The best places to chillax with a cocktail this month…2, 23 April: Monday Night Film Club
These popular film nights in the City get your week off to a glamorous start. 2 April: Bourne Identity. 23 April: Barberella. Please call for times. £15 per person including cocktail on arrival, film and nibbles.
Prism, 147 Leadenhall Street, EC3V 40J. T: 020 7256 3888. harveynichols.com.
4 April: Cocktails in the City
Don’t miss the largest cocktail masterclass in the UK. Each guest (400 last year) gets three tickets to exchange for drinks but, here’s the good bit, instead of the bartenders doing the hard work, they’re on hand to teach all attendees how to mix them up for themselves. Woo hoo! Nineteen bars including Mojo, Harvey Nichols, Corridor and Epernay are participating in the event, so expect to pick up masses of tips as well as having lots of fun along the way. With main stage demonstrations and private tuitions from our friends from The Liquorists, we can’t think of a better place to be. 5.30pm-10.30pm. Tickets £18.
Manchester City Town Hall, Albert Square, M60 2LA. Tickets and info: cocktailsinthecity.co.uk.
Enjoying cocktails in the City4 & 18 April: Sipsmith Distillery Tours
A welcome drink gets you in the mood before you tour the distillery and enjoy a tutored tasting of the spirits in the the portfolio. From 6.30pm-8pm, £12 per person.
27 Nasmyth Street, W6 0HA. T: 020 8741 2034. sipsmith.com.
5-7 April: The Thinking Drinker’s Guide to Alcohol
Award-winning drinks writers Tom Sandham and Ben McFarland get the Easter weekend off to a cracking start with their much praised stage show about alcohol’s indisputable influence on life, literature and learning. Naturally drinks will be served – six mini glasses per guest – which have got to be worth the entry price alone. One for thinking drinkers everywhere – check it out ahead of their return to the Edinburgh Fringe in August. 7.45pm, tickets £15 (£12.50 concessions).
Soho Downstairs, Soho Theatre, 21 Dean Street, W1D 3NE. T: 020 7478 0100. sohotheatre.com.
6-9 April: Monkey Shoulder Chocolate Trail
This we like: a grown up Easter egg hunt fuelled with chocolate and booze! Guests are invited to search for eggs amongst the specially designed foliage – it’s well worth rooting around as each egg found can be exchanged for a fab Monkey Shoulder whisky cocktail paired with a scrumptious handmade chocolate. Midday-7pm. Admission free.
63 Broadwick Street, W1F 9QL. For more details, check the Monkey Shoulder Chocolate Trail Facebook page.
7, 15, 21 April: Afternoon Tease
Add a little sauce to your weekend at this tea-time treat served with a generous helping of burlesque on the side. Ticket price includes show, finger sandwiches, homemade scones and patisserie, plus a glass of bubbly. Seating 2.30pm, show starts 3pm. Tickets £42.
Volupte, 9 Norwich Street, EC4A 1EJ. T: 020 7831 1622. volupte-lounge.com.
7, 21, 28 April: Cocktail Masterclasses
Spend two hours tasting and picking up tips on how to make the perfect cocktails, then get behind the circular bar to make your own. Stani Visciano makes sure the classes are informative, friendly and fun. 7 April: Quirky Cocktails; 21 April: Tutty Fruitti; 28 April: Fab Fizz. 10am-12pm. £60 per person including coffee and pastries, class, cocktails and certificate, plus one-course lunch in the adjoining restaurant.
Fifth Floor Bar, Harvey Nichols, 109-125 Knightsbridge, SW1X 7RJ. T: 020 7235 5250. harveynichols.com.
Learn to make cocktails with Erik Lorincz14 April: Cocktail masterclass with Erik Lorincz
Learn how to make cocktails like a pro with Erik Lorincz, head bartender at the historic American Bar at The Savoy. From 12.30pm-2.30pm, £65 per person. Price includes four cocktails and canapes.
The American Bar at The Savoy, Strand, WC2R 0EU. T: 020 7836 4343. fairmont.com/savoy.
16 April: A history of cocktails in 30 drinks, a splash and a dash
If you like your cocktails which we’re sure you do, resolve to find out a little bit more about what’s in your glass as award-winning drinks historians Anastasia Miller and Jared Brown explore the history of the mixed drink from 1500s to 2000s. You’ll learn about mixing techniques, drinking styles and trends in ingredients through the ages, before being divided into teams to create an orginal drink based on an assigned historic period. 1pm-4pm, £50 per person. 25 people max. Bookings close 12 April.
69 Colebrooke Row, N1 8AA. T: 07540 528593. mixellany.eventbrite.com
18 & 19 April: Bedtime Stories at 40 Winks
Pack your best PJs and nighties for these popular Bedtime Storytelling sessions in one of London’s trendiest hotels. Debs Newbold and Xanthe Graham are in magical mood with Tales of Bewitchment. From 7pm; stories from 8.15pm. £25 including fruity gin cocktails and nibbles (seriously, sleepwear must be worn. You’ve been warned…)
40 Winks, 109 Mile End Road, E1 4UJ. T: 020 7790 0259. 40winks.org.
21 April: London Gin Cocktails Masterclass
Everything you wanted to know about London gin (and lots more besides) from the masters at 69 Colebrooke Row. Taste and mix cocktails, ask questions and gen up on all things gin. Early booking advised. The two-hour sessions are fun but informative and include recipes to take home. From 2pm-4pm. £40 per person including cocktails.
69 Colebrooke Row, N1 8AA. T: 07540 528593. 69colebrookerow.com.
26, 27, 28 April: Hardeep Singh Kohli @ Chocolate Lab
Chef, comedian and writer Hardeep Singh Kohli joins forces with the folk at Niko B Chocolate Lab to serve up a 5-course Punjabi inspired menu with seasonal British produce, cocktails and fresh chocolates. Chocolates, dessert and cocktails are served by Chocolate Lab’s award winning chocolatier and dessert supperclub host, Anthony Ferguson. Seatings at 7pm and 9pm, £45 per person.
Avo Hotel, 82 Dalston Lane, E8 3AH. T: 07941 433 876. email: jess@nikobchocolates.com.
27 April: Lunchtime Disco
Take the afternoon off – it’s the Friday lunchtime disco! Bust your best moves while Jess Indeedy and guests DJs spin TGIF-tastic tunes. Midday-3pm. £3 in advance, £4 on the door. Cocktails will be served.
Drink Shop Do, 9 Caledonian Road, N1 9XX. T: 020 3343 9138. drinkshopdo.com.
Bloody Mary meatballs on the menu at ParadiseEvery Sunday: Sunday Bloody Sunday
Bloody Mary’s rule at this leisurely afternoon affair devised to ease you gently out of the weekend and into a fab week ahead. Mix up BM’s just the way you like them at your table and chow down on a delicious menu including Boody Mary meatballs, and fillet of halibut with buttered spinach and Bloody Mary sauce. Park the kiddiwinks upstairs with the qualified nanny while you enjoy the grown up food and atmosphere. From midday-8pm.
Paradise By Way of Kensal Green, 19 Kilburn Lane, W10 4AE. T: 020 8969 0098. theparadise.co.uk.
Every Sunday: Art Decadent Tea
Tipsy tea cocktails accompany the expertly cut sandwiches, tea pastries and chilled champagne on the menu at the Beaufort Bar every Sunday between 2.30pm-6.30pm. £62.50 per person.
The Beaufort Bar at The Savoy, Strand, WC2R 0EU. T: 020 7836 4343. fairmont.com/savoy.
Every Sunday: the Sunday Blues Jam
Register your instrument and take part in the popular weekly jam session, or simply pitch up to enjoy the music along with a nifty selection of bourbon-based cocktails. From 7pm-1am.
The Blues Kitchen, 111-113 Camden High Street, NW1 7JN. T: 020 7387 5277. theblueskitchen.com.
Every Monday: Monday Wine Club
BYO bottle to go with the best steaks in town at Hawksmoor. Whether you keep it cheap and cheerful with a bottle of plonk or dig out that prized Barolo from your cellar, all you pay is £5 corkage (plus the price of your steaks, of course…)
Hawksmoor, 10 Basinghall Street, EC2V 5BQ. T: 020 7397 8120; 11 Langley Street, WC2H 9JG. T: 020 7420 9390; 157 Commercial Street, E1 6BJ. T: 020 7426 4850.thehawksmoor.co.uk.
Throughout the month: Make your own gin at the Ginstitute
Start with a tour of London’s second smallest museum – a lovingly recreated Victorian Gin Palace, complete with historical artefacts, vintage cocktail books and cabinets filled with all manner of the juniper spirit. Then it’s upstairs for a tutored tasting before getting down to the serious business of making your own gin. At the end of the session, graduates will receive a full-sized bottle of their personal gin together with the recipe which will also be kept on file for re-ordering when it tickles your fancy. £100 per person includes cocktail reception, class at The Ginstitute, 70cl bottle of Portobello Road No. 171 gin, 70cl bottle of your bespoke gin and a martini – now, that’s what we call a bargain.
To check availability, call 020 7229 8016. portobellostarbar.co.uk.
Throughout the month: Cocktail masterclasses
The team at this iconic bar will teach guide you through the history behind mixed drinks and cocktail culture and teach you how to make a selecttion of classics and house specials. Mon-Fri 11am-4pm (for groups of up to 25); Sat & Sun 11am-1pm (up to 10 guests). Tickets £70 per person.
Oxo Tower Wharf, Barge House Street, South Bank, SE1 9PH. T: 020 7021 1600.harveynichols.com.
Throughout the month: Martini Masterclass
Learn the history behind Dukes’ Hotel legendary martini and other classic cocktails and pick up invaluable tips on how to make them at home. Then relax with your martini and carefully matched canapes in the bar before collecting your voucher entitling you to a martini to enjoy at a later date. Maximum six per class, £85 per person.
Dukes Hotel, St James’s Place, SW1A 1NY. T: 020 7491 4848. dukeshotel.com
Throughout the month: Back To Cocktail School
Perfect as a teambuilding exercise or simply for a group of like-minded friends, these bespoke classes take in a tutored tasting of The Four Cocktail Golden Ages with bar manager Andrea Montague. The group is then divided up and the nominated rep has to make a cocktail worthy of the £50 bar tab* awarded as the prize. Bookings for 10-25 people; £40-£50 per head.
*To be used at a later date.
Callooh Callay, 65 Rivington Street, EC2A 3AY. T: 020 7739 4781.calloohcallaybar.com
Throughout the month: Vodka: The Biography
Two hours of sensory overload focusing in the history of vodka, calling on Back To The Future, Star Wars, Madonna and James Bond for inspiration. Includes six expressions matched with food, accompanied by imagery, sounds and scents. £75 per person, including drinks and food.
Worship Street Whistling Shop, 63 Worship Street, EC2A 2DU. T: 020 7247 0015. whistlingshop.com.
Throughout the month: Themed Cocktail Clinics
Mini themed class expertly guiding you through the craft of mixing and shaking specially themed cocktails with the team at Shaker Bar School. Discounts available in the upstairs bar if you stay on to continue the party. 7.30pm-9pm. £70 per person. Five hour, in depth session £149 per person. Call for details.
Shaker & Company, 119 Hampstead Road, NW1 3EE. T: 0870 720 2877. shaker-uk.com.
