Spring Into Cocktail Season

Cocktail SeasonA new season means a new direction in all things – fashion, food and most definitely drinks! Now that Easter weekend is on the horizon, the time seems ripe for a glass of rose or a refreshing spritzer in the garden.

But these old favourites aside, what else should we be drinking this Spring?

NEW TWISTS ON OLD HITS

Move over Aperol Spritz, this Spring it’s all about the Cocchi Americano Spritz. Cocchi Americano is an Italian vermouth produced in the Asti region. With its springlike, gentle yellow colour, this Spritz is perfect for easing us into the new season.

Try one at the Savoy, the Langham, the Blind Pig, City Social, Piccolinos or Dabbous or why not make one at home:

COCCHI AMERICANO SPRITZ RECIPE
60 mls Cocchi Americano
20 mls fresh white grapefruit juice
2 slices of fresh orange
Prosecco
Sprig of mint

Pour all the ingredients, minus the Prosecco, into a highball glasss or wine glass with ice cubes. Top up with Prosecco to the brim of the glass, garnish with a mint sprig

DELICATE FLAVOURS

You couldn’t find a taste more redolent of England in the springtime than a cup of Earl Grey tea. To turn it into a boozy treat, look no further than the Earl Grey martini (£9.30). We tried a great example at the EDG bar and lounge at the Hilton London Metropole. It even comes in its own tea cup with top-ups from a pot too!

AND IF THE APRIL SHOWERS ARE STILL TOO MUCH

Then head indoors and downstairs to the Bermondsey Arts Club – a former Victorian public toilet.

Once inside, you’ll find ultra dim lighting and a soft jazz soundtrack. Pull up a stool at the gorgeous marble bar or sit on one of the dark leather banquette benches round the side.

With white tiles on the walls (original Victorian rather than modern day metro), mixed with flashes of gold from stools, the style is Victoriana mixed with Gatsby.

And when it comes to the cocktails, there’s a neat list of 17 unusual drinks all priced between £9 and £10.

We tried a Ponoma – gin, tuaca, strawberries and charred pineapple and a Phra Phum – Thai Gin shaken with fresh lemon, sugar and egg white.

Some of the flavours might be a little too out there for some palates but you’ll be thrilled to have discovered this little hideaway.

Bermondsey Arts Club, 102A Tower Bridge Rd, LONDON, SE1 4TP

  • With one foot planted firmly in the world of real life journalism and her other toe dipping into the delights of food and travel writing, Rebecca likes to mix it up a bit. A journalist with over ten years experience, she's a Londoner born and bred and admits to a weakness for kitsch, cooking and la vie francaise. Rebecca's got an insatiable curiosity (read nosey parker) and loves nothing better than meeting new people and discovering new worlds.

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