posted: Thursday, 13 October 2011
It's still London Cocktail week and today I'm booked onto 4 talks being given by the 'Monkey Shoulder Ministry of Mixorcism'. Monkey Shoulder is a brand of whisky that I've not tried before so I'm interested in that, but it's the talks I'm mainly interested in.
The schedule for the day is:
Having previously been to an event put on by Adam, where I learnt a lot about bitters and got to sample some of his amazing creations, it's this I'm most looking forward to. But after finding this article about some of the garnishes Luca creates, learning that Stuart is involved with the great Hawksmoor (which I visited recently) and wanting to know more about whisky cocktails I booked for all 4 talks and was looking forward to the day. Add in the fact that the day would take place in my favourite restaurant, Quo Vadis, and I was full of anticipation as I left the house.
Unfortunately Luca and Adam were unable to be there, so some of the planned talks didn't happen, but a fun day was had by all.
The day started with Dean, and Charles Hardwick making some winter warmers including a version of a Cafe Diablo and New York Flip. A fine way to start the day!
Soon the drinks were flowing and as some of the restaurant's amazing chips had arrived, the mood was certainly improved.
Next up was the bitters tasting with Dean having brough in around 16 different bitters from his own stash for us to try. A lot of them I had tried before, and loved, but a few were new to me such as The Bitter End's incredible Jerk Bitters. Now I'm a fan of strong tastes and bitters but even for me tasting these neat was a bit much. The look on people's faces as they tried them and then passed them on to the next person, often with a word of warning, was hilarious. But I might just invest in some as I imagine they would add a great touch to a drink which needs a bit of warmth and a kick.
Next up was Stuart's vermouth talk. I am somewhat familiar with vermouth after attending a session last year, and also using them in cocktails, but it was interesting to both learn the history and cultural differences in drinking them and taste some different varieties. It was a big surprise just as to how drinkable they were by themselves and I can see me using them for this more in the future.
Last of the day was more from Dean and the others as we got to try different variations on the Manhattan cocktail (which is made with bourbon) such as the Rob Roy (made with Scotch whisky), the Harvard (made with cognac), the Jockey Club (with something sweet added in such as amaretto or maraschino) and the Johnny Cash (maybe beer added? didn't try this one). Dean also treated us ato a taste of his cask-aged version and it was nice to see the difference.
As I was skating tonight it was tiny sips of drinks throughout the day but I learnt a lot about the different drinks and with my goodie bag containing a bottle of my now tasted and loved Monkey Shoulder I headed off to have dinner and put my roller skates on.
