The Barber Shop Made in Britain for Bar Week

Bar Week 2014 kicked off with a British flavour at the Made in Britain gin masterclass at the Barber Shop in front of a full house of consumers and trade guests. Presented by Mikey Enright along with the Barber Shop team, four centuries of gin were condensed into a two hour masterclass which included four cocktails and a charcuterie and cheese platter.

Mikey Enright, The Barber Shop

Tracing the history of gin starting with Genever, onto the Gimlet and the Gin Palaces of London, Mikey spoke of the popularity of the spirit at a time when there were 5000 gin palaces in London. The presentation moved onto the 1950s to 1990s with the Kangaroo Cocktail and the use of the goblet in the Gin and Tonic in order to make it look like a fancy drink.

The Barber Shop

In the 1980s, the cocktail boom followed influenced by Milk and Honey bar in NYC and the popularity of Sex in the City which made a big impact on the cocktail scene. Onto modern day, and it was the rise of London Hotel bars such as The Savoy and The Connaught and the development of craft gins such as Sipsmith Gin and gins made by bartenders such as Ford’s Gin by Simon Ford of 86 Co Spirits.

White Cargo

Four cocktails were served during the informative session starting with the White Cargo, made with Plymouth navy strength gin, ice cream, Pinot Grigio and water, a martini style drink, that is sweet sour with a kick from the navy strength gin.

Limmer’s Punch and Charcuterie

Limmer’s Punch was next, a cocktail based on the Tom Collins and made with orange blossom water.

Genever Crusta

The Genever Crusta was the favourite, made with Bols Genever, lemon juice and bitters.

The Bramble

The final cocktail was the Bramble, created in 1984 by U.K. bartender Dick Bradsell with gin, lemon juice, sugar syrup and crème de mures on top.

If you missed out on the masterclass during Bar Week, the drinks will be in the Barber Shop’s new cocktail menu in November.

The Barber Shop’s Made in Britain masterclass for Bar Week was held on Saturday 27 September 2014.

Photography © by Gourmantic – Copyright: All rights reserved.

Photos from Bar Week 2014 are posted on the Gourmantic Facebook Page.