Sam Wylie-Harris delves inside the new bartender's bible.
An art deco jewel and epitome of luxury, Claridge's, in London's swanky Mayfair, has been a sophisticated setting for celebratory cocktails since 1856 - and now you can recreate the world's finest concoctions at home.
The hotel's bars - Claridge's Bar, The Fumoir, The Painter's Room and the bar at their Michelin-starred restaurant, Davies and Brook - serve almost 36,000 cocktails every year combined (in case you're wondering, The Flapper is the most popular).
In their new book, you'll unearth more than 400 cocktail recipes, 'spanning many decades and the circumference of the globe', with something to suit every occasion... from Champagne & Sparkling, Stirred & Complex, to Short & Sharp and much more.
To whet your thirst, here are four favourites from Claridge's: The Cocktail Book to fashion now...
1. The Flapper
Ingredients: 15ml Briottet Creme de Cassis, 15ml Boiron strawberry puree, Laurent-Perrier La Cuvee NV Champagne, to top up, 1/2 a strawberry to garnish.
Method: In a cocktail shaker, stir the creme de cassis and strawberry puree together, then fine-strain into a flute. Top up with champagne and garnish with half a strawberry on the rim of the glass.
Credit: Created for the opening of Claridge's Bar in 1998.
2. French 75
Ingredients: 25ml Plymouth Gin, 10ml lemon juice, 15ml sugar syrup, Laurent-Perrier La Cuvee NV Champagne, to top up, lemon twist to garnish.
Method: In a cocktail shaker, shake all the ingredients, except the champagne, with ice cubes, then fine-strain into a flute. Top up with champagne and garnish with a lemon twist.
Credit: Harry MacElhone, ABC of Mixing Cocktails (1923)
3. Claridge's Bar Martini
Ingredients: 3 sprays of Noilly Prat Original Dry Vermouth, 125ml of your preferred gin or vodka, frozen, lemon twist or olive to garnish.
Method: This is a much drier version of the classic martini and one
that guests at Claridge's enjoy the most. The coupe and the gin or
vodka should be kept in the freezer at -19C and the garnish prepared first to ensure the drink is served as cold as possible.
When you're ready to serve, collect the glass from the freezer and spray with the vermouth. Pour in the gin or vodka, garnish with a lemon twist or an olive, and drink immediately.
4. Black Pearl
Ingredients: 20ml Zubrowka Bison Grass Vodka, 10ml Botanist Islay Dry Gin, 10ml Chambord, 15ml Briottet Creme de Cassis, 50ml pink grapefruit juice, 20ml lemon juice, 6 blueberries, 3 blackberries, plus an extra
blackberry, halved, to garnish.
Method: In a cocktail shaker, shake all the ingredients with ice cubes, then
fine-strain into a chilled rocks glass over an ice block. Garnish with a
halved blackberry placed carefully on top of the ice.
Credit: Jorge Oliveira, Claridge's Bar, London
View this post on InstagramA post shared by CLARIDGE'S (@claridgeshotel)
Extracted from Claridge's: The Cocktail Book, published by Mitchell Beazley on October 14, priced £25. Photography by John Carey.
View this post on InstagramA post shared by CLARIDGE'S (@claridgeshotel)
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