HOUSE
TO N I C
SOHO HOUSE’S DRINK MAGA ZINE Boozy news Tales of the Cocktail Master Glass Cocktail Competitions How to match food & beer A Perfect Cup of Tea Toronto Film Festival Issue-1-3
PHOTOGRAPHY: ARTHUR WOODCROFT
Contents -4Aperitifs Booze news
-6Aperitifs Our First Bacardi Competition
-8At The Bar Friendly bartender Thomas Kerr at The Electric
-10At The Bar Master Glass – a new way to recruit bartenders
-11At The Bar Rising Stars
-12At The Bar Tales of The Cocktail – all the fun from New Orleans
-16At The Bar Bar Culture – what inspires our bartenders?
-24Digestifs Do you know how to make a perfect cup of tea?
-26Digestifs Toronto Film Festival
-28Digestifs How to match beer and food
-30Digestifs Away From The Bar Johnny Rosete-Kamel on moving from Soho to Berlin
Editor’s Letter Welcome to the third issue of House Tonic – a magazine for bartenders and people who love bars. We’re passionate about the drinks we serve in all our venues, from the Soho Houses in New York, London, Berlin, West Hollywood and Miami, to Shoreditch House, Pizza East, Cafe Boheme, BKB, The Electric, High Road House, Pizza East Portobello, Hoxton Grill and Dean Street Townhouse in London, as well as at Babington House in Somerset and Cecconi’s restaurants in LA, London and Miami. Whether it’s the perfect cup of tea, a cocktail party for a thousand guests, or an iced glass of water on a scorchingly hot day, we take it all seriously. And when we’re not working, we don’t mind the odd drink ourselves, either. In this issue we’re taking a look at what inspires Soho House Group's bartenders when creating their drinks lists and find out that it can be anything from gangsters and graffiti in East London, to Central European spirits and locally grown fruits and herbs. We grab a Grey Goose Le Fizz with Madonna at the Toronto Film Festival, learn to make a lovely brew with our tea suppliers, try a lot of Pina Coladas at our inaugural group cocktail competition and salute some of the unsung heroes behind our bars – the Soho House Group's rising stars. All that, plus loads more! Cheers! sohohouse.com/housetonic housetonic@sohohouse.com twitter.com/HouseTonic Editor: Rebecca Seal
Design and Art Direction: Plus Agency
Sub Editor: Caroline Boucher
Thanks to: Dan Flower, Kat Hartigan, Chris Ojeda, Dylan Murray, Jessica Hopkins, Oli Juste, Chris
Hudnall, Joseph Grznar, Tom Kerr, Michael Frohnwieser, Nathan Dixon-Jones, Aaron Alvarez, Richard Arnold, Damian Samuels, Paul L Mang, David Greig, Shannon Beattie, Ann Tunnerman, Oliver Hornby-Smith, Ben Carlotto, James Sandrini, Alice Heard, Lucio Menprim, Jay Newell, James Mitchell, Mashia Maxwell, Ashley Lent, Lilaj Battista, Jacki Spillane, Amanda Middlebrooks, Gareth Jones and Arthur Woodcroft
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Front Cover Photograph of Bacardi Competition Winner Matt Sloper by Dai Williams
APERITIFS
NEWS
SOHO HOUSE NEW YORK
BOOZE AND BITES
FERRAN ADRIA
All change in London Town As the seasons change so do Soho House Group's cocktail menus. Two new members of the SHG team in Soho itself (welcome gentlemen!) have re-designed their cocktail lists for autumn/winter. Jay Newell, the new bar manager at Cafe Boheme has just unveiled his classics-inspired list – you've just got to try the Camomile High Club, a tasty combo of Bombay Sapphire, camomile and Aperol. Round the corner at Dean Street Townhouse, James Sandrini, who has just taken over as bar manager, has introduced his new list as well – we strongly recommend getting your chops round a Pop 45: Grey Goose Citron vodka, with white port, lime and grapefruit. Across town at Hoxton Grill in east London you'll also find new drinks devised by James Mitchell. As is appropriate for an Americaninfluenced venue, he's come up with some great US-style drinks; go for a California Raisin with home-made raisin-infused pisco, or a Burbank Martini with Punt e Mes. CAMOMILE HIGH CLUB COCKTAIL AT CAFE BOHEME
Training up Booze and Bites Booze and Bites is a new event from the Miami team. It's all about food and alcohol pairing and they're their using members as (oh-so-cute) guinea pigs. Different events have different spirits, and the last one paired five very diverse ones (Zacapa, Nolet's gin, Jose Cuervo Reserva de la Familia tequila, Bulleit rye bourbon and Ron Zacapa X0 rum) along with tasty bites from chef Sergio’s kitchen. For more info: www.sohobeachhouse.com SOHO BEACH HOUSE MIAMI
Tonic Tuesdays Check out Soho Beach House Miami's website every Tuesday if you're interested in topical booze news and opinion. Tonic Tuesday is a new way for the House to connect with friends and followers online and will feature blog posts on all sorts of mostly informative, occasionally random bar-related stuff! Find out more here: www.sohobeachhouse.com.
NEW YORK PANTRY BAR
A lick of paint Soho House NY is in the middle of a major makeover (we've seen under the dust sheets and it's looking very good). The team is renovating the entire Sixth Floor, making it brighter and better for members. In early autumn the club will have a new design – with a brand new Pantry Bar and refurbished Main Bar, new furniture including booth and banquette seating, and our new art collection, curated by Jonny Yeo. AND, we hear there's a candy bar too...
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Ben Carlotto is a category trainer from Bacardi who works closely with Soho House Group. Recently the US teams have been lucky enough to benefit from his super-extensive knowledge – every staff member got at least five hours training from him as he whistle-stopped round the US sites. Topics covered included 'Lightening Fast and Super Slick' – how to make great drinks quickly and with style, covering bar set-up and muscle memory. He also covered history, aged and un-aged liquors, distillation, taste perception, vermouth and ran tastings of up to 20 gins, tequilas or whiskys. Amazing. House Tonic is signing up to attend his next course right now. Find out more about Ben and his incredible collection of drinking facts in the Winter issue of House Tonic.
BEN CARLOTTO
Mixing with masters It's not just Soho House staff who get trained to make lovely cocktails. The Soho House NY team, led by experts Mashia Maxwell and Josef Grznar, have been sharing their skills with members all summer long, teaching everything from the four House Tonic cocktails, to summer punches and their own favourite tipples. Next up, cocktails for autumn and a beer crawl through the East Village: for more info go to www.sohohouseny.com.
Getting Festive The Food Network's Food and Wine Festival is about to hit New York and SHNY has loads of warm-up events for drinkers and foodies alike. Expect anything from the publisher Taschen's executive editor talking about menu design history in America, to Ferran Adria talking about his new book (The Family Meal) while guests get to try a selection of Spanish wines and tapas. Head over to www.sohohouseny.com for more details.
BERGAMOT FLOWER
London Cocktail Week Keep an eye out for all sorts of fabulous cocktail happenings in London in early October as London Cocktail Week kicks off. Pop into Boheme Kitchen and Bar for their LCW special cocktail – a Twinkle. More info at: www.diffordsguide.com/londoncocktail-week
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Anyone for a cuppa? Twinings have re-launched a new and improved version of their iconic Earl Grey tea and have teamed up with mixologist Alex Kammerling to create a range of quintessentially English cocktails – check them out at High Road House, Chiswick.
APERITIFS
NEWS
Go on! Show us your shaker face!
DRINKS LIST CAESAR'S LAST CHANCE BY MATT SLOPER, SHOREDITCH HOUSE MUDDLE: 30ml 1 1/2oz BACARDI RUM 20ml 3/4oz GRAND MARNIER 20ml 3/4oz MANDARIN JUICE
Testing times as bartenders from all over the UK came together for our first Bacardi cocktail competition.
20ml 3/4oz LIME JUICE 15ml 1/2oz HONEY SYRUP 15ml 1/2oz LAPSANG SUCHONG SYRUP
Photography: Dai Williams
SERVE UP GARNISH: REDCURRANT BRANCH DRAPED OVER THE RIM OF THE GLASS, POUR ON
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hanks to Bacardi, House Tonic got to be a judge at the inaugural Soho House cocktail-making competition at the Electric in London's Notting Hill (yeah, yeah – someone's got to do it). Depending on the size of the site, each British venue sent along one or two of its best bartenders to compete. Judges included SHG food and beverage director Dylan Murray, operations director Martin Kuczmarski, Tom Kerr, bars manager at the Electric, and Victoria Wright from Bacardi. Each bartender got the chance to make a comparison drink – this time it was a Pina Colada – and then show off their skills with a signature cocktail. Standards were extremely high. Early on we had fat-washed coconut rum (mixing fat with a spirit, then repeatedly straining it until only the flavour remains) served by David Andrews from the Electric Club. He'd niftily nicked the label off an old Bacardi Pina Colada bottle, and spent three days freezing a perfectly clear block of ice to chip (only for it to go cloudy in transit, to his dismay). From Shoreditch House, Chris Martinez came along with an antique stand on which to rotate
A LITTLE HONEY THEN STICK
absinthe, while his signature drink came with a brownie – on which he'd dusted the Bacardi bat in icing sugar (nope – nobody thought he was sucking up. At all). Other ingredients used by the 16 competitors ranged from chilli to cinnamon to Babington House's home-made, homegrown fruit syrups. And really quite a lot of maraschino cherries.
WINNER: MATT SLOPER
"THERE HAD TO BE ONE WINNER – AND IT WAS MATT SLOPER FROM SHOREDITCH HOUSE" his balloon glass in order to warm his liquor; from Hoxton Grill Payam Ahmadpanah rocked a set of beautiful vintage martini glasses, and served his delicious Aperol, muscat and Bacardi blend on a tile with dark chocolate and a sugared orange peel. Alistair Walker from the Electric (soon to be at Soho House Berlin) served his Pina Colada in hollowed out miniature pineapples with flaming -6-
LAPSANG TEA LEAVES TO THE BRANCH! SIMPLE!
WINNING PINA COLADA (PAINKILLER STYLE) BY LAUREN SHAW, DEAN STREET TOWNHOUSE
However great everyone's drinks were, there had to be one winner and it was Matt Sloper from Shoreditch House (pictured, left), who made a brilliant cocktail called Caesar's Last Chance with the subtlest hint of Lapsang Souchong tea (see recipes, right). He won dinner and a night at Babington House. Runners-up were David Andrews from the Electric and Payam Ahmadpanah from Hoxton. The comparison winner was Lauren Shaw (pictured, right) from Dean Street Townhouse for her Pina Colada (a Painkiller if we're being picky, as she pointed out). Congratulations to everyone who took part! The two winning recipes are being rolled out across the Soho House drinks lists worldwide Interested in joining the team at one of Soho House Group’s bars? Then get in touch at housetonic@sohohouse.com
40ml 1 3/4oz BACARDI 20ml 3/4oz BACARDI 8YR 60ml 2oz PINEAPPLE JUICE 20ml 3/4oz ORANGE JUICE 20ml 3/4oz COCO LOPEZ SHAKE LIKE A MOTHER BITCH, AND POUR OVER CUBED ICE IN A COLLINS GLASS. MANDATORY COCKTAIL UMBRELLA GARNISH.
BACARDI COMPETITION. CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT, OPERATIONS DIRECTOR MARTIN KUCZMARSKI, VICTORIA WRIGHT FROM BACARDI, A PINA COLADA AND LAUREN SHAW
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AT THE BAR
PROFILE
TOM KERR AT ACTION
Friendly Bartender Tom Kerr, 24, Bars Manager, Electric House Interview: Jessica Hopkins; Photography: Dai Williams
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didn’t always know this was what I wanted to do with my life. I grew up thinking that I was going to play baseball in America, that’s all I wanted to do. I was a pitcher but my arm got injured so I couldn’t play anymore. I was miserable! But, as soon as I turned 18, my brother got me to work in his bar, back in Australia. I wasn’t that convinced since he only wanted me to collect glasses, but I ended up having one of the best nights of my life. All I was doing was bumping shoulders with customers and picking up glasses but I loved it – and I’ve never looked back since. To be a bartender you need to be very focused, very flexible and also very calm. The skill level you can learn, but if you don’t have the right personality then it just won’t work. I like to think of us as liquid chefs: we have an abundance of knowledge to draw on of what is going to mix well together so no cocktail is hard to make, and we can make anything we want! Although I do find naming new cocktails one of the hardest things about this job. That and trying to remember everyone’s name! You meet so many new people and there’s always going to be people you like and people you don’t like but at the end of the day you just have to keep a smile on your face and get on with it. Remembering where I am, what I’m doing and the city I’m in always perks me up.
food we’re serving and also with the types of drinks we’ve chosen for the cocktail lists, to create a very definite West London vibe within the place.
Surroundings are so important to the drinking experience, which is why we’ve just undergone a complete refurbishment at the Electric, pretty much changing the whole concept of the club. Before, everything was a bit haphazard and members were just coming here for the sake of it. But it’s a lot funkier now with much more attention to detail. The new look is modern, yet classic. We’ve taken little bits of the best from other Soho Houses and put them into the Electric. So the bar is very much like Dean Street Townhouse, with dark wood and brass, while some of the furniture is like West Hollywood with green sofas and yellow chairs. But it’s not just cosmetic: we’ve changed the style of service, the whole food menu and the quality of drinks. We wanted to match the surroundings, the furniture and the Portobello Road culture with the -8-
Everyone is here for one reason and that is to make the Electric what it is. It’s a brand new venue and there’s a lot of focus on working hard to kick out old habits and move forward with the new Electric. It’s an exciting time to be here. One of the best things is the creativity that comes with this job, and I particularly like challenging our guests. We always go by people’s tastes, asking if they prefer sweet or sour, fruity or bitter. We work within their lines but try to throw a bit of a twist in there: if they say they hate gin we’ll challenge them to try a specially made gin cocktail. Then, if they don’t like it, they don’t have to pay for it! So challenging the guest is definitely all part of the fun, and of course part of the service. A lot of people come to the bar and aren’t very comfortable, and it’s our job to change that. So when you see them with a smile on their face, sipping the drink you’ve created and they’re loving it; it’s so satisfying. I absolutely love it
"EVERYONE IS HERE FOR ONE REASON AND THAT IS TO MAKE THE ELECTRIC WHAT IT IS"
If you’d like to work and learn behind our bars email: housetonic@sohohouse.com -9-
MASTER GLASS
RISING STARS
Master Glass
Rising Stars
Master Glass is an innovative new recruitment tool that Soho House Group has developed to find the best and brightest bartenders around.
House Tonic likes to celebrate our best bar staff. Here are autumn's rising stars from across the group, as chosen by their managers.
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sually, when you're applying for a job, you have to go and do an interview, right? And, frankly, that can feel a bit weird, if you're just talking about the drinks you know how to make and how well you make them, but not actually mixing anything up. Well, not if you're applying to work at Soho House Group. Devised in-house by Gareth Jones, who recruits SHG barstaff, Master Glass is much simpler and much more sensible way to recruit. You want to make drinks? Well...come and make some drinks then! Run along the same lines as any bartending competition, Master Glass happens every couple of months, and gathers together anyone interested in working for the Group in the UK or Europe. First up, each applicant gets behind the bar and makes a specific drink (last time it was a classic Daiquiri). Bartenders make their drink their way, using the kit and booze they find in the bar, all the while having a good chat with bar and general managers who are there to taste the drinks and
Tom Kerr, bars manager at the Electric, explains why it's such a good way for him to find staff: “Its great to see the different styles of drinks shown and different personalities. Our job is to pick out the best of the best. How we score each bartender is really simple: how he or she presents themselves behind the bar, how much of their personality comes out. We also look at their movements and of course how well they can balance each drink.
MASTER GLASS SUCCESS STORY, DAVID ANDREWS
suss out their skills. The second round then involves making a classic cocktail that a manager chooses – it could be anything from a Martini to a Manhattan – and finally they get the chance to make a signature drink of their own invention. Each round is scored and the best get a job.
"We look for people who we think would be great for the Soho House Group globally. Some might be at a different level of skill to others, but we can look to the future – for example can we train this person more in some sections? Does this person just need tweaking or are they perfect? Judging is great, it's nice seeing the competitive side and I reckon it really brings out the best in bartenders and in what they love to do”
Email housetonic@sohohouse.com to sign up for Master Glass!
Chris Hudnall at Soho Beach House Miami says: “Jack Colombo is one of my rising stars. He started with me just a little after the opening and has a real ambition to learn about handcrafted cocktails and how to mix interesting ingredients. He loves mixing with peppers and spicy ingredients and is really learning how to shake a large spectrum of different flavours. He's been a Miami Beach bartender for 10 years now, working at all the hotspots, but just recently started showing an interest in mixology. Jack also just recently started a junior sommelier class to get his wine sommelier certification.”
Stefanie Mason at Soho House Berlin says: “Luigi Asso has been working for us in the capacity of bar manager and he has been an absolute star, we would not have been able to cope without him. He's inspiring
Josh Judge-Talbot at Pizza East says: “We have an Italian bartender called Salvatore Motza. He started with us just over a year ago as a bar back and through his hard work and diligence has worked up to being one of our most trusted and versatile bartenders working across the deli, dining bar and Concrete. Despite all of this he is extremely modest and never shies away from getting stuck into the dirty work.”
Nathan Dixon-Jones at Shoreditch House says: – makes the best Old Fashioneds and Negronis – and charismatic, has great knowledge, is charming with guests and is already loved by our members. Overall a big thank you to him for coming over for three months to help us – in the first two weeks he made more of a change behind the bar than over the previous year and we survived fashion week!”
“I have a senior bartender who is extremely passionate and motivated – Matt Sloper. He has hosted members events alongside the UK Grey Goose ambassador and has been part of the team in Cannes and Chiswick. He has the right can-do attitude and a real passion and flair behind the bar”
David Andrews: Success Story
Want to work in a Soho House Group bar?
David Andrews was recruited via Master Glass and joined the bar team at the Electric less than three months ago. He has already been seconded out to the Soho House New York team to help with their re-launch for a month.
Soho House Group is recruiting internationally. With bars, members clubs, hotels and restaurants in London, New York, Miami, Los Angeles, Berlin and Somerset, plus more venues opening around the world soon, we're on the look out for dynamic and skilfull bartenders.
“Master Glass is exactly like working in a bar: you're asked to make good drinks quickly. The challenges aren't too difficult as long as you know what you're doing. It was great for me as it meant I could show off what I know. Because I had come down from Scotland I think some places in London looked down on me, although I've been working in bars for seven years now and I've got a lot of experience. In a normal interview you don't get to show off your knowledge; you don't get to show how good you are. I started my new job at the Electric within a week, and now I'm off to New York.”
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Ifyou'retherightpersonforuswe'llofferyoubespoketrainingthroughtheHouseTonicprogrammewithvisitingexpertsaswellasfromourmost experiencedstaff.Weruncompetitionswithgreatprizes(liketripstostayinourhotels)andyoumightevengettoworkateventsliketheTorontoor Cannes Film Festivals or get seconded from Europe or America. Get in touch! Email housetonic@sohohouse.com or go to www.sohohouse.com/housetonic
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AT THE BAR
TALES OF THE COCKTAIL
GREY GOOSE
Tales of the Cocktail
WILLIAM GRANT
This year saw the ninth Tales of the Cocktail, an all-out, week-long celebration of everything to do with mixology which took place in New Orleans. Bartenders Chris Hudnall, from Soho House Miami, and Aaron Alvarez, from Soho House West Hollywood, give us the low down on their experience.
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WILLIAM GRANT SHG'S AARON ALVAREZ AND BRIAN STEWART WILLIAM GRANT
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Photography: Ashley Connor and Jennifer Mitchell
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hris says: “Tales of the Cocktail was epic. I had the pleasure of joining the boys from LA to run around New Orleans for 5 days and show off our – as some would describe it – nerdy love for cocktails. The first day seemed like a neverending grub-fest of oysters for lunch, dinner, and late night brunch. Since I arrived earlier than Chris and the gang I sat in on the Diagio Master Distillers Conference which was an amazing way to start. The master distillers from Don Julio, Zwack, Tanqueray, and Ron Zacapa Rum discussed how their families started distilling and the history of their spirits. That evening we were invited by William Grant & Son to their opening party. It was held at the WWII museum and was an amazing event. The Hendricks
bar was led by Hendricks extraordinaire Jim Ryan and had his team making classic Ramos Gin Fizzes. These weren’t just any Ramos Gin Fizzes. This cocktail has two major ingredients besides gin – heavy cream and egg.
"I DRANK A PIMM'S CUP FROM NAPOLEON’S. I HAD A SAZERAC FROM SAZERAC BAR. I HAD A NEGRONI FROM ARNAUD’S" They really took it to the source, though, by milking a goat for the cream, and having a chicken laying eggs, both next to the bar. Inside they had a massive Sailor Jerry rum bar serving punches out of mason jars and the bartenders dressed like the old-13-
school women's rights campaign posters. I broke off from the group and checked out a couple of live music spots around the corner but after not being able to see straight I checked back into the hotel to get some rest for the coming days. On the second day we headed over to the classic Monteleon Hotel to check out all the events going on for the week. We got a drink at the carousel bar which slowly moved in a circle. That didn't help any with the hangovers so we headed over to The Europeon Perspective on Bartending. This was a conference hosted by Marc Dekuyper from Royal Dutch Distillers and led by bar greats like Simon Difford and Dushan Zaric (Winner of best bar in the US for Employees Only, NY). I found this interesting because it reminded me of our
AT THE BAR
TALES OF THE COCKTAIL
GREY GOOSE
“FOR RAMOS GIN FIZZES THEY REALLY TOOK IT TO THE SOURCE BY MILKING A GOAT FOR CREAM AND HAVING A CHICKEN LAYING EGGS NEXT TO THE BAR” BOMBAY 250th PARTY
WILLIAM GRANT RECEPTION
first House Tonic Summit in London. During our summit the bartenders from the UK and US got into a debate about recipes like the Sazerak, Manhattan, and Old Fashioned. This debate went on for a good 4 DAYS! So for me it was quite intriguing to see big names like Dushan and Difford speak about the same thing. They also spoke about bar technique, how to run your bar, and Difford, a Brit, delivered a one-sided argument about where cocktails originally came from – where else but the UK? Later on that evening we attended the Bombay Sapphire party at the House of Blues. It truly was spectacular. There was a Filthy Foods Bloody Mary bar with a photo booth and an amazing Bombay Sapphire and Grey Goose bar; we were also treated to the new Bombay Sapphire East gin which is macerated with higher volumes of lemon-grass and black peppercorn. I tried the gin neat before I tasted the cocktail and it was great. What really stood out for me on the third day was a Diagio tasting event. Different rooms represented different continents of the world and bartenders like Simon Difford, Tony Abou-Gamin, Audrey Sanders, Dushan Zaric and many more lit up the rooms with phenomenal cocktails. We were handed a cocktail passport at the beginning and had to get a customs stamp at each booth in each room that was serving cocktails. By the end
of the event you were truly “jet lagged”. The bartenders from Milk & Honey were serving cocktails with vacuumed dehydrated oranges. The last event of the trip was the Pig and Punch party in a public park, organised outside the main festival. There were punches served out of trash cans, a 15-
“WE GOT A DRINK AT THE CAROUSEL BAR WHICH SLOWLY MOVED IN A CIRCLE. THAT DIDN'T HELP ANY WITH THE HANGOVERS”
person brass jam band that didn’t stop playing for 6 hours, five pigs being roasted in cacha-chinas, and Pig and Punch t-shirts on sale, with proceeds going to children’s charities in New Orleans. This year's Tales of the Cocktail really topped them all and I can’t wait for next years 10th anniversary!” Aaron says: “Wow! So much to say. Tales of the Cocktail in New Orleans was amazing, I'll start with that. It was my first time in New Orleans, and my first time at Tales. The city itself was so exciting. There are few cities in the nation that can match it for history and culture; it just oozes art. And the people. The people in the city that I met, from the -14-
street car operator, to the friendly cashier at Walgreens, to the gentlemen and woman behind the bars throughout the city, were so warm and welcoming that it felt foreign and refreshing. My time in New Orleans went a little like this: I drank a Pimm's cup from Napoleon’s, the oldest bar in the French Quarter. I had a Sazerac from Sazerac Bar. I had a Negroni from Arnaud’s. I enjoyed complimentary bites, drinks, and coffee in the lounge at the Ritz. I was tattooed thanks to Sailor Jerry Rum, for free. I ate Cajun food. I was caught in a thunderstorm and drenched in the best possible way. I listened to jazz. I drank one of the freshest Ramos Gin Fizzes, ever. I contributed to a valuable charity, while roasting a pig, and drinking delicious punch. I sweated a lot. I met some amazing people who appreciate the same things I do. Tales of the Cocktail is tremendous. It is not only about all things cocktail, but also about people; supporting people, and their art, and their contributions to our industry. Tales is a celebration for us, by us, and arguably our most special occasion”
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“AFTER NOT BEING ABLE TO SEE STRAIGHT I CHECKED BACK INTO THE HOTEL TO GET SOME REST”
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For more information on next year's Tales of the Cocktail head to www.talesofthecocktail.com Want to work behind Soho House Group's bars in the USA or Europe? Email housetonic@sohohouse.com or go to www.sohohouse.com/ housetonic
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AT THE BAR
Bar Culture
Photography: Jacki Spillane
BAR CULTURE
"THE MAIN TREND IN NEW YORK CITY IS CREATING COCKTAILS IN THE SAME WAY AS GREAT FOOD: TAKING A CLASSIC RECIPE AND REVITALISING IT"
Soho House Group has bars in London, Somerset, Berlin, Los Angeles, Miami and New York. Although there are some drinks you'll find served in each and every bar, like the four House Tonic cocktails, each bar definitely has its own identity and style. Inspiration is taken from the local area, produce, trends and history, as well as what nearby guests like. Here, nine bartenders explain how they've made their bar special.
Alice Heard Floor manager, Babington House, Somerset The walled garden at Babington House is a huge source of inspiration. We often go down there with the chefs. Our head chef Ronnie has some great ideas. I made plum jam recently as we're always looking for ways to preserve things, and we're experimenting with lemon verbena to make a kind of limoncello. Soon, we'll have figs and we're going to infuse Woodford Reserve with both and then use it for Old Fashioneds for a manlybut-fruity drink. Because we're in the countryside there aren't many bars near us. We set the trends! A place has just opened up in Frome which is really great, but very similar to Babington. There is a tiny funny pub nearby, Tucker's Grave Inn, which is like being in someone's living room. It's just one room and in the window there are six huge barrels of cider and ale. A lot of our members go there, as do Matt, our general manager, and Ronnie. It was part of what motivated us to develop our own ale, too. I organised two trips for bartenders recently. One to Hyde & Co. Bar in Bristol, which is a great speakeasy. They let a team visit before they opened and took us through their entire cocktail list. We also visited the -16-
cider farm where we get our Somerset brandy. It's owned and run by Julian Temperley, and he showed us where they brew, the stills and his bond warehouse full of barrels. He told us lots of stories – like how when there was a shipwreck recently lots of men in white vans turned up to offer him the barrels which had floated ashore, and he'd said no. But now they've now started to turn up anyway so he's using them to make a brandy called Shipwrecked. We tried a cocktail he makes with his Kingston Black called Orchard Mist, which Kate Moss served at her wedding. I'm going to offer it next year when we're doing wedding tastings. I also got to have my picture taken in his famous cider bus, that he takes to British music festivals every year – it was where I met my boyfriend, one Glastonbury!
Mashia Maxwell Bars manager, Soho House New York The main trend in New York City is creating cocktails in the same way as great food: taking a classic recipe and revitalising it. Just as a chef would put a lot of thought into the ingredients and theme of a menu, bartenders are doing the same. The best bars use the freshest ingredients possible, including fresh juice, fresh cracked ice, bitters (some homemade) and handmade syrups for perfect balance. There's a real focus on special spirits for particular cocktails as well as methods
BARTENDER CARL TUCKER IN SOHO HOUSE NEW YORK
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Thanks to www.junkystyling.co.uk; Photo by Tomas Veber
SHOREDITCH HOUSE, LONDON LAVENDER MARTINI 50ml 2oz BOMBAY SAPPHIRE GIN 40ml 1oz LYCHEE 15ml 1/2oz LAVENDER SYRUP 6-7 BLUEBERRIES MUDDLED 12.5ml 1/4oz LEMON JUICE LIGHTLY MUDDLE BLUEBERRIES. SHAKE AND DOUBLE STRAIN. SERVE IN A MARTINI GLASS, GARNISH WITH A LAVENDER
BABINGTON HOUSE HOMEMADE SYRUP
GARDEN TRAINING AT BABINGTON HOUSE
and techniques. It's not just about the menu but about creating an environment for the guest. The speakeasy, lounge vibe has really taken over, rather than the loud nightclub with bottled service, which is now a thing of the past.
FELIX PEREZ IN SOHO HOUSE NEW YORK
SOHO HOUSE, NEW YORK AZTEC SAZERAC THIS IS A SAZERAC WITH A TWIST. I TOOK THE BASIC RECIPE AND CHANGED EVERY ELEMENT, STILL STAYING TRUE TO THE CLASSIC COCKTAIL. 1 BROWN SUGAR CUBE AZTEC CHOCOLATE BITTERS 70ml 2oz REPASADO TEQUILA ABSINTHE RINSE IN THE GLASS MAKE AS FOR A SAZERAC. SERVED UP WITH A ORANGE TWIST GARNISH. DELICIOUS!
THE SHOREDITCH HOUSE BAR TEAM (ALESSANDRO MENEGHINI, DIEGO MARTINELLI, MATT SLOPER, NATHAN DIXON JONES, TOMAS VEBER) SHOT AN EXCLUSIVE SHOREDITCH FASHION SHOOT FOR HOUSE TONIC. SEE MORE AT SOHOHOUSE.COM/HOUSETONIC
In January 2000 a man named Sasha Petraske began this cocktail renaissance with a little bar he opened on the lower east side called Milk & Honey. He paved the way for hand-crafted cocktails and is responsible for bringing back the speakeasy. He started a cocktail empire really, opening other bars like The East Side Company Bar, Little Branch and White Star. I can clearly see Sasha's influence on bars including Soho House New York, where the House Tonic programme has really helped to teach my staff the proper way to make a wellbalanced drink. We have a juicer that comes in everyday to squeeze fresh juice, a menu that changes seasonally and bartenders who are not only trained in recipes but also in techniques to incorporate a little theatre behind the bar. Our mission is to wow our guests before they even have a cocktail in their hands.
Nathan Dixon-Jones Bars manager, Shoreditch House, East London In the late 1990s Shoreditch, in particular Brick Lane and Old -18-
Street, was becoming popular with the artistic community. It was an end of town that many shunned – Murder Mile was round the corner in Hackney and the East End was historically impoverished, a nogo area as far back as the 1800s, famous for Jack the Ripper. During the Blitz it was much destroyed and the 1960s were renowned for gangsters, with the Richardson family and Kray twins ruling the streets. Fifteen years ago pubs were the mainstay of bar culture here and many great examples still remain. However, a new wave of bars followed the influx of artists. One of the first on the scene was Les Trois Garçons in a converted Victorian pub. In 2000 the Garçons decided to open the ground floor as a fine dining restaurant and in 2003 opened Lounge Lover bar behind the main building, which was promptly graced by Madonna. The Dragon Bar saw graffiti artists Banksy and King Robbo clashing over street art on the walls. Brick Lane became home to the Vibe bar – also graffitied – next to the Truman Brewery where music industry moguls had their studios. Across the road, between curry houses, 93 Feet East would host early Secret Sundays Parties. Other hotspots have now emerged, too, like nearby Hoxton Square, London Fields, Bethnal Green and Dalston. The East End has
become a Mecca for people seeking alternative living in London. It is a vibrant bubble, a city within a city.
Jay Newell, Bar manager, Cafe Boheme, Soho, London
The cocktail lists at Shoreditch House always follow a theme. In the spring it was Cockney East End, inspired by local history, with drinks like the Bow Bells (vodka and Goldschlager cinnamon schnapps, referencing Dick Whittington) or saluting Shoreditch's very own treasure, actress Barbara Windsor, with a gin and limoncello drink.
Having worked in Soho for most of my career, I've always been aware of the mix of people roaming around the multicultural bars and restaurants, which I love about the area. You'll find people from all different walks of life eating, drinking and dancing in venues which range from tiki to speakeasy, from Mexican to Italian and experimental.
This was a progression from 2010 where I used local place names (like the Ebor St Iced Tea, Dalston Supercooler, or Brick Lane Martini). Our current theme is botanicals, after opening our Garden and Lawn on the rooftop. We have created drinks using home-made syrups like as the very popular Lavender Martini, as well as the Bird of Paradise, Kentucky Maple leaf and Elderflower Smash. (We held the wrap party for the Old Vic Theatre's Richard III show and we used the Lavender Martini and Elderflower Smash as the evening's cocktails. The star-studded crowd loved them.) I love the mix of urban cool and old English pubs. Boundaries are being pushed within bar culture here. There are so many bars now that there's big competition: you need to be one step ahead and have the next great idea.
The main trends around Soho are classic cocktails and the growing acceptance of tequila. These are also two of my favourite things and both are as steeped in history as Soho itself. My appreciation of classic cocktails has always been huge and it was reinforced when I picked up a few classic books seeking inspiration for my new menu at Cafe Boheme. If you lived in the pre-prohibition era and drank cocktails you were either seen as a member of high society or were thought to have a nonconforming, carefree and maybe even mischievous side to you. Much like Soho itself! There are two bars in Soho that I visit more than any others and they are a world apart. Barrio Central on Poland St is a relaxed tiki bar which gets pretty crazy in the basement at weekends. They have a tequila event -19-
SPRIG.
for bartenders on Mondays with discounts, DJs and tastings so it's cool to be able to meet, relax and drink with fellow trade craftsmen and women. Mark's Bar at Hix is another fave of mine. Its focus is on classics done very well in a stunning apothecary-style basement bar. A novel twist, too, is that their glassware is picked up from vintage markets and are mostly one offs so don't expect the same drink in the same glass or goblet next time!
Chris Hudnall Bars manager, Soho Beach House Miami and Cecconi's Miami Cocktail culture in Miami is hugely influenced by trendsetting bartenders using unusual and fresh ingredients. This really shaped the lists I created at Soho Beach House and Cecconi's Miami. I wanted to make sure that everything was in season, locally grown, and unique. Even though we are a membership club, I still like to create a buzz around town with members and non-members about the ingredients we use. For example, I put a cocktail on the menu called The Desayuno: tequila, mashed avocado, chartreuse, fresh grapefruit, lime juice and agave nectar with a cayenne pepper and salted rim. There is a huge South American influence in Miami so I thought it would be a great fit on our list, and it was.
AT THE BAR
Photography: Dai Williams
BAR CULTURE
SOHO BEACH HOUSE, MIAMI EL DESAYUNO 50ml 2oz PARTIDA BLANCO 15ml 1/2oz YELLOW CHARTREUSE 20ml 3/4oz LIME 20ml 3/4oz GRAPEFRUIT JUICE 25ml 1oz HOUSE CURACAO 2 THIN SLICES OF RIPE AVOCADO CHEYENNE PEPPER MASH AVOCADO SLICES, ADD INGREDIENTS, SHAKE VIGOROUSLY, STRAIN OVER FRESH ICE WITH A CAYENNE PEPPER SALTED RIM. SERVE IN A ROCKS GLASS. CHRIS HUDNALL FROM SOHO BEACH HOUSE MIAMI
at home, even if you have no idea where you are! I have embraced the culture of Portobello Road into the new Electric House through the cocktail list: keeping it classic and always using fresh produce when called for.
Chris Ojeda Creative bar director Soho House Group, based in West Hollywood, Los Angeles JAY AND THE TEAM AT CAFÉ BOHEME CECCONI'S
Another interesting cocktail Rich Nani (head bartender of Cecconi's Miami) and I created is the Café Romana. I really wanted to go with the Italian tradition of sambuca, but I wanted a different way of enjoying it. Traditionally when you order sambuca it's served in a snifter with three espresso beans floating. I wanted to take it to the next level, so we took the same amount of sambuca and poured it in a martini glass. Then we made an espresso foam to float on top. Served this way you still have the Italian tradition, just with a Miami molecular twist. Some might say this sounds like culinary bartending, and seeing the up-and-coming trends, I feel like that might be where bartending is going. Having said that, although I like this trend, I still love stirring and sipping a classic rum Old Fashioned.
Tom Kerr Bars manager, The Electric Portobello Road, Notting Hill Portobello Road's distinctiveness does not just rely on its famous market. A range of great bars and restaurants contribute to a cosmopolitan atmosphere. Portobello Road has a lot of Victorian terraced houses and shops squeezed tightly into the available space, giving a nice sense of community to the area. Notting Hill is a trendy place which has always had its own bar culture and for the last ten years has been a favourite with locals and tourists. Having a road full of food stalls, vintage and antique shops carves the way in which drinks are made. Fresh produce on their doorstep every -20-
morning gives bartenders an open mind about what they can mix up in the evening. The locals are ready to try anything and this pushes bars to deliver quality service and drinks. The bars around Portobello Road are unique and funky – like Portobello Star, which boasts great cocktails and laid-back service and doesn't take itself too seriously. Nip next door and there's a great tiki bar, Trailer Happiness, which has one of the biggest ranges of rums I've ever seen, or walk around the corner to Montgomery Place – a nice little vintage-style cocktail bar with a great vibe. A fantastic place to grab an old classic cocktail or an absinthe drip. Although these bars are very different, they all have the same great attitude when you walk in and in a way they make you feel
The roof garden at Soho House West Hollywood was originally developed so that guests were surrounded with the same produce they were eating – things like olive and lemon trees. We extended that idea with our vertical garden – we covered a wall in Wooly Pockets, fabric pockets you can grow plants in. We have cherry tomatoes, strawberries, lemon basil, chocolate mint and chilli peppers. We grow herbs and several different kinds of lettuce for the kitchen. One of our floor managers, Opal, is really knowledgeable so the garden belongs to the floor staff too. It's all hands on deck and really helps build the team. We make cocktails using the garden's produce on a one-night-only basis – there's not enough to do it every night yet. Fresh produce tastes so good in drinks, and you really can't get fresher than if you've just picked it from the garden.
I'm from LA and have been bartending a long time. I think the city's bar culture is changing and the camaraderie that you see between bars in cities like London, New York and San Francisco is beginning to develop here. It's harder because in LA everything is spread out and you have to drive everywhere, so people tend to stay in their own areas. The culture is there, but you have to find it. There are some great bars, though, like Seven Grand for classic cocktails and Varnish which is a favourite of mine – hand-crafted cocktails and freshly chipped ice. The bar world here is on the verge of exploding. It's attracting more and more people – bartenders and bar companies – and we are incredibly lucky as we have such great produce. More bartenders are going direct to farmers' markets or farms in order to get the best ingredients. People are beginning to use techniques and ingredients that they've borrowed from restaurant kitchens. In downtown LA there's a real resurgence. It used to be thought of as scary, but now it's filling up with lofts, galleries, pop-ups and more metropolitan people. We also have a bartenders' network called Sporting Life, which meets every month, often sponsored by a spirit brand, where talk about what's going on LA, network and catch up. -21-
James Mitchell Deputy general manager, Hoxton Grill, Hoxton, East London The big thing for me when I developed our new list was to get away from generic talls, shorts and martinis. I looked at the venue and the area and tried to associate the list's sections with both. I thought it would be good to use East London's reputation for being rather trendy so I used fashion genres – retro, vintage and contemporary. The other thing I looked at was that we are a hotel bar, so I tried to use the vintage section to showcase drinks that might be associated with classic hotel bars. I wasn't too rigid in this, so I didn't go looking for where certain drinks were created, they are more classic-style drinks that would not be out of place at the Savoy or the Algonquin. Finally, I wanted the drinks to be accessible. I find a lot of drinks lists these days have unrecognisable names in an attempt to be cutting edge. Of course there's a place for this (we would never see any new drinks created otherwise) but I feel people like to see names they recognise so they feel comfortable with what they're ordering. They may want to try something new, but they can also choose to go for something they know they like.
BAR CULTURE
Photography: Richard Meggat
Photography: Dai Williams
Photography: Dai Williams
AT THE BAR
LUCIO MAMPRIN
Lucio Mamprin Bar manager, Cecconi's, London One of our most popular drinks is the Peach Bellini, invented in Harry's Bar in Venice. When Enzo Cecconi opened this restaurant in 1978, he brought the Bellini over from Cipriani's in Venice, where he'd worked. We changed the drink slightly in 2005, after Nick Jones bought Cecconi's – we serve it now with peach liqueur, peach purée and prosecco. We sell it for a reasonable price too. We may be in Mayfair but it's Nick's wish that anyone should be able to come here. You can come here and spend £10 or £100; it simply depends on how you order. Being in Mayfair, there's a greater demand for classic cocktails and we do them properly. We serve food at the bar as well, and people love to have a Martini with food. We serve a lot of aperitifs from northern Italy and the surrounding area, things like Aperol spritzers with prosecco. They've become much more trendy in the last few years, along with Campari. We've also seen local bars nearby start to do the Venetian tapas we serve, cichetti, to serve with their drinks, which is flattering.
MATTEO GUARDUCCA, TULLIO SANPONOCAEO, MAURO PES
James Sandrini Bar manager, Dean Street Townhouse, Soho, London People are far more savvy about what they drink now. There's more media on the topic and knowledgeable members of the bar trade, particularly in the drinking-
THE NEW ELECTRIC HOUSE
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THE WOOLY POCKET WALL GARDEN AT SOHO HOUSE WEST HOLLYWOOD. LUCIO MAMPRIN
den heavy Soho (Milk & Honey, Lab and Quo Vadis), have changed the palate of the modern cocktalian. It used to be all sugar, colours, liqueurs and umbrellas but with the cocktail boom in the late 1990s and early 2000s, plus new products, new bars and a new wave of serious, smart bartenders, the average drinker can navigate their way through the alcohol-jungle much better than their predecessors. Suffice to say, they know their Aperol from their Antica Formula. The current direction is towards bitter, dry and moreish drinks; more rum, more bourbon, more gin…more flavour! Soho is rich in bartending talent and international heritage and, as a result, there has been a massive influx of previously unseen ingredients; Becherovka and Zucca anyone? Our new list has three sections: first, the House Tonics, promoting the standards and variety of all the Soho House Group venues. Second, our Townhouse Fixes, modern, London-influenced cocktails (like our house punch with Bacardi 8 year old rum, cognac, peach liqueur, Grand Marnier, oloroso sherry, lemon and champagne). Finally there are the Colonial Cocktails, mostly developed at the turn of the last century in the US and standing the test of time (hall of famers like the Clover Club and NY Sour). We're not trying to be too clever – we just want to serve simple, tasty booze
HOXTON GRILL, LONDON CALIFORNIA RAISIN 50ml 2oz RAISIN INFUSED PISCO 10ml 1/4oz BRIOTTET APRICOT LIQUEUR 15ml 1/2oz GOMME SYRUP (2:1) 25ml 1oz LEMON JUICE SHAKE ALL INGREDIENTS TOGETHER AND DOUBLE STRAIN INTO CHILLED SOURS GLASS.
DEAN STREET TOWNHOUSE, LONDON GIN & SPRITZ 40ml 1 1/2oz BEEFEATER GIN 10ml 1/4oz FINO SHERRY 10ml 1/4oz APEROL 10ml 1/4oz LEMON JUICE 2 DASHES OF ORANGE BITTERS 1 CHERRY TOMATO SHAKEN 1 OLIVE TO GARNISH SHAKE, STRAIN INTO A COUPETTE WITH A WASHED PUGLIA OLIVE ON A COCKTAIL STICK AS A GARNISH.
Want to work with us? Email housetonic@sohohouse.com or telephone +44 (0) 20 7851 2569 -23-
DIGESTIFS
TEA TIME
TIP TOP TEA TIPS
Tea Time
1. Use freshly drawn water 2. Allow the water to boil and use it at 100ºC/212ºF for black tea and herbal teas, but cool to 80ºC/176ºF for green tea and 70ºC/158ºF for white tea
House Tonic isn't all about boozing, you know. Sometimes we like to settle down with a proper cup of tea. But who knew that getting us that perfect cuppa was such a complicated process? Shamir Shah from the East India Tea House, who sources Soho House Group's tea in Europe, takes us behind the scenes.
Why are you so obsessed with tea?
Where does your tea come from?
We're the Ben and Jerry of the tea world! We've supplied the Fat Duck with tea for their green tea jelly; we supplied restaurant group D&D London with tea for their green tea martinis. If you want banana and walnut tea, we'll make it for you. But we still respect the product. After water, tea is the most popular drink in the world. Country after country, you'll find some kind of tea ritual. It unites communities in places like India and China, while in places like Brazil girls in bikinis drink Mate tea together on the beach. We supply both loose leaf tea and tea in nylon bags. There's a good mix of traditional teas and modern blends, so there's something for every demographic. We don't do retail though. We want people to have a unique experience, not drink something they could buy in the supermarket next door.
For green tea we use sencha tea from China and Japan – it's the most popular green tea in Japan and very good for you. Our black teas come from India, Sri Lanka and Kenya. English Breakfast is a blend of Assam for strength and flavour, Kenya tea for its coppery colour, and Ceylon tea for its depth of flavour. Sixty per cent of what we sell in the UK is English Breakfast. Earl Grey is a big seller in the afternoons and is a blend of black tea and bergamot.
Are herbal teas actually tea? Many of our teas are really infusions, not leaf teas at all. Rooibos is a shrub, we use camomile and hibiscus flowers and herbs like mint, plus strawberries, blueberries and raspberries. We sell a lot of decaffeinated tea too, and the Cowsheds (Soho House Group's spas) serve our teas to their guests. The favourite is lemongrass and ginger. -24-
How do you make tea? Black tea and green tea are types of the same plant, Camellia Sinensis, but their growing conditions and the ways they're processed are different. With black tea the leaf is initially green, then goes through a rolling process and starts to wither. Enzymes are released and oxidise and it's this which creates the
3. Use whole leaf tea if you can 4. Pour the hot water over the tea (either in a pot or mug) 5. It's good to have a heated mug or cup, so perhaps give the interiors a quick rinse with boiled kettle water 6. Allow the tea to infuse: give it two minutes for black tea, three minutes for green tea and herbal teas or five minutes white tea 7. Add things like milk or lemon according to taste CREAM TEA AT DEAN STREET TOWNHOUSE
caffeine and particular flavours. Green tea isn't allowed to oxidise for long, which is why it's lower in caffeine. We have blenders and tasters who have to work very closely together. We buy tea from the same tea gardens every season, but year on year the flavour can vary – this year's Assam might be different from last – so the percentages of each tea might change because the taste of the blends shouldn't be different for the guests. We're based in the UK but get our teas blended in Germany. In the UK that expertise has mostly been lost, but there and in eastern Europe, making tea has far deeper cultural roots.
How good is my tea? Look inside the pot to find out the quality of the tea you're drinking. You can see if it's whole leaf. There's a more pronounced
taste with whole leaf tea. Teabag teas tend to use “cut, torn and curled” (CTC) leaves and you can see something almost like dust coming from them. The flavour is duller and astringent, but with a whole leaf tea you should have a crisp, clean after-taste. There's a world of difference between a double-chamber, string-and-tag teabag and our tea.
How do I make a perfect cuppa? The temperature of the water is important. Freshly boiled water is fine for black tea but green or white tea is more delicate and 100ºC (212ºF) will scorch the leaves. Let the water cool for 3-4 minutes to about 70ºC (158ºF). (The Japanese tea ceremony is in part about cooling the water to the right temperature, as is the way in which Indian chai wallahs pour from cup to cup.) -25-
Milk first or after the tea is poured? It actually makes no real difference to the taste. Anywhere outside the UK, America and Canada, this isn't a question because most people drink their tea black. I have my English Breakfast with a splash of milk. And preferably a biscuit. We're not purists – it's about what the customer wants. If you want lemon, sugar, honey or whatever, then that's up to you Interested in working in one of our bars? Email housetonic@ sohohouse.com or see www. sohohouse.com/housetonic
DIGESTIFS
TORONTO FILM FESTIVAL
Toronto Film Festival The Grey Goose Soho House pop-up at the Toronto Film Festival was a celebrity magnet. DAVID CRONENBERG AND KEIRA KNIGHTLEY
ALBERT BROOKS, RYAN GOSLING AND GEORGE CLOONEY
DRINKS LIST TORONTO TOWER
I
f you were anyone in the world of film during September, then the Toronto Film Festival was the place to be. And if you were there, then the place to be was the pop-up Grey Goose Soho House. Over the course of the Festival, some of the biggest stars you can think of dropped in to try a signature cocktail – like the specially designed Northern Starlet, a Toronto Tower or Le Fizz. It's probably quicker to list the stars who didn't swing by for a drink, dance or full-blown celebratory dinner – everyone was there. George Clooney visited several times for Grey Goose cocktails, pasta and oysters (he hung out with Bono, too). Keira Knightley sampled a Grey Goose Le Fizz, celebrating her latest film, A Dangerous Method, with her boyfriend James Righton. Ryan Gosling hung out with Kirsten Dunst and Dave Matthews after showing his new film, Drive. Jon Hamm and his girlfriend Jennifer Westfeldt toasted the success of their first movie, Friends with Kids. Rachel Weisz and Glenn Close both hosted dinners for their cast members, for their films
MARK WAHLBERG MAKING GREY GOOSE LE FIZZ
“SOME OF THE BIGGEST NAMES YOU CAN THINK OF DROPPED IN TO TRY A SIGNATURE COCKTAIL ” Deep Blue Sea and Albert Nobbs. Marisa Tomei, Paul Giamatti and Philip Seymour Hoffman all popped by after watching the film they made with Clooney, The Ides of March, for a postscreening tipple. -26-
Justin Long, Kate Mara, Scott Porter, Channing Tatum, Jenna Dewan-Tatum, Ari Gaynor, Brian Geraghty, Aaron Yoo and Lynn Collins threw a dinner for Ten Year, their new film – during which they consumed an unfeasible amount of mushroom risotto. Grey Goose mixologist Dimi Lezinska, who helped create the cocktails, hung out with Gerard Butler – who is apparently a big fan of Dimi's bar skills. Harvey Weinstein threw a huge and star-studded party at the House too, which was packed with people like Madonna, Adam Brody and Juliette Lewis, dancing to DJ Zen. Other nights, the latenight lounge played host to Ewan McGregor, Emily Blunt, Olivia Wilde, Jimmy Kimmel and Evan Rachel Wood. The bartenders, all of whom had flown in from various Soho House venues around the world to help throw this days-long extravaganza, coped brilliantly with the challenge (and without getting starstruck). Heck, they were even relaxed enough to let a celebrity get behind the bar – Mark Wahlberg skilfully mixed up some mean Le Fizz cocktails for his friends!
50ml 2oz GREY GOOSE 25ml 1oz LIME 20ml 3/4oz SUGAR CAN SYRUP 3-4 DASHES OF CELERY BITTERS SPARKLING WATER BUILD COCKTAIL IN A HIGHBALL GLASS, TOP WITH SPARKLING WATER AND STIR. GARNISH WITH LEMONGRASS AND A SPRIG OF FRESH MINT.
NORTHERN STARLET 45ml 1 1/2oz GREY GOOSE 5ml SHALLOW BARSPOON OF BONO
CHERRY MARNIER
RACHEL WEISZ
25ml 1oz ORGANIC FRESH PRESSED CRANBERRY JUICE 10ml 2 BARSPOONS PASSION FRUIT 5ml SHALLOW BARSPOON OF GRAPEFRUIT JUICE COMBINE ALL INGREDIENTS INTO A COCKTAIL SHAKER WITH ICE. SHAKE AND STRAIN INTO A VINTAGE COUPETTE. FINISH WITH A SPRAY OF PINK GRAPEFRUIT ZEST AND GARNISH WITH A WHOLE STAR ANIS.
RALPH FIENNES AND ABBIE CORNISH
DIMI LEZINSKA AND GERARD BUTLER
TILDA SWINTON
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DIGESTIFS
BEER AND FOOD
How to Match… Whether you're a guest or a bartender, it's definitely worth learning about alternatives to wine for pairing with food. Melissa Cole is an author and beer expert (best job ever? We think so!) Here, she shares her top tips on how to match beer and food. "THE GREAT THING ABOUT BEER IS THAT IT CAN GO WITH EVERYTHING FROM THE SIMPLEST OF DISHES TO HAUTE CUISINE"
Photography: Yuki Sugiura
T
o me, beer is the most versatile alcoholic drink around: it enlivens sporting occasions, creates riotous nights out with friends and helps you relax after a hard day at work – what’s not to like about this glorious brew?
cuisine. Sometimes a plate of cold meats and cheese with a perfect beer is all you need.
Matches Made in Heaven Many people believe that wine is generally a better match with food than beer is – I disagree.
But when I’m waxing really lyrical about beer, do you know what I love most about it? The way it can elevate food. Okay, I confess, one of the reasons for my love affair with beer and food is that I’m a bit greedy. I love the finer things in life and I’m lucky enough to have a little skill in the kitchen. But while I’m passionate about sourcing topquality produce for my dinner and treating it with respect, I’m also equally fond of a takeaway curry. The great thing about beer is that it can go with everything from the simplest of dishes to haute
"DELICATE BEER STYLES SUCH AS PILSNER LAGER, GOLDEN ALES AND KÖLSCH WILL GO WELL WITH DELICATE DISHES, LIKE STEAMED FISH"
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Take cheese: it’s a myth that wine is cheese’s best friend. When you drink wine with cheese (though there are some exceptions) you end up with sensory overload, as your mouth is coated by the fats from the cheese. Beer, on the other hand, has a good, cleansing carbonation and a higher proportion of water, so it continually refreshes your palate. Chocolate is difficult to match with wine for similar reasons, yet many beers go beautifully with chocolate. However, you do have to keep an eye on bitterness levels
MELISSA COLE
when dealing with higher cocoa solids chocolate – it’s always best to steer towards the sweeter end of the beer spectrum, and the best partners I’ve found are beers like old and Scotch ales, barley wines and strong stouts. Having said that, some pale ales and IPAs are surprisingly good with white chocolate.
Basic Principles To help you discover some great gastronomic experiences stick to the following rules: cut, complement and contrast. Cut: think about the way a sharp fruit or vinegar-based sauce cuts through the richness of duck or pork belly and choose a beer style accordingly: it could be a citrussy pale ale or wheat beer to
go with sashimi or a sharp geuze with a ripe blue cheese. Complement: a creamy stout or coffeeish imperial porter goes brilliantly with a tiramisu, while a Trappist ale with a Flemish carbonnade (beef and beer stew) is a match made in heaven. Contrast: a bold cherry wild ale is a delightful contrast to a chocolate mousse, while a shy, English-style mild is a surprising foil for rich pâté. Match strength of flavour in beer with strength of flavour in food: Delicate beer styles such as pilsner lager, golden ales and Kölsch will go well with delicate dishes, like steamed fish, whereas more robust beasts like IPAs and bocks are needed for dishes like curries and barbecued or smoked meats.
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Try seasonal beers with seasonal foods: Light blonde ales are delicious with asparagus, whereas deeper, richer old ales and winter warmers are excellent with rich casseroles.
A final tip... Try your beer first and then think about food. That’s what I do when I’m planning a beer and food matched meal because, unless you are 100 per cent familiar with your beer and your dish, it’s all too easy to miss the mark
Let Me Tell You About Beer: A beginner's guide to all things brewed by Melissa Cole is published by Pavilion at £14.99. Or visit her blog www. girlsguidetobeer.blogspot.com
AWAY FROM THE BAR
Johnny Rosete-Kamel Illustration: Joel Lardner
I
was a bartender at Soho House, London, but I'm off to start a new job as head bartender at Soho House Berlin. I'm hoping that I'll work up to being bar manager at some point. I've been in Berlin for the last month. I went over for a week to help out and then they asked if I would stay another week...and then another, and another. Then they asked if I just wanted to move out there. It's a great place – the building is amazing with such an interesting history. The city is vibrant, full of young people and there are loads of places to drink, eat out and go clubbing. It will be something new for me. I'm from London and have lived here all my life so it's a real adventure. I'm hoping to take a little bit of London over to Berlin. I don't speak much German but I'll learn a lot while I'm working. Most people speak English there, so that should help. I know please and thank you, but some numbers would help! I love to travel and see new places. I love European cities. I went to Barcelona recently, and to be honest, no bars really stood out for me. I've been to places like Stockholm and Oslo too, and although they do have good drinks, for me London is the best. I've been working in bars for 11 years. I started when I was 17, in a branch of Ask, when I was still at college. Next I moved on to the Bentley Hotel, a fancy place on the Gloucester Road, and that was where I really started to learn about proper cocktails. When I -30-
graduated from Goldsmiths University I didn't fancy a career in the media and was really missing working in bars so I headed for Soho House Group. I really developed a lot here and learnt my craft. At Soho House itself I had a bar manager, Stephen Quainton, who taught me a lot. I also did external courses with Salvatore Calabrese, who is a real inspiration to me. I'm inspired by Dale de Groff and what Tony Conigliaro is doing in London now is very creative and inventive. He's like the Heston Blumenthal of drinks. When I'm not working I love old films – things like gangster movies. It's such a cliché but I can watch the Godfather and Scarface over and over again. The Swedish film Let the Right One In is also a favourite – so much better than the British re-make. I like all sorts of music and have eclectic taste, everything from hip hop to rock. At the moment I'm really into a Swedish singer, Birgit Bidder, who does soulful stuff with a rock edge to it. I saw her supporting Katie Melua in Oslo – I didn't want to go and got dragged there. I was much more into her than Katie Melua! My pet hate behind the bar is people who don't say please and thank you. My all-time favourite drink when I'm on the other side of the bar? An Old Fashioned with Zacapa rum Reckon you're strong enough to join our diverse team? Email housetonic@sohohouse.com
DAVID FURNISH AND SIR ELTON JOHN
GEMMA ARTERTON WITH JEAN PAUL GAULTIER
STEPHEN FRY
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n 29th October the Elton John AIDS Foundation and Grey Goose are partnering once again to throw the Grey Goose Winter Ball. This will be the fifth year that Grey Goose, Sir Elton John and David Furnish have co-hosted the Winter Ball to raise money for his Foundation – and so far they've raised an amazing £1.8 million. In past years the ball has been held in some fabulous locations in London – all of them temporary; once it was an old Dairy House and another was even held in a revamped post sorting office! This year the ball is travelling to Battersea Park, where secretive preparations are currently taking place to create something even better and more extraordinary. This year's theme is the Architecture of Taste and to celebrate this the internationally famous elBulli kitchen is coming to Britain to cook dinner for ball guests. Ferran Adria's multi-Michelin-starred restaurant in Spain closed its doors this year, but its team, led by chef Paco Roncero, will be cooking this one-off meal at the Grey Goose Winter Ball – so expect incredible, mind-bending dishes.
The fashion world always plays a role in making the ball a spectacular event and this year is extra special: shoedesigner Christian Louboutin is designing a beautiful cocktail bar which will be auctioned on the night and designer Jonathan Saunders is creating a perfect cocktail dress which will be auctioned too, along with a piece by British artist Marc Quinn. All three of them are working with Grey Goose vodka's mixologist Joe McCanta to create some delicious cocktails to be served on the night, as well. It's going to be quite a night!
Tickets are available to purchase in benefit of the Elton John AIDS Foundation, by contacting the charity on 020 7603 9996. 100% of the ticket price is donated directly to the Elton John AIDS Foundation.
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Fancy working in our bars? RECRUITMENT
PHOTOGRAPHY: ARTHUR WOODCROFT
With sites in London, Somerset, Miami, Los Angeles, New York and Berlin, plus more on the way around the world, the Soho House Group is always on the look out for exceptional staff. We offer high quality training, excellent support, and you might even get the chance to work in venues overseas. We want to help you develop a great career in drinks.
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If you'd like to join one of our bar teams in Europe or the United States then please get in touch: email housetonic@sohohouse.com, visit sohohouse. com/housetonic or call Gareth Jones on +44 (0) 20 7581 2569. We'd love to hear from you! You can also find us on Facebook and Twitter.