June: Bombay Sapphire at Graphic
In June we were very lucky to host a weekend event at Graphic bar in Soho. Sean Ware, Bombay Sapphire brand ambassador and long supporter of the LCS (he hosted our second ever event when he was working at Callooh Callay), talked us through Bombay Spirits and the gin category in general. With a bespoke cocktail menu on offer utilising some of Sean’s brilliant home made ingredients, tables set up with Bombay’s aroma kits, tasting glasses and plenty of water (it was 1pm in the afternoon after all!) all that we needed was our lovely...
read moreApril: Adam Elmegirab at the Grosvenor Hotel
As any cocktail enthusiast knows, bitters are a staple ingredient in many of the tastiest recipes. Such is their importance, we even made our own a while back. Being big fans of this category, we jumped at the chance therefore when Adam Elmegirab, producer of a range of fine bitters offered to come and speak at an event for us. Hailing from Scotland, this was a rare opportunity to hear Adam speak and quite frankly we couldn’t wait till the day came. Usually our events focus on the single product in question, but given the role bitters...
read moreApril: Monkey Shoulder Chocolate Trail Challenge
In January, some of our members came along with us to a preview of some of the events that Monkey Shoulder had planned for the year in conjunction with Anonymous Artists. During the evening we tasted a number of variants of a cocktail: The Malt Jockey (recipe below). The variations lay with the type of chocolate bitters used. And, after a vote, the favourite of the tested recipes was barrelled, to be unveiled at a future event. The time to try the aged Malt Jockey came in early April, at a temporary installation in Soho which popped up for...
read moreMarch: Kamm & Sons at Detroit
March saw us venture into the subterranean bar that is Detroit in Covent Garden. The spirit in the spotlight was Kamm & Son’s Ginseng Spirit (formerly known as Kammerlings). Upon arrival our members were treated to a Kamm & Sons on the rocks before settling into the ‘bat cave’ to hear owner and founder Alex Kammerling talk us through his most unusual spirit. Alex gave us a quick intro as to what his spirit is (it is neither gin nor aperitif, instead falling into its own band new category of ginseng spirit), his...
read moreFebruary: Beefeater Distillery Tour
We pulled out all the stops for the end of February and managed to secure a private distillery tour of the Beefeater distillery near the Oval cricket ground. Arriving on a beautiful day in the sunshine, we assembled in the distillery with master distiller Desmond Payne and brand ambassador Tim Stones to begin our tour. We went through the journey of the gin as it passes through the distillery, from the vats that hold the grain neutral spirit (GNS), to the rooms full of botanicals (they smelt amazing), and the still where the gin is distilled....
read moreFebruary: Four Roses at Shaker & Co
Shaker & Co, a fairly new bar in Euston has a wonderful basement which is given over to different brands every month. In February it was the turn of Four Roses to make their space their own. Cue a speakeasy style bourbon den complete with crates and hay bales and prohibition style cocktails. Brand Ambassador Dan Priseman was on hand to talk us through the history of bourbon and what happened to production during, and after prohibition. Whilst the Four Roses story was evident throughout, what was brilliant was that Dan talked us through...
read moreJanuary: Monkey Shoulder at the Jub Jub
LCS were lucky enough to be given some places at the first of a series of events being run by Anonymous Artists in conjunction with Monkey Shoulder. Global brand ambassador Dean Callan was on hand to make us some spectacular cocktails including a Malt Jockey which was put into a barrel to age before being revealed at a future event. The recipes for some of the cocktails are listed below along with some photos from the evening: Monkey Diablo Ingredients Half a bottle of Monkey Shoulder infused with vanilla and cinnamon...
read moreJanuary: Remy Martin at LCC
Our first Cognac event took place at the LCC on Goodge Street with Remy Martin. A few thoughts from a some of our members below… “As beautifully presented an evening as it was to taste. Passionately and eloquently spoken by our marvellous hostess, this was a seductive introduction into the world of fine Cognac.” Lewis Byrne “It was a really enjoyable event – informative (I now know at least something about cognac…!), generous and fun – perfect!” @SngleMaltWhimsy I really enjoyed the evening, the...
read moreNovember: Bitters blending at Shaker & Co
This post has been written by one of our members – the wonderful Sandrae Lawrence of The Cocktail Lovers. As well as taking part in our bitters blending Sandrae and Gary were on hand to help us to judge the final 14 recipes made by our members. Her thoughts on the evening are below… In our books a tutored tasting of the superior bitters in Master of Malt’s extensive portfolio would be a fabulous way to while away any evening but those clever chaps from the London Cocktail Society went and upped the ante for their latest outing....
read moreOctober: L.T.D at The Social
This post has been written by one of our members – James Mitchell who has recently begun a blog called Straight-Up Lifestyle. You can also find him on Twitter, his username is @JG_Mitchell. His thoughts are below… L.T.D turns cocktail snobbery on its head, flips it over and then takes it one step further. After years of cocktail imbibitions, you may well be able to navigate your way around a choice of 30 gins or more. At L.T.D, however, you can leave that sort of knowledge at the door. That’s because you’ll be drinking what the barman...
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