As sore heads all over town celebrate another London Cocktail Week, classic gin brand Tanqueray kept the drinks flowing with an upscale dinner at Babylon Restaurant at the Kensington Roof Gardens. Master Distiller Tom Nichol hosted an intimate dinner for around 20 guests, designed around an inventive cocktail menu showcasing Tanqueray to its full, heady effect.
From champagne cocktails on the terrace to market fresh zingy Tom Collins’, each blend was designed to match to a sophisticated menu of rich truffle risotto, roasted duck twinned with scarlet beetroot and liquorice jus and a warm cinnamon infused crème brulee.
Fittingly enough, the cocktails were the star of the show. Tim Homewood, head bartender, designed a series of showstopping cocktails to not only showcase the botanicals used in Tanqueray, but also to emphasize the seasonal flavours in Roof Gardens’ head chef Ian Howard’s menu.
Particular standouts were the bartender’s favourite Older Worlde Cyder Purl, a soul-warming gin and ale drink served Victorian style in a paper wrapped bottle – an idea from Marylebone bar Purl, and an earthy cosmopolitan, sweetened with golden beetroot juice – the ‘Marmite’ choice of the evening which split the group’s opinion.
“I think it’s such a cool concept to match cocktails with food rather than just playing it safe with a bottle of wine” confessed Tim. “I think you can pick out different elements of a drink and emphasize flavours that wine can’t….I’m always trying to convince guests to match their meal with a cocktail.”
The full menu was as follows, and is based on cocktails and dishes from Babylon’s revolving repertoire:
Risotto - Autumn truffle, crème fraiche, Parmesan cheese and truffle oil
Served with Tanqueray 10 French 75 with a grapefruit twist
Mallard Duck - Served with Cameron Bridge Cosmo (a blend of Tanqueray, cointreau, lemon joice, gomme and golden beetroot juice)
Crème Brulee - Cinnamon infused with almond shortbread and Granny Smith’s apple juice
Served with Olde Worlde Cyder Purl (gin and warm ale)
Check out London Cocktail Week for more booze-friendly events happening near you.
Cheers!
