BLOOM Gin @ The Juniper Society

BLOOM had a great outing last night at The Juniper Society, Graphic Bar.

Mikey makes a few Sonic BLOOMs and I get to sample the punch - just a taste test you understand.... The punchbowl was my first ever purchase on Ebay - the things I do for a decent drink! It worked perfectly though and I'm very grateful to Sarah Mitchell for the recipe (I'll post it soon) and James Rackham for providing the Bernard Loiseau Creme De Peches Fleur D' Hibiscus liqueur made by Boudier.

Also a huge thanks to both Mikey and Adam who looked dashing and served perfect BLOOM drinks all night long!

The quiet before the storm. We had 4 different sessions in the end with about 10-12 people in each group. Joanne (BLOOM's Master Distiller) was marvelous at being heard and sharing her knowledge and passion for BLOOM with a very attentive and interested audience. I hope her voice is ok today....

Things begin to warm up and we actually managed to start bang on 7pm with the first session filling up very quickly indeed!


The response was amazing and it was really great to see so many Gin Lovers - both old and new - out on a Monday night. This above is already the second session.


Wow! What a great sight and so many Rum Lovers dipping their toes into the world of Gin. What an honour for BLOOM!

The third session with some very intent listeners!

Thanks again to everyone that turned up, thanks to Graphic Bar, Alin and Sarah, Joanne and Anjna and of course BLOOM!

Mixing it up with Sarah Mitchell @ Vanquish

With so many BLOOM events coming up it was really great to get Sarah into the Vanquish Office to spend some quality time mixing up some BLOOM drinks. We had a rough idea of what we wanted to create and I'd done the shopping - fresh red grapefruits, limes and lemons, Grapefruit bitters, Rhubarb bitters, Peach bitters, Orange bitters......Elderflower cordial and finally some Lillet Blanc. The whole thing was actually quite simple - we'd already discussed which martini would work - BLOOM and Lillet Blanc with a fresh grapefruit zest. We made it and it conquered - job done!

The next plan was a summer punch - this wasn't quite as simple but only because we loved each one we made. You'll have to come to the Juniper Society @ Graphic Bar on 26th July, 7pm to find out which one we finally chose - you can also meet Joanne Moore BLOOMs Master Distiller. Meanwhile, as a hint, we tried several of the Boudier range of Bernard Loiseau liqueurs and opted to use the Creme de Peches & Fleur d'Hibiscus one - delicious......

See you on the 26th!

BLOOM London Diary

13th and 14th July - Imbibe 2010 - stand C82 - Earls Court Two

Big things are expected from this inaugural event from Imbibe.

13th July - The Bartender Loves You @ McQueen, Shoreditch

An industry networking night - this evening we have a special offer on that fabulous BLOOM Martini and a very 'special' free cocktail.

23rd July - Gerry's, Old Compton Street - 1pm - 5.30pm

BLOOM will be available for sampling and we have a very special offer of the fantastic bespoke BLOOM glass for each purchase of BLOOM.

26th July - The Juniper Society - Graphic Bar, Golden Square - 7pm

Meet Joanne Moore - BLOOM's Master Distiller - find out all about the inspiration and production of BLOOM as well as meet some lovely like minded people and try some really great cocktails!

Stefan Botfield from City Beverage Company

City Beverages is one of my favourite independent Wine and Spirit stores in London (Shoreditch). They have an incredible selection of the finest Wines, Spirits, Coffees and Teas - they really do cover all bases!

http://www.citybeverage.co.uk/

Stefan came into 'La Suite' - our tasting room at Vanquish - to have a look at our portfolio. First off he reminded himself of BLOOM Gin - a City Beverage favourite (£22.99) before moving on to the next release from Greenall's premium portfolio - Berkeley Square Gin - watch this space!

The next time you're in Shoreditch - pop in to CBC and say hello.

Northbank in BLOOM

I was blessed with visiting Northbank Restaurant today in the bright sunshine. The views are stunning and expansive with the Tate Modern right opposite - across the Thames of course. The restaurant is tucked in at the North side of the Millenium Bridge and has a suberb food and drink offering. Check out their website at http://www.northbankrestaurant.com/ just in case you need convincing.

I met up with Graham Scott the head bar tender who created a fantasticly simple yet extremely tasty new BLOOM cocktail.

Northbank in BLOOM
25ml BLOOM Gin

10ml Coconut Syrup

30ml Pineapple Juice

Shake all ingredients over ice and strain into a chilled martini glass. Garnish with a fresh raspberry.

As I said very simple to make and yet tastes really great, sometimes back to basics does work!

BLOOM Cocktail - 'BLOOMsbury Set' by Tristan Lobb @ Vanilla

Vanilla is the sort of place I think you should take a first date. Tucked away in Great Titchfield Street it's unlikely your muse would've been here before. Inside, the decor is uber cool white, everywhere - the walls, drapes, curtains, tables, chairs - I did say everywhere! with cristal drop chandeliers tastefully floating above the tables and bar. The lighting tone can be changed at the flick of a switch - check out the gallery pictures at http://www.vanillalondon.co.uk/

Matt Destandau is the General Manager and Tristan Lobb is the Head Bar Tender. Both are really great guys and I'm certain they'd spoil you rotten if you let them know you're on that first date!

Tristan really worked on this BLOOM recipe and it's well worth the wait! There's another recipe in the pipeline too....

BLOOMsbury Set
I should say that Tristan did want to call this cocktail
'London in BLOOM' - which is perfect but sadly the name has already been taken.

2.0 BLOOM Gin
0.75 Grapfruit Juice
0.50 Chamomile and Honey Syrup (Homemade)
0.50 Egg White

Shake all ingredients over ice and fine strain into a chilled Martini glass. Garnish with an edible flower - in this instance a purple pansy.

I love this cocktail because the BLOOM really shines through! Initially a big hit of floral and chamomile, the grapefruit and the honey balance the drink out perfectly and the egg white provides a lovely mouthfeel. Overall a perfectly constructed and well blanced drink that's actually really easy to make! Assuming you can make the odd syrup....

BLOOM Gin Cocktails by Simon Thompson @ Hilton, Green Park.

Tiger Green is currently the name of the bar at Hilton, Green Park. It's a friendly place, recently done up with good work still in progress. The Hotel is tucked away in Half Moon Street, Mayfair so it's pretty easy for me to pop over from our new Vanquish office, also in Mayfair.... The bar will have a Gin slant so BLOOM Gin is a natural contender. Simon has come up with a real couple of gems!

BLOOMing Capello

25ml BLOOM Gin
25ml Pimms No. 1
25ml Martini Rosso
Dash Orange Bitters

Add all ingredients together and stir for dilution over ice. pour into an Old Fashioned glass, orange zest and twist.

Simon's perfect serve is with a giant round ice cube which has orange rind frozen into it - it sits perfectly in the old fashioned glass, which is rounded. Sadly I'd got there so promptly it wasn't quite frozen yet so we just made do with loose ice - I'll be back....

A BLOOMing Capello is a twist on a Negroni but the Pimms adds real fruitiness that just doesn't normally come through. The Orangey notes also really compliments the Pomelo in the BLOOM and the floral notes still shine through - smooth and delicious.

Basil 'n BLOOM Martini

70ml BLOOM
Fresh Basil
2 x Lucques Olives
Noilly Prat - Dry

Muddle the olives and basil. stir the Noilly over ice and pour out then add all the ingredients and stir. Double strain into a frozen Martini glass and garnish with a basil leaf.

This Martini is very dry and herbal, the basil works really well with the floral notes of BLOOM and the olives add a real salty note. With 70ml of BLOOM in it, it's not for the faint hearted.... although as I said to Simon and Mohseen "sadly, I can't just sip here all afternoon!"


Simon and Mohseen with the Basil 'n BLOOM Martini, Tiger Green (for now) at The Hilton, Green Park.

BLOOM Cocktail - Thriller In Perilla by Oskar Kinberg @ The Cuckoo Club

Thriller in Perilla

50ml BLOOM Gin

15ml Creme de Violette

20ml Lemon Juice

2 Dashes Grapefruit Bitters

3 Bar Spoons Sugar

3 Perilla/Shiso Leaves

Whisk with crushed ice in a Julep Cup

Garnish with a straw and Perilla/Shiso leaf

Shiso is Japanese for Perilla and the herb is often known as Japanese Basil or 'The Beefsteak Plant'. The flavour is quite distinct - it's a bit like a cross between mint and fennel. You can see on the bar a Perilla leaf which Oskar was showing me.....

Innovation truly at it's best!

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!

SONIC BLOOM

SONIC BLOOM

by Richard Brierley of Vanquish

Double Measure of BLOOM Gin

Tonic Water

Soda Water

Fresh Lime

Make a Gin and Tonic with slightly less Tonic so you can top with Soda (Soda/Tonic = SONIC)

Really refreshing and perfect for a summers day!

BLOOM Cocktails by Kester Thomas @ No. 5

Kester is a very talented and highly innovative bartender who is now at No. 5. It's well worth a visit over the coming months to enjoy Kester's development of the No' 5 terrace and his "edible cocktail afternoon teas" - I know I can't wait!
When I first took Bloom in to Kester we were pleasantly surprised to find two perfect BLOOM cocktail recipes. The cocktail below is called a Honey Suckle - which is a Botanical in BLOOM.

Honey Suckle


Garnish:
Use elderflower cordial to dip the rim of the glass into and coat with soft granulated sugar.

Ingredients:
4 x Fresh raspberries
15 ml x Elderflower cordial
25 ml x BLOOM Gin
15 ml x Krupnik honey vodka
Champagne

Method:
Carefully pour Champagne into a flute about two thirds full. Shake the other ingredients over ice and fine strain on top of the Champagne.


Deliciously refreshing and fruity. Very clean and perfect for summer.

In this second cocktail Kester makes his own Chamomile syrup from the dried flowers used for tea and Chamomile is a distinct botanical in BLOOM Gin along with Honeysuckle and Pomelo.

Kester's Chamomile Collins

Ingredients:
2 x tsp Vanilla sugar

1 x Juice whole lemon

50 ml x BLOOM Gin
25 ml x Elderflower Liqueur - St Germain

25 ml x Kester's homemade Chamomile syrup

Method:

shake all ingredients over ice and pour into a collins glass over ice.

Garnish:

Fill the glass crushed ice and top with dried Chamomile Flowers and grated Lemon peel.

Overall the experience of No. 5 is of opulence and luxury combined with great atmosphere and fantastic drinks.

Highly recommended!

BLOOM Gin - Tonic Test at Graphic

It was great to finally catch up with Sarah Mitchell (now the new Bar Manager) at Graphic last night, both Sarah and the bar are firm favourites of mine. It was Monday so I suspected some Gin thing or another might be occuring. As it was I wandered in to the the aftermath of a Harpers blind Gin tasting - about 50 were tasted in total apparently - by various Star Tenders. So more great catching up with Esther Medina, Tom Foxwell, Joe Stokoe, Roberto Fiorillo, JJ Goodman...... I also met the last (allegedly) in the long line of a great family of bartenders - Mike Nicolian - who's now working at Graphic!

Tonic Test:
Gin's most common serve is with tonic and it's vital that the characteristics of the Gin are complimented by the tonic not lost by it. You could have the best Gin in the world but mix it with (crap) the wrong tonic and it's a waste of Good Spirit.
We sampled 3 Tonics each with 1 part Gin to 2 parts Tonic with no ice or garnish which masks the taste.
BLOOM and Schweppes Tonic - Although Bloom is delicate it's not without its wonderful charm and we want this to shine through. We all (Sarah, Esther, Mike and myself) found this combination far too sweet. I've tried BLOOM with Schweppes Tonic before and thought it very tasty and very sherberty but it did have ice and lemon in it. So this was very interesting to see how well they actually fitted together - too sweet.
BLOOM and Fever Tree Tonic - This worked really well, much drier than the first and the floral and citrus notes of BLOOM were clearly present. The tonic wasn't too sweet or bitter and tasted fresh and clean. By far mine and everyone elses, favoured combination.
BLOOM and Fentimans Tonic - I love the Fentimans range and had previously tried the tonic but in isolation - no Gin. This combination however did not taste like Gin and Tonic at all, it tasted like Fentimans. In fact we wondered what Gin would be able to cut through such a massive flavour profile in the tonic - Junipero perhaps? Plymouth Navy maybe?
The Final Twist - For BLOOM it's got to be Lime, we tried lemon as well but we prefered the punchiness of the lime combined with the uplifted floral notes of BLOOM.

Soooo, I'll have a BLOOM Gin with Fever Tree Tonic and a Lime Twist please!

Pomelo - Chinese Grapefruit

It's funny how I'd never come across the fruit Pomelo until just recently. It's one of the botanicals in BLOOM Gin and I was amazed to find one in my local fruit and veg shop. Now I keep spotting them everywhere!

This Pomelo is the size of a small melon. The skin is incredibly zesty and fragrant and it smells really like grapefruit.






The fruit itself is yellow, pretty much the same as the skin.

The taste is really rich and sweet. There's no bitterness that comes with normal grapefruit and the fragrance carries through
all the way to the palate.




Overall, It's quite unusual and tastes great. I can't wait to try it in some BLOOM Gin cocktails!


Watch this space!

BLOOM Gin

I'd seen it here I'd seen it there but never managed to lay my hands on any. The early reviews I'd read were great and the packaging looked stunning. Simon Difford had written and raved about BLOOM and its producer Greenall's in Class Issue 3 (July/August) and it had even won a Gold in The Drinks Business Design Awards.....

I now have some and have even shared it with a few fine folk in the industry. See the great Cocktail Sean at Callooh Callay made last week below.

Nose: Thankfully most definitely GIN - indeed, exactly as it says on the bottle - Premium London Dry Gin - light relief from the recent wave of 'boutique' gins that don't taste anything like gin. Predominatly Juniper with light, uplifted floral notes, which would be explained by the Chamomile and Honeysuckle botanicals. Sitting underneath all of that is a hint of citrus which would be from the Pomelo - a strange fruit that apparently tastes a bit like a mild grapefruit. This is all bound together by herbal and violet notes.

Taste: Incredibly soft and smooth on the palate with a silky mouthfeel and again most pleasingly GIN! Although delicate in style there is real weight given by the honeysuckle, notes of orange bitters and freshly cracked black pepper. The chamomile hits mid palate with zesty grapefruit and sweet violets, all neatly finished off with resinous pine and smooth spice.

White Lady with Absinthe Cocktail using BLOOM Gin

This fantastic cocktail was made in Callooh Callay by Sean Ware.

It was the first time I'd taken BLOOM Gin out to play and I wasn't disappointed!

Ingredients:

20 ml BLOOM Gin

20 ml Cointreau

15 ml Fresh Lemon

1/2 Egg White

2.5 ml Absinthe (Pernod)

Method:
Dry Shake

Wet Shake

Double Strain

Garnish:
Star Anise