Book review: The Connaught Bar
Having Italian chef Massimo Bottura write the foreword to a cocktail book might seem a slightly odd idea given that he admits to the reader in his first line that he does not frequent cocktail bars, but there is method in this approach. Bottura fell in love with the Connaught Bar on his first visit in 2010 and has been a regular ever since. He even helped develop Oops, I Dropped The Balsamic, a balsamic vinegar-based drink whose name references his iconic Oops I Dropped the Lemon Tart dish that was presented by the Connaught Bar’s director of mixology Agostino Perrone and assistant director of mixology Giorgio Bargiani at the 2022 Identita Golose conference in Milan.
That cocktail doesn’t make it into The Connaught Bar, the new cocktail book from Perrone with assistance from Bargiani and bar manager Maura Milia, but another dedicated to Bottura does. The Oops I Dropped an Olive, a Martini-like cocktail that sees pine-infused gin mixed with Galliano l’Autentico, Galliano l’Aperitivo’ and Italicus Rosolio di Bergamotto – with the obvious addition of an olive to garnish.
If this drink sounds as complex as it is imaginative then it is a good benchmark for all the 101 cocktails that appear in The Connaught Bar. The book is not a place for the classics but rather Perrone goes far beyond the basics to share the recipes that define the hotel bar’s signature cocktails. Many make use of infused spirits, milk punches, sherbets, and shrubs as well as a dazzling array of glassware.
For many The Connaught Bar will serve solely as a deep dive into the cocktail bar’s creativity, lifting the lid on intriguing creations such as the Give It The Green Light, a drink that commemorates the period of June 2008 when the team got the green light to build its dream bar and drinks menu (it is made with passion berry and grapeseed oil-washed vodka, tomato skin-infused Japanese gin, bitters and pepper syrup) and the Yellow Submarine, which Perrone create when he first arrived in London in 2006 and was head bartender at Montgomery Place (it blends London dry gin with fino sherry, Galliano l’Autentico, celery bitters with a cucumber skin twist). Cocktails aren’t grouped by style but by are instead listed alphabetically – from Amber Black to Yellow Submarine – giving the book an encyclopaedic feel with each drink given an introduction as to its origins and how it is made.
Yet for the more adventurous – and patient – its recipes can be put to the test. Every concoction is accompanied by a difficulty rating (1 to 3) and an abv rating (also 1 to 3) as well as a couple of adjectives that describe its main characteristics to enable the user to curate the ideal cocktail party and the book also lists the recipes for its foams, ferments, cordials, fat-washed spirits, and clarifieds. For those people who don’t have a Thermomix, sous-vide bath or ultrasound machine, all of which are used by the bar, then alternative practices are given. A helpful guide to mixing techniques, glassware, and a list of essential bar tools are also on hand.
The Connaught Bar is divided into two chapters. Chapter one is dedicated to The Connaught Martini, described at once ‘the simplest and most challenging of all cocktails’; chapter two is dedicated to 100 other cocktails. For some, chapter one alone will be enough.
The Connaught Bar
Agostino Perone
Number of pages: 256
Standout recipe: Good Fellas
Publisher and price: Phaidon, £29.95
