The Stoker

FROM POCKETSQUARE’S THIRD MENU – INSPIRED BY STORYTELLING AND FICTIONAL CHARACTERS.

PocketSquare Skyline Bar & Terrace is an exclusive rooftop venue in Whitechapel, East London, a destination bar for lovers of art and creative cocktails.

Since launching in the summer of 2021, the bar has gained a reputation for expert cocktails through three creative art and culture-inspired menus from Bar Manager Kristian Smith and his team. The bar team are passionate about art and creativity, and this has been an inspiration for each of the cocktail menus. Created in the bar’s cocktail laboratory, each of the cocktails in the PocketSquare Collection has a unique story.

Along with its East London neighbourhood, art is integral to the bar’s design and identity. Art from local East London artist Jay Kaes adorns the walls and the bar has hosted work from top London

“The idea behind this menu is all based on how imagination can bring a character to life by focusing on specific ingredients and achieving a certain look, taste or sensation that will remind you of the inspiration behind the drink of choice. For example, with Spellbound, we have created a “witch’s brew” using ingredients such as witch hazel, dragons’ blood, catnip, edible glitter and other products that simulate an electric sensation - just like a witch’s potion” - Kristian Smith photographers as part of its Curated at Hyatt Place initiative to help support upand-coming artists in London.

About The Mixologist

Kristian Smith is the Bar Manager at PocketSquare and, working with his closeknit team, he is the creative force behind the menu. Kristian takes an imaginative, storytelling approach in creating cocktails; developing the story behind the drink and then using his expertise and scientific background to bring the story to life.

Before joining PocketSquare, Kristian worked as a mixologist at other top London hotel bars and restaurants from being a Gin Expert at Holborn Dining Room, to Hotel Mixologist at the renowned Strand Palace hotel, and most recently as Head

Bartender at Savage Garden where he further developed his technique. Prior to entering the cocktail world, Kristian studied for a Human Science degree and brings this scientific background to his mixology alongside his creativity to achieve complex serves in the bar’s own cocktail laboratory.

This storytelling menu is Kristian’s third menu for PocketSquare, having led the team since the bar opened in 2021.

About The Menu

Art in its many forms has always been an influence for Bar Manager Kristian Smith and his team. With their recently launched third menu, the team have turned to the art of storytelling and fictional characters to inspire their fun yet expert cocktails. Each cocktail on the new list has been inspired by well-known characters in fiction, from dragons and ogres to explorers and buccaneers. The skilled bar team have created a list of theatrical serves that capture the energy of the stories and characters that inspired them.

Drinks on the menu include Curiouser; inspired by the unforgettable Cheshire Cat in Alice in Wonderland which features Hendricks Gin, Candyfloss grape liquor and a touch of CBD. Spellbound pays homage to the wicked witches of fiction with a magical mix of Maker’s mark, Electric Liquor, Witches brew herbal spiced tea and Electric Bitters.

About The Cocktail

This February, PocketSquare are planning an alternative Valentine’s gothic masquerade that pays homage to the gothic influences behind the Stoker cocktail.

Inspired by the works of Bram Stoker, Stoker is a bittersweet mix of Campari, blood orange and pumpkin spice. The striking blood-red cocktail is served with grenadine in a ‘blood syringe’, so guests can adjust the sweetness to their taste. Like all the cocktails on the PocketSquare menu, Stoker has a suggested food pairing which has been created to complement the dish, as an extension of the story behind the cocktail: a smoked meatball slider with caramelised onions and Bloody Mary ketchup compliments the bittersweet flavours of the Stoker.

Stoker

Ingredients And Method

• Campari 40ml

• Homemade pumpkin spice (1 bar spoon); to make, we carve pumpkins into slices, roast them with spice (cinnamon, nutmeg, turmeric, ginger) and then blend it into a paste

• Grand Marnier 10ml (it’s a citrus style of liquor, so helps slightly to balance the cocktail and to add some sweetness and body)

• Edible blood 10ml – we use this as a sweetening agent, we place it in a syringe so the guests can decide how sweet they would like the drink (we use a homemade grenadine, but can be changed to an individual’s preference)

• All the ingredients (except the edible blood) are shaken and served over ice cubes, with the syringe placed on top of the glass.

“The Stoker cocktail is quite imaginative for me; it’s a type of cocktail that gives you the ability to choose the flavour profile you like: Campari creates bitterness, the pumpkin spice adds texture and spice, and the edible blood we make allows you to mellow the spice and bitterness by adding a fruity sweetness to it,” said Kristian.

@pocketsquarelondon