Mock Tails

[Please note the title of this post should be sung to the tune of the theme from Duck Tales] I am really struggling with a lack of complexity more than anything actually specifically alcohol related, so thought I’d have an experiment with mocktails, to see if they give me more depth than standard soft drinks….

He out-bopped the buzzard and the oriole

Except he didn’t. Oriole was awesome. I’m not sure why I’ve not been to Night Jars little sister before. Night Jar was one of the first of the current wave of London speakeasy-ish bars with lavish drinks. It’s also one of my favourites, and has been pretty much since it opened. Oriole in Smithfields market…

Bright Eyes… Burning like fire

My dedication to cocktails (and booze in general) has taken another step. Today I have taken a day off work. Not because I had too many drinks the night before, but because I want to have drinks in the afternoon. Not any afternoon. A Tuesday afternoon. Also not just any drinks. Dead Rabbit – best…

Tiki Tiki

Just as I’d started to write this post, Lovely Girlfriend started singing “We are the tiki girls, we are the tiki girl. You are the tiki boys, you are the tiki boys at me” and it is now so firmly lodged in my head that I thought I’d share this joy with you. Onwards with…

Poncha!

So there’s Madeira Wine, but what other boozy treats are there on offer out there? Well. They distill a golden rum, which they call sugar cane brandy. It’s good! The also make it into a drink called Poncha. It’s punch. It fits the standard cocktail vein of rum, sugar, citrus. In this case the citrus…

No name.

…Our masterclass in The Drink Factory ended with a trip to their latest bar… Untitled in Dalston is an Andy Warhole inspired industrial bar with bar concrete walls, harsh edges and naked people. OK not actual naked people, but lots of artwork involving naked people. They were playing Bella Lugosi’s Dead by Bauhaus when we…

Living the dream

Yesterday I was given a brief introduction to what might be my dream job (if only I could afford the pay cut). I went to a masterclass at The Drinks Factory. As anyone who has read any of this blog will know, I am a Tony Conigliaro fan boy. A chance to spend some time…

Thats the way to do it!

One of my bosses is a massive beer nerd. Another of them is a cocktail nerd. Last week he suggested we go for a catch up at his favourite bar. Who was I to refuse? He first recommended it to me at Christmas last year, but I’d not actually gotten the chance to go. Punch Room…

The bar with no name.

I’ve been trying to work out how to get in a review of 69 Colebrooke Row since I started this blog. It’s probably my all time favourite cocktail bar. It crops up again and again in passing as I explore further into booze. It was definitely fundamental in my development as a massive cocktail nerd….

All Gone

The negroni party has yet to happen. Far too many things are happening in life right now for me to want to host a large party. However it is still my birthday this week so I wanted to do something. Cue the five year old negroni. What can I say? It was awesome. It was…

The Lyan sleeps tonight!

As part of lovely girlfriend’s birthday, we (surprisingly!) went for cocktails. The chosen venue was Dandelyan. The bar from mixologist of note, Mr Lyan, in the Mondrian Hotel in the sea containers building on the south bank. Sea containers is amazing. It is one of the ugliest buildings in London – it’s got a lovely view…

People think I’m sloe… eh!

Around this time last year, a friend of mine got sent back to Canada (due to our stupid rules on how much non-citizens have to earn to stay here – this is going to get a whole lot worse 😦 ). She is currently back in the country on holiday and came over to visit…