Boisdale of Canary Wharf
The Boisdale Cocktail List Lady Astor: “Sir, if you were my husband, I would poison your drink.” Winston Churchill: “Madam, if you were my wife, I would drink it.”
The Boisdale Cocktail List
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The Boisdale Cocktail List
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Evocative of an era past, the cocktail hour is our favourite time of day, and a tradition worthy of heartfelt revival. Our cocktail list pays homage to an era when the art of mixing drinks was an admirable trade, when balance and harmony was paramount in a drink, and the day was filled with delightful interludes for your cocktail fix, morning, noon and night. We squeeze our juices fresh every day, and put the utmost attention into our drink making. We are sure you will discern the difference. Here’s how!
The Boisdale Cocktail List
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The Boisdale Cocktail List
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Contents
Martinis 7
Eye Openers 10
Aperitifs 13
Session 15
Digestifs & Flips 23
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The Boisdale Cocktail List
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Martinis “I like to drink a martini, two at the very most, three and I’m under the table, four and I’m under the host” Dorothy Parker
The most enduring cocktail of all time, the gin martini was the drink that swept the American nation. Somehow over time it became drier and drier with the quantity of vermouth added decreasing for a truly bracing drink; however in our book ‘the wetter the better’. If you’re a novice start at the top with the Gin & It, but we warn you, this could be the start of a lifelong love affair…
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Martinis Gin & It £9 If you’ve never tried a martini with Italian vermouth, now’s the time. We make ours with Tanqueray Ten and Gancia Rosso, a classic Turinese vermouth.
Roosevelt £9 The way Franklin liked ‘em, two parts gin (Tanqueray) to one part French (Dolin), a dash of Fee Brothers Orange bitters and dirty to boot.
Four to One £8 Four parts Hendrick’s gin to one part Dolin, stirred until utterly cold and served with a lemon stuffed olive, this is the first incarnation of the martini and damned fabulous it is too.
Kangaroo £18 Gin martini drinkers would never consider a martini made with vodka to be a martini, hence the name. Cool and clear with your choice of olives or an orange, lemon or grapefruit twist. We make ours with Russian Standard Imperia, the ultimate in luxury Russian vodka.
“Work is the curse of the drinking classes” Oscar Wilde
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The Boisdale Cocktail List
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Eye Openers The Classic Boisdale Bloody Mary £8.50 Ketel One Citroen, tomato juice and our top secret formula of perfectly balanced spices go into this 1920s Parisian classic.
Oak Smoked Bloody Mary £10.50 Our twist on a Bloody Mary pretty much sits up out the glass and sings a song to you! Made with Chase Oak Smoked vodka and sweet smoked paprika.
Bermudan Float £10 A shot of Havana Club 7 year old rum, ginger beer and a scoop of vanilla ice cream smothered in Angostura bitters. What hangover?
Golden Fizz £9 The lesser known kissing cousin of the Silver Fizz, and in our opinion, the nicer. Made with Tanqueray dry gin, lemon juice, soda and egg yolk.
Tommy’s Margarita £10.50 From Tommy’s Bar, San Francisco comes this modern classic. Agave syrup, freshly squeezed lime and Gran Centenario Reposado tequila.
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The Boisdale Cocktail List
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The Boisdale Cocktail List
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Aperitifs Jimmy Roosevelt £13 Our menu wouldn’t be complete without a classic champagne cocktail, and here’s a sophisticated number. Lifted from the late 19th century cocktail book ‘Jigger, Beaker and Glass’, this has a bitters soused sugar cube with a nudge of Remy Martin VSOP, lengthened with Perrier-Jouët champagne and, giving the drink an astonishing complexity, a bar spoon of Green Chartreuse.
Old Cuban £12 A contemporary classic from the hands of New York’s Audrey Saunders, the Old Cuban features Pampero Especial, mint, lime, sugar and topped with Perrier-Jouët, served straight up, in a coupette.
Lauder’s Daisy £9.50 This cocktail is mysteriously good considering the sparse ingredients of Johnnie Walker Black, lemon and lime juice, sugar and a short charge of soda. So named for the renowned Scotch entertainer and bon vivant, Harry Lauder.
La Vie en Rose £16 One for la femme, this take on the classic French 75 features gin, lemon, rose syrup and champagne and is a delight, made with the opulent Perrier-Jouët Blason rosé.
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The Boisdale Cocktail List
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Session Jack Rose £9 The Jack Rose is an absolute belter of a drink that harks from the days of Prohibition, alleged to have been named for the infamous gambler and rogue, Bald Jack Rose. Querville Calvados, lemon, sugar, and grenadine mixed in the style of a sour, served straight up.
Applegrass £9 If you must drink vodka then you can do worse than this. A terrific drink using Polish Zubrowka vodka, percolated through the grass of the Bialowieski Forest, and shaken with our house made ginger syrup, Spanish vanilla liqueur Liquor 43, apple juice and lemon.
Penicillin £9 Created by Sammy Ross of Milk & Honey New York, the Penicillin contains Johnnie Walker Black, lemon juice, homemade ginger syrup and a touch of Talisker for a warming hint of peat.
Bison Sour £9 Quite simply, a Zubrowka vodka sour with cinnamon freshly grated over it. Properly shaken, this drink is heavenly.
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Session Clover Club £9 Named for the men’s club at the Bellvue Hotel in Philadelphia, the Clover Club deserves a revival as it is a simply delicious drink. In essence it is a Tanqueray Gin Sour shaken with raspberries but becomes more than the sum of its parts, as great cocktails so often are.
Perfect Lady £9 Named for Mrs Simpson, this cocktail took first place in the 1936 British Empire Cocktail Competition, and no wonder. Tanqueray gin, crème de pêche and lemon.
Georgia Mint Julep £9 Bulleit Bourbon, sugar, a fistful of mint, slapped to release their aroma, a dash or two of crème de pêche, all churned with crushed ice and crowned generously with mint.
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The Boisdale Cocktail List
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The Boisdale Cocktail List
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Session Vodka Gimlet £9 Here’s a vodka variant on the classic gin Gimlet. In the days of telegraph GMLT was an acronym for Give My Love To, and a few of these will likely have you rather amorous indeed. Made the traditional way with Russian Standard Platinum vodka and Rose’s lime cordial.
Natural Daiquiri £9 A time tested Cuban classic and one that accompanies our fine cigars perfectly: Havana Especial, lime and sugar and that is all!
Ace of Clubs Daiquiri £9 The Ace of Clubs was a nightclub in 1930s Bermuda, and this is their house cocktail. Though lost to time it’s a terrific drink and well worthy of revival. Mount Gay rum, lime juice and cacao. Zing!
Hemingway Daiquiri £9 Well known in the bars of Havana for his dry palette (due in part to his diabetes), this daiquiri was created to his taste. Pampero Blanco, lime juice, maraschino liqueur and freshly squeezed grapefruit juice.
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Session Clubland Cocktail £9 From the 1937 publication the Café Royal Cocktail Book comes the Clubland. Ketel One stirred with white port and served in a chilled coupette. A nicer mixture of grape and grain there never was.
Ginger Cocktail £9
Simplicity itself, this delicious cocktail is desperately moreish, just remember to keep count! Cîroc vodka, our house made extracted ginger syrup and lime, shaken ferociously and served straight up.
Platino/Sangrita £11 Often we find ourselves with the desire to shoot hard liquor. This is the most delicious way of taking the edge off: Jose Cuervo’s family reserve tequila, the ethereal and chocolatey Platino, served with the house sangrita (a traditional Mexican accompaniment to tequila) and made with orange, lime and tomato juice, pomegranate syrup and spices.
“My dad was the town drunk. Most of the time that’s not so bad, but New York City?” Henry Youngman
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The Boisdale Cocktail List
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The Boisdale Cocktail List
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Digestifs & Flips Bobby Burns £11 A superb Scotch Manhattan with a twist of Benedictine. We make ours with Monkey Shoulder whisky, and serve the classic garnish of shortbread on the side.
Old Fashioned P.O.A It’s the pick of the bourbon that makes this drink. Our personal recommendations are the sublime Pappy Van Winkle 15yo, Booker’s or the original Old Fashioned bourbon, Blanton’s.
Rum Old Fashioned P.O.A Even smoother than the classic bourbon Old Fashioned, here’s a Rum Old Fashioned, a journey drink that showcases every nuance of the base spirit. For a truly remarkable drink try the bold Pampero Anniversario, or Zacapa 23 for the very pantheon of rum making.
Manhattan P.O.A Choose or be recommended a stunning rye whisky for this classic of classic cocktails and you’ll be in seventh heaven. We strongly recommend Italian vermouth but will happily substitute French if you’re so inclined. Substitute a cognac and you have a Harvard, in which case we’d recommend the heavenly Martell XO.
Ampersand £12 From their fine cocktail book comes this, the Ampersand: Martell VSOP, Tanqueray, Gancia Rosso, a lick of Grand Marnier and a dash of orange bitters, wonderful.
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Digestifs & Flips Sloe Gin Flip £9 The flip is an English drink that predates the American cocktail and was originally a beer concoction, made with a whole egg and spices and heated with a hot poker from the fire plunged into the mixture. It’s come a long way since then, and this is a wonderful incarnation that really captures the flavours of autumn.
King Cole’s Flip £9 Martell VSOP, our home made ginger syrup shaken very hard with a touch of cream and crowned with bitters for complexity and depth.
Fosbury Flip £9 Made with the Dutch precursor of gin, Genever, this delicious digestif makes the perfect end to a perfect meal, the malty notes accentuated with Velvet Falernum and honey syrup and a light lick of cream.
Golden Cadillac £9 Sometimes, completely by accident, something that shouldn’t work does. From the eighties era of ‘disco drinks’, and more specifically from Poor Red’s BBQ in El Dorado, California comes this shocker of a drink. Thing is, it’s absolutely delicious. Galliano, crème de cacao, orange juice and cream.
“I’m as drunk as a lord. But then of course, I am one.” Bertrand Russell
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The Boisdale Legend
oisdale captures the essence of centuries of proud tradition with its warmth, informality and end of Empire atmosphere, reminiscent of a Highland country house. Today, Ranald Macdonald, the eldest son of the 24th Chief of Clanranald hosts Boisdale restaurants and bars. Boisdale is named after the remote port on the beautiful Isle of South Uist in the Outer Hebrides, off the northwest coast of Scotland. Boisdale was home to the Macdonalds of Boisdale – the senior cadet branch of the Macdonalds of Clanranald, the largest and most anciently Royal of all the Highland clans. There are more than three million Macdonald clansmen throughout the world – all of whom can lay claim to this magnificent heritage, which has been charted down the generations. The Boisdale emblem is derived from the family crest - a seal stamped into the molten glass of an 18th century claret bottle found in the vicinity of Castle Tioram, ancient 13th century home to the
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The Boisdale Legend Macdonalds of Clanranald. The seal depicts the crest, a hand holding a sword, representing Clanranald’s legendary fighting strength. It indicates the vintage as 1780 and has the crest and the family motto in Gaelic “Dhandeon Co Heiragha” that translates as “He who dares wins”. It is now the regimental motto for the SAS, Britain’s elite military fighting unit. In 1988 Ranald Macdonald conquered a small territory in London (a few minutes walk from Buckingham Palace) without force of arms. Wielding great Scottish culinary produce and stunning malt whiskies as the weapons of war to the sound of classic jazz (instead of the bagpipes) Boisdale is now established as the embassy for Scotland within the capital of the United Kingdom of Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
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Boisdale
Boisdale of Canary Wharf Cabot Place, Canary Wharf, London E14 4QT T: 020 7715 5818
[email protected] Boisdale of Belgravia 15 Eccleston Street, Belgravia, SW1W 9LX Tel: 020 7730 6922 Fax: 020 7730 0548
[email protected] Boisdale of Bishopsgate Swedeland Court, 202 Bishopsgate, EC2M 4NR Tel: 020 7283 1763 Fax: 020 7283 1664
[email protected] The Lamb at Hindon The Lamb Inn, Hindon Wiltshire SP3 6DP Tel: 01747 820 573 Fax: 01747 820 605
[email protected] www.boisdale.co.uk
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