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Posts Tagged ‘cocktails’

Momo – London’s Glamorous Hotspot

Thursday, January 21st, 2010

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It’s been around for 12 years now but the spice hasn’t fallen off the rack for Momo, London’s glamorous Moroccan. Thanks to a clever mix of marketing and the fashionable connections of its formidable and mono-monikered proprietor, Mazouz, the brains behind Sketch, Momo still remains the place to be seen and heard for London’s hipsters with a bit of cash to splash, hoping to catch a bite of informal exotica.

You might ask about the food – well that’s not bad either. When it’s good, it excels – particularly when it comes to the usual suspects of Moroccan gastronomy; the tagines and couscous dishes are by far the best and Chef David Jones is fully adept at handling the subtleties of Moroccan spicing . Service can be a little languid but the experience is amply compensated by a preternaturally good-looking staff who are cheerily efficient in refilling cocktails or any other alcoholic beverage for that matter. Do try the Mojito.

Go on a Thursday, Friday or Saturday to get a real taste of the atmosphere and head downstairs to the subterranean Kemia Bar for a post-prandial jig. A visit to Momo is sure to warm your winter up.

25 – 27 Heddon St, London W1. www.momoresto.com

Tags: cocktails, London, Morocco, restaurant, tagine
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Room To Read, Style To Spare

Thursday, December 17th, 2009

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‘Tis the season to be grateful, and we at Quintessentially were very thankful that we were able to take part in such a worthy cause: the Financial Times’ annual seasonal giving campaign. In a vote by 1,600 FT employees worldwide, Room to Read was chosen to be the Financial Times’ charity partner for 2009-2010.

To celebrate the launch of the campaign in New York, Quintessentially joined forces with Room to Read and the Financial Times to put together a cocktail party in the Villard Mansion of the Palace Hotel. The stately and opulent Library Room was a perfect setting to pay tribute to an organization committed to providing 150,000 children world-wide with much-needed books, libraries and other educational resources.

Guests enjoyed champagne and canapés while listening to speeches by John Wood, founder and executive chairman of Room to Read and John Ridding, CEO of the Financial Times. Mr. Wood’s speech was impassioned, sincere, and infectious. I truly hope our efforts are able to help Room to Read and the FT reach their campaign goal this year.

From a charity event uptown, we shift gears to a brand new Chelsea hotspot. Our second annual Aspen Night’s event (co-sponsored by Aspen Snowmass) was a great way to celebrate the holiday season with members and friends. The evening’s festivities took place at Todd English’s new supperclub, Juliet, with great nibbles of lamb and cheeses being passed around while everyone sipped on cocktails from a full reserve bar courtesy of our friends at Ketel One (Tavalon Tea also provided an amazing “White Tea” martini!)

LCS provided the music for the event which had everyone moving throughout the night. As the evening continued, Matthew Williamson had a wonderful presentation of the upcoming season’s key looks, one of which was a gown Matthew designed exclusively for Quintessentially – one of only 10 dresses in the world. As the party wrapped up, guests went home with goodie bags full La Cherche Midi candles, Vis – a – Vis cosmetics, Townhouse spa gift certificates, Aspen Apparel and a ski movie along with Snow and Quintessentially magazines.

Tags: charity, cocktails, Matthew Williamson, New York, Quintessentially, Room To Read
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‘Nowhere Boy’ premiere and after party at Quintessentially Soho

Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009

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Last week saw the charity premiere of Sam Taylor-Wood’s debut film, Nowhere Boy, held in association with Belstaff and Sony Ericsson. The film tells the story of John Lennon’s rebellious childhood and teenage years before the formation of The Beatles. The first film that has attempted to explore the story of Lennon’s younger years, it has been critically acclaimed.

Following the screening at BAFTA in Piccadilly, a host of celebrities headed to the after party held at Quintessentially Soho at The House of St. Barnabas. Taylor-Wood and her celebrity posse including David Walliams, Patrick Cox and Tracey Emin spent much of the night in the VIP area of the venue. The party carried on long into the night with entertainment from the band Rubber Kiss Goodbye and a number of DJ sets. The drinks came from Reserve Brands, the premium and luxury spirits group and key supporters of Quintessentially Soho, who offered a number of cocktails created especially for the after party including The Tanqueray Tripper with Tanqueray gin, rhubarb liqueur, vanilla gomme, lemon juice and apple juice, and Imagine – a tasty mix of Ketel One vodka, rose syrup, lemon juice and lychee juice.

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The film goes on general release in the UK on December 26th 2009. It remains to be seen whether the interest surrounding the upcoming release of Nowhere Boy will exceed the attention that has been paid to Taylor-Wood’ s recent engagement to the leading actor of the film, Aaron Johnson, 23 years her junior.

The evening was held in support of Maggie’s cancer care charity of which Taylor-Wood is a patron.

Tags: Aaron Johnson, cocktails, David Walliams, film, House of St Barnabas, John Lennon, Nowhere Boy, Rubber Kiss Goodbye, Sam Taylor-Wood, The Beatles, Tracey Emin
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Cocktails really can make you live longer

Thursday, November 26th, 2009

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Last week I went back to school – cocktail school. Thinking I was in for a few relaxed drinks and maybe the chance to sample some delicious new cocktails created by expert mixologist Christian Ozzati, I was not prepared to be put on the other side of the bar in Chelsea’s JuJu and- to prove I had been paying attention- make the cocktails myself.

You wouldn’t necessarily associate healthy living with drinking cocktails but Ozzati has created a range of drinks which contain some seriously wholesome ingredients and are guaranteed to kick start your day. His ‘pretox’ drink includes the increasingly popular health supplement ginseng, agave syrup- a healthy alternative to sugar, and milk thistle which is said to help repair liver damage.

Other tasty innovations included the ‘Alcoholic’s Milkshake’ which would make the perfect post-skiing cocktail and the ‘Apres 8’ which would make an unusual alternative to pudding and tastes just like its solid chocolate namesake.

From January JuJu will be hosting seasonally themed cocktail lessons: chocolate cocktails around Easter and floral drinks in May for the Chelsea Flower Show. Christian is also working with Mahiki, where a range of drinks will be introduced to compliment their food menu. Called ‘Strategic Drinking’, he is creating cocktails which claim to speed up your metabolism or aid your digestion in preparation for a big night out. I’ve certainly got a few tricks up my sleeve for the next time I’m looking to add some wow factor to a party.

So, next time you’re out, don’t just order your standard tipple but listen to the barman’s recommendations; it might just make your night (and the morning after) a lot more enjoyable.

www.jujulondon.com

Tags: Chelsea, Chelsea Flower Show, chocolate, Christian Ozzati, cocktails, Easter, JuJu, London, Mahiki
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Making Cognac ‘cool’ again

Wednesday, November 18th, 2009

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In an attempt to introduce Cognac to a new audience, Remy Martin hosted the London launch of their new product, the Remy Iceboxx, at the Fulham nightspot Diva Beach on Monday night.

The technology at work doesn’t appear to be the most sophisticated and quite simply chills down the Cognac to -18 degrees to achieve a more silky texture and bring out some flavours you might not expect. It is hoped that a new generation of club-goers might be inspired to sample cognac, whether on its own- as a more civilised alternative to tequila- or in cocktails.

Traditional cognac connoisseurs will doubtless be appalled at the mere thought of the cocktails which were being showcased, including a cognac peach mojito and- an excellent way to corrupt this sophisticated drink- strawberry puree added to a shot of VSOP cognac. The Ice Boxx is currently a feature at a number of stylish bars and clubs throughout London including Revivers at the Ritz, Whisky Mist, Callooh Callay and Jalouse.

Don’t waste your finest cognac, but this could certainly prove to be a fun way to liven up an old drink, and can easily be tried at home- just stick it in the freezer.

www.getinteresting.com

Tags: cocktails, cognac, Diva Beach, IceBoxx, London, Remy Martin
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