A visit to Salt Whisky Bar
Salt Whisky Bar near London's Marble Arch offers an array of whiskies.
Auchentoshan: Switching Shores
Calling all creative bartenders: the Auchentoshan Switch is back!
If you’ve not heard of the programme before, it goes something like this: one talented bartender from the UK, Sweden or Germany will win an all expenses paid two-week stint in New York to train at leading bar The Dead Rabbit while a bartender from North America will get a two-week placement at Old Street’s The Nightjar.
Launched recently at the central London venue, the competition is meant to show off the skills of the best and brightest on each side of the pond. On the night of the launch, attendees were treated to a whisky tasting by brand ambassador Zoran Peric and a few cocktails including one by Martin Ball, the UK winner of the last Switch competition, which happened in 2011.
So, how do you get a chance to switch your shoreline for a couple of weeks?
Simply put on your thinking hat and come up with a cocktail using the Auchentoshan Three Wood as its base that you think will most impress judges.
Next, upload the recipe and image of your shiny creation to this site here by the 12 July.
Judges will choose the semi-finalists who will be asked to participate in regional heats in their respective countries. The winners of the heats will then go onto the European and North American finals where the two winners will be selected.
The winners will head off to their new venues in early 2014.
So, if you think you’ve got what it takes to take-on an Auchentoshan cocktail and shine in some of the world’s top bars, then get mixing!
For more information, and to enter Auchentoshan Switch, head to: www.auchentoshan.com/switch.
Japanese Spirit at Mizuwari
I love me a good drinking den. And, let’s be honest, London is pretty full of top-end joints to hunker down of an eve and do just that – drink. I have no doubt many other cities in this fine country have much to offer too, of course, but my experience is with the capital and, thus far, I can’t complain.
One of the newest whisky spots on the block is Mizuwari – a Japanese themed bar on Old Compton Street in the downstairs section of Izakaya restaurant, Bincho, that’s filled with cocktails and drams galore.
As a big fan of Japanese whisky, the news of its opening was thrilling to my ears. Unfortunately, many other people felt the same so on opening night the small space was so rammed that getting a good look at its interiors or experiencing it in full was not possible.
I have since had the chance to go back and can say that it is a place I will be adding to my “Soho bars of best repute” list.
The bar is what one might call intimate – petite round tables and shared benches with individual lamps that can be dimmed dot the dark-wood floored and mahogany walled room, while behind the bar are rows of Japanese whisky.
The place was developed in partnership with Suntory, so all of the cocktails on the list feature whiskies from the company’s brands (think: Hakushu, Hibiki and Yamazaki).
However, when it comes to single drams, the menu is much more extensive and includes more than a dozen options from the Nikka range, various Ichiro’s Malts and a jaw-dropping selection of Karuizawas, which given their rarity and the fact this is a central London bar, are really rather [...]
Life in The Capital with Cesar Da Silva
People who work in the whisky industry are generally very proud of what they do. From the master distillers to master blenders, brand ambassadors and sales teams, everyone employed in this business tends to be in it because they love the spirit.
But one of the proudest people I have met of late has to be Cesar Da Silva, who heads up the bar at The Capital hotel in Knightsbridge, which offers a mixture of between 60-70 rare old bottlings and standard whiskies to its guests. For the past 17 years, Cesar has been living and breathing whisky and – during a recent interview – he showed no signs of changing that trajectory.
Cesar is well known within the whisky industry for being the youngest ever person to be initiated as a Keeper of the Quaich – the society that recognises those individuals who are dedicated to promoting the heritage and quality of Scotch. When we met at the bar, the badge he received in honour of it was clearly displayed on his jacket lapel.
“For whisky and the trade, it is my proudest achievement. When I got the notice, I did not have words to say. I was really proud but I was also very respectful of the industry inviting me,” he said, saying this honour even beat winning the Campari Bartender of the Year award in 2004.
I visited The Capital to speak to Cesar because it was one of those places I’d not come across very frequently during my whisky journey. I was, therefore, keen to learn about the man behind the bar.
Cesar’s story begins nearly 20 years ago, when he first came to London as a 17-year old in 1996, after leaving his home [...]
An Emporium of Whisky Delights
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Getting funky with the Monkey
I experience Rebel Bingo in the latest crazy Monkey Shoulder night out.
The life of a whisky sommelier
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Perfect Pairings at Benares
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