Top 5 Things We’ll miss about the UK

Well our time here in the UK has come to an end. We now begin to slowly make our way home to Australia. Our time here has been unforgettable and truly life changing.  Over the last 2 years I posted things on this blog largely to do with the cocktail culture and the hospitality trade outside of Australia. But our trip has been so much more than cocktails and food. It been about experiencing a lifestyle which is different to what we have been used to in Australia. Sure you can go and holiday to the UK and see all the popular tourist attractions, but it is only when you get stuck into the day to day life of working and living that you get a true understanding on what life is like in the UK.  It has also made Cara and I appreciate what we have in Australia. The large open spaces, the gorgeous weather, cheaper  living expenses amongst many other things. In saying this though, there are many things that we will miss about Great Britain. On our last night in London, we decided to visit a bar which we’ve been just recently been voted as one of the top 3 bars in the world, a place called “NightJar”. It is at this bar where we’ll have our last cocktail in the UK, and reflect on the last couple of years. We decided to think back and put together a list of the “Top 5 things we are going to miss about the UK”. 

(In no particular order)

The Classic British Pie:  In Australia you can pretty much guarantee that you’ll find a “Schnitzel” on every pub menu. But in the UK, it's the classic pie. Usually a steak and ale pie, or a beef and Guinness pie, Cara and I had our fair share of this popular pub dish. Always served with chips and vegetables or in some cases, mushy peas.  Some of the pies we’ve had in our travels have been amazing. We think only maybe a very select few pubs in Australia could compete with the quality of the pies. 

You’ll never run out of things to do in London:  We have spent most of our time living and working in London and even after living somewhere for so long, there is always something new to do. A new exhibition, a new west end show, a different market to check out. You never seem to be short of things to do. I’ve heard this quote many times since being in London, “If you are tired of London, you are tired of life”.   This saying seems to mostly ring true. Although the hectic busy lifestyle of London can wear thin after a while. We’ll never get sick of exploring the city and discovering new hidden gems which make London so special.  

The Picture Perfect Countryside:  When we would go out our little adventures outside of London, and even when we toured the Scottish highlands, we could not get enough of how beautiful the landscape is outside the big sprawling cities. We saw plenty of pristine green rolling hills which look like landscape paintings, something which we don’t see much of in the baron outback of Australia. The Aussie countryside has it’s own beautiful qualities, but nothing as lush and green as the UK.

The Accessibility to the rest of Europe:  What makes the UK so appealing to many Australians is the close proximity to the rest of Europe. Cara and I have certainly taken advantage of this, doing quick trips to Italy (3 times), France (Twice), Spain and also Ireland just recently. Living in Australia means you are so far away from (what feels like) the rest of the world.  

Friends and Family:  Last but certainly not least, we will miss our friends and family who we’ve spent so much time with over the last 2 years. For me, I had the chance to see my extended family, who I’ve not seen since I was 3 years old. I have no memory of that trip, so it was like I was meeting family for the first time. They have all made Cara and I feel welcome and at home, and for that we can not thank them enough.  We’ve also made many close friends who we are all urging to make the trip to Australia. Whether they make it over or not, we’ll certainly stay in touch with all of them.  

Of course there are going to be many other things we’ll miss about the UK. I’ll miss the Haggis in Scotland. Haggis, Neeps and Tatties was a dish I fell in love with living in Glasgow. It’s something I probably won't eat for a long time, if ever again. Also, being a big fan of European football, I’ll miss watching games in primetime. It’s back to either staying up, or setting the alarm to watch live soccer in the middle of the night. 

We sat at Nightjar reflecting on our time and we had the pleasure of drinking some of their delicious cocktail creations. We were joined by some friends and began working our way through the menu. Every cocktail served at Nightjar was an amazing work of art. We could understand why this bar is regarded as one of the best in the world. It was hard to pick out our favourite drink of the night, so I thought I’d share 2 cocktails from our Nightjar experience. One drink which stood out was a cocktail called a “Naked Lady”. This consisted of Santa Teresa Claro Rum, Umeshu (a sour Japanese liqueur), lemon juice, egg white and grenadine. It was a simple drink with a nice, well balanced flavour, but what made this cocktail amazing, was it’s presentation. The use of icing sugar on the outside of the glass and the egg shell floating in the drink made for an interesting look. The egg shell was filled with tiny easter eggs and the foam created by shaking the egg white, made it strong enough to hold the weight of the shell. Along with the egg shell, was an assortment of berries, which added to the overall presentation of the drink. The recipe itself was quite simple, but the presentation made this cocktail fun and was certainly a conversation point with us all. Another cocktail which blew us away with it’s unique design was a drink called “Chicha Morada”. This consisted of vodka, sherry, date syrup and Peruvian blue corn soda. Again, another simple recipe, but the fact that it came out to our table served inside a butternut pumpkin and topped off with berries almost made the taste irrelevant. The cocktail looked so impressive it was almost too good to drink.  Every drink we ordered at Nightjar was a mystery as to how it would be served. It made for a fun filled evening with friends as we celebrated our last night in the UK.

As mentioned, Our time in the UK has been unforgettable. But our trip is far from done. Next stop... Iceland!!

“Naked Lady”

In a shaker:

45ml Santa Teresa Claro Rum

15ml Umeshu Liqueur

15ml Lemon Juice

Dash of Egg White

Dash of Grenadine

Shake Hard and Strain into Cocktail glass

“Chicha Morada”

Build inside a Butternut Pumpkin:

60ml Vodka

15ml Sherry

15ml Date Syrup

Add Crushed Ice

Top with Peruvian Blue Corn Soda

Garnish with Berries

Our visit to the “Blue Dog"

Every city we go too, we get recommendations and ideas of places and bars we “need” to visit. So far almost every person we’ve spoken to in Glasgow has recommended one bar, the “Blue Dog” bar. It’s safe to say that Glasgow has not got a massive cocktail scene. The Scot’s are more into their pubs. So after hearing all the glowing reports on this cocktail bar, Cara and I had to check it out and see if it was worth all the hype.

The Blue Dog opened it’s doors in 2003. It instantly became Glasgow’s home to great cocktails. They complement their large cocktail menu with an array of live entertainment act’s playing piano and jazz classic’s all night long... so it certainly sets the scene and the mood for a great night out.  The Blue Dog instantly reminded us of many of the cocktail bars in London. It’s low ceilings, cosy lounges and with the sound of jazz music lightly playing in the background. This bar was right up our alley.

As we looked over the menu, we noticed that the Blue Dog were offering many concoctions. Certainly lots to choose from. But none of which jumped off the page like some of the drinks we’d seen and tried in London. This is to be expected though. Trying to sell cocktails to locals who are not big cocktail drinkers is always going to be tough. So the Blue Dog’s menu, despite being vast, is still very simple. It consists of many classics which have been slightly tweaked to make them more interesting.  However the drinks are still basic and they are not confusing punters with weird and wild creations.

As per usual, I always order the house signature cocktail. I believe that a bars signature cocktail is the drink that the staff are most proud of. It’s a drink that defines the style and standard of the bar. No surprises that the Blue Dog’s signature cocktail, was a drink called “A Blue Dog”. A fruity creation consisting of apple vodka, blue curacao, fresh passion fruit, lime juice, apple juice and pineapple juice. This was a very nice refreshing drink, but I feel for a house signature, it’s a little too safe. It’s hard to go wrong when mixing fruit juices together. I was hoping for something a more creative from the Blue dog team, but as I mentioned, things can’t get to crazy when trying to appeal to a "pub-type" crowd.

All in all, Cara and I had a great night. Listening to jazz and sipping our cocktails. Cara was drinking original daiquiris, a drink which has been her favourite for some time now. She’s managed to test out the original daiquiri all over the world.

This won’t be our one and only visit to the Blue Dog. We’ll definitely be back to see what other drinks they have to offer.

“A Blue Dog”

In a shaker:

30ml Apple Vodka

30ml Blue Curacao

Dash of Passionfruit pulp

15ml Lime Juice

30ml Apple Juice

30ml Pineapple juice

Add ice and shake

Strain over crushed ice

Serve in a tall glass

Garnish: 1/2 Passionfruit

The Italian Job

It seems that Cara and I just can’t stay away from Italy. We’ve done Rome, we’ve done Milan and Lake Como, but now it was time for us to visit the city of Venice. It was also Cara’s parents first visit to Italy, so they were just as excited as us to explore the canals and tiny alley ways of Venice.

Venice is a place famous for it’s beautiful scenery, It’s architecture and It’s artworks. The city is seemingly one island, but it is in fact made up of 118 small islands all linked together with hundreds of footbridges. It’s history dates back to the ancient roman times. The roman soldiers built and used Venice to flee mainland attacks. No one is sure when the romans first lived in venice, but the city was first officially founded on the 25th March, 421 AD, with the opening of the first church, the San Giacomo di Rialto. Since this day, a further 148 churches have been built and Venice has expanded to now have a population of around 270,000 people living on the islands. Known as the “Floating City”, it’s visited by approximately 20 million tourists a year.

One of the fun things about Venice is exploring the canals and It’s alley ways. It’s easy to get lost as the streets get narrow and wind through around the waterways. Whilst we explored, we walked past several little shops offering Italian souvenirs, I noticed that little bottles of limoncello were a popular item. Limoncello is huge in Italy. It’s common to finish off a meal with a small nip of this sweet digestive.  The Italians have been producing limoncello since the early 1900’s. It was homemade, by simply soaking lemon peals and zest with grain alcohol until all the oils are released, then mixed with sugar syrup and chilled and served ice cold. In 1988, Italian business-man, Massimo Canale became the first person to trademark the name “limoncello” and began mass production and selling of the product. The bottles of Massimo Canale’s limoncello were instantly popular in the local shops and markets throughout Italy and it was soon being exported to other countries. Limoncello is now an Italian icon, hence it’s popularity in the souvenir shops throughout Venice.


After a busy day, Cara and I decided to spend a night out at a local jazz bar, tucked away in a little lane-way just off the Grand Canal.  I couldn’t resist ordering one of the house specialities, a “Miles Davis”. A cocktail which had many similarities to a Long Island Iced Tea. It consisted of gin, vodka, rum, blue curacao (orange flavoured liqueur), grenadine, a dash of lemon juice and topped up with lemonade, all built in a tall glass over ice. Not the most original drink, and I couldn’t help but wonder what the correlation this cocktail had to the man Miles Davis himself.  What ever the reason, it didn’t matter. We were in Venice sipping cocktails and listening to jazz, both reflecting on how lucky we are to be doing what we are doing.


“Miles Davis”
Built in a Tall Glass over Ice
15ml Gin
15ml Vodka
15ml Rum
15ml Blue Curacao
15ml Grenadine
A Dash of Lemon Juice
Top up with Lemonade

London 2012 Olympic Games

It’s a time in London, which Cara and I have been excited about since we arrived in the UK, the London 2012 Olympic Games. Being in the host city for the games was the main reason for us staying in London as long as we have. We see it as a once in a lifetime opportunity to experience the Olympics first hand.

It’s a special time for London. The nations capital has had a big year with the Queens Diamond Jubilee happening only a couple of months ago and now the Olympics, the city is sure to celebrate in style. It is also a milestone for the modern Olympics. It is the first time that a city has hosted the games 3 times. London played host in 1908, 1948 and now 2012.

Cara and I were excited to go and see as many events as we could. However, ticket availability and the high prices only allowed us to see some of the free events that London 2012 had to offer. What better way to start our games experience by going to watch the men’s road race. Fresh of my Tour De France trip, I was excited to see some more cycling. We had a great day getting into the Olympic spirit, which continued over the next 16 days. We were lucky enough to attend the triathlon, men’s walk, the cycling time trial and the men’s marathon on the final Sunday.

During this exciting time in London, I began to do some research on some Olympic themed cocktails. I didn’t have to look far. The Hyatt Hotel had created a Gold, Silver and Bronze collection of cocktails to mark the occasion.

The ‘Gold’ cocktail is a built drink made of Sailor Jerry gold rum; mango flavoured lemonade, ginger beer and Goslings gold rum floated on top.  The ‘Silver’ cocktail took a different approach. A simple and refreshing drink, consisting of Absolut vanilla vodka, coconut water and sugar syrup, topped with lemonade, then garnished with sage leafs. Lastly was the ‘bronze’ cocktail. Another built drink which consists of Makers Mark Bourbon, green chartreuse, ginger ale, topped with soda water, garnished with mint leafs. All three drinks are simple and easy to make and all offering unique flavours and combinations of spirits.

We’ll never forget our time in London during the Olympic games. It has so far been one of the highlights of being in the UK so far.



 “Gold”
Build over Ice
45ml Sailor Jerry’s Gold Rum
Top half the glass with Mango lemonade
Top the other half with Ginger Beer
Float 15ml Goslings Gold Rum on top

“Silver”
Build over Ice
45ml Absolut Vanilla
15ml Coconut Water
15ml Sugar Syrup
Topped with Lemonade
Garnish with Sage Leafs

“Bronze”
Built over Ice
30ml Makers Mark Bourbon
15ml Green Chartreuse
Topped with Ginger Ale & Soda Water
Garnish: Mint Leafs

LAB Bar & The Soho District

Cara and I have now been living in London for close to a year. In that time we have seen some amazing things and have been to some awesome bars. One of our frequent watering holes is a cocktail bar in London’s west end called “LAB Bar”. LAB stands for the ‘London Academy of Bartending’. It was a bar designed to teach and hone the skills of bartenders who have a love and passion for bar work. This is why we love this place so much, it’s full of people who love good cocktails, just like us.

LAB Bar is located in Londons Soho district, a part of the nations capital which is famous for being the home to top bars, restaurants and entertainment. The Soho district is also known for it’s “non prejudice” attitude. A place in London where no one will judge you on your fashion, race, age, sexuality, etc.  Aside from LAB bar, there is a smorgasbord of cocktail bars to choose from in the area. All appealing to different demographics in Soho.

Soho has had a long and turbulent past. It’s reputation for being the home of sex and drugs is slowly changing into being the place for fashion and entertainment. Although the stigma is a hard one to shake. Having said that, bars and restaurants have no trouble filling their premises with party goers. On weekends, the local council closes off the streets to accommodate the thousands of people who flock to Soho every weekend.

LAB Bar is considered one of the best bars in Soho. It was founded in 1996 and was designed as a training school for passionate bartenders. At LAB, cocktails are not just drinks. They are works of art. The staff pride them self on presentation. Some of the garnishes used on these drinks are beyond comprehension. The fine knife work shown by the bartenders would give a michelin star chef a run for their money.  Once you get past the amazing garnishes, the cocktails themselves are perfectly balanced. The combination of flavours used in these drinks are well thought through not to mention unique.

Some of our favourite concoctions are the “Red Hot Chilli Pepper”, “Slap & Tickle”, “Rapaska” plus many more. Truth be known, you are hard pressed to find something on the menu that doesn’t sound amazing. The menu at LAB is like a bible of unique drinks. The problem is, that it’s too big.  It takes quite some time to go through the menu. It comes to a point where you are rushed into picking a cocktail at random.

Sometimes picking random cocktail is the best thing to do when you can’t make up your mind, and that is what we often have to do when we are at LAB.  Cara and I always enjoy our nights out in Soho. I’m sure we’ll spend many more nights in LAB before we leave London.

“Rapaska”

Shaken & Strained over Crushed Ice
 - 60ml Raspberry Vodka
 - 30ml Passionfruit Puree
 - 30ml Rasperry Puree
 - Dashes of Lime juice, Apple juice & Orange juice
Garnished with a granny smith apple fan

     

                              “Red Hot Chilli Pepper”

                     Stirred with Crushed Ice in a Tall Glass

                     - 60ml Lemongrass & Chilli infused Tequila

                     - 30ml Homemade Vanilla Sugar Syrup

                     - Topped with Ginger Beer

                       Floated on top:

                     - Goldschlager (Cinnamon Schnapps)

                     - Sparkling Wine

                    Garnished with Lemongrass & Chilli

     “Slap & Tickle"
  Shaken and Strained over cubed Ice
- 30ml Koko Kanu Coconut Rum
- 30ml Plymouth Sloe Gin
- 15ml Lime Juice
- 15ml Lemon Juice
- 15ml Mango Syrup
Garnished with lemon & lime rind, wrapped around a maraschino cherry.

The London Cocktail Bar Crawl

Last week, myself and one of my work colleagues decided to go on a bit of a cocktail bar crawl around London’s west end. The Soho/ Covent Garden area is notorious for having some of the most stylish and trendy bars in London, so we were excited to visit some of them and see what creations they had to offer.

We visited a number of different bars throughout the day, but there were a few different cocktails which stood out from the rest. The first was at the Covent Garden Cocktail Club. We asked the bartender to make us a drink which is a bit different, but also one which he enjoys making. He served us up a “Berlin Sour”. Invented in 2009, by Thorsten Pannek at the Hilton Hotel Frankfurt, the "Berlin Sour” consisted of Kummel (cumin liqueur), Luxardo maraschino liqueur, lemon juice and sugar syrup. All ingredients were shaken together and double strained into a martini glass. The flavours worked together well. Despite it being a sour, it was still very sweet and powerful. The Kummel cut through the lemon juice and the Luxardo complemented it well without over-powering the other flavours.

We made a short walk down the road to another popular bar in Covent Garden, "Navaja Joe’s Cocktail Bar”. There we decided to try a simple variation on the Classic Mojito. The cocktail was called “Rumdog Millionaire”. This cocktail used rum, lime and mint, muddled together, strained into a tall glass over ice and topped up with mango juice and Ginger beer. It was a simple and refreshing concoction, exactly what i would expect from a varied Mojito.

We then moved on to a place called “Dirty Martini”. Here I tried another mango based cocktail, A “Mango and Chilli Martini”. Even though I had already had a mango cocktail at the bar before, I was interested in how the mango would mix with the chilli. This martini used mandarin vodka, chilli infused vodka, lime juice and mango juice. The cocktail worked in two stages. When first sipped you get a hint of the chilli instantly, but then the cooling taste of the mango takes over and balances the entire drink out nicely.

After a few more bars, we decided to finish off our crawl at the E.C.C (Experimental Cocktail Club). With a name like that, we expected some crazy drinks, and they didn’t disappoint. I decided to order a “Redneck Flip”. A totally original creation with Laird’s Applejack (apple brandy), Buffalo trace bourbon, a budweiser & marshmallow syrup, a whole egg, Memphis BBQ bitters and finished off with grated nutmeg. All shaken together and double strained into a daiquiri glass.  This would not be the sort of cocktail that just anyone would order. It’s bizarre mix of flavours made such a unique taste. It can’t say it is the nicest cocktail I’ve ever had, but is up there with the most interesting. I guess I enjoyed the drink just for the sheer appreciation for what the bartenders at E.C.C were trying to create, which is a totally unique drinking experience.

As our night came to an end, I couldn’t help but think that we hadn’t even begun to scratch the surface of the London cocktail scene. I think another cocktail bar crawl needed to happen in the not to distant future.

(Covent Garden Cocktail Club)
 “Berlin Sour”
In a Mixing Glass:
30ml Kummel Cumin Liqueur
30ml Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur
30ml Lemon Juice
30ml Sugar Syrup

Shake All Ingredients
Double Strain into a Martini Glass

 (Navaja Joe’s Cocktail Bar)
“Rumdog Millionaire”
In a Mixing Glass:
Muddle Lime (with some sugar syrup)
Add a Handful of Mint
60ml White Rum
30ml Mango Juice
Shake together and Double strain into tall glass
Top up with Ginger beer
Garnish with a sprig of mint

(Dirty Martini)
“Mango and Chilli Martini”
In a mixing Glass:
30ml Chilli infused vodka
30ml Absolut Mandarin
15ml Lime Juice
30ml Mango Juice

Shake all together
Double strain into Martini glass
Garnish with a small chilli on the rim of the glass

(Experimental Cocktail Club)
“Redneck Flip"
In a Mixing Glass:
30ml Lairds Applejack (Apple Brandy)
30ml Buffalo Trace Bourbon
15ml Budweiser & Marshmallow Syrup
Dash of Memphis BBQ Bitters
1 whole egg
Shake all ingredients
Double Strain into a daiquiri glass (or martini glass)

Seeing London through Nelson’s Eye

The people who we have met in the UK so far, have told us that this years summer was below average. When it started to get towards the end of september, it was save to say that summer was over. Then low on behold, a heat wave which smashes all records hits the UK and we get a little taste of what we’d missed out on the last few months. With this recent unseasonable weather, Cara and I hit the town and caught up on some sight seeing.

We’d read in a book about a rooftop bar which over looks the famous Trafalgar square. So we decided this would be a perfect place to go and enjoy the sunshine. As many people would know, Trafalgar square is one of the more popular tourist attractions in London. It’s a very picturesque part of the city. The centre piece at Trafalgar Square is the 145ft tall pillar with Horatio Lord Nelson standing on the top. Lord Nelson served as an Admiral in the British Navy. He lead them into battle many times, where he suffered losing his right arm, and sight in one eye. One of the most famous victories for the British navy was the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. Which Lord Nelson lead his troops, but was sadly killed in the process. Now, Lord Nelson faces south west directly towards Portsmouth. The bar on the rooftop at the Trafalgar Hotel, faces this same direction. From the roof top you get a great view, of the square, the lion statues, the fountains, but what we found most interesting as you get the same view of the city as Lord Nelson, standing 145ft in the air.

So after a little bit of time, taking in the view and learning about Lord Nelson, we decided to order a few cocktails, sit back and take it all in. Cara started by ordering the “Fruitti del Sole”. This was a mixture of mandarin and lychee, with 2 shots of vodka. It was built over crushed ice and was very summery and refreshing. I expected the lychee to take over (as it so often does), but this was well balanced. The taste of the mandarin still came through quite clearly and both fruits complemented each other nicely. In my mind the only thing which ruined it a little was the use of vodka. You got such a nice refreshing fruity taste on the front of your palette, but then that was quickly changed by a ‘metalic’ after taste that you find when drinking vodka. By no means was this a bad cocktail. Like I said, It was very summery and refreshing, but in my opinion, it could have been so much better. Cara agreed. Maybe a nice gin, or rum instead of just vodka may have made this drink a winner.

I decided to have a “Midnight @ Vista”. This consisted of vodka, Grand Marnier, blackberries, honey and lime. Before I took a sip of this cocktail I knew straight away that it was going to be sweet, and I wasn’t wrong. The mixture of the Grand Marnier, honey and blackberries made for a sweet concoction, but that didn’t bother me. The flavours were exactly what I was expecting, a sweet, refreshing, fruity cocktail. My only criticism with this drink, is it may have helped if it was double strained**. A common complaint that customers have, is they don’t like sucking bits of fruit through a straw, and thats what was happening with my "Midnight @ Vista". A simple straining out of the fruit, would have made for a smoother drink. Other than that is was quite nice.

So after picking our cocktails to pieces, we sat back, enjoyed the sun and admired the view over Trafalgar square and London.

** 'Single strained' is straining out the ice from your cocktail shaker, 'double strained’ means pouring the cocktail through 2 strainers, one to remove the ice, the other to remove the pulp and other bits of fruit.


"Frutti del Sole”
(Build in a tall glass)
Muddle Mandarian & Lychee
Add a dash of sugar syrup
50ml Vodka
Topped with Crushed ice

“Midnight @ Vista”
(In a mixing glass)
Muddled Blackberries and Limes
Dash of Honey
30ml Vodka
30ml Grand Marnier
Shaken & single strained over crushed ice
 into a rocks glass.

London Bar Show 2011

There is nothing that bartenders like more than a 'good old' trade show. Hundreds of beverage distributors and sales people pushing their new and exciting products on you, giving you a small sample and all for free. Cara and I had attended the Sydney bar show back in Australia, so when we heard about the London Bar Show, we had to attend.

We started our afternoon trying an argentinian beer, “Quilmes”. This beer has been brewing in Buenos Aires since 1890. Quilmes is a premium lager which is very light in taste and would be perfect for a hot summers day. Cara is not a big beer drinker and even she didn’t mind this. I guess that's it’s appeal, It’s a ‘non-beer-drinkers’ beer.  We moved on a tried a few other similar beers from places like Spain, Belgium, France and Italy.

As we made our way through the expo, we came to a stall promoting 'worm-wood' vodka. I won’t name the brand, because I prefer not to publicly “bag” a product online, but it’s safe to say if you ever come across a worm-wood vodka, steer well clear. It was horrible! I can only assume that this idea came about when the creators were trying to think of a spirit which had not been invented yet, and someone mentioned the word, ‘Worm-wood”. It was like drinking pure ethanol, with a smoky and earthy after taste.

So after tasting the wormwood vodka, we needed something to get that horrible taste out of our mouth. The answer, Ron Zacapa. Ron Zacapa is by far my favourite rum. It’s one of those rums which you never mix with anything. On the rocks will do nicely. It comes from East Guatemala, in a small town called Zacapa. The rum itself has not been around very long. It was first produced in 1976 to celebrate 100 years since the town had been founded. What makes this rum so special is the fact they only produce limited amounts each year and it is distilled and aged 2,300 metres above see level. Its has a great mixture of smokey and peppery flavours, balanced out with a very sweet after taste. There is a joke amongst bartenders, that the word “smooth” to describe spirits is thrown around far to often, but Ron Zacapa is definitely one of those spirits I would sum up    as being smooth.

We then moved on to trying an range of gins, whiskey’s, grappa and even some absinthe. I could go on about all the other things we tried at the bar show but it would take me to long.  So it’s safe to say by the end of the afternoon, we were a “little” tipsy. But we learnt a lot and had a great day. It’s a tough job doing all this product research, but someone has to do it. 

Football, Work, Cocktails & The OXO Tower

Well.... What a busy last month It’s been for Cara and myself. It’s been a long time since my last blog post, which is mainly due to us starting our new jobs. However just before we started, we were fortunate to make a trip to Wigan and visit some of my family, and we also got the opportunity to see the opening game of the premier league season for the Mighty Wigan Athletic. It was our first time to the north of England, and despite the unpredictable weather, it was an amazing trip. We’ll defiantly be back.

So then it was time to begin our working lives in the UK, and begin to earn some coin to fund our upcoming adventures. During our intense 4 weeks of work, Cara and I did manage to make it out to a bar that I’ve been dieing to check out, The OXO Tower Cocktail Bar. The OXO Tower has an interesting history, which was part of the reason we wanted to go and have a look. The tower is located on the banks of the River Thames. It originally started off as a power station, before it was taken over by a large UK meat company (The same company who produces the OXO stock cubes). The company, "Liebig Extract”, converted the power station into a storage warehouse. The company wanted to display the three letters “O.X.O” in neon lights at the top of the tower. But when the request was refused, they decided to rebuild the top of the tower to include this advertising into the frame work of the windows.  Because the framework of the windows were conveniently shaped like a circle, a cross and another circle, nothing could be done to stop it.

In the early 1990’s, the tower was refurbished to include offices, housing, art galleries and on the top floor was the cocktail bar and restaurant. When Cara and I arrived on the top floor of the OXO Tower Bar, we instantly felt under-dressed. The bar was packed with businessmen or people who looked like they were off to the theatre later that night. We didn’t let this stop us from taking a seat and looking over their extensive cocktail menu. With a menu which consisted of house specialities, classic variations and genuine classics, it was hard for us to make a decision. Cara went for a sparkling cocktail called “Undercover Lover”. This consisted of citrus flavoured vodka, Licor 43 (a Spanish vanilla flavoured liqueur), Frais de Bois (a type of strawberry liqueur), shaken with crushed strawberries, strained into a champagne glass and topped up with prosecco. Instantly, Cara told me that it was too sweet. After I had a try, I 100% agreed with her. It was like drinking pure strawberry sugar. On paper, the drink sounded very nice, but when i thought about it after, I soon realised that there was nothing to balance the sweetness of the 2 liqueurs used. So the “Undercover Lover” I’m sure will be a great drink for the sweet-tooth, but It didn’t go down to well with us. My choice on the other hand, was a winner. I choose a cocktail called “The Port of London”. Judging by the title, I guessed it had port in the drink, and having never had a port cocktail before, I had to give it a go. The Port of London, consisted of Port, Beefeater Gin, lemon juice, lime juice and topped up with a bitter lemon mixer. This drink had all the qualities we were looking for. It was well balanced, refreshing, there was no dominate flavour, with every sip you got something different out of the drink.

So we spent an our afternoon, sipping our cocktails, looking over the Thames towards St Pauls Cathedral, and after an intense last few weeks of work, we finally had a chance to reflect and remember why we are over here and how lucky we both are.




The OXO Tower’s
“Undercover Lover”
(In a mixing glass)
15ml Ketel One Citrus Vodka
15ml Licor 43
15ml Frais De Bois
Muddled Strawberries
Shaken and strained into a champagne glass
Topped with Prosecco

“Port of London”
(Built in a tall glass)
30ml House Port
30ml Beefeater Gin
15ml fresh lemon juice
15ml fresh lime juice
Topped up with Bitter Lemon

Jamie’s Italian

Before our trip began, we had been recommended to visit one of Jamie Oliver's famous restaurants. So as we walked the streets of Brighton, we were excited to find our self's standing outside, 'Jamie's Italian'. Jamie's Italian is this celebrity chef's biggest chain of restaurants. As we looked inside, we could see that the place was jam packed. We weren't too surprised. Because it is Jamie Oliver's restaurant, we expected we would be waiting a while before we got a table. We instead decided to sit in the bar area and try some of the delicious tapas food that Jamie's Italian had to offer us.

The menu was very "Naked Chef". Simple but delicious seemed to be the theme. We decided to order the Italian nacho's which was fried 4-cheese ravioli with a spicy arrabbiata sauce. I later found out that 'arrabbiata' is the Italian word for angry. So when it came to the sauce, I expected it to pack some punch. The arrabbiata sauce consisted of tomatos, garlic, chilli, olive oil and basil. After we ordered the Italian nacho's, it was time to study the cocktail menu. We decided to try the 'Vanilla & Lemon Martini'. This drink was a simple concoction of vanilla infused vodka, lemon juice and sugar syrup. It was presented beautifully with a long zest of lemon tied into a knot and dropped into the centre of the martini.  The cocktail was a little strong on the vodka, but I did expect that, it is a martini after all. The lemon juice didn't come across to sour because it was complemented well by the vanilla and sugar syrup. An all around well balanced drink. Perfect to take your time and sit on for a while. As the nacho's were served our table, they also were presented with perfection and tasted just as good. Simple bite size snacks that would be so easy to serve at a party with friends.

Although we didn't try any, we were very impressed with the wine list. It consisted of all premium Italian wines and all at a good price.  The thing we loved about Jamie's Italian was it's simplicity. Every drink, every piece of food was simple to make, but served with great presentation and detail. Another thing we loved is that this chain of restaurants knows what it's trying to be. By that i mean, it's not trying to be fine dining like many other celebrity chef restaurants are. It's funky and simple and laid back and most importantly affordable. You feel very welcomed and comfortable here. I think it's for this reason that Jamie's Italian is so successful and continues to grow in

popularity.

Jamie's Italian. "Vanilla & Lemon Martini"

In a shaker:

45ml Vanilla infused Vodka

15ml Lemon Juice

15ml Sugar Syrup

Add ice and shake

Strain into a Martini glass

Garnish with lemon zest tied into a knot.

The Original & The Best: The Classic Martini

Looking back at my previous blog posts i realised that I've covered a wide variety of drinks. So when thinking about what i should write about next, i was shocked when i realised that I'd not even covered the classic martini. This is the "grand daddy" of all cocktails, it is almost the definition of cocktail.

The classic martini is probably the one drink that has had the single biggest influence on bar culture today. But with the status of being "the most famous cocktail of all-time", comes the many bartenders who claim to being the original creator of the martini. So there is no definitive explanation for this cocktails origins. However, I'll share with you one story which I've heard and like to believe. It involves the 'godfather' of mixology, Jerry Thomas. Jerry Thomas was a bartender who wrote and published the first ever cocktail book in 1862, "How to mix drinks". Thomas worked in San Francisco at the Occidental Hotel. It is said that in 1850, a traveller on his way to the town of Martinez, California stopped off at the hotel and asked Thomas to make him something special. Thomas proceeded to serve the man a drink which consisted of gin, vermouth, a dash of bitters and a maraschino cherry to garnish. Jerry Thomas named it 'the Martinez' after the town that the man was travelling too.  In 1870, the Martinez was adapted by Julio Richelieu. Richelieu took out the bitters and substituted the cherry for an olive, and the martini has never looked back from then.

Making the martini is simple. I'll go through the process which works best for me. Start with a shaker, add ice along with 30ml of vermouth. Stir the vermouth with the ice, the idea being is that you want to coat the ice with the vermouth. Once stirred well, strain the vermouth into a chilled martini glass (it's a good idea to have a couple of martini glasses pre-chilled in a fridge to save you a bit of time). Roll the vermouth around the inside of the glass, lining the glass, then discard. Now go back to your original shaker, pour 60ml of gin (or vodka, depending on what type of martini your making) over the ice and stir again. The longer your stir the more diluted your martini will be, therefore most probably easier to drink. Lastly, strain your shaker into your martini glass and garnish with either an olive or a lemon zest. I like to serve a martini with 3 olives. Tell the customer to eat the first olive at the start of the cocktail, the second olive when they get half way through, and the last olive at the very end of the drink. I've had good feedback from customers about doing this. I find it adds to the overall martini drinking experience.

I can not stress enough how important it is to use a good quality spirit in martini's.  Cheap booze will ruin your drink.  If your paying top dollar for a martini, you want value for money. My picks for quality gins are Tanqueray 10 or Plymouth Gin. As far as vodka's, I can't go past Grey Goose, but it's always up to your personal choice. Hope you enjoy your martini's.

In a Shaker:
Add Ice & 30ml Vermouth and stir
Strain vermouth into a chilled martini glass and rinse the glass with the vermouth.
Discard Vermouth
Add to original shaker, 60ml of Gin or Vodka
Stir well and strain into martini glass
garnish with olives or lemon zest.

The Long Island Iced Tea

I personally am not a big fan of the Long island iced tea. I believe that it's a cocktail that people have with the aim to get drunk. People don't order this drink to appreciate the fine qualities of the spirits used in this drink, they order it to get "smashed". Despite my own personal dislike for this cocktail, it's hard to turn my back on it. It is one of the most frequently ordered cocktails in the world. It has played a massive role in bar culture today. So it would be wrong of me to not feature it in one of my blog postings.

The long island iced tea is a simple built cocktail which consists of 15ml vodka, gin, white rum, tequila and cointreau (or triple sec), a dash of lemon juice, served over ice and topped up with coke.  As i mentioned earlier, even though i'm not a big lover of this classic cocktail, as a bartender, I feel it is important to appreciate it's origins. The first long island iced tea was said to be served by Robert Butts in the mid 1970s. Butts was a bartender who worked at the Oak Beach Inn in the town of Babylon, Long Island, New York. He came up with the idea of mixing 5 different white spirits with coke. The cocktail had instant success and the not long after the variations began such as, a Tokyo iced tea made with Midori in place of the vodka, or a Cuban iced tea, made with dark rum, as well as white rum.

To make this cocktail, it is extremely simple. Get yourself a tall glass, and pour 15ml vodka, gin, tequila, white rum and cointreau and lemon juice. Lastly add ice and top with coke. And thats it!

Have fun with this drink and have a go at creating your own "Iced tea" variation.

In a Tall Glass:
15ml Vodka
15ml Gin
15ml Tequila
15ml Cointreau
15ml White Rum
15ml Lemon Juice
Add Ice and top up with Coke

Get "Carried" Away... The Cosmopolitan

I've just received an email from my Mum telling me that she had the pleasure of drinking  a Cosmopolitan in Thailand for only $3.50, and it got me thinking about this cocktail. It's now considered as a classic. You can order it so easily, anywhere in the world. In my previous posts I've talked about the historical significances of cocktails which were created hundreds of years ago and how they have stood the test of time and are still served the same way today. In the history of cocktails, the cosmopolitan is a baby, a rookie, but I can't think of a cocktail that is more popular in modern times than the "Cosmo". This drink has reached such a status, by where, you don't even need to feature this drink on your cocktail menu, the ladies will still order it time and time again.  So why is this drink so well known?  How come it is ordered by hundreds of women all over the world every single day?  The answer is simple.... 4 words... "Sex and the City". Not since James Bond ordering a martini "Shaken not stirred" has another TV show or movie had such an influence over the popularity of 1 drink. But the Cosmopolitan had been around for decades before "Sex and the city" ever went to air. So how did it come about?

 Like most cocktails, there are many different stories but the one that I've heard most often is that the "Cosmo" was created some time in the 1970s in San Francisco. It was considered an icon amongst the gay community at the time. A bar owner in San Francisco called John Caine was said to be the inventor. Although there is no proof that Caine was the creator of the cosmopolitan, he is said to be the first owner to feature the cocktail on his menu's. Due to the enormous popularity of the "Cosmo" in San Francisco, the word spread throughout America and in particular New york city in the early 1990s.  The drink kept on gaining popularity and was featured in almost every New York Bar. It exploded on to the world stage in 1998, when the hit TV show "Sex and the City" hit screens. I don't even think Carrie Bradshaw and her friends would know how much influence that they were about to have on the bar industry.  Just like the TV show, the cosmopolitan became a world wide sensation. Sometimes no matter how many fancy cocktails you may present to a group of ladies, they always come back to the modern classic, "The Cosmopolitan"

OK... I've gone over It's origins, now lets make one.  This drink is so simple, start with a cocktail shaker. Add 30ml of lime juice, 30ml of Cointreau (or triple sec), 30ml of Vodka (If you can get your hands on a citrus flavoured vodka, even better) and lastly top up with 30ml of Cranberry juice (Add more juice if you don't want it too strong) and that's it! Add ice to your shaker and shake well. Strain this mixture into a chilled martini glass and you got yourself a "Cosmo". It should turn out glowing pink.

As you can see, this drink only has 4 ingredients, all equal parts. If your having a bunch of girls over for a drink, i suggest make a cosmopolitan punch. Just make the same mixture but in bulk. It's sure to be a crowd pleaser. So get "Carried" away with the Cosmopolitan. Have Fun!

In a shaker:
30ml Vodka
30ml Cointreau
30ml Lime Juice
30ml Cranberry juice
Add ice and shake
Strain into a Martini glass

The Bloody Mary: The Ultimate Hangover Cure

There are many so called "remedies" when trying to cure a hangover, but i don't think many people will disagree when i say a well made Bloody Mary is up there with the best of them. We begin our story at a New York Bar in 1921. The bar was in fact called "Harry's New York Bar". This place was a frequent hangout for writer, Ernest Hemingway. Hemingway was not only famous for his writing, he was known as being a hard-core drinker. He in fact held the record for sometime at Harry's Bar, for drinking 2 litres of beer in 46.5 seconds. At Harry's New York Bar in 1921, a french bartender, Ferand Petiot, created a mixture of vodka, tomato juice, lemon juice and salt. He served this to 2 men who were sitting at the bar. He described it as "a new pick-me-up". One of the gentleman said that it reminded him of a bucket of blood. The other gentleman said that it reminded him of a girl he knew called Mary, and the Bloody Mary was born. I know your probably thinking that i made this story up, but many publications, cocktail books and websites have all confirmed that this is how the Bloody Mary all began. After this drink gained popularity at Harry's Bar, another bartender, George Jessel took the drink and added his own twist to it. Along with the existing ingredients of vodka, tomato juice, lemon juice and salt, Jessel added Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco sauce and pepper.  This mixture is the classic Bloody Mary that we know today. Both bartenders claim to be the creator of this cocktail.

Since these 2 bartenders created this drink, there have been tons of slight variations, and I'd like to share one of my own. I've never had any complaints when I've had to serve "Dave's Bloody Mary". Start with a shaker, add a good dash of Tabasco sauce and Worcestershire sauce, a pinch of black cracked pepper and celery salt, then a bar spoon of horseradish cream. Stir this mixture to breakup the horseradish cream. Horseradish is great in a Bloody Mary. It gives the drink a different kind of "kick". The Tabasco gives you one type of spice and flavour, but i find that the horseradish, brings another dimension of spice and texture to this cocktail. Now add 45ml of vodka (if your game, i always use a pepper infused vodka. If you can't be bothered infusing your own vodka with peppers, Absolut pepper works a treat), add 15ml of lemon juice (anymore than that and it becomes too sour), lastly top up with approx. 250ml of tomato juice. I like to add ice and shake to help mix all those herbs and spices together well, but a good stir will still do the same job. Pour the contents of your shaker into a tall glass and serve with a celery stick.

If you really want to go all out, try muddling cherry tomato's and cucumber with your Bloody Mary. I believe that this cocktail has no boundaries. I've experimented with using paprika, beef stock, freshly chopped chillies, jalapenos and the list goes on. When making your Bloody Mary, have fun with it, don't be afraid to experiment.  I'm a massive lover of good tequila, so I often substitute the vodka with tequila. This is known as a Bloody Maria.

I hope this cocktail brings gives you the "pick-up" you need. Enjoy!

In a shaker:
Pinch of cracked black pepper
Pinch of celery salt
bar spoon of horse radish cream
dash of Tabasco sauce
dash of Worcestershire sauce
15ml lemon juice
45ml Vodka
250ml Tomato juice
Add ice and shake
Pour into a tall glass

The Queens Boulevard

South Australia is famous all over the world for it fantastic wine regions. So as my first post on this blog, i can think of no better way to start than to pay tribute to my home state of SA and share with you one of my most popular cocktail creations, The Queens Boulevard.

Rockford winery in the Barossa valley, is well known for its famous Alicante' Bouchet, A rose' which uses grenache as the main grape. It's a grape that is soft, lightly coloured yet full flavoured. It's main characteristics are strawberries and raspberries. There are not to many people around who can't drink this wine. It appeals to the masses, so it was a perfect starting point when creating this drink.

To compliment the Rockford rose', i chose to use Chambord black raspberry liqueur. Chambord is a french liqueur. It's legend began in 1685, when King Louis XIV visited Chateau Chambord. There he enjoyed a sweet liqueur made from wild black raspberries.  Today Chambord is an iconic liqueur, used in many different cocktails by bartenders all over the world.

So after 30ml of Rockford Alicante', and 30ml of Chambord, i had a nice combination of flavours, but something was lacking. I needed a 3rd dimension in this cocktail. I turned to vanilla. One of my favourite desserts is the classic vanilla slice, so maybe i was a bit bias when i decided to add vanilla to this drink, but it did finish it off nicely. just a dash (15ml) of Absolut vanilla vodka.

Combine these 3 ingredients into a shaker, add some sugar syrup and the juice of half a lime and shake together with ice. Strain into a chilled martini glass and serve.

I find this drink to be perfect for the sweet tooth. It's very rich and full bodied. It is also very attractive and elegant to hold. It makes other people in a bar look at what your drinking and often entices them to order one too.

Hope you enjoy the Queens Boulevard

30ml Rockford Alicante Bouchet Rose'
30ml Chambord Black Raspberry Liqueur
15ml Absolut Vanilla Vodka
Dash of lime juice
Dash of sugar syrup
Add ice, shake and strain into a chilled martini glass