Hix Bar, Soho
I am not
going to rate this bar because I have only been once – and at these prices I am
unlikely to go back any time soon (cocktails start at £9 though most are £10.50
and upwards, not outrageous but nonetheless…)
The reason
I am writing this is because on the advice of Gin Monkey and Adam of DrElmegirab Bitters I took up some cocktail history reading and very soon got
addicted. So I started off with the very readable Straight Up Or On The
Rocks: A Story of the American Cocktail by William Grimes. This was a great place to start tracking the
progression of drink in general travelling from the taverns of the west to
glitzy hotel bars in the city and back to old techniques being reintroduced in
today’s bars (though it does need updating with current fast moving trends, prohibition
etc). It also got intrigued looks on the tube. There was a quite a lot of
mention of punches, but nothing was on a par with the full history found in Punch
by David Wondrich – utterly recommended
and I am now onto his other book Imbibe! – which, as the title suggests,
is all about the punch: the history, the tools, recipes old and new. Utterly
fascinating.
Reading
these recipes David has done his best to give you access to the drinks “of yore”
but we simply do not have the same ingredients around. However when I saw The
Criterion Milk Punch at Hix I simply had to go for it. Yes. MILK! And it was so
interesting, in a good way.
-
El Dorado
-
Martell
VS Cognac
-
Pineapple,
citrus, spice and milk infusion
All
clarified and bottled and served in a metal julep cup with shaved ice and
pineapple garnish
It was just
so complex with a very fresh palate but a lush texture, creamy and weighty. I
would definitely have this again. (Gin Punch a la Terrington made with lemon sherbet
that I read so much about was also incredibly well executed).
I do wonder
how many people would dare order a cocktail with milk and citrus in, either way, I thoroughly recommend getting your
hands on any of these books, then heading to Hix for a special occasion to take
yourself back in history. This is the Time Traveller’s Cocktail Club (unlike
this!)
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