IVY'S MESS HALL

i spent the last two and gloriously hot and wonderful months of summer, finalising the menus of two venues; one, which is in dalston and opened in late february; cafe, by day and bistro, by night, with a small bar with wine and beer and a list of cocktails. 

ivy's mess hall, was dalston emporium, a deli cafe, where both cris, my friend and co - owner of ivy's and myself have done pop ups there, separately; cris, with her jungle baroque pop up restaurant and me, with my white tie, post new year event in january and the age of aquarius in february pop up cocktail bar.

and together, at stav B's liquor bar (where cris did the kitchen) and VIVA!, where i did the cocktail list and opened the bar. 

good times...

i was asked to devise a small, but concise and signature cocktail list for ivy's, representing the ethos of the place: mediterranean and exotic (a fluent combination of italy and brazil), with bright colours ( red, blue, yellow, orange), clean, simple and seasonal. healthy, spicy, fresh and perfumed. 

and the challenge begun. the research. the experimentation. the note taking.
so, i came up with a list, contemporary and unique, combining my own found and mixed syrup with st. clement's herbal tea, violet liqueur, kumquat jam and two aperol based cocktails, ingredient, incredibly popular, especially, this summer, with the ever so tedious, but effective, aperol spritz!

i improved the quality of the classic, stylish and beloved negroni with a special liquid and red juice - NOT tomato!

i gave them names like, motorcycle daiquiri, with aperol (based on my thorough research and my ability to be a good finder of things), blossom and persephone, with pomegranate seeds, not necessarily based on greece, but on greek mythology, sensual and rich in content, fleming's agent, gin and aperol based, for my endless love of bond and violet tendencies, with the wonderful lychee and the sharp and blue/ purple violet liqueur.

my st. clement's sour, with my homemade syrup, is an incredible success, with a smooth finish and a perfect head and of course, gin based. 

i made the caipirinha fruity and sharp, by adding kumquat jam, instead of the never melting sugar cubes. 

i also introduced the smooth almond, on the menu, which is a coffee based concoction, combining the bitterness of a fresh espresso shot, the bittersweet flavour of the disaronno and the roundness of bourbon.

good time continue...

IVY'S MESS HALL 
129 kingsland high street,
london E8 2PB
open every day from 8am - 10pm (m - thu)
                              8am - 12am (fri - sat)
                              9am - 5pm   (sun)

Tweet
Follow @theliquorbar