Last Friday team TASTE ventured over to Shoreditch for some cocktail sampling! First up was Casita Bar, it may be small but it’s perfectly formed, this little bar is hidden down a small side street named ‘Ravey Street’ in the heart of shoreditch. Here we tried the Casita Club (Gin, creme de mure, lemon, blackberries and egg white) and the Bramble de Casita (Gin, creme de mure, chambord, mixed berries, lemon and crushed ice). Both were delicious, fruity and far too drinkable! In fact we liked them so much, we put them into our Bramble Kit for our subscribers in September.
From there we popped over to Portside Parlour, a hidden gem..reminiscent of a Maritime antiques shop from the outside it’s easily missed!
Here we grabbed a bite to eat from their delicious tapas menu and three different cocktails; a Handsome Jack, Port Royal and Lost in the woods (see what they are below). All three very different and all delicious. The Handsome Jack in particular receiving high praise!
Port Royal (left of photo)
Tanqueray Gin, Royal Tokaji, Benedictine, Orgeat, Lemon juice, Angostura Bitters, Coco Lopez, Fresh pineapple.
Handsome Jack (middle)
Rittenhouse 100 Rye, 1840 Pierre Ferrand Cognac, Aperol Byrrh, Green Chartreuse, Maple Syrup, Angostura Bitters, Peychaud’s Bitters
Lost in the Woods (right)
Plantation Barbados, Maple Syrup, Cedarwood Bitters, Applewood smoke
Our last destination was a tough decision as the area is packed with cocktail bars and therefore sadly you probably can’t do them all in one evening! We chose NOLA as our third and final place; hidden away upstairs in the Bedroom bars building, this bar takes its name and inspiration from New Orleans. The cocktail list offers classic New Orleans cocktails such as the Sazerac, Grasshopper, Ramos Gin Fizz and many more signature serves inspired by the latest international cocktail trends.
Again we chose three very different cocktails; a a NOLA Milk Punch, B’loma and The Other Woman, you’ll have to visit and try them for yourself but The Other Woman was delicious!
Check out more on these bars, and find out how to visit through their websites:
Try out the Casita Bramble and Casita Club cocktail with our September Subscriber kit! Casita have been kind enough to collaborate with us on this kit to show you how they do these two classic cocktails, and we’re putting our own twist on their recipes with the fantastic “Minus 33 gin” – more to come on all of that in the next few days on the TASTE magazine. Sign up to our mailing list to have these new articles delivered directly to your mailbox each week.
Featured image credit: Sauce communications