Tanqueray Tones at The Lucky Pig, 5th June

Last week I had the pleasure of attending Tanqueray Tones, a night of gin, glamour and jazz at the Lucky Pig in Fitzrovia. As we entered this little, shabby-chic drinking den, we were warmly welcomed by ‘Earnest Anyway’ a dapper and excitable young gent from Victorian times who was soon joined by his lady friend Goldie, or Lulu depending on her mood, who was draped in 20s fashions and could be seen dancing the Charleston periodically through the night as she mingled with her guests.

On the right a temporary hair salon, barbers and shoe shine were set up to make sure all the guests looked as spiffing as possible, and on the left the band were ensconced, doing a couple of sets of ragtime and real 20s music, not modern stuff reinvented. And, for some unexplained reason, there was also a judge running around telling everyone what they were doing was illegal (gin was banned and that was never, actually, overturned) and photobombing people’s pictures.

Ah yes, the gin – for that is what we were there for. World Gin Day is the 14^th and this was a bit of a precursor to the event, and something to get us all to turn to Tanqueray for when the real celebrations start. We had four cocktails to choose from, plus a gin and tonic (served in the most amazingly huge glasses), each created by a top bartender. The only one I didn’t try was the Ishikari Fizz because it had jasmine tea in it and I don’t like tea, which is a shame because I do like the Worship Street Whistling Shop and that was their creation.

Humongous gin and tonics

So yes, we tried all of the cocktails at least (see below for details) once but kept coming back to the Bee’s Knees which was aptly named because it was far and away our favourite. The gin flavor was to the fore, but had just the right hint of sweetness and lavender that wasn’t overpowering.

The Bees' Knees

Bloomsbury Bronx and Flash of lightning

Canapes were handed out throughout the event, making sure we didn’t become too sizzled. My favourite was a breaded ham topped with mustard, although the whipped goats’ cheese tart was also very good. They all were, in fact and I appreciated that some thought had obviously been put into creating something a little more interesting than your usual finger food. Duck pate was topped with rhubarb and we had spoons of a gin-infused jelly topped with ham. And they did not skimp on the gin at all. Wow.

A light and creamy mini cheesecake and/or chocolate truffle lollipop served as dessert.

And then, later in the evening a cocktail of gin, martini and something else I’ve forgotten was passed around so that we could toast our hosts for the evening while the gentleman below gave thanks on our behalf to Tanqueray and reminded us of some of the reasons we were there.

It seemed to me everyone was having a whale of a time, myself included. One of the most enjoyable events I've been to. The characters were great, the cocktails and canapes were delicious, the setting was perfect and the vibes were fantastic. Thanks Tanqueray!

The cocktails

Ishikari Fizz – A Modern Molecular Mix

The Japanese river Ishikari's name means 'to go around itself' and has inspired the emulsification of this drink, which uses egg to hold all the components together. Formulated by award-winning mixologist Tristan Stephenson who is leading the drinks scene with his unique lab-based creations, this cocktail represents a modern cocktail concoction and features oriental ingredients such as yuzu juice and hints of jasmine. 

For this truly complex and intricate cocktail serve visit The Worship Street Whistling Shop.

Bloomsbury Bronx – Reminiscent of Lavish 1930s Cocktail Parties

Devised by Tanqueray GB Ambassador Tim Homewood this cocktail signifies the new era of citrus-based cocktails that rapidly took over the drinks scene in the 1930s. The poignant flavours of the Bloomsbury Bronx match the spirit of the post-prohibition years and the ever-growing passion for gin. 

Lavish cocktail parties were all the rage at the time so why not enjoy this cocktail in the comfort of your own home by following this simple recipe, below.

50ml Tanqueray London Dry Gin

10ml Maraschino

15ml Antica Formula

25ml Orange Juice

2 dash Peychaud’s Bitters

Method:

Add all ingredients to a shaker with cubed ice, shake and double strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a cherry on a cocktail stick.

Units: 2.2

Bee’s Knees – Inspired by the Roaring 1920s

Created by Head Bartender at The Lucky Pig, Dren Lala, the Bee’s Knees matches the flavours enjoyed in the speakeasies of the time. Make your taste buds tingle with an infusion of Tanqueray London Dry Gin accompanied by lemon, honey and a lavender at decadent drinking den, The Lucky Pig.

Flash of Lightening – Inspired by the Birth of 1800s Gin Palaces

Tanqueray Global Ambassador Barrie Wilson has devised a bespoke apricot, mint and lemon cocktail for World Gin Day inspired by the emergence of Gin Palaces in the early 1800s. These alluring drinking dens offered ground-breaking serves, such as gin infused with peppermint or sugary cordials.During the reign of Gin Palaces, the slang term ‘lightning’ described a ‘dram’ of gin. 
Try this modern take on a 'flash of lightning' at the Gin Monkey World Gin Day Jazz Party.

Crazy Bear and The Lucky Pig, 24th September

I've been lucky enough to be one of the seemingly legion of people who are taking part in the Chambord Cocktail Challenge. The arduous task is to visit eight different cocktail bars in the Fitzrovia area, have two free cocktails and then rate each venue on their cocktail-making abilities. Every bar is supposed to serve you a Chambord Glamour and then another one that they have invented using Chambord. Each bar signs your 'passport' to prove you've been there. It's been a great excuse to discover some new bars, and happily, two of the bars taking part were already on my List so I got to try them out without taking too much of a hit on my wallet.

We actually started out at Oskar's bar below Dabbous, which was a very comfortable, stylish place, and given the hype of the restaurant, we expected the cocktails to be sky-high in price. Not so - at about £10 they were less than you'd spend in a place like Worship Street Whistling Shop. Our cocktails were beautiful and the bartender was friendly (in all three places we sat in the best seats of the house - the bar). I can't wait to go back and we only ventured on as I wanted to get through a couple more places in my 'passport'.

DIY cocktail

Finished result

Then we moved on to Crazy Bear.

Crazy Bear

On the one hand you can hardly miss it, with its wall of lights signifying its existence, on the other hand if you're looking for a sign to tell you you're in the right place, you'll be looking for a while. Instead a paw mark denotes your location and it was only as we crossed the threshold that I saw the name on the floor as you go in. The cocktail lounge is downstairs, with the restaurant upstairs and it is a hugely glamorous, seductive room with lots of plus booths that were occupied with snogging couples. Music is up-tempo house so it felt like the weekend even though it was only a Tuesday night. This is definitely the sort of place to take a date if you want to impress - and with a similarly impressive price tag on the drinks. Cocktails are the order of the day here and prices start at £12.95 for your normal martinis and other classics and range all the way up to £18.95 for 'luxury' cocktails. Luckily, as we were there for the Chambord challenge we didn't have to fork out these prices, although with such interesting creations I was sorely tempted. If it hadn't been the night before payday when I was pretty brassic, I probably would have gone for one (a cheap one). Instead we enjoyed our freebies, which were possibly the favourites of the night, and managed to look like total freeloaders by ordering some pistachios that turned out to be complimentary. At least, I hope they were as we didn't pay for those either! If I had some cash to splash I would definitely return here - my marmalade concoction was the standout drink for the evening and I bet some of their other creations are just as good, if not better.

One last thing to mention is probably the toilets. This must be the reason behind the use of 'Crazy' in the title. Firstly you have to find them, which is no mean feat, as the doors merge seamlessly into the walls (one of the bartenders kindly showed me the way) and then you walk into a Hall of Mirrors. It is advisable to feel your way along otherwise you might just walk into the wall as I nearly did! All the mirrors make it seem there is a space where there is none. The sinks are rather flash with an automatic waterfall to wash your hands in. So very, very glam!

The Lucky Pig

From one extreme to another (yet still with an animal theme I'm just realising) - whereas Crazy Bear was all about dressy excess and exotic drinks, The Lucky Pig is a casual establishment more focused on having a good time. It serves classic cocktails and they're all a much more manageable £9.50. But, again, we were here for the Challenge so at first we didn't look at the regular menu. Instead, upon proffering my Chambord passport, I was shown a specially created Chambord menu with four to choose from. Contrary to the rules we didn't have the Chambord Glamour 'control cocktail' as one of the cocktails - instead I had a julep and Stephen had an Isadora Belle - a fruity number with bubbles.

Both were very nice to drink and persuaded us to have another from their regular menu. We decided to stick to traditional gender roles for this - Stephen had a masculine old fashioned and I had a feminine cocktail that blended wine with mango vodka and elderflower. It was a cool and refreshing drink but still a little spiky from the vodka. Stephen's old fashioned was a very good one, not being too overpoweringly straight alcohol but still plenty strong.

We then chatted to the bartender quite a bit who was telling us about what goes on each day of the week and the ethos of the bar being about somewhere you can have a dance on the weekends while still enjoying a good drink. The bar decor itself reflected this - it was definitely channelling the distressed glamour look that Shoreditch and Dalston do so well. It reminded us of Ruby's although in this case, the look was undoubtedly manufactured. The music, even on a Tuesday was fairly crowd-pleasing - some Alt J, a little James Brown, Ray LaMontagne. I can imagine them playing more of the same, but more upbeat on the weekends.

Finally we stopped off for a 'regular drink' (read: beer and wine) at The Albany which we discovered when we went there for Scared to Dance. 

Fitzrovia has impressed me in general with all of its cocktail places (I am counting Shochu among them) and there is a bounty of nice places to eat. I feel a Fitzrovia night out coming on...