BLOOM Cocktails by Paul Stevens @ the Mandarin Oriental - promotion in conjunction with Jo Malone and BLOOMing Chelsea

BLOOM Cocktails by Paul Stevens @ the Mandarin Oriental - promotion in conjunction with Jo Malone and BLOOMing Chelsea
I've always loved the Mandarin Bar at the Mandarin Oriental and have known many 0f the bar managers and F & B purchasers. However, Paul Stevens is the current Bar Manager and he's pretty good at what he does. He's currently running a promotion in conjunction with Jo Malone - if you go in to the Mandarin Bar and order one of the two bespoke cocktails by Paul (see below) you'll get a voucher which entitles you to a free hand and arm massage and a glass of Champagne at Jo Malones place in Sloane Street!

Atlas Highball:

50ml BLOOM Gin
25ml lemon juice
15-20ml Honey & Lavender Syrup


(4:1 mix of honey to lavender-infused warm water)
50ml Schweppes Russchian
4 pink dianthus flowers

Mix first 3 in mixing glass and pour into a highball glass filled with crushed ice, stir with 3 of 4 flowers add more ice if needed and top with the Russchian. Garnish with final, finest flower and straws.





Chelsea Gardener:

75ml BLOOM Gin
25ml lemon juice
15ml Lady Grey tea syrup
10ml Chamomile tea syrup
20ml Pomegranate juice
0.7ml (18 drops) Orange flower water
0.7ml (18drops) Rose Petal water
Spritz Maraschino

Shake all ingredients with ice except the Maraschino. Dbl strain into a coupette or Martini glass, add a spritz of maraschino from an atomiser and garnish with a single white Dianthus or Blue Cornflower.

BLOOM Martinis by Joel Lawrence @ St James's

BLOOM Martinis by Joel Lawrence @ St James's Hotel and Club

It was a real pleasure to see Joel again at St James's yesterday, it had been far too long. His back bar is incredibly well balanced with lots of interesting products across all categories. Although Joel's preference is for Whisky and Vodka, I like to think he was rather impressed with BLOOM Gin. Although Joel's not a big fan of juniper and commented that Bloom was clearly London Dry in style but had added complexity with nice floral/citrus notes as well as being very smooth. We discussed what to try it in and Joel opted for a straight up Martini but on the way to the cupbard to get the Vermouth, he changed his mind and used Bottlegreen Ginger and Lemongrass instead. He gave half the rim a wipe with Kumquat so we could decide whether it worked or not - it did! The result was an incredibly light, smooth and uplifting Martini - which could easily become far too easy to drink.

Truth is, if I thought the previous Martini was a little addictive then there's no hope for anyone that tries:

Joel's BLOOM Lychee Martini!

50ml BLOOM Gin
25 ml Lychee Liqueur (Giffard)
50 ml Lychee Juice

Shake all hard over ice and pour into a Chilled Martini glass with a strawberry garnish.

A classic tasting note of lychee is rose - this really adds to the floral notes of the camomile and honeysuckle botanicals in BLOOM.

Easy to make and perfect for summer! Enjoy.

BLOOM Cocktails @ McQueen by Theo Von Sternberg

BLOOM Cocktails @ McQueen by Theo Von Sternberg

McQueen in Shoreditch opened its doors fairly recently and is looking really rather sharp. Clean lines with lots of leather and stainless steel really gives off a sense of fast cars and fast living. This overall look and feel of the bar is reassuring because it's called McQueen after the actor Steve McQueen. who famously said "Racing is life. Anything before or after is just waiting."

A Perfect Lady (Vicky Anderson)

40 ml BLOOM Gin

1 Egg White

Peach Bitters

12.5ml Merlet Peach Liqueur

20 ml Lemon Juice

10 ml Sugar Syrup

Method: Shake all the ingredients hard over ice.

Serve: Coupette with a pomelo Garnish

Theo also made a Boon with BLOOM Gin, fresh pink grapefruit, orgeat and grapefruit bitters as well as a Bajan BLOOM which has BLOOM Gin, Velvet Falernum, Rhubarb Bitters and topped with Prosecco - both of which are delicious and show off the versatility and mixability of BLOOM. He also promises some more creations.... watch this space!