Despite myriad influences and fashions, London’s food and drink scene is about evolution not revolution; the new is built on centuries of hedonistic and hospitality-related history. This is perfectly contextualised in the foreword by celebrated chef Massimo Bottura in The Connaught Bar’s new cocktail book.
He writes, ‘When we first started going [to The Connaught Bar], most hotel bars were serving classic cocktails. The Connaught Bar invited a new generation of mixologists to bring those classic cocktails into the future.’
He goes on to say, ‘Our work is not about forgetting the past but finding the most appropriate way to bring it forward.’
The Connaught Bar has become one of London’s definitive venues for cocktail lovers, despite or perhaps because of this evolutionary approach. It is a place where classic cocktails have found a new lease of life, joining the architecture of Mayfair – where the bar calls home – as steadfast designs that are now part of the capital’s fabric.
Folk visit from all over the world to take a drink at The Connaught – twice crowned the World’s Best Bar – as they do to see a West End play or pick up a Savile Row suit. This is not just a bar, it is an institution with a global reputation. And their signature drink is the house Martini.
The Connaught Martini is the cocktail that best encapsulates our idea of hospitality and mixology – Agostino Perrone
Walking into The Connaught Bar, one of the first things to note is the lack of stools at the bar itself. This is a place where the hospitality comes to you and the starting point is the bar’s Martini trolley.
Masters of their art, led by director of mixology Agostino Perrone and assistant director Giorgio Bargiani, meet you tableside for a Martini garnished with pure theatre. The experience is one that is key to the overall ethos of the bar.
‘The Connaught Martini is the cocktail that best encapsulates our idea of hospitality and mixology,’ Perrone says with his trademark smile. ‘It’s guest-centric, it brings the cocktail theatre to the table and is designed to cater for the mood, taste and occasion of the person who drinks it.’ Summing up the concept, Perrone asserts that ‘it’s more than a cocktail; it’s a personalised experience’, a mantra that has kept this bar and its team at the pinnacle of the drinks world since the doors first opened 16 years ago.
The ritual is always the same: a frozen Martini glass, designed especially for the bar, is embellished with drops from a selection of house bitters, made on-site, before your spirit of choice, gin or vodka (or both if you wish, Vespa style), is stirred down over high-quality ice and poured from a great hight, aerating the mixture. As the liquid flows towards the glass, oils from a lemon twist are delicately expressed over the stream, giving a citrus zing to the drink. Finally, a garnish is added before the finished drink is placed carefully at your side.
Taking a classic cocktail and building on it is brave. The creator is not just judged on the drink itself but also the expectations derived from the pedestal on which it sits, made up of history and legend. Perrone, Bargiani and the team at The Connaught Bar have taken a simple, classic drink and created a new legend, one that has become rooted in cocktail culture: a modern-day classic and a true example of how hospitality is the most essential ingredient in any great drink.
While impossible to recreate the atmosphere and service of The Connaught Bar at home, the recipe below, taken from the new book, has the measures and method to show you how to make the Connaught Martini. We’d recommend incrementally increasing the height from which you pour the cocktail to avoid an empty glass and a Martini-soaked floor…
The Connaught Martini: the recipe
Whether it is the gin or vodka version, The Connaught Martini is an aromatized Martini that has been served following the same ritual since the day we opened the newly refurbished bar. It’s a distillation of the Connaught Bar ethos – it’s about approaching our guests. We want our new guests to get excited about what we do with our classic service, and we want our regular guests to feel comfortable and yet excited about trying something new.
- 2ml (1/2 teaspoon) bitters of choice
- 15ml (1/2 fl oz) vermouth blend
- 75ml (21/2 fl oz) gin or vodka of choice
- Lemon twist or green olive
To make a martini with a twist: Using a dropper, gently pour the bitters around the rim of a frozen martini glass or coupette. Combine the vermouth and spirit in a mixing glass filled two-thirds with large ice cubes and stir until well chilled. Strain into the prepared martini glass, raising the mixing glass high to add aeration to the drink and squeezing the lemon twist into the drink as the liquid passes into the glass. Garnish with the lemon twist.
To make a martini with an olive: Using a dropper, gently pour the bitters around the rim of a frozen martini glass or coupette. Prick the olive three times with a cocktail stick (toothpick) and let a little juice run out into the glass. Combine the vermouth and spirit in a mixing glass filled two-thirds with large ice cubes and stir until well chilled. Strain into the prepared martini glass, raising the mixing glass high to add aeration to the drink. Garnish with the olive skewered onto the cocktail stick.
The recipe above is taken from The Connaught Bar: Cocktail Recipes and Iconic Creations by Agostino Perrone, published by Phaidon. It is on sale here
