The most cutting-edge cocktails in London

London bars have always been on the experimental side, but some of the most innovative ones are even making their own ingredients. Take a look at these bonkers – but brilliantly delicious – concoctions
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Olivia Williams8 February 2013

Bark-infused Martinis

Londoners queue up round the block to squeeze into backstreet cocktail bar 69 Colebrooke Row – and with good reason. Here, you can try rarities like Barbershop Fizz, which mixes Beefeater 24 with pine, distilled clay, flint and lichen in the Terroir cocktail and the Woodland Martini, which is made with bitters created from three different types of bark. Truly adventurous stuff.

69 Colebrooke Row, N1. 69colebrookerow.com.

Hibiscus tequila

In the vaulted cellars of the new Ampersand Hotel in South Kensington is a veritable laboratory: Apero. Its intrepid bartenders serve a novel collection of unusual, light cocktails. They tinge Sipsmith gin with Earl Grey tea and add their home-spiced sugar to make the Indigo Jones, a refreshing mixed berry cobbler. And the Ocho tequila steeped in hibiscus is sure to be unlike any other tequila you've had before. Served with watermelon juice, it'll be perfect come the spring.

Apero, 2 Harrington Rd, SW7. aperorestaurantandbar.com.

Victorian classics

Drinks recreated from Victorian-era recipes are a major trend at the moment, and nowhere could be more suitable than at the Booking Office in the enchanting Victorian ticket hall of the original St Pancras station. They make fruit syrups in-house, from the pineapple in the East India cocktail to the raspberry in Sherry Blush. If you have room, you really shouldn't miss out on the truffle chips either.

Booking Office at St Pancras Renaissance London Hotel, Euston Rd, NW1. bookingofficerestaurant.com.

Homemade ginger beer and falernum

The uber enthusiastic bartenders at Notting Hill pub The Lonsdale make many of their own mixers – and it makes a big difference. Their own grenadine and ginger beer, made using root ginger, nutmeg, and cloves, is much tastier than the supermarket stuff and a particular cocktail favourite is the tropical Caribbean Falernum, which includes Jamaican rum, sugar, lime zest and lots of spices. It's buzzing in the evening, making it a great place for an after-work cocktail.

The Lonsdale, 48 Lonsdale Rd, W11. thelonsdale.co.uk.

Italian peach and apricot vermouth

The Italian owners of Mele e Pere take their vermouth very seriously, using their own botanicals to flavour the traditional, dry aperitif. Have it neat or in classic cocktails like the Vermouth Sangria or the English Negroni, which use both their house red vermouth and a spiced one made by Sacred in Highgate. The sweet after-dinner version, flavoured with peach and apricot, is a highlight.

Mele e Pere, 46 Brewer St, W1. meleepere.co.uk.

Chinese white tea syrup

In the beautiful Artesian Bar at The Langham, legendary bartender Alex Kratena makes his own syrups and cordials to great effect, like the Chinese white tea syrup in their Margherita. Elsewhere on the menu, their humble gin and tonic has never been more nuanced, with subtle additions like orange flower water, quinine cordial and Beefeater-laced soda water, while the shrub-spiced rum and liquorice flavoured vodka are just as exciting. Luxurious surroundings make it just the place to impress a serious cocktail buff. Expensive, but very special.

Artesian Bar at The Langham, 1C Portland Place, W1. artesian-bar.co.uk.

Ginspirations

Downstairs at Hix in Soho, the seasonally-themed cocktails at Mark's Bar change every few days. For winter, they have the curiously enjoyable parsnip-infused Monkey Shoulder whisky and a homemade lemon sherbet for their Gin Punch, while Beefeater gin gets a revamp with infusions of quince, blackberr and saffron. Their drinks license requires you to choose something from the food menu too, but that's no hardship really: it's attached to one of London's best restaurants.

Mark's Bar at Hix, 66-70 Brewer St, W1. marksbar.co.uk.

Honey rum to chilli vodka

Who could say no to ginger and honey-meddled rum or a sip of chilli vodka on a chilly evening? The Marylebone's current cocktail of the month is coke-flavoured, with lemon bitters and Bacardi, a Cointreau foam and popping candy rim. Just as exciting: it's very good value for money.

The Marylebone, 93 Marylebone High St, W1. themarylebonelondon.com.

Chai to coriander tonic

Flavours like chai and hibiscus, Earl Grey and coriander and lime and basil will make standard tonic seem very dull after those at The Thatched House. Being just a short wobble from the Sipsmith distillery, this Hammersmith pub has a great range of Sipsmith and other sought-after gins. They also make their own cordials, which are delicious with gin and soda. Hunker down into a deep leather sofa by the fire and tuck in.

The Thatched House, 115 Dalling Rd, W6. thatchedhouse.com.

Old-school gin

Join the Notting Hillbillies who get to enjoy their own local gin, The Portobello Road No. 171, in their martinis. It's an old-style London dry gin, with top notes of citrus and juniper, so it makes a versatile base for cocktails at the Portobello Star Bar. Their mint and strawberries come from Portobello market on their doorstep. All in all, a very Notting Hill affair.

Portobello Star Bar, 171 Portobello Rd , W11. portobellostarbar.co.uk.

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