In case you didn't hear, last October the results of the World's 50 Best Bars competition were announced. And if you'd always thought that New York was the place to sit at a bar and enjoy a drink that tastes so complex and nuanced that it turns your world around, listen to this: London was the best-represented city on the list, with nine bars in the top 50.
We could go on and on about our capital's position as the world's leading city for drinks culture, but it's not the venues or the drinks themselves that make it so; it's the men and women behind them that are leading the charge. That's why we've asked a few of the very best bartenders and bar managers in the city to open up about the tricks of the trade that make their bars so popular – and their drinks so damn memorable.
From making use of simple Maldon sea salt and spices, to alchemic and experimental concoctions, via the underused art of proper communication and the humble notebook, these are the tools you'll need to elevate your cocktail game from good to great. If you've ever looked solemnly at your drinks cabinet before sighing and grabbing a beer from the fridge, this is for you. Read on, sip slow, and definitely do try this at home…
"My secret ingredient is Maldon salt. If people want to experiment with it, I tell them to make a solution as it's easier to measure. There are some really interesting ingredients, like olive leaf and all the different types of acids, but they're not as universal as salt. You can add it to almost anything – although I don't like it in a martini – and it'll add value. It lifts creaminess, brightens flavours and works across many drinks.
"I'm also a fan of using things with substrata flavours, which have an effect without necessarily being a big, noticeable flavour. Wax is an ingredient we've been talking about for a long time – we use it for both flavour and texture, and it's fun. Ambergris [a wax-like substance produced by whales] is also an amazing ingredient, but it's so expensive that not everyone's going to start throwing it into cocktails!"
"Like others before me, I'm big on salt – you'd basically never have food without it, so why should drinks be different? It really does so much to embellish flavour.
"And a balance of sweetness and acidity is essential to basic, decent drinks. The final elements are two things that almost everyone enjoys: vanilla's smooth creaminess is juxtaposed nicely with the brightness of cardamom – and that's my cheat ingredient. In the past, I've relied on 10-15ml of this in many cocktails that just weren't quite there; so much so that my team refer to it as 'Elliot Mix'.
"Basically, it's a balanced citric and sugar syrup with a dash of vanilla bean curd, a light handful of green cardamom pods and a heaped teaspoon of Maldon sea salt, blended and strained. Replace the water in the syrup with marsala or sherry (and balance the sugar), and you have something pretty special."
"Did Mr Lyan say salt? I knew he was going to say that. I have a salted caramel ingredient that I use, and I use it in every dark cocktail I make – not in exactly the same measurements, but a proportion of it is in every one. Salt enhances flavour; it enhances sweetness; it's an ingredient that every chef uses. It's about how you apply it to a cocktail – whether it's a pinch of salt in a bloody mary, or whether it's the salted caramel liqueur that I use in a manhattan or in a negroni, which gives it that saltiness, but it also has that rich, dark colour as well. It also adds dryness and sweetness to a cocktail. My liqueur is essentially just burnt sugar and salt, mixed in with alcohol and then sweetened slightly, but it adds four or five different things from just 2-3mls.
"I also always carry some form of notebook with me. There are occasions where I don't have a bar spoon or a shaker, you can use jam jars to make cocktails, tea strainers instead of regular strainers – you can substitute bar equipment for almost anything, but the ability to record notes is absolutely crucial."
"As I work in a vermouth- and aperitif- orientated bar, I try to focus on promoting not only classic ingredients but also unknown, small producers. As alternatives to products like Campari, for example, we now have wonderful bitter apertifs such as Nardini and Contratto, both from northern Italy.
"Amari are digestifs of varying degrees of bitterness to sweetness – so much so, our list of a dozen or so is categorised from approachable to challenging. The beauty is that amari can be a great substitute for vermouth in classics such as the negroni, or used on its own in powerful cocktails with smoky or sour notes. Traditionally I'd serve them with a lump of ice and big wedge of orange after a big evening meal as their medicinal strengths lie in aiding digestion and settling the stomach."
"One ingredient that I like to use, and can be applied in any form, is citrus. The juice provides an added freshness to drinks. It's very easy to mix, and works well with all spirits, herbs and other fruits. In addition to fresh juice, citrus skin also carries an exceptional amount of aromatic oil. I love to use the skin, just to squeeze over the drink, extracting the aromatic citrus oils and transferring them to the surface of the drink. When lifting the glass close to your nose, the aroma of citrus notes instantly enhances and reinvigorates your senses. Like the juice, citrus powder also contains sensational aromatic oils that can be used as a foundation flavour in almost any drink."
"I joke that my secret is a clock without hands; as a bar manager I never really stop working. Oriole is the first bar I have had the chance to set up completely from scratch, and my aim was for a high-volume bar that delivered the very highest quality drinks with minimal wait times.
"As a result, my bar setup is closer to a restaurant kitchen line, with three stations, each covering a certain number of cocktails and set up to deliver these specific drinks with razor-sharp precision and speed. It means that on any given night, my bartenders are specialists rather than jacks-of-all-trades."
"My secret ingredient is anything that is crammed into my kitchen spice rack. When I am creating a new cocktail or just fancy spicing up a classic, this is my go-to place for inspiration – I love spice.
"I'm talking about every seed, fruit, root, bark, berry, bud, powder or twig you can imagine. I love that they're so easy and accessible, but that the results are complex and spectacular. Spices are easily applied to cocktails and can completely transform a drink, depending on your personal taste and preference. If I were to name a few to start with: add a little madras curry spice to a rum punch; a dash of smoked paprika to a manhattan; or some crushed coriander seeds or pink peppercorns to a gin fizz. And that's just the tip of the iceberg..."
"An essential tool for every bartender should be communication. It's not necessarily the first bar tool you might think of, but it's crucial for every single bartender, whether they work in the best cocktail bar in the world or the local pub. A brief conversation with your customer should give you an insight into their tastes and palate – by discussing the types of spirits and flavour notes they prefer you can ensure that they are ordering the right drink; or, if they are trusting you to choose for them, ensure that you choose something suitable.
"There's no point in having all of the most original ingredients, your great concoctions and the latest in bar equipment if you aren't making drinks that the customer wants to drink. Communication is key."
"I like to be a bit of a Willy Wonka with my drinks, so my secret ingredient is chocolate. People can get nervous of chocolate in an unusual concoction but the sheer variety of flavours available can lift a drink to new heights. Chocolate is scientifically proven to make you happy – and if that isn't a potent secret ingredient, nothing is.
"As well as that, I think that nothing makes a drink 'pop' like an interactive garnish and I love to turn a simple cocktail into the centrepiece of a diner's experience at Aqua London. It's just a little bit of fun, and it reminds us all to stop being so serious and remember what it's like to be a kid again. Even something like popping candy can be used in more savoury drinks as a small explosion of excitement for the palate."
"My secret ingredient is actually more than one, it’s the range of 12 Droplets that have been created specifically for Dry Martini. These little bottles are filled with natural flavours and are custom made. Developed in our laboratory and made to specific recipes, they are a great tool to use in the cocktails to provide powerful, natural flavours where I may not have the stock in-house, but still want the best produce to enhance the flavours."
