“What We Wet our Whistles With and Where” or “W6” for short is our new infrequent blog series on events and bars we’ve visited, as well as drinks we’ve made at home. W6 is also the postcode home of TASTE towers, where your cocktail kits start their lives. We’re clever like that, see? 🙂
The Week of 21st May:
What a week it’s been! TASTE’s Toby had a full first half of the week with 3 drinks events to check and out review for our lovely drinks fans and followers. TASTE’s Max joined in for the fun at Kansas Smitty’s on Wednesday for their Jazz ‘n’ Julep bar launch party.
Monday – “The Followers” book launch
I was invited to celebrate the launch of Rebecca Wait’s 2nd novel, “The Followers” at Slightly Foxed on Gloucester Road, one of London’s best independent book shops. Rebecca’s 1st book, “The View on the way Down” was easily the best thing I read last year, and I was lucky enough to read an advanced copy of The Followers before the launch event. It’s a brilliant slow-burner-yet-page-turner about the pull of a charismatic cult leader on a troubled mother and a defiant daughter. You should read it.
No cocktails at this event, but plenty of wine. I’d recommend reading The Followers with a Negroni, which is basically a religious experience of its own.
Tuesday – “Last Libations” Gin Tasting
Olivia Williams, Gin Expert, Historian, and Author of “Gin Glorious Gin” has put together a menu of her 4 “desert island cocktails”, and they are available this week at the Bourne & Hollingsworth Buildings in Farringdon. Caorunn Gin provided the main ingredient and I was lucky enough to have a short tasting and mix up my own herbal martini and G&T with it before working my way through the rest of Olivia’s menu. The star of the menu was the Nettle-based drink for me. Like a grassy daiquiri and incredibly delicious.
The B&H buildings make for a really great bar, and the staff are all incredibly friendly. The space feels like comfy living room, and the windows allow the room to be bathed in evening light, so it’s a completely different experience to your usual underground speakeasy style drinking den. Highly recommended.
Wednesday – Kansas Smitty’s Jazz & Julep Bar Launch Party
Hidden under “Off Broadway” on Broadway Market near London Fields, Kansas Smitty’s is a new Jazz bar, with an all-Julep menu, designed to showcase the incredible house band. We were treated to both last night, and after a very hot, long wait for the first drink, everything started to smooth out, and by the end of the night everyone was dancing energetically, chatting excitedly and generally having a great time! The moment of the night for me was sipping a herbal “Scarborough Julep” while the house band danced through the crowd. This place is going to be a new favourite, I’m sure of it.
