Election Night

It’s Election Day in the UK and while voters shuffle to the polls to put a cross in a box and thus become entitled to complain about the Government for the next five years, The Times asked Luca Corradini, bartender at The American Bar at The Savoy to create a drink for each of the main UK parties.

As several Election Night traditions revolve around waiting up for the results and toasting the demise of some of the best-loathed members of the political establishment we provide reviews of each below and, with a nod to the democratic spirit of the day, give you the chance to vote for your favourite.

A General Election of booze – what’s not to like?

Conservatives

As the largest party in the Government that has run Britain for the last five years, the Tory drink is called Current No 10.  A floral gin-based drink with a hint of spice from the Kummel.  Many will find this one difficult to palate.

1. Stir 50ml gin, 15ml creme de violette, 10ml kummel, 10ml Cocchi Americano and a dash of rose water with cubed ice for sixty seconds.
2. Strain into a chilled coupe glass.
3. Garnish with dried lavender.

Labour

The main challenger (at the ballot box at least) and determined to show their leader has what it takes to be taken seriously on the world stage.  The Labour drink is called the Anything But Mili-bland and is a bitter sweet combination of characters, so it’s a relief to see this one end up moderated somewhat with soda water.

1. Shake 50ml vodka, 10ml Campari, 30ml fresh lemon juice and 15ml grenadine with cubed ice for twenty seconds.
2. Strain into a chilled highball glass and top with soda water.
3. Garnish with a lemon twist and a raspberry.

Liberal Democrats

Once the darlings of the disaffected, but now battered and bruised by a punishing five year stint as junior coalition members.  Hoping their pleas to be allowed to moderate the extremes of the major parties will encourage the electorate to let them have another go in charge, albeit under close supervision.  The drink, the Señorita tries to appeal to a broad range of tastes, but ends up putting a lot of people off as a result.  Some of its decisions may take a long time to be forgiven.

1. Shake 50ml tequila, 15ml elderflower, 10ml fino sherry, 30ml pineapple juice and 15ml (2:1) pineapple syrup with cubed ice for twenty seconds.
2. Strain into a cobbler glass with ice.
3. Garnish with a slice of cucumber and mixed berries.

UKIP

Angling to replace the Liberal Democrats as the protest vote for those disaffected with the ‘old way of doing things’ UKIP advocate a return to a more insular protectionist time when Britain still had an Empire. The Love It Or Hate It shows a nod to this with a combination of dark rum, spice, egg white and pale ale which will make a handful of adherents go crazy, but leave most people mildly disgusted and hoping it will go away.

1. Shake 50ml dark rum, 15ml Grand Marnier, 10ml pimento dram, 20ml fresh lemon juice, 15ml sugar syrup and 10ml egg white with cubed ice for twenty seconds.
2. Strain into a chilled pint glass and top with pale ale.
3. Garnish with a small broken meringue.

Green Party

Hoping to build on the breakthrough the made in 2010 winning their first MP the Green party is striving to move away from its single-issue image with some daring economic policies.  The drink appears to be the most attractive of the lot, and as a result is unlikely to garner much attention and will be largely overlooked on a menu of brash extremes.

1. Blend 50ml vodka, 10ml green Chartreuse, 20ml fresh lemon juice, 15ml sugar syrup, four basil leaves, three dashes of absinthe and an egg white and then shake with cubed ice for twenty seconds.
2. Strain into a chilled coupe glass.
3. Garnish with a basil leaf.

SNP

The Scottish Nationalists have been the rising stars of British politics since coming so close to achieving their main aim of secession in the 2014 referendum.  Having dropped their promise to abstain on non-Scottish matters in Westminster they look set to wield real influence in the next Parliament.  This drink, Sturgeon’s Sharper, serves as a reminder of what the UK would lose if Scotland went its own way.  Built on reassuringly familiar foundations, the addition of cacao seems a rash decision, and an unnecessary amount of sugar, which may have far-reaching consequences.

1. Stir 50ml Mortlach 13yo whisky, 20ml Grand Marnier, 15ml creme de cacao and 10ml Cocchi Americano with cubed ice for sixty seconds.
2. Strain into a chilled coupe glass.
3. Garnish with an orange zest.

Plaid Cymru

The Welsh national party is not going to cause as much of a stir on the Westminster stage as the SNP, but a strong showing could eat into the Labour vote and make another Conservative-led coalition more likely. The Red Dragon is a welcoming and quite one.  While cynics may say it is just here to make up the numbers, if they were to look a little more closely they may well be surprised by how much they like what they see.

1. Blend 60ml Penderyn Welsh whisky, 30ml fresh lemon juice, 15ml calvados, 10ml raspberry eau de vie, half an egg white and a small piece of red apple and then shake with cubed ice for twenty seconds.
2. Strain into a chilled coupe.
3. Garnish with a dehydrated apple slice.

Now, for the enfranchisement – vote for your favourite below:

Corpse Reviver #2

Photo courtesy of Rubin Starset

“Four of these taken in quick succession will un-revive the corpse again.” – Harry Craddock, Savoy Cocktail Book, 1930

One of the classic early morning cocktails, the Corpse Reviver #2 was originally considered a hangover cure of sorts.  An eye-opener, or hair of the dog style drink of classic provenance, it appears the sharp citrus flavours were seen by the bon viveurs of the 1920s as the ideal tonic to a night of overindulgence.  Of course these days we rely on non-alcoholic lemon shower gel to provide the same citrus tingle.  Shame.

The other overriding flavour of the Corpse Reviver is absinthe, interestingly a common ingredient in other early morning drinks (see also the Morning Glory) and used here as a dry counterpoint to the sharp citrus and the floral gin botanicals.

So why the #2?  Well the original Corpse Reviver is a cognac, calvados and vermouth concoction, and hasn’t aged as well, or with as much popularity as the second in the series.  Many bars have come up with #3s, #4s and beyond, but none are as perfectly balanced and silently lethal as the tart and sweet, gin-based version.

1. Rinse a martini glass with a teaspoon of absinthe and discard the excess.
2. Shake equal parts gin, triple sec, Lillet Blanc (or Cocchi Americano) and lemon juice with cubed ice for twenty seconds.
3. Double strain into the absinthe-rinsed glass.
4. Garnish with a twist of lemon.

Leap Year

As today is 29 February, it seems fitting to include a wee potion that has been credited with (blamed for?) more proposals than any other, the Leap Year.

This sweet Martini alternative was born at the Savoy in 1928 and therefore celebrates its 84th (or 21st) birthday today [29 February 2012].  Harry Craddock, the barman created the drink for the Leap Year celebrations, and it seems fitting to raise one tonight, in honour of those poor leaplings (but only those over the age of err four and a half?)

The mixture of aromatic sweetness born of the Grand Marnier and vermouth clashes somewhat with the botanical bitterness of the gin and produces an interesting combination on the tongue.  Despite this, there is a pleasing bittersweet hint to the drink, and it is well worth savouring once every four years.

You make the Leap Year classic as follows:

1. Shake 60ml Plymouth gin, 15ml sweet vermouth, 15ml Grand Marnier and 10ml fresh lemon juice with cubed ice for twenty seconds.
2. Double strain into a chilled coupe glass.
3. Garnish with a twist of lemon peel.

Pass one to your man, take a deep gulp of your own, and get down on one knee…