In my last blog update I talked about the ‘drinking experience’ and how, when all the right elements come together, sipping a cocktail at the bar can be more than simply ‘having a drink’. That led me to think about drinking at home and the small details that can make that experience richer too. For me there is a great joy to be found in making myself, or my friends and family a cocktail, which is enhanced by using the right tools and the right glassware.
I’ve been lucky recently to have had some nights that were better than average. You know the sort of evening where everything comes together just right. A good bar, with a talented bartender making drinks, great company and good tunes, the sort of evening where you have a ‘drinking experience’. It got me thinking about the little things that elevate the experience of sipping a cocktail.
I’ve always been startled by people who say that cocktails are too expensive but who don’t mind paying over the odds for a bottle of beer or a glass of wine. I admit that it galls me to pay £7.50 for an overly sweetened daiquiri made using the cheapest ingredients by someone who would rather be anywhere other than behind the bar. But when you go to a good bar and your drinks are made by a bartender who does their job because they love it (well they don’t do it for the money that’s for sure!) and you sip a perfectly balanced drink, well that’s worth paying for!
Looking at my drinks cabinet I have just realised that there are certain bottles that get used a lot more than others. Havana Club 7 year old Rum, Geranium Gin, Siete Leguas Tequila, Sagatiba Velha Cachaca, Wild Turkey 101, these bottles seem to need replenishing rather often. But why is it that I have formed a bond with these brands? It’s not as though I don’t have other great rums or tequilas to choose from, but I seem to often find myself drawn to my old favourites.A few weeks back we blogged about the new spiced rum from our friends at Elements 8 and put a bottle of this delicious nectar up for grabs. All that we asked was for you to name our cocktail at the end of the blog… simple stuff!
It’s been a hectic couple of weeks for me, with distillery visits, new products being sent to me, catching up with master distillers and the first Imbibe bar show, not to mention a food and cocktail pairing hosted by Courvoisier and Bompass & Parr. I guess I can’t complain when every day there seems to be something new to try or someone new to meet.
There’s been a lot of talk about spiced rums over the past few months, what with Sailor Jerry making the strange decision to change their recipe and rumours of various other premium rum brands working on new spiced variants. It’s not a category that I’ve ever given a lot of thought to but suddenly it’s getting a lot of attention.
There are times when I wonder what on earth made me think that it would be a good idea to start the bitters&twisted blog. I guess I kind of assumed that writing a blog would be pretty easy… you know, bash out a few hundred words every now and then and snap a couple of pictures, click post and you’re done!You’ve probably noticed by now that we have recently blogged about Bar10 and The London Cocktail Summit. Well day one of the two-day event is over and I’ve definitely got a few thoughts about it.
Bar10 have taken the decision to charge a fee to the London bar show this year, but we have secured 10 tickets to give away to b&t newsletter subscribers. Each ticket is worth £85 and gets you entry to the show on June 14th and 15th and access to the London Cocktail Summit. To enter sign up to our newsletter by clicking here. For full story check out the blog titled ‘There’s no business like show business’…