The Athenaeum revamps cocktail bar

London five-star hotel The Athenaeum has unveiled a new bar concept developed by renowned bartender Giancarlo Mancino and Michelin-starred chefs the Galvin Brothers.

Offering an entirely new cocktail menu created using craft spirits, The Bar At The Athenaeum is described as “a destination where new flavours, combinations, and brands you’ve never heard of come together”.

The menu spans 15 cocktails – both original creations and classics with a twist – all served in a range of bespoke glassware designed by Mancino specifically to enhance flavour.

Serves include the floral-inspired Corpse Reviver #7, a combination of Kummel and Frangelico liqueur with Tarquins Gin topped with lavender syrup, and the Clay Pot Negroni, a blend of Mancino’s own Mancino Vermouth Chinato and Mancino Rosso Amaranto, with Rinomato Bitter and VII Hills Gin. The Negroni has been rested in a clay pot to preserve flavour.

“We try to turn our guests away from the familiar and towards the unusual,” Mancino said. “No-one criticises the brand leaders – they got where they are by excellence – but how much more fun to try a range of craft and boutique spirits only, brands that you will struggle to find in any other luxury hotel bar in London.

“It takes a lot more time to develop a list of spirits in this way, of course, but the reward is a range of flavours that we use to bring something inspirational and ever-changing to our friends who come and visit us in The Bar.”

Previously renowned for its extensive world whisky collection, and still offers a wide range of spirits alongside the cocktail menu.

Designed for a “cool and intimate” mood, the bar itself features full-length windows which look onto the hotel’s living wall.

The bar itself was crafted specially for the venue. Made from a single piece of long black marble, the 4.2-metre long piece was commissioned by designers KKD. It is supported by a separate preparation area to one side, leaving the main bar free for use as a dispensing area.

For smokers, an extended outdoor smoking terrace and a well-stocked humidor cater to a range of tastes.

“The bar is like a never-ending surprise,” continued Mancino. “To the first-time visitor it will be a new experience. There is a lot of theatre; huge care has been taken over the smallest details of service and presentation as well as the drinks themselves.

“For our regular guests, many of whom are already not staying in the hotel but attracted to the bar as a destination, every night sees something different which might be music, special drinks or food, or even guest bartenders.”

The Bar At The Athenaeum is situated close to Green Park tube station in Mayfair, and is open now.

Click here to check out more bar openings from around the world in August 2016.