Who knows a city’s bar scene best? Who gives the most objective, genuine recommendations? In short, who do you ask when you’re in a new city and looking for a great place to drink?
You ask its bartenders, the people who work behind the bar day in, day out. So we did.
This is an introduction to The Bartender’s Edit “A collection of London’s best bars as recommended by bartenders”.
Created by Sam Gilani aka @thelondonboozehound this insiders guide to the best bars has spread from London to Edinburgh to Singapore and we are delighted to be working closely with this great initiative.
For the first time a collection of London’s Bartender’s Edit nominated venues will be popping up together at Cocktails in the City this August.
Each evening at Cocktails in the City a unique pairing of bars will be working shoulder-to-shoulder and showcasing their favourite signature cocktails to guests of the event.
The Line Up
- Thursday Evening: Crossroads & Seed Library
- Friday Evening: Equal Parts, Kwant
- Saturday Afternoon: Silverleaf
- Saturday Evening: SOMA & Happiness Forgets.
Each venue was asked to choose one or two of their favourite signature serves to showcase to our guests. Each drink has limited availability of 50 serves and when they’re gone their gone so don’t delay.
ABOUT THE BARS
CROSSROADS & WHISTLEPIG 10YR OLD RYE WHISKY
Hot off the press this month, Crossroads bar owner Bart Miedeksza and Valentino Girotto are releasing their book Bubbles: A Guide to Carbonated Cocktails, a deep dive into the exploration of carbonation. Following years of research Crossroads will be bringing their perfectly carbonated concoctions to Cocktails in the City with WhistlePig 10yr Old Rye Whisky. A bartenders favourite since opening they recently enlarged their premises moving from Camden to Newington Green, Crossroads is a place where people from various paths of life meet.
Seed Library is part of the internationally acclaimed My Lyan group, known for pushing the limits of creativity and processes to extract maximum flavours from whatever ingredients they are interested at the time. Self-described as a stripped back analogue style of venue that embraces natural variance and a maker’s touch.
We will be drinking the STRAWB DAIQ WINE, Eminente rum with a mad ferment of Miami beach goodness – ask the bartender for more details!
Part of the Sager and Wilde Group which are unique in being leaders in their field within wines, cocktails and even source and import esoteric spirits from around the world.
Industry magazine CLASS reviews this bar as a 9/10 with great drinks at a fair price without any pretension or nonsense. It’s easy to see why this bar made The Bartender’s Edit. General manager Bryn explains about the new menu:
“Our recent menu explores the diverse treatments and applications of grapes across the globe, encompassing their production, styles, and variety. This includes everything from wine and port to vinegar and verjus. Our aim was to curate a selection of light and delicate profiles suitable for sunny daytimes, complemented by more robust flavours and textures for the evening. Imagine dry white wine during the day and rich port in the late evening.”
In the Martini Bay, Haku Japanese Vodka is mixed with Olive Oil, using the grape base in vermouth and sherry to create a Dry Martini in form with a full-bodied mouthfeel and gentle green vegetal notes.
KWANT & BLACK TOT RUM
Kwant is operated by Erik Lorinczk, generally recognised as one of the world’s best bartenders and previously The Head Bartender of the The American Bar at The Savoy Head Bartender when they won world’s best bar. Expect impeccable service and the best seat in the house is adjacent to the bartenders as they work, similar in this respect to SOMA.
We recommend the BLACK TOT: Black Tot rum, Tonka bean, spent coffee, Muyu Chinotto Nero, Khoosh Bitters
SILVERLEAF & THE HOUSE OF SUNTORY
Located adjacent to the Pan Pacific Hotel in Liverpool Street, Silverleaf is a stunning looking venue with some of the best drinks in the business served to the distinctive sounds of hip hop and has an independent edge and feel despite the luxurious surroundings.
We recommend checking out their new “Under the Lens Menu”. Through a creative collaboration with Karl Gaff, the ingredients are captured through microscopic photography to vividly show the DNA and kaleidoscopic patterns within each drink.
Raspberry I Vetiver: Toki Japanese Whisky, Ruby Cacao, Raspberry, Vetiver
SOMA & DOGHOUSE DISTILLERY
SOMA feels like a truly wonderful secret discovered when you descend into the intimate basement bar that brings guests together around a showpiece bartenders table. This style of venue is becoming more popular and brings the bartender and guests together in a more collaborative way than the traditional bar that separates bartender and guest.
Enjoy the TUMERIC: Baller Vodka, Sesame Oil, Axia Aegean Spirit, Turmeric & Lemon Soda. Baller Vodka is made by local London distillery Doghouse Distillers
HAPPINESS FORGETS & BEEFEATER GIN
People remember people and the long serving bars manager at Happiness Forgets is hospitality incarnate. Benedetta is always there to welcome you with a smile and the atmosphere in the bar is like being welcomed into someone’s home. Happiness has been a bartender’s staple since opening in 2010. Bars owner Alastair Burgess shared his ethos of the bar with industry title Diffords Guide “no gimmicks, no frills, just a place for anyone to hang out and get great drinks, served by great people in a comfortable space,”
We recommend the Tokyo Collins, made with Beefeater Gin, yuzu, grapefruit and soda this drink has been chosen for the summer garden party vibes you will find at Cocktails in the City.
