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Slideshow
Savoy launches cocktails inspired by the British Isles
With story telling at the heart of The American Bar at The Savoy, its new cocktail menu is inspired by an imaginary journey around the British Isles.
A section of the new Coast to Coast cocktail menu is inspired by Sherwood Forest
Created in by American Bar manager Declan McGurk and head bartender Erik Lorincz, the Coast to Coast menu launched this month and takes guests on a voyage from Kent to Castle Rock.
Each of the cocktails on the menu are made with ingredients grown in the British countryside and are inspired by British folklore and the UK’s rich history.
“The penny dropped while Erik and I were reviewing what we wanted to achieve with the new menu.
“We decided that the focus should be on the table, to see how we can enhance the guest experience; and from this a journey of character and content was born,” McGurk said.
The menu also takes inspiration from the Kent countryside
The adventure begins with a quartet of cocktails inspired by Kent countryside, known fondly as “the garden of England”, which are made with ingredients found growing in the county like cobnuts, hazelnuts, hops and apples.
Among them is the Oast House Fizz, the tips its hat to the oast houses found dotted around Kent that were traditionally used to dry hops.
The sparkling cocktail combines gin, Cocchi Rosa, pineapple syrup, lemon juice, a hop and herb tincture, soda water and egg white.
Then comes four Art Deco cocktails inspired by The Savoy’s Art Deco décor and the birth of cocktail culture at the American Bar. Classic and heady, each cocktail is served in an elongated coupe on a silver tray.
The Sapphire Jubilee Fizz is based on the Art Deco fountain that prettifies the hotel’s entrance, and blends gin, pineau des Charentes, violet liqueur and Champagne.
The menu then ventures deep into Sherwood Forest via the likes of The Shire Cocktail, which traces the forest’s history as a royal hunting lodge. The punchy cocktail marries Chivas Regal 18 Year Old, roasted sunflower honey and cider.
The penultimate stop on the tour saddles up in the Pennines, known as the backbone of England, and to sips like The Spinning Jenny, which was invented in 1764 by James Hargreaves and played a key role in the industrial revolution.
The cocktail features gin, Cocchi American, pear eau de vie, yierba maté, citric acid and berry syrup.
The journey ends at Castle Rock, home to Edinburgh castle. Among the quartet of Scotch-laced sips in this section is the Arthur’s Seat, inspired by the mountain on the site of an extinct volcano a mile east of Edinburgh city centre.
The fortifying drink blends 16 year old malt whisky, wild honeysuckle, Cocchi Rosa wine, honey water, raspberry vinegar and blossom bitters.
Click through for a gallery of images and recipes of cocktails from each of the new menu’s five sections.
The Coast to Coast menu is available now at The American Bar at The Savoy. The cocktails range from £18-50 but the majority are priced at £20.
Kentish Cob
Inspired by the cobnuts grown thought Kent, this nutty concoction combines Bacardi 8 year old rum, coffee, roasted hazelnut soda, fermented plantain syrup and Martini Rubino vermouth.
Basil Ionides
Named after the architect who gave The Savoy an Art Deco makeover in the 1920d, this sip fuses Zacapa rum, smoky whisky, mastiha liqueur, salted cacao liqueur, cacao infused Cocchi Vermouth di Torino and Peychaud’s Bitters.
A Frosty Reception
Tipping its hat to the fact that Sherwood Forest came to be at the end of the last Ice Age, this frosty cocktail marries mezcal, birch liqueur, pink peppercorn honey, egg white, lime juice and eucalyptus.
Black Diamond
Inspired by the increasing demand for coal in the 19th century for steam trains, this powerful sip marries Woodford Reserve Rye, Mr Black’s Cold Press Coffee Liqueur, Campari, salted Lapsang Souchong syrup and Haeckel’s Black Diamond incense.
The Tunnel Piper
This cocktail plays on the story of the ill-fated Scottish piper who was sent to explore the tunnels leading from the castle to the Royal Mile and never returned. It combines Dewar’s, liquorice bitters, cacao Martini Rubino vermouth, lemon juice, roasted barley syrup, apricot liqueur and egg white.