What to drink at Hawksmoor? Let Douglas Blyde guide you

 (Courtesy )
(Courtesy )

Named after the designer of nearby Christ Church Spitalfields, Hawksmoor opened in 2006, and was the first in a series of handsome steakhouses reaching over London, the UK, and into the USA. I ventured to the original, not for heroic steaks, but its liquid assets.

Beneath the restaurant, I met longterm head of booze, Liam Davy, at the counter of a teal coloured bar. Formed of copper panels reclaimed from the lifts of Unilever House and lit by fittings from a Japanese merchant ship, he says that the space has served as an unofficial ‘training school for bartenders’ over the years.

Listed beyond a cover evocative of a still from the 1920s film, Metropolis, I began with a quintessential martini. Based on ‘the great martinis of New York’, it combines two core ingredients — the bright Hepple gin borne of Northumberland juniper with the lemon, elderflower, and fennel scents of Aperitivo Co Dry Vermouth. Having been subjected to a stabilising ‘ultrasonic homogeniser’, the results, at minus 12 degrees celsius, are poured from a Yeti flask and finished with aromatic, Italian island lemon oil. Apparently, ‘with temperature comes texture,’ says Davy, of the lip-stinging, herbal sharpener.

 (Courtesy)
(Courtesy)

Next, he showed the favourite drink of his mum, Oonagh. The ‘hotel grade’ champagne cocktail combined chilled Seven Tails XO blended Cognac with the brisk fortified wine of the region, Pineau de Charentes, as well as tannic jasmine, tart grape juice, and toasty Champagne. Cleansingly mineral, I can see how the drink could be good enough to eat with. ‘Ribs friendly?’ I ventured. ‘Or a buttery scallop,’ added Davy.

The particularly pretty Lovefool landed next. Inspired by a rhubarb pavlova, it unites Bombay Sapphire gin with seasonal rhubarb, vanilla, and — all the way from Sichuan province — Ming River baijiu, which has been subject to a good washing with texturally thickening yogurt, then topped with pink pét-nat.

 (Courtesy)
(Courtesy)

Finally, Davy showed me his 0% ABV Shirley T: a starlet starring a more savoury, homemade take on Sprite, with ginger tea, lemongrass, and pomegranate, finished with a trio of merry-looking glacé cherries. In a nutshell? A deliciously smart choice given I have to find my way home.

Spitalfields Bar is open Friday and Sunday evenings. (thehawksmoor.com)