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The Martini
No other drink captures that moment, when the short arm strikes six (or indeed five if you’ve had a really horrible day) more magnificently. Staggeringly simple yet deceptively difficult to master, the Martini is unashamedly brazen in its booziness, transparent in both appearance and intention; clean-lined yet complex, a v-shaped salute to the tribulations, trudge and tyranny of modern life – and rightly considered as the king of the classic cocktails.
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Giving You the Goods
In case you didn’t know it by now; we’re kind of into spirits. Sipping them, mixing them, reading about them, writing about them, talking about them and, well you get the picture
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The Margarita
Jesse Estes is one of the world’s leading tequila experts. As well as a London-based bartender and author he is a brand ambassador for Tequila Ocho that has spent years learning about the spirit. Here he gives us his take on the fabled story of the Margarita, a drink that’s drenched in mystery.
This storytelling goes hand in hand with a classic cocktail, and while there isn’t always time to regale the customers with tall tales, every now and then, a bit of historical context can make a drink more compelling when introduced for the first time.
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How to Create a Classic
There are no hard and fast rules to what makes a classic cocktail, unfortunately. You could argue that to earn ‘classic’ status, a cocktail needs to be on menus for a significant amount of time. But then, if you create an overnight success and it evaporates a year later, it can never earn the all-important mantel of ‘classic’. True classics have been around for decades, and so chances are, you may not live long enough to enjoy your own success.
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Douglas Ankrah
It’s been just over a month since we lost Douglas Ankrah; a man described as a 'pioneer' who was generous with time and friendship. Incredibly, it’s been nearly twenty years since he opened the beloved and much-missed LAB Bar (London Academy of Bartenders) in Soho, but its legendary legacy – and his – lives on.