It's been awhile since Londonist dabbled in molecular mixology, that most scientific of drinkie-pooh-ery. Over a year and a half, in fact. We're not sure that, since our write-up of the London launch of Cointreau caviar, the whole molecular cocktail craze has taken off as expected. Bartenders certainly haven't begun to don lab coats, and as far as we can tell, most London tipplers are still more than content boozin' it up old school liquid-style.
Still, it's of note to mention the innovative and reasonably priced range of deconstructed and oddly textured cocktails available at Hush Brasserie in secluded Lancashire Court off Brook Street in Mayfair. For £8.50 per cocktail, this swank restaurant/bar offers the opportunity to challenge your preconceptions about what a cocktail's supposed to be.
On a recent press tasting, we enjoyed sampling a number of Hush's scientificly terrific concoctions. Among them, the Piña-cavia-da (fresh pineapple juice, coconut syrup and santana gum blended and served in a small martini glass, garnished with rum caviar) and the Caipiroli No. 8 (Elements 8 rum blended with fresh lime juice, simple syrup, green food colouring and sodium alginate, chilled and served in a small cocktail saucer and garnished with fresh apple peels) delightfully messed with our minds and enticed our senses. These molecular cocktails taste the same as the classics but look and feel completely different. For traditionalists, we can confirm that Hush has a fine list of the usuals. We especially like the 8th Sense (Element 8 Gold, lemongrass, fresh grapefruit juice, squeeze of lime and touch of syrup served in a martini glass). Classy.
Hush is located at 8 Lancashire Court (W1S 1EY). Visit www.hush.co.uk for more details.
