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Cocktail Recipe: Handsome Jack by Chris Tanner

I mentioned previously that I enjoyed a cocktail called the Handsome Jack at London's Experimental Cocktail Club. I believe it's a loose take on the Vieux Carre.

The drink's creator, Chris Tanner, gave me permission to post it with a photo. Awesome.

Handsome Jack 
By Chris Tanner, Experimental Cocktail Club Chinatown 

 20ml Pierre Ferrand Ambre Cognac
20ml Rittenhouse Rye whiskey
20ml Byrrh aperitif wine
15ml Aperol
3ml Green Chartreuse
3ml organic maple syrup
2x dash Angostura bitters
2x dash Peychaud's bitters

Stir gently until diluted and strain into a chilled coupette, zest with a lemon and discard.

 

A Few Bars in London: ECC Chinatown and Opium

Recently I was in London and explored several bars I hadn't been to previously, along with a couple I was excited to revisit. 

Experimental Cocktail Club in Chinatown

Experimental Cocktail Club has bars in Paris including Curio Parlor, Prescription Cocktail Club, Beef Club & Ballroom, Compagnie des Vins Surnaturels, this one in London's Chinatown, and in New York. Coming soon are Fish Club in Paris and a beach bar in Ibiza. 

I hadn't been to any of them until this visit in London. It was a Friday night and the streets were completely packed with people, but once I was close to the bar it was easy to recognize that the giant bouncer standing outside the unmarked door would be way to the speakeasy bar. 

But ECC isn't a speakeasy once you get in. The place is spread over two floors. Early in the evening everyone gets a seat in the chairs and couches spread around the place, but this is not a seating-only bar. Later at night there is even a small cover charge and a DJ. 

 

©SIMONA BELOTTI via ECC Chinatown

 As I was visiting early I got a great seat at the bar and was able to chat with the bartenders. The February menu has 13 cocktails on it; all of them originals except for the Old Cuban by Audrey Saunders and the Havana by Shaun Layton of L'abbattoir in Vancouver. One drink I; think the Saint Germain Des Pres, is on all ECC menus, but the others are unique to each space.

Many of the drinks had unique ingredient touches including Thai pandan leaves, beetroot juice, and coconut & ceylon tea. Most of the rest had surprising combinations like a gin buck with Suze and absinthe; aquavit, sherry, ginger, and pale ale; and pepper -infused tequila, tea, Suze, peach bitters, and champagne. 

I particularly liked the Handsome Jack, which I believe is a (remote) spin on the Vieux Carre, made with rye, cognac, aperol, Byrrh, Chartreuse,  maple syrup, Angostura and Peychaud's bitters. It was probably my favorite drink I had in London. 

They also offer four vintage cocktails made with vintage spirits from as far bac kas the 1950s and costing as much as 200 UK Pounds ($300 US). They were planning on having vertical vintage spirits tastings in the future - having the same spirit that you could taste through several decades. 

 

©SIMONA BELOTTI via ECC Chinatown

All in all, I really liked this place but as someone who is now club-averse I'd want to go early or have a table reservation. 

Opium Cocktail & Dim Sum Parlour

Just one block away from ECC Chinatown is the brand new bar Opium. (Click the tiny link at the bottom of the page to get to their blog.) From the entrance (another unlabeled door; another bouncer) you walk up a couple flights, then possibly another depending on which floor you'll be seated. 

The main bar on the lower floor has a back bar with only large numbered apothecary bottles - no brand bottles whatsoever. So bartenders have to memorize or look up each ingredient by number to make the cocktails on that level. It looks great.

 

That is the back bar behind. Image from Opium's website.

On the top floor, the main bar is more of a large, square chef's table. Two bartenders work most on one side of it, which patrons sit on the other three sides. 

The other seating in the place is a mix of tall bar-style tables, low couches in a row, parlor-style seating in some rooms, restaurant-style seating in others. On a full night as when I was there, not only is every seat taken, but there are dozens of staff, bartenders, and hosts running around everywhere; yet the capacity is just over 100 people. The vibe is pretty incredible. 

 

One of the rooms at Opium. Image from their website.

On either floor, the various wooden rooms jut off at sharp angles with small doorways from every other one, so it honestly feels that at any moment you're going to walk into the wrong one filled with a group of gamblers huddled in a circle shouting loudly while throwing down money on the floor. (But then again, I watch a lot of kung fu movies.) 

The crowd is not full of gamblers but a combination of well-heeled young business types and cocktail afficionados out for a big night - as I've read in other reviews it is the type of crowd who frequents London's many private clubs (Milk & Honey, Quo Vadis) more than the younger DJ-and-dancing (or bargain-seeking) crowd. 

The cocktails are elaborate to match the price: the Opium Signature Cocktail #1 comes in a matte cup with dry ice in it. The bartender pours a small carafe of the drink's ingredients (Appleton VX, Wray & Nephew rums, absinthe, mandarin and lime juices, kaffir lime syrup, citrus bitters) into the vessel, then a small vial of liquid ginseng. The dry ice causes the drink to bubble and steam - representing opium smoke. 

 

Image stolen from Opium's website

 

I also had a drink with tequila, Chinese plum wine and house poached black plum and rosemary syrup. It is served with an absinthe-dipped rosemary sprig that is set on fire atop the drink. As all the fruit in the drink can cause it to separate, the rosemary sprig can also be used to stir it- nice trick. 

All the drinks I tried there (except the shots of mezcal that came later) were unique, relatively light as opposed to boozy, and nuanced rather than bombastic. 

A Tribute to Harry Craddock on the 50th Anniversary of his Death

In January I flew to London for an event to celebrate the life and career of Harry Craddock, author of the Savoy Cocktail Book. The event was sponsored by Plymouth Gin, which is mentioned by name many times throughout the Savoy. 

The tour was attended by Plymouth's distiller Sean Harrison, the top London bartenders, and a few special folks flown in from around Europe. Just a few of the bartenders presernt were Ago Perrone, Alex Kratena, Esther Medina, Gareth Evans, Geoffrey Cannilao, Stuart McCluskey, and Nick Strangeway. They helped bring over Erik Ellestad from San Francisco; probably the only person to make every cocktail in the Savoy. 

American Bar head bartender Erik Lorincz came up with the idea initially, and he was joined by former Savoy head bartenders Peter Dorelli, Salim Khoury, and Victor Gower. Gower had actually met Craddock.  To study Craddock's life, they enlisted Anistatia Miller, co-author of the just-released book The Deans of Drink that is about both Craddock and Harry Johnson. Max Warner, on his last day as brand ambassador for Plymouth, helped lead the show. 

We began at the recently-discovered grave site of Harry Craddock. Craddock died at age 87 in 1963, unfortunately poor despite a life of fame as a bartender. We toasted to him, took a picture, then piled in to vintage cars from around 1930 (when the Savoy came out) to hit a few spots where Craddock worked.

 

trip photo

Craddock was born in 1875 in England, but moved to the US in 1897. He worked there at some of the most popular bars including the Holland House, Hoffman House, and Knickerbocker. He was said to have mixed the last pre-Prohibition cocktail in the USA. 

He left the US after Prohibition and never returned, though he may have made drinks off the coast of New York on a boat (where it was legal) for millionaires at one time. 

The American Bar at the Savoy Hotel

In the early 1900s, despite having "American Bars" (usually denoting the use of ice and serving the fashionable cocktails of the US), the drinking scene was reportedly quite bad. So Craddock's entrance onto the London cocktail scene was a big deal, and everyone loved his American accent. 

The Savoy had two female bartenders on staff, including the famous Ada Coleman, creator of the Hanky Panky cocktail. According to Miller, Craddock basically got Colemand and another female bartender booted from their positions at the bar, as he didn't believe woman should be doing that job. (They didn't have Speed Rack in 1921.) Craddock took the Head Bartender position in 1925.

 

American Bar. Photo from website.

Craddock became super famous in his job at the Savoy. In 1927, Madam Tussaud's even had his figure in the famous wax museum. That same year, the American Bar at the Savoy was redorated in the Art Deco style. When the did this renovation, Craddock was permitted to bury a cocktail shaker containing his creation the White Lady cocktail in the walls of the bar. 

Though the bar has been renovated since then, the shaker has never been found. 

In 1928, the hotel announced that Craddock had collected 2000 cocktail recipes, both originals and ones from other places. Over 1000 of these were published in the Savoy Cocktail Book in 1930. 

The Cafe Royal

Craddock never worked at the Cafe Royal, but it did play a part in his history. The Grill Room there had just been restored to its former glory - the room is a hall or mirrors with gold frames and accents, and red furniture. They specialize in champagne and caviar. According the the website:

 It is in this very room that Oscar Wilde fell in love with Lord Alfred Douglas, Aubrey Beardsley debated with Whistler, David Bowie retired Ziggy Stardust and Mick Jagger, the Beatles and Elizabeth Taylor danced the night away.

 

Grill Room at Cafe Royal. At right, Erik Lorincz and Peter Dorelli make a cocktail.

 

They do not mention that it was from this bar that the Cafe Royal Cocktail Book was launched in 1937. (The book is significant in that it is the first cocktail book anywhere to include a bunch of recipes with tequila- and Margarita by another name is found in its pages.) The book was not actually a list of original recipes invented at the bar, but was a book of recipes from the United Kingdom Bartenders Guild. 

Craddock was the co-founder and first president of the guild, along with Cafe Royal's head bartender. Thus our visit. 

The Dorchester

While Craddock was still employed at the Savoy, luxury hotel The Dorchester was renovated in 1938, and they asked Craddock to bury a cocktail shaker with drinks in the walls there also. In this shaker, Craddock put vials containing a Martini, Manhattan, and White Lady, along with recipes and a scroll.  When the bar was rebuilt in 1979, they found this shaker and its contents.

The next year, Craddock left the Savoy after nearly 20 years and went to work at The Dorchester. 

Though previously there hadn't been much evidence that Craddock had actually worked at the Dorchester, former Savoy bartender Salim Khoury was given a letter written by Craddock to one of his favorite Savoy customers (who didn't live in London) informing him of his move to the new hotel. 

Since this hotel was recent and built of reinforced concrete, it became one of London's safest buildings during the Second World War. Though we don't know for sure that he served them, Winston Churchill stayed at the Dorchester and so did Dwight D Eisenhower. Given Churchill's fondness for booze, the two probably got together. 

Though Craddock worked at the Dorchester until 1947, he still opened one more bar; a place called Brown's Hotel in 1951. 

A Third Burial

Though our town didn't visit that spot, we returned to the Savoy for a final moment. Cocktails were mixed up and poured into vials. The vials were put into a shaker and sealed. And that shaker was buried in a wall in the Savoy Hotel in tribute to Harry Craddock.

As Max Warner said, Craddock didn't get a grand funeral, but he certainly deserves a grand day of remembrance. 

Thank you to Erik, Anistatia, Max, everyone else who helped put on the day, and to Plymouth Gin for making it all happen. 

 

London Bars: Shoreditch and Around

In London, one of the best areas for bar-hopping is Shoreditch. It seems to be a nightlife neighborhood filled with smaller pubs and a few clubs with some of the city's best cocktail bars smattered about. 

Ones I've been to include in the neighborhood include Callooh Cally, Nightjar, Worship Street Whistling Shop, and Happiness Forgets. 

On my visit to these bars I took a long walk from my hotel, the budget-priced Tavistock Hotel that I'd recommend for those who can't afford the usual $350+/night rooms of London. (Even looking on AirBnB I couldn't find of anything much in neighborhoods I wanted to stay in for less than $150/night; this hotel cost about that with taxes and all.)

Zetter Townhouse

Along that walk I popped into Zetter Townhouse, a great little bar/cafe with drinks by Tony Conigliaro of the famous 69 Colebrooke Row. On the street is Zetter Hotel and behind it is the townhouse; a boutique hotel on the ground and basement floors of which is the bar/cafe. 

I was there on Sunday afternoon, and the cafe was filled with small groups enjoying the brunch whilst food sitting on the plush red chairs. The whole room had this bohemian glamour style with red wallpaper, fancy lamps, and fringe accents. The tiny bar had just four barstools in front of it, so this is really more of a lounge than a bar- at the time I was there the bartender was acting more as a barista to the lunch crowd than as a mixologist. 

I enjoyed the Flintlock, which I remember as a signature drink of Conigliaro's. It's made with gin, gunpowder tea tincture, sugar, Fernet-Branca, and dandelion-burdock bitters. You can find the recipe in Conigliaro's book Drinks, which I've heard will be printed as a US edition (American measuring units rather than metric) next year. When they serve it they light a piece of magician's wool next to the drink, which flames up and dissappears. The cocktail was delicious, even for the first drink of the morning.

I then had the Milk Collins, made with gin, lemon, soda, sugar, and milk syrup. The latter is a wine-based lemon syrup that is washed with milk as in some milk punches. All the drinks were 8.50 pounds (13 bucks US), which is not bad for London.

Callooh Callay

I've been to this bar once or twice previously, and love it. The menus all have a sense of humor to them - a previous one was drawn as a comic book; the current one was a Pantone menu. There is a main room, a back room, and also an upstairs lounge that I didn't know about until this trip.

 

Image of back room from CC website

The upstairs room is quite small, and available to members. (I don't recall if there is any actual membership fee.) Upstairs is run by a single bartender, who takes a 'residency' there for four weeks. They develop their own cocktail menu and own theme for the month. The theme when I visited was cocktails from the movies; in March it's oysters and absinthe. I *love* this idea. 

Happiness Forgets

I'd not been to Happiness Forgets previously. It is a small and very hip cocktail bar that was completely full even when all the other bars in the neighborhood were quiet on a Sunday night. 

 

This is about as much as you can see inside, too. Image stolen from their website.

There I had some of the booziest drinks (all costing around $12 US) in my time to London (outside of the Duke's Hotel, of course). I guess the drinks were strong enough there that I didn't take any notes about them except "Boozy drinks. Rich flavors," which is right up my alley. 

I seem to recall having the Jerezana cocktail, which is made from manzanilla and amontillado sherries with sweet and dry vermouths, plus vanilla syrup and orange bitters. Hell to the yes.

I believe my friends ordered the Overdraft, which contains Banks rum, Creole shrub (orange liqueur), lime, sugar, and clove bitters. That packed a whallop. 

 

True to its name, I was happy in this bar and forgot all about it.

Nightjar

I have visited Nightjar in the past and loved it, and after this visit I'm even more in love. Nightjar is known for its spectacular garnish program (great pictures here). On this visit, one drink had a dehydrated whole lime floating atop the drink. Another was served inside a giant half cocoa bean pod; a third had a meringue topping. 

(stolen from Nightjar's website; my pics were too dark)

 On this visit, nearly all of the cocktails tasted as great as they looked as well. 

So given one night in London and traveling on a budget, this is definitely the neighborhood I'd recommend checking out. 

 

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Cocktail Menu: Pollen Street Social in London

I met London bar/restaurant Pollen Street Social's bar manager Gareth Evans on a trip to Mexico, where all of his fancy cocktail ingredients had exploded on the way. They sure sounded delicious though.

image stolen from PSS website

Hopefully one day I'll get to try some of those fancy ingredients in person. Evans sent me the restaurant's new menu, and boy, does it also sound good. I see: banana-rum Manhattan, red berry and muscatel shrub, Coco Pops milk. 

RUMBULLION 13.50
PSS walnut-infused Smith and Cross and Appleton V/X rums, Cynar, lime, maple syrup, PSS orange bitters, white praline walnut

SILVER SCREEN 13.50
Popcorn-washed Maker’s Mark bourbon, Fernet, PSS cherry ‘bespoke-a-cola’ syrup, orange oils, 3D bitters, snacks, free entry

SHISO LOVELY 13.50
Yamazaki 12 whisky, shiso, kaffir lime, La Fee XS Suisse absinthe, PSS orgeat, egg white, kumquat

THE PROFESSOR 13.50
Chase smoked vodka, Kamm & Sons ginseng spirit, Cocchi Barolo chinato, dandelion & burdoch bitters

BANAN-HATTAN 14.00
Zacapa 23yr rum, Amaro Ciociaro, banana, pimento dram, Amargo Chuncho bitters, Guatemalan clouds

NEGRONI 13.50
Sipsmith gin, house sweet vermouth blend, citrus-infused Campari, PSS blood orange and Campari ice ball

GREAT BRITISH COBBLER 13.50
Williams Chase gin, Kamm & Sons ginseng spirit, raspberries, PSS citrus syrup, English sparkling wine, British eccentricity

THE ARTIST FORMERLY KNOWN AS QUINCE 13.50
Somerset 10yr apple brandy, quince liqueur, PSS blackberry & apple compote, lemon, yoghurt powder, egg white, spice

ROSIE AND GIN 12.50
Bombay Sapphire gin, apricot brandy, Sacred spiced vermouth, smashed pineapple, lemon, PSS rosemary syrup

KNOCKOUT PUNCH 14.50
Pusser’s rum, PSS falernum, lime, passionfruit, grapefruit, PSS orgeat, absinthe, tiki volcano

FREQUENT FLYER 13.50
Martin Miller’s Westbourne strength, Maraschino liqueur, cucumber, lemon, violet sugar, first class upgrade

CEREAL KILLER 13.50
Foursquare spiced rum, Mozart dark chocolate liqueur, Galliano ristretto, Coco Pops milk, Emily’s cookies

WONKEY DONKEY 13.50
Grey Goose Le Citron, red berry and muscatel shrub, Domaine de Canton ginger liqueur, Jerry Thomas Decanter bitters, clementine

VINTAGE VESPER 13.50
Citadelle Reserve aged gin, Adnams Northcove aged vodka Cocchi Americano, PSS juniper and rosemary silverskin onions

BREAKFAST FIZZ 14.50
Chase Marmalade vodka, yellow Chartreuse, pink grapefruit, English sparkling wine, toast and jam

NO ALCOHOL
APPLE OF MY EYE 8.00
Apple juice, blackberry, lemon, PSS rosemary syrup, egg white, bitter lemon

PINK LEMONADE 8.00
Pink grapefruit, lemon, elderflower, soda

PROBIOTIC 8.00
Pineapple, lemon, yoghurt powder, PSS grenadine, ginger beer

London, Re-Revisited: Nightjar, Worship Street Whistling Shop, and Savoy

I was recently in London again, for two nights: one on either side of a trip to Tuscany with Bombaby Sapphire. In those two days I managed to visit the American Bar at the Savoy Hotel twice, Nightjar, and the brand new Worship Street Whistling Shop.

Ahoy, Savoy!

Yes, I was at the American Bar at the Savoy Hotel just one week before this visit. But that was during the daytime so it doesn't count or something. On my first night there, I stopped in for a drink at the Savoy's other bar, the Beaufort Bar [menu (PDF)]. There, there is a heavy emphasis on champagne and champagne cocktails. 

Then I hit the American Bar [menu (PDF)] for a Mezcal Daiquiri, a Negroni, and on the way back a Barrel-Aged Hanky Panky. The latter was the best barrel aged drink I've had so far. Erik Lorincz makes it with four different gins and four bittering agents. 

Worship Street Whistling Shop

The Worship Street Whistling Shop [menu (PDF)], which is both hard to say and to type, is an underground space that was formerly a wine bar. The space has lots of nice leather seating for groups, plus a couple of nooks that are being developed into theme areas. One of them holds a bathtub and the idea is to make it a little room dedicated to gin. Another room may eventually become a ship-themed space dedicated to rum. (The place had only been open a couple weeks so not everything is finished.)

Another small nook holds the laboratory, with two stills and other equipment used to make ingredients in the drinks. Those ingredients include "high pressure hydrosol", "exhaustion tonic", "chlorophyll bitters", and "walnut ketchup". 

Naturally, I chose a vinegar drink, made with whisky, honey and lavender shrub, lemon, and sage dust. Delicious. 

[Confidential to WSWS: Your menu lists some homemade items as WS². If I remember correctly, WS² = WSS. I think you want (WS)², which equals WSWS.]

Nightjar

Ever since I saw (and posted) their menu, I have dreamed about visiting Nightjar. And it turns out it's just a couple of blocks from (WS)². Barcrawl!

The place was dark and more densely fit with furniture than the last bar. And the drinks were way more elaborate. Each one came with a tiny bite of food of some sort or another, and most seemed to be fancily, fussily garnished. 

I had a couple drinks there, as you can see above. The one I hadn't started yet was garnished with mint, two kinds of berries, sugar, a spoon, and a golden straw. Unwieldy, but cool. It also came with a side of some sort of cocktail jelly. 

The other drink I can't remember (it was approaching four in the morning) but both were great. 

Once again, a great trip to London bars. Thanks to Erik, Ladislav, Nathan, Esther, Rich, Matthew, and all the other bartenders who took care of me.  

Great Garnish (And Ice) With Alex Kratena of the Artesian Bar in London

As part of the Bacardi Global Legacy Cocktail Competition, the ten competing bartenders underwent three days of education in London before flying to Barcelona for the big event. I was along for the ride.

On our first day, Alex Kratena of the Artesian Bar at the Langham Hotel gave a talk on garnish. They have an extraordinary program that he shared with us.

But since we all love ice here on Alcademics, we'll start with that geekery first. At the Artesian they have two kinds of ice that are carved by an industrial CNC machine (Computer Numerical Control). The machine is located outside of the hotel and the ice is delivered to them.

The first are ice pucks with the bar's logo cut into one side of them. These are used in cocktail glasses to keep the drinks cold while consumed. You can sort of make out the script lowercase "a" in white in the Spanish Martini below (also garnished with a fish). 

The second type is ice balls. In the picture below you can see the lines on the ice where it was carved.

 

In the video below you can see one of the machines in action. The video is carving a head out of metal.

There is another video of one of these machines carving a car out of ice here.

Okay that's enough for the ice pr0n. Now onto the rest of the garnish.

In that Barrel Aged Mai Tai in the picture above, we can also see a couple of other garnish tricks used at The Artesian. They dehydrate their pineapple slices (and some other fruit garnishes) for this drink. I thought it was an odd decision, but Kratena made the good point that dehydrated fruit lasts a long time so you don't waste all the rest of the pineapple if you don't use it during your shift.

Also on the Mai Tai are candy diamonds and silver beads. They don't seem to do anything for the flavor but they look nice.

They also make one drink with an aromatic steam. If I understand correctly, they make a soda from botanicals that are in gin, then dump this over dry ice in a tea kettle. This makes it "steam" in a really cool way.

The actual drink is served separately in a glass onto which is placed a strainer of more botanicals. I think they pour the tea kettle soda over the strainer on the drink (we didn't see this part so I'm not positive).

He also made some lovely improvements to the citrus peels used as garnishes on glasses. This is a small thing that costs no money that any bar could do.

 It didn't take long to realize that every drink on the menu at the Artesian Bar is put there after much thought and planning. Quite an amazing beverage program from start to finish.

Also, the drinks were delicious.

More London Barhopping

Another two days in London meant another bunch of bars visited. Here's a brief summary. 

We stopped into the American Bar at the Savoy Hotel for a sampling of many of their classics. The drinks we tried were simple, elegant, and of course expertly crafted by Erik Lorincz and his team. 

The American Bar has an odd L shape, with the bar the small part of the L so only part of it is visible from the main seating area. From a bar as famous as this one, you'd think it would be all TA-DA front and center but I guess they didn't need to. 

(American Bar bartenders at the Savoy Hotel)

Later that day (or maybe another day, who can remember?) we hit up Hawksmoor Seven Dials for dinner and drinks.

I've been to London three times and each time to Hawksmoor; a chic steakhouse. Pretty weird as I'm a vegetarian and all.  The place has a steakhouse-meets-gentleman's club feel to it and is located a level down from the street. 

(Hawksmoor Seven Dials)

I don't have pictures of it, but we also had a dinner at Cotton's Rhum Shack, Ian Burrell's restaurant and rum bar. Great food and a great vibe with a live singer in the front, 200 or so rums available, and Caribbean food. 

We also briefly stopped into Danger of Death bar, a members club located on Brick Lane that is owned by the folks from Milk & Honey. Some pictures are here, and as you can see it has the pressed tin walls, lots of booths, and that international speakeasy look. 

The final night in London was capped off by a visit to Mahiki, where I've also been before. Mahiki is a tiki nightclub with lots of booths for private groups. They serve tropical drinks in pineapples and a giant treasure chest. For a nightclub, the drinks are excellent. It's cheesy good fun and we stayed for hours.

 (Treasure chest drink at Mahiki.)

(Pineapple drinks at Mahiki.)

I'll post better pictures later (these are all cell phone snaps) but for now it's off to Barcelona!