August’s festival may be behind us, but we can’t stop thinking about the drinks.
To separate the merely delicious from the truly extraordinary, we assembled a heavy-hitting panel of hospitality royalty: Marcello Cauda (Head of Bars, The Berkeley & The Emory), Federico Manganaro (Bar Manager, Guards Bar and Lounge at Raffles London), Benedetta Paris (Bar Manager, Happiness Forgets), Ruchira Neotia (Top 100 Most Influential in Drinks UK), Minas Kotoulas (Group Head of Bars, The Wolseley Group), and Jean Vital (Head of Drink Development, The Ivy Collection).
Their mission? Put every serve through its paces, scoring strictly on flavour and balance, creativity, and bartending style.
From an incredible lineup, the following five bars squeezed into the top 5.
- Laki Kane
- Hidden Society
- The Bartender’s Edit
- GONG
- Bar Kinky & Scales Cocktail Bar
Ready to dive into the winning pours?
Winning Cocktail: Old Nutter, created by Laki Kane: Crossfire Hurricane Reserve Rum, Lillet Blanc, Laphroaig, amaro, Re’al Mango, Re’al Agave, peanut butter
Hidden Society. Tucked behind the main stage and along a gravel path, guests were rewarded for finding the Secret Bar with The Hunter in the Snow: Four Roses Small Batch Bourbon, apple cordial, calvados, and fernet.
The Bartender’s Edit popped up at number 3. A rotating lineup of London’s best bars, as voted on by bartenders. Each day witnessed a unique collaboration between a West End and East End Venue including; Viajante87, Archive & Myth, Waltz, Happiness Forgets and Equal Parts. The drinks offering included The Tropical Paloma by Viajante: Ocho Blanco Tequila, Three Cents Pineapple Soda, jalapeno, passionfruit, pineapple and the Fig & Beeswax by Waltz: Beeswax washed Whistlepig 6yr Rye Whiskey, homemade fig eaux de vie, lemon, wildflower honey
The team from GONG came down from their 52nd floor in the Shard in partnership with luxury tequila brand Enemigo with their Kyoto Margarita: Enemigo 55 Blanco, osmanthus and yuzu kosho, agave, lime.
Finishing off a top-quality line-up of cocktails and drinks was the partnership between Scales Cocktail Bar and Bar Kinky, working together with Renais and featuring a secret back bar. The two drinks that caught the judges taste buds were the: Supreme (Bar Kinky): Renais Gin, Matcha & Osmanthus Soda; and Raspberry & Lychee (Scales): Renais Gin, Lychee, Yuzushu, Raspberry, Coconut Milk
