The Pina Colada

For those seemingly rare summer days here in the UK this is a tipple you need to know for sure. One of the most popular frozen drinks of all time and an essential recipe to master right up there with the strawberry daquiri or frozen margarita.

 

It is a drink that has for some time been considerd passé and kitsch, loved on cruise ships and SAGA holidays and of course by Del boy ( 'Only fools and horses' Working class 'TV' hero - for those of you not in the know see below ). It is a drink all men should proudly order as if ones manliness could never be questioned despite a moustache covered in cream and an umbrella tickling ones nose! Apparently this is making a comeback which means I may start ordering a Banana Daiquiri from now on - afterall it is only the bold that set the trends not the followers - "he who dares Rodney - he who dares!" Del boy circa 1985.

 

 

 

Powder Keg Diplomacy - Clapham - SW11 1TQ

The sun may have set on the British Empire but Powder Keg Diplomacy is Clapham's rising star giving a celebratory nod to old colonial Britain.

 

Just three minutes walk from Clapham Junction train station up St Johns Hill this bar is serving the best cocktails in South London and a fine and extensive list of great beers and wines with quality food to boot.

 

The drinks beat those being poured in most central London bars, in terms of both price and quality, at a £7.50 average per cocktail it is great value. There is also a fine dining restaurant with very accomplished food on offer  - again with the English colonial destinations and their dishes as the focus...

Shaker-UK stirring up Kings Cross

 

The signature S&Co - Hennessey, chai cider, rose and Maraschino  photos courtesy of www.paulwf.co.uk

 

We went back for a second look at Shaker and Company after giving them a couple of months after their soft opening last November. We found a bar that felt like it had been established for years with staff that appeared right at home, there was no hesitation putting this on our short list of favourite bars.  On the night I was there Four Roses had turned the basement bar into a pop-up speakeasy complete with gas street lighting. Upstairs in the main room Stefan made me three drinks from the winter menu, the quality was very good and the drinks memorable and original. 

 

Sloane's Gin Competition @ Graphic

More Photo's coming soon ... maybe....

 

Thanks to our hosts and to all who sailed in the fair ship that was the Sloane's cocktail competition on Monday 26th April. Something clicked that day, for starters the English weather broke and summer turned up on time but thought it was shinning over Rio, the bartenders that day out shone and out witted any holly wood cast let alone any other cities bartending talent; and the judges fell off their stools after only  a couple of dozen straw fulls of the most potent and high quality cocktail I've seen in a competition for a long time.

 

 

 

 

The star-tenders of yesterdays show - what an up for it bunch!

L 2 R - Ash of Sahara Bar in Reading (take a spare bag of personality to compete), Sam of Audio Bar in Brighton (shave 3 times and you might be half as smooth), Noriel of Hix Soho ( drink 6 espresso's and you might have the energy), Matt of 64th&Social in Clapham (you ain't gonna look this good in shades!)., Matt of the Common Room in Sheffield ( One mother fucking charming pig - that drips charm not bacon fat!), random girl getting in on the action!

 

Angostura Bitters

We have to start our bitters collection with the most ubiquitous of bitters, Angostura. It's addictive and once you've be weaned onto it, there is no stopping  your hand from getting heavy as you administer this tonic to spice things up. From the 'Manhattan' to the  'Moscow Mule' it is an essential bartender staple.

 

The legend begins with Johann Gottlieb Benjamin Siegert. Originally from Germany, Johann Siegert, a doctor of medicine, left his homeland in 1820, the call of adventure ringing in his ears. He was bound for Venezuela, to join with Simon Bolivar in his fight against the Spanish throne. Bolivar then appointed him Surgeon-General of the Military Hospital in the town of Angostura. Dr. Siegert was above all a scientist. A scientist with a keen enquiring mind. He had seen soldiers battered by the enemy from without and within, by severe fevers and internal stomach disorders. After four years of trial and error, researching and analysing the qualities of tropical herbs and plants, he finally arrived at a unique blend of herbs which he called “Amargo Aromatico” or aromatic bitters.

Peychaud's Bitters

In the early 1800's, Antoine Amedie Peychaud, an apothecary, gained fame in New Orleans not for the drugs he dispensed, but for the compounding of a liquid tonic called bitters.These bitters, good for what ailed one, irrespective of malady, gave an added zest to the portions of cognac brandy he served in his pharmacy.


Cognac had long been a popular drink in the numerous coffee houses of New Orleans,
and presently customers began demanding their brandy be spiked, with a dash of the marvellous Peychauds Bitters.The zest Peychauds Bitters gives drinks and food has given it an honoured place in famous gourmet recipes the world over.

 

 

 

 

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