New Swift menu spotlights go-to cocktails of famous faces

London bar Swift has debuted a new cocktail menu inspired by the favourite drinks of notable figures throughout history.

Swift was founded in 2016 in Soho by Bobby Hiddleston and Mia Johansson, along with co-owners Rosie Stimpson and Edmund Weil. Last year, the team opened a second branch of the bar in Shoreditch.

Now the bar is shaking up its Soho venue’s cocktail selection with Legends, a new menu of 19 serves themed around famous faces from Ernest Hemingway to Nigella Lawson.

For instance, Nightingale is themed around burlesque star Dita Von Teese, whose cocktail of choice is a Margarita. The drink riffs on the classic citrusy serve with a Tequila base, dry vermouth, bitter-almond-flavoured grappa and orange bitters.

Another drink, Only in LA, is inspired by English comedians Joanna Lumley and Jennifer Saunders, stars of the sitcom Absolutely Fabulous. On the show their characters were known to drink Champagne spiked with vodka, and the Swift team elaborated on the concept by mixing vodka, sweet vermouth, blackberry, Prosecco and bitters.

Other serves include Long Beach, a mix of Absolute vodka, Riesling, yuzu, coconut and lemon, dedicated to rapper Snoop Dogg; Sunflower, with Powers Distiller’s Cut Irish whiskey, Cocchi Americano, poire, vetiver, orange bitters and absinthe, inspired by artist Vincent Van Gogh; and Roadrunner, which marries Havana Club seven-year-old rum with plum, banana, lime, Wray & Nephew and Angostura Bitters, based on civil rights activist and entertainer Josephine Baker.

The list was illustrated by artist Dan Collins, and features a biography of each notable figure and the backstory of their favourite cocktail.

The new menu takes over from Swift’s previous list, titled Hospitality, which drew inspiration from prominent landmarks and people in Soho.