Black Rock, 22nd March

Black Rock is cool. It just is. Which is not surprising given its big sister is the Worship Street Whistling Shop around the corner.

While the Whistling Shop specializes in gin, Black Rock specializes in whiskey. In a big way. If you don’t like whiskey, you really shouldn’t bother coming to this bar – every cocktail has whiskey in it, be it highball or short and strong, and the only other option is four beers. Because that’s not the point.

Running along the middle of this sleek but bijou bar is a table made out of a 166 year old oak tree, in which whiskey sits aging. There are two kinds – Table and Cherry and a dram of either will cost you £6. Then there are six cabinets stuffed with whiskeys from all over and separated according to flavour profile – sweet, fragranced, spiced etc. We only had two drinks and stuck to the cocktails so I didn’t get a chance to dip into these cabinets of wonder. Next time.

The cocktails were pretty perfect – my preference were for the first two we had as I’m just not a Highball kinda gal – too much liquid, not enough boozy flavour, but we tried them anyway for variety. I had the 40 Shades (no idea why it had that naughty reference) with apple and fennel pollen. It was slightly carbonated and I have to say the apple was very light and not too fruit-juicy. The fennel got a bit intense towards the end but was otherwise a refreshing drink.

The Campfire was a take on an old-fashioned but with extra oomf from the two whiskies and a deeply satisfying sweetness from the marshmallow gomme. The White Dog Martinez was a much lighter drink paring whiskey with cocchi instead of another whiskey but still pokey enough and with vanilla rounding off the flavour this time. Quaffable.

Service was excellent – everything was well explained to us and water kept topped up without being intrusive. A lovely joint.

Sprited Sermons, 24th November

You get a lot of bang for your buck at these Spirited Sermons – and I mean that both in terms of drink but also activity and education. Every fortnight they pick a spirit and a specialty brand and for £25 you can learn about the origins of that brand, have a chance to make (and then drink) a cocktail using that brand, and also get a tasting session if that spirit.

The one I went to was a Japanese whiskey sermon looking at the Nikka brand. We were given the backstory of the founder and, after already having had two of the three cocktails included in the price, we had tasters of the four types of whiskey they make, starting with grain and moving to the pure malts. Apparently Masataka Taketsuru was determined to make real whiskey, not a Japanese bastardisation of it (basically coloured sake) and had travelled all the way to Scotland, almost 100 years ago, to learn how to do it right. His creativity was stifled somewhat when he went back and tried to put his knowledge to work at Settsu Shuzo. So eventually he left to found his own distillery.  All of the whiskeys (apart from the grain) we drank were blended – originally looked down on by whiskey aficionados, it is now being appreciated for the complexity it can offer. We sipped, and allowed the first taste to singe our tongues while they accustomed to the strong liquor. The second sip was smooth as you like and each whiskey tasted more delicious than the last. Portions were very generous.

By the time it came to making a cocktail, I had drunk ALL the whiskey (through the ingenious move of taking along a friend who didn’t really like it) so even though I’ve had a few cocktail making sessions in the past I chose to make an easy one that didn’t involve anything but stirring. That was a little sweet for my liking, having green tea as an ingredient but still drinkable. My friend and I still had one more cocktail on the list to make up our full complement so we retired to our table cluttered with about five different cocktails to finish them off at a leisurely pace.

I love whiskey so this was a nigh-on perfect evening for me. I would highly recommend looking out for a night where they focus on your particular poison, though it would also be a good excuse to discover something new. Even my non-whiskey loving friend appreciated some of what she drank!

Central & Co whiskey tasting and Churchill's Port House, 2nd April

Whiskey

I was invited down to one of my favourite bars in London - Central & Co to take part in a whiskey cocktail masterclass hosted by Monkey Shoulder. I must admit, I had already made the acquaintance of Monkey Shoulder when I went to one of their amazing For One Night Only events way back in 2012 I think. So I knew I liked their whisky and that as a brand they're a lot of fun. The night I'd been to was called 'Popcorn Flip' and they basically filled a room with popcorn while plying you with cocktails. That's my kinda night!

This event was a little more sophisticated, although we all managed to have a laugh as well. First we had a snifter of the whisky in its pure, neat form. It describes itself as 'rich and smooth' and the only tasting note our impeccable host, Grant, gave us was that it has vanilla elements. My friend Alison and I had only moments before been discussing where the sweetness of it came from. Apart from that, Grant said that palates are so individual it is pointless trying to point out any other flavours as you might not get the same taste sensations.

Grant walked us through the history of Monkey Shoulder, the ethos of the company and its origins, as well as the thinking behind the label design. 

And then came the cocktail making. To celebrate spring sort of arriving, the first we were shown how to make was a refreshing, mint and apple long drink. Apple and whiskey are a perfect pairing and the mint really gave it a clean, light taste.

Next, we had to do an Old Fashioned, a drink I often have when I'm out but not one I've ever made at home. I love them as they're basically just whiskey but sweetened to make it go down easier. We learned why an Old Fashioned is so-called (because it existed before a new wave of cocktails were invented, basically) and I also discovered that bitters are actually alcoholic! I had always assumed they were flavouring only.

Finally, at the end of the night, a little healthy competiton was introduced. We all had to make a Bobby Burns (no relation to Robbie Burns, despite the use of scotch) and we were judged on it. The prize - a bottle of Monkey Shoulder! So a lot was at stake.

Unfortunately, I scuppered my chances by confusing two of the ingredients and at first not putting in enough sweet vermouth, and then overcompensating by putting in too much. It was incredibly sweet. I added more whiskey to compensate and it did improve but I knew I hadn't got the balance right. I did not win.

I really enjoyed the night - they run these sessions fortnightly with different whiskeys so do go on down and discover a new drink, or more about one you already love! Contact Central & Co for details. 

Churchill's Port House

After finishing these we were a bit squiffy and decided to head off for food. We stumbled upon a place I'd heard about on Twitter - Churchill's Port House, who offers up small sharing plates alongside an extensive port menu. They also have a nice red and a nice white wine as well.

We started with some deliciously dense and dark rye bread and butter and then shared the salmon tartare and pork belly with watermelon, and a cheese plate, after the two dishes we'd been contemplating - the chilli and garlic prawns and the Iberico pork burger were sold out!

The salmon was fantastic - plenty of tart gherkin and some black olive formed a base on top of very thinly sliced avocado and a bit of salt. Our only complaint was the the avocado was very underripe.

The pork belly was two strips served with wedges of watermelon. I'd had pork with watermelon before at Trinity and it was just as good here. The sweet melon and salty pork made a knock-out combination.

And the cheese - well two versions of cheeses similar to manchego (a favourite of mine) plus a crumbly blue cheese. Excellent partners to the lovely, deep red wine we were by now drinking, having started off with a white port for me, and a white wine for Alison.

We chatted to the guys that run the place, and they told us all about where the port comes from and what got them started in the place, and then we went downstairs to finish our drink, where we were given a nightcap of red port. It was all lovely, but I paid for it the next day!