The Savoy’s London-inspired cocktails

The Savoy’s famous American Bar has taken its London home as inspiration for an original new cocktail menu, featuring serves that reference everywhere from Westminster to Tower Hamlets.

The American Bar’s new London Menu is inspired by six of the capital city’s boroughs

The London Menu takes guests on a historical journey through six of the London boroughs that surround The Savoy: Westminster, City of London, Camden, Hackney, Islington, Tower Hamlets, Greenwich, and Covent Garden.

Each borough inspires an entire chapter of the menu, which is said to “combine theatre and storytelling”.

Driven by American Bar manager Declan McGurk, the new menu has been meticulously crafted and perfected over many months by head bartender Erik Lorincz and his team.

“Essentially when coming up with the concept, we wanted to do a menu that very much celebrated London as a city,” said McGurk. “In doing so we felt it would fit perfectly with the American Bar’s tradition of storytelling through cocktails.”

The menu features Lorincz’s take on the American Bar’s longest surviving cocktail – the ‘Green Park’ – as well as a number of new serves inspired by everything from a historical policeman’s coat hook and a punk rock pub.

Joe Wilson, the artist behind the Beaufort Bar’s pop up menu, designed the visual presentation of The London Menu, communicating the cocktails and their area inspirations through hand-drawn illustrations (see below).

In celebration of the menu’s launch, the American Bar released a short silent movie featuring its own bartending team.

Click through the following pages to view a selection of cocktails from the American Bar’s new London Menu.

Abbey Road

Based in the ‘Camden’ section of the menu, this cocktail is a hat tip to the iconic Abbey Road Studio that rose to fame in the 1960s, when it was frequented by bands such as the Beatles, Pink Floyd and the Hollies. The building was initially a nine-bedroom Georgian townhouse built in the 1830s before it was acquired by the Gramophone Company in 1931.

Ingredients: 
Star of Bombay Gin, Martini Rubino, lemon juice, yuzu juice, Champagne syrup and citrus dust

Bronze Guardian

This vodka-based mix is found in the section of the menu inspired by the Borough of Westminster. It’s glittering gold appearance reflects the gilded statue of Count Peter of Savoy, which towers above the Art deco entrance of The Savoy hotel. In the 13^th century, King Henry gave this estate to his wife’s uncle, Count Peter, who built a palace on the land. However, during the peasants’ revolt of 1381, the palace was destroyed and later became part of The Savoy hotel we know today.

Ingredients: Grey Goose Vodka, apple, pine, camomile, lemon verbena, lemon juice and sugar syrup

Old Terraced House

 

This serve is inspired by the oldest surviving terrace houses in London, based on the west side of Newington Green on the border of Hacvkney and Islington. Featured in the ‘Islington’ chapter of the menu, the cocktail’s use of fiery whisky is a hat tip to the fact that the terraces survived the Great Fire of London.

Ingredients: Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel Whiskey, Crème de Cassis, Lagavulin Whisky, Byrrh, absinthe, Savoy grenadine and Angostura bitters

Green Park

Also included in the Westminster section of the menu, Green Park’s luminescent colour pays tribute to its namesake location. Still owned by the British monarchy, Green Park is based in one of the most glamorous areas of the city, but is said to have originally been a burial ground for lepers who were treated at the nearby hospital at St James’s.

Ingredients: Jensen’s Old Tom Gin, lemon juice, sugar syrup, celery bitters, egg white and basil

Policeman’s Hook

This cocktail pays homage to a little known, historical aspect of London – the policeman’s hook on Great Newport Street, in Westminster. The hook was placed there in the 1930s for police directing traffic to hang their jackets on.

Ingredients: Haig Club Grain Whisky, Amontillado sherry, roasted fortified kombu, roasted barley syrup and Angostura bitters

Pickering Place

Created for two people to share, American Bar’s Pickering Place serve is made up of two “contrasting” cocktails found in the ‘Westminster’ section. They are inspired by London’s smallest public square, which was once a popular haunt for those taking part in illicit activities.

Cocktail one ‘The Elegant’ ingredients: Bombay Sapphire Gin, Cocchi Rosa, Campari, lemon juice, egg white, saffron syrup and Champagne

Cocktail two ‘The Bold’ ingredients: Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel Whiskey, Fernet Branca Menta, Byrrh, sugar syrup and coffee

Punk Rock

Based in the ‘Islington’ chapter, Punk Rock is inspired by Upper Street’s Hope and Anchor pub, which was one of the pioneering venues of the punk movement in the 1970s. The pub saw famous acts including Dire Straits and The Police take to its stage, while Madness filmed their video for One Step Beyond in its basement.

Ingredients: Bacardi Superior Rum, Ancho Reyes, grapefruit juice, sugar syrup, Peychaud’s bitters and hickory

Secret Agent

Secret Agent pays homage to Hackney’s Gainsborough Picture studios, which used continental filming methods and attracted filmmakers such as Alfred Hitchcock, who made some of his films here. The studios were demolished in 2002.

Ingredients: Woodford Reserve Bourbon Whiskey, Laphroaig Whisky, Cocchi Amaro, absinthe, lemon juice, sugar syrup and egg white