A few weeks ago I wrote
on the topic of my love of gin, and about the enormous and very cool
history of this wonderful spirit. Little did I know that one of the
distilleries I recommended would have had a similar idea. Only, they
had it a bit earlier than I did. And they acted on it. Basically they
just did it better. Mostly because they persuaded a rather grand
hotel to dedicate an event to the history of gin through the ages.
Clearly demonstrating rather poor research and organisational skills
there, James. Anyway. Sipsmith gin, riding a wave of their own
popularity and the resurgence of cocktail drinking have brokered a
deal with the Langham Hotel to host a little night called the
Sipsmith Gin Palace.
Running over six weeks
this event is being hosted by the Langham, one of the first Grand
Hotels and one frequented by little known names such as Mark Twain,
Oscar Wilde and Arthur Conan Doyle. It is being held in the
ludicrously opulent and almost ridiculously Art Deco styled Palm
Court and the whole event could have been lifted from a Poirot
episode. The already somewhat rarefied atmosphere further augmented
by the presence of a live, and rather good, jazz band who managed to
deftly keep their musical accompaniment audibly present but not
intrusive. This earns them a solid ten points from this Whisky Dog.
But, sport, we weren't
really there for the location – even if it wouldn't have looked out
of place at one of Mr Gatsby's parties. The cocktail menu is one of
gin through the ages; from the Dutch-influenced Gineveristic of 1689
through to the molecular cocktail of the present day: http://london.langhamhotels.co.uk/pdf/SipsmithGinPalaceMenu.pdf The menu itself
forms a time line, with dates attached to each cocktail. Seeing this,
and reading through the essay on the development of gin printed upon
the reverse, we promptly ordered the most contemporary offerings. Not
quite sure that was how it's supposed to work.
My compatriot started
with 2012's Spontaneity – a complex mix of gin and falernum with
copious lime to cut through the sweetness and a strongly flavoured
oil (which, of course, had to be added at the table, out of a bottle
on a silver salver, using a pipette). I chose the slightly less up to
date Transition, from 1882, a sweet and citrusy mix of gin, byyrh,
mandarin bitters and maraschino. This proved to be a brightly
coloured cocktail which is, slightly incongruously, served in a
bottle. With a straw. Perfectly pleasant, but it did seem a little
out of tone with the rest of the evening.
Spontaneity:
Round two then, and the
other end of the timeline. I chose a Secret Method, from 1770, a
potent combination of gin, vodka, lemon, lime and sugar served long.
And it is fantastic. Crisp, refreshing, and dangerously easy to
drink. One could drink these all day. Well. No. One couldn't. There
is a worrying amount of alcohol concealed in each of these glasses. I
would like to think that this, or something very like it, was the
preservative of choice for naval officers in the Caribbean. In fact,
this is probably what Admiral Duckworth was sipping as he drove the
French out of the West Indies. This was accompanied by a cocktail
called Escapades, from 1731. I say cocktail; this seemed rather
closer to a dessert and was served with a piece of gingerbread on
top. Apparently gin was once a sweet drink, sold in gin and
gingerbread shops for medical purposes. Certainly puts that 'spoonful
of sugar...' thing in a different light.
Finally we had Pink
Gin. I'd always had an image that pink gin would be, well, pink. As
such this cocktail proved to be very different to my long-standing,
fallacious, assumption. It is, in fact, a shot comprised of gin and
Angostura Bitters. Two shots, actually. One silver and one gold.
There are lots of ways I could describe this. I could call it potent,
or powerful, or heady. These are all good descriptions. What it was,
though, is lethal. Lethal, yet delicious.
Pink Gin:
And with that we
departed the Langham with depleted bank accounts and satisfied
palates to face the wilds of Regent Street. The Gin Palace is running
until the end of October and is absolutely worth attending. It's on
Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. Book a table. Right now. Here's the
contact information:
http://www.toptable.co.uk/palm-court-reservations-london?restref=31369
. Hurry.
James
