Gin Garden...ing Leave

Feeling confident after our surprise Australian gin discovery, we used our best research techniques and typed the words 'gin' and 'Sydney' into Google.  You know, just to see what would happen.  The result was far better than expected.  While there is no bar in London (as far as we know) that is proud enough to call itself a gin bar, in Sydney we stumbled off the flight and straight into the Gin Garden.  A veritable oasis with tall bamboos, exposed bricks, classical columns and, what's this?  The Australian Bombay Sapphire Design Discovery Awards entries displayed around the bar.  Bombay Sapphire, we simply must stop bumping into each other like this, people will think there is something going on!

We pride ourselves on our noses for gin, and we're pretty good at sniffing out a party too - we'd turned up on the evening of the awards dinner where the winner was being announced by Maarten Baas.  By this point my companion had retired to bed... a lady alone in a gin bar?  There was only one thing for it.

First step was to meet the utterly charming barman Pete.  This is also getting slightly absurd, are 9 out of 10 barmen who prefer gin called Pete?  He proved knowledgeable, a dab hand with a cocktail shaker, and we kicked off with a Gimlet to break the ice.  Pete's favourite cocktail is the Martini, but rather enjoys making the 'Aviation' and his favourite gin is Martin Millers.

This lady returned to a table with a good view of the design and was soon joined by a small group of Aussies, including one lady whose Surrey accent returned on speaking to another Pom, a producer chap, and a lady who I was reliably informed used to be the stunt double for Xena Warrior Princess...

I digress.. The winner was announced shortly after - Peppered Sunlight by Rohan Nicol.  To celebrate, a Blush was demolished, then a Tom Collins and then this lady was forced to wend her way home via a certain takeaway which put the kybosh on her original plan to have a late night sophisticated Collins Clover cocktail in Zeta Bar, who serve speciality vintage cocktails in vintage glassware!  We also love the sound of their vintage cocktail nights and their Heston-inspired experimental cocktails! 

Next time, next time...

Does my Bombay Sapphire look big in this?

Another schizophrenic week for the Ladies of the Lane, as we lord it about London in our various guises.  Last week saw us embracing world-class design - it was London Design Festival after all - at the Bombay Sapphire Designer Glass competition awards.  Gin and culture are two of our favourite things, and when the two combine, quite frankly we don't know what to do with ourselves.

It got too much for one of the Ladies, who packed her bags and jetted off to Roma.  Yours truly, however, managed to keep composed long enough to toddle on down to The Blue Rooms to take a peek at the short-listed designs and research (ahem) some cocktails.

The venue is a portion of the vast underbelly of Vinopolis on Stoney Street, bathed in that unmistakable sapphire blue.  Hypnotically so.  Ten minutes in and I began to wonder if I had missed the memo, and I should in fact have worn something a little more on-brand.  Not letting this minor outfit mishap faze me, I systematically worked through all four of the delicious Bombay Sapphire cocktails on offer (most notably an excellent Sapphire Collins, and a 'Vine'), before the clock struck nine and my (tube) carriage awaited me.

The prestigious award went to German designer Bruno Everling, and his mesmerising 'Liquid Sapphire' glass.  And deservedly so - we'd be more than happy to sip our Bombay Sapphire from such a thing of beauty.  Or, you know, a plastic cup.  As long as it holds gin, really.

From Dusk ‘til Dawn (well, quite late, for a school night)…

The Ladies of the Lane spent a most enjoyable evening of gin based debauchery at Bombay Sapphire’s Dusk Bar, Somerset House this week. Though a tad dubious at the prospect of being taught about drinking gin (which has always come naturally I must say), I was pleasantly persuaded by the first cocktail of the evening – a Collins. Followed swiftly by a dry Martini or three, mixed by the Ladies themselves (taught by the VERY entertaining barman Sam), and then a Cinnamon Swirl to finish. 

No less than five gin cocktails, snacks to soak up a little booze and a party bag full of beautiful blue cocktail tat is well worth an investment of just twenty English pounds to my mind, not to mention the large bottle of (yes, you've guessed it) Bombay Sapphire we won in the competition.

We probably didn’t need the last two cocktails of the evening but what the hey, we weren’t counting. And it seemed rude not to quite frankly.