London Cocktail Week kicks off across the capital on Monday 3rd October, so we’ve decided to celebrate the occasion in style (because what better excuse to sip on multiple concoctions every night of the week). If you buy a £10 festival pass, you get access to unlimited £5 cocktails from over 250 bars in London, as well as the pop up cocktail village at Old Spitalfields Market and the World Class House in Piccadilly Circus. Getting a festival pass is a no-brainer; it’s choosing the cocktail(s) thats the tricky part! We’ve decided to help you out by teaming a selection of £5 cocktails on offer with the type of Londoner we’d image to drink them…
1. ‘The Backyard Sour’ to please The Bitter Commuter
Available for £5 at The Rum Kitchen (Brixton, Notting Hill & Carnaby)
2. ‘Strawberry’s and Cream’ for the #CheatDay Queen
Your Instagram feed is saturated by mouth-watering images of calorific sweet treats… and it’s usually down to one culprit. You know the type; the girl who’s Insta-famous for her daily upload of treats – Freakshakes, bubble waffles, cronuts, you name it. Her thousands of followers, including yourself, are all curious to know how she stays so slim (you doubt she ever actually eats the treats she snaps up). If there’s one thing that will make her crack, it’s Fifteen’s Strawberry’s and Cream. This boozy puddin’ in a glass tastes like strawberry cheesecake – one made with Langleys gin, cider vermouth, strawberries, tarragon, chai, coconut water and clarified milk. This concoction is so naughty, she’ll forget to even Instagram it.
3. ‘Love Me/Love Me Not’ for today’s Bridget Jones
Available for £5 at Loves Company
4. ‘Tommy Goes To Thailand’ for the Worldy Travell-yaaaar
This guy loves the taste of the exotic, so much so that, although he has ridiculously high monthly outgoings on his ‘warehouse’ Shoreditch flat (which reeks of too much incense and is draped with Indian wall hangings, cushions, turkish lamps and absolutely nothing practical) he’s out of the city more than he’s in it. He’ll hang around for London Cocktail Week, because the Cocktail Village at Old Spitalfields market is just around the corner. And he’ll obviously be tickling his tastebuds with tequila. El Jimador Reposado tequila at that.
5. A Classic Martini for the ‘Millennial’ Loather
For the man who rolls his eyes at the combination of ‘innovation’ and ‘cocktails’; who decided long ago he hates pop ups (without having ever been to one) and loathes any attempt for brands to ‘speak’ to the consumer through engaging ‘experiences’. He probably doesn’t have a contactless card (out of choice), thinks Kindles are the devil and appreciates the finer things in life, like the smell of a clever writer’s words on a page. He only reads literary classics; something by Dickens or Fitzgerald or Cheever. This Londoner likes his drinks likes he likes his books. Classic, subtle, but stiff. And stirred. (Bond and Fleming can bog off).
6. Tea & G for London Lover
This person adores everything about London. They’re always out, exploring new pop ups, restaurants, galleries. You envy their ability to do something ‘cultured’ and different every night, while you opt for an evening in front of Netflix more often than not. They also think pigeons are ‘cute’, they’d describe Oxford Street as ‘vibrant’ (you gotta give it to them for their optimism) and you’ve never heard them moaning about tube delays. Heck, perhaps they’re a robot created by TfL. But there is a way you can impress this London Lover; tell her to try the Tea & G, a quirky concoction that combines the quintessentially British gin & Chamomile Tea. Oh and they get to sip it with Blueprint Cafe’s view over Tower Bridge. How very London.
Available for £5 at Blueprint Cafe
7. 75 Steps for the Hyde Park Run Club Captain
This person enjoys being sweaty on the Central Line, because they can only think of the resting calories they’re burning in the process. They drink so much pressed juice that you’re surprised their veins haven’t turned green yet and they spend a small fortune at Barry’s Boot Camp. This Londoner needs a moment when they’re not relentlessly checking their step count on their Apple Watch. Instead, they can take 75 Steps in a very different form. Opium’s special LCW cocktail even has cucumber in it, as well as gin (which everyone knows is the healthiest tipple of them all).
Available for £5 at Opium Cocktail & Dim Sum Parloir
To see the full line up of cocktails available for £5 across London Cocktail Week, visit the DrinkUp.London website.