ED Cocktails

[Sue]

I recently had an urge to have a cocktail (sad, I know), but being normally a beer or wine drinker I have no idea where to go.

Where in ED can one buy a decent cocktail without being made to feel a total fool or look totally out of place, my normal stamping ground being pubs?

I don't want to pay the earth and then be disappointed with what I get.

Or should I just buy the ingredients myself and make loads of ice? Probably not a good idea for several reasons :))

[Peckhamgatecrasher]

I think you should buy the ingredients yourself and invite a dispassionate, discerning friend around to judge the results.

[mrsparker]

In ED give Tippler a try. Their cocktail menu is very small BUT the staff (bar and serving) are brilliant and knowledgeable and will mix something up to your taste.

Cocktails in Yama Momo are also good and will challenge your taste buds ;)

Palmerston also have a small selection of classic cocktails but I've always been a bit disappointed, martini was somewhat watery but their bellini's were ok.

It can get expensive to do it yourself if you want to use different spirits, bitters etc but if you have a tipple of choice then worth getting the basics in so you can mix one up when you feel the need.

I have about 15 different gins but I am somewhat of a martini addict. I would advise against Bombay or Gordons (Gordon's Export is a different beast and always worth getting if you're at the airport but if you want to keep the cost down then Beefeater is a brilliant gin for cocktails and it's local! Distillery is just down the road in Vauxhall, literally 5 mins from my office, keep meaning to visit but still haven't got round to it!

[Sue]

Peckhamgatecrasher Wrote:

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> I think you should buy the ingredients yourself

> and invite a dispassionate, discerning friend

> around to judge the results.

Ha ha, any particular requests for ingredients?

[edcam]

Tippler definitely the best of a bad bunch in ED but sadly there's nowhere we've found that's great for cocktails. Pedler in Peckham is good and The Crooked Well in Camberwell v good for classics. Most places just sell sugary, fruity gimmick drinks with a tiny measure of alcohol and they're really just a waste of your money.

Unless you're in the mood to go further afield, it's really worth experimenting at home.

[Peckhamgatecrasher]

Gin. Gin or gin. I'm always open to trying gin.

[Sue]

mrsparker Wrote:

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> I have about 15 different gins

I think we move in different circles!

I have a bottle of Tesco own brand gin in the fridge and I'm pretty sure I couldn't tell the difference between that or any other gin once it was mixed with something else :))

I will check out House of Tippler. I suspect Yama Momo will be out of my price range.

Years ago (when I had more money) I went on a cocktail crawl down Lordship Lane in a bid to cheer up a depressed friend (the friend came with me, obv).

After quite a few each, and only one knocked over, we lurched back down the lane. I was carrying a chair and she was carrying six rather pretty small glasses, after we had visited a junk shop at some point on the crawl.

It was a long time ago. Black Cherry was one of the places we went (now Franco Manca), and also Liquorice (where House of Tippler is now, I think).

But I digress.

[Sue]

mrsparker Wrote:

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worth getting the

> basics in so you can mix one up when you feel the

> need.

Hmmm.

The basics would probably last about a week as I'd be feeling the need quite frequently :))

[Sue]

edcam Wrote:

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>

> Unless you're in the mood to go further afield,

> it's really worth experimenting at home.

Luckily, I have two cocktail recipe books which seem to have escaped my recent major book purge :)

Shall I get some of those little umbrellas and plastic giraffes and cocktail cherries?

I could pretend to be Del Boy :))

[mrsparker]

Ha! would never turn my nose up at any gin tbh ;)Am a terrible klepto after too many martini's. our glass collection has a few 'procured' examples. never from Tippler though would like to add if they are watching ;))

and never knock a cocktail cherry, except in a cake bleuggh.

[Sue]

I would like to point out that my friend bought the glasses, and I bought the chair, from said junk shop :))

Can't even remember where it was now, I think it was somewhere along the stretch where Tippler now is and Liquorice then was.

Could it have been the shop that became Chandelier?

ETA: And yes, I do like cocktail cherries :))

[KidKruger]

Sue I don't think there's anywhere in ED worth it's salt for cocktails.

I spent an evening in Tippler with a friend in October, on me, as he'd done me a big favour - we tried half a dozen different cocktails and none unfortunately passed muster. The staff were really cool and helpful and nothing was too much trouble and we had great chats with them.

I was British Bartenders Guild trained back in the day so am probably a bit choosy - no-one around here can mix a simple drink like a Bourbon Sour properly IMO. Best are in my house I'm afraid.

[Sue]

KidKruger Wrote:

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> Sue I don't think there's anywhere in ED worth

> it's salt for cocktails.

> I spent an evening in Tippler with a friend in

> October, on me, as he'd done me a big favour - we

> tried half a dozen different cocktails and none

> unfortunately passed muster. The staff were

> really cool and helpful and nothing was too much

> trouble and we had great chats with them.

> I was British Bartenders Guild trained back in the

> day so am probably a bit choosy - no-one around

> here can mix a simple drink like a Bourbon Sour

> properly IMO. Best are in my house I'm afraid.

Name your time and I'll be there, KK :)) :)) :))

[Peckhamgatecrasher]

Cocktail cherries are essential for a good Snowball!

[Sue]

Peckhamgatecrasher Wrote:

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> Cocktail cherries are essential for a good

> Snowball!

It isn't Christmas yet :))

[KrackersMaracas]

I've really enjoyed everything I have had in peddler - and the food is great too! It really depends what you are partial to. The French house mixed me a very refreshing take on an aperol spritz while I was in there last week, and it's really laid back so you might like to try a few aperitifs with an appropriate snackette (olives, saucisson etc) in there!

[DulwichFox]

Locale was probably the only place in E.D. that knew how to mix a good Cocktail.

Sadly no longer with us. I loved that place.

Foxy.

[Sue]

Locale?? That place which is now The Flying Pig???

[rcmacf]

A bit out of the way, but First Aid Box in Herne Hill does excellent cocktails.

[Sue]

Where abouts in Herne Hill? I will be there tomorrow for the Lambeth Country Show!

[Beaky]

First Aid Box is excellent, they have a good selection and will also make you something if its not on there. Its Opposite Brockwell Park near The Florence Pub, quite small so keep an eye out. White exterior.

[Sue]

Thanks!