of beer a guest enjoys usually and gives them the nearest option, usually explaining how local we are to them. We've even visited three of the breweries, trying beer as fresh as you can get. There's not an ounce of condescension when the bar staff explain that our beers are really better than any commercially available option because we've seen every step of the process. We don't champion them for bartender-kudos. Sometimes this puts people out of their comfort zone, but overall the feedback on the selection has been fantastic and our regulars have got really involved. We also don't stock some of the obvious spirits. No Grey Goose here. Instead we stock two British, one of which London based vodkas and have again visited the distillery. We support these brands because they're truly great products that are unique. I'm not saying I disagree with you. Far from it. But there is a way you can promote your own drinks ethos without a bad attitude. Boston apothecary gives much better examples than my post-shift ramblings. Funnily our restaurant is actually a specialist fish restaurant, recently Michelin inspected and funnily enough, they do actually serve fillet and also sliders for the bar! When you've got a battery of water baths going anyway, it make sense to have a few fillets in ready to go. People love beer and steak, but we try to give them great beer and steak, I suppose.

A bit of a blow for the bartending community. Trust me, I have seriously "snooty" tastes myself. I'd love if all my punters were drinking brown stirred drinks and Daiquiris, but the reality is that's not what everyone wants. I had a group of girls and gay chaps come for dinner at our high end restaurant at the hotel. One ordered an Amaretto Sour and the rest followed suit. I didn't tell them this wasn't an ideal aperitif and would they like a Negroni; instead I made them the best damn amaretto sour they ever had (Morganthaler) and chatted to them whilst the rest of the party arrived. I didn't boast about slipping them high proof rye whiskey, though would have explained if they asked. They ordered another round after dinner. At times, despite my own tastes I have to remember to back when I started in this industry and all I had was my charm and desire to please people. I had literally zero knowledge at all and my guests returned and tipped well because they had felt looked after.

I can't comment on recipes, but that method is brilliant. I don't have either in stock yet, but I may give it a try with some Swedish Punsch Liqueur when both it and St Elizabeth come in.

I wonder if our buy in price has gone up. Plymouth used to be our cheapest gin and I would always reach for it when making cocktails for guests because of the margin and that I like it. If its gone up by what I fear it may, it blows that margin out of the water.

Is it really sad that I felt like a little child at Christmas when my bottle of Plymouth that I received in this morning's stock was the new style? It's such an improvement over the old one.

Have you tried the St George gins? One of the people at Viajante brought a bottle of Dry Rye back and let me taste it.

I see that Ransom isn't lasting long! I'd love to try it, but I don't think we get it over here.

Likewise. And yeah, it's sweeter, softer, less fruity (citrusy), spicier and has a sort of thicker mouthfeel to it. I will sit down and compare the lot at some point. A lot of the cocktails at the launch paired it with Allspice Dram and Bitters to bring out the spice. There was a Martinez styled drink that was pretty good and some sort of sour with apricot liqueur that I believe Erik Lorincz was responsible for. I'm glad I've a bottle and I feel lucky, but I can't say it's a must-own just yet. That may change as I mix with it more. I've made a 2:1 martini with it that satisfied me but I certainly prefer Special Dry with tonic. (Fever Tree)

Very, very nice.

I think that was a joke.... Anyway, i acquired a bottle of Malacca recently.

I'll try this out with Galiano. Thanks for sharing.

I'll be putting this in my "To Try" book. Thank goodness for the metric system, though. I'll scale that back to 75ml pre-dilution. Any subs for Licor 43? I've not got a bottle. I really know nothing about it.

I was at Viajante at the Town Hall Hotel in Bethnal Green and had A Martini with Monkey 47 Martini Dry Bitter Truth Orange Twist 2:1 And a Manhattan with Pappy Van Winkle 13 Rye (I finished the bottle) Cocchi Turino Elmegirab's Boker's Bitters Orange Twist 2:"1.5-ish" Spot on.

I made this with fresh pineapple and added one short grind of rock salt. Really good drink. It gets interesting as it warms, too.

Essential Angostura Aromatic Peychaud's Regan's Orange No. 6 The Bitter Truth Orange Dr. Adam Elmegirab's Boker's Bob's Abbott's Not essential, but best in class/perfect for particular uses/beloved by some: The Bitter Truth Celery, Grapefruit, Mole, Jerry Thomas Elmegirab's Spanish and Christmas Fee's Whisky Barrel and Peach Dutch's Colonial Mozart Chocolate Chartreuse Elixir Vegetal Probably others I'm forgetting. I will consult my collection at home.

Sounds fantastic. I will try this if I ever get more RinQuinQuin. I basically used it as a sub for Lillet, before.

Plymouth will offer a contrasting, softer option and Beefeater for a more citrusy, fruity London Dry. Tanqueray is perfect in a Last Word, though. Nice and assertive.

What gin did you choose?

I tried some grain whiskies at a JW tasting. Quite interesting experience. Very light and "hoppy" almost.

I really don't think it's flavoured. From what I can tell, it's blended and finished.

I didn't relalised that was a flavoured Whisky. I understood it to be a style of blend, much like Compass Box's Spice Tree.

Drinking Chablis tonight: I really didn't feel like mixing.

I'll be at the launch party in London on Monday. I hope to snag a bottle or too and will report back next week.

Sour flights.

No pics, but I got some Dolin Dry and some Lustau Cream for my Nana.