Mix it up: Forget the old wives’ tales and mix the grape and grain
@philip_salter
Spirits and cocktails get a bad rap. After you’ve knocked back half a dozen pints and a bottle of wine, it’s that final shot of tequila that gets all the blame for your stinking hangover the next morning. I’ve even heard claims that the mixed spirits used in cocktails cause hangovers – that’s nonsense on stilts.
In truth, just as there’s no hangover cure, there’s no combination of drinks that causes hangovers. That god-awful feeling the next day is just the result of dehydration, changes to hormone levels and the toxicity of alcohol. Although dark spirits contain more congeners – substances other than alcohol produced during fermentation – which may increase your odds of feeling rough, this isn’t a big enough factor to turn a bourbon aficionado into a vodka chaser.
So now that’s clear, we can all get on with mixing grape and grain, drinking wine before beer and subverting all the other old wives’ tales. A few of years ago, beer cocktails were pretty much unknown outside of fraternity house hazings and games of truth or dare. These days, sophisticated versions of these early pioneers grace many of London’s cocktail lists. Now it’s time for wine to shine.
And it looks like the stars are aligning. In the recent Bacardi Legacy Global Cocktail Competition a wine cocktail won the day. In fact, Frank Dedieu’s creation has a decent shot of being a modern classic: it’s simple, elegant and balanced. Sadly for us, Frank isn’t one of the many French expats working in London. He tends at Redwood in Lyon – proof, if it were needed, that the massive trend for more and better cocktails isn’t restricted to London and New York.
Luckily you don’t need to travel the 4 hours and 41 minutes by Eurostar to get a decent wine cocktail – you can pop over to the Grain Store in King’s Cross. The buzzing restaurant sits in the recently developed Granary Square, which also boasts Caravan and St Martin’s College. Unless you meet a nice young Greek lady with a thirst for knowledge – in which case you’re pretty much obliged to drink rum and Coca-Cola – order the herb-infused Chamomile Vinus Lupus, which uses Gewurztraminer, verjus (an acidic juice made by pressing unripe sour fruit), frankincense (if it was good enough for the only son of God), and Chamomile flowers. If you like your drinks smoky opt for a Roman Smoked Paprika White Wine, which uses Grenache Blanc.
So ditch the superstitions, go against the grain and add a little grape to your cocktails.
LE LATIN
Ingredients
▪ 45ml Bacardi Superior
▪ 20ml parts white wine (Viognier preferred)
▪ 20ml parts lemon juice
▪ 5ml olive brine
▪ 2 bar-spoons caster sugar
▪ 20ml Tonic Water (or less if you prefer)
Method
● Shake and strain, garnish with an olive.