CHANGE at Hawksmoor is always carefully though out, so we don’t expect them to ditch the Porterhouses for plant-based alternatives any time soon. It came as a surprise to us, though, to discover they hadn’t launched a new cocktail list in nearly a decade. That’s long, long before they opened their much-loved Manchester restaurant.
This certainly wasn’t missing out when they unveiled 26 fresh house tipples following their second win for Best International Restaurant Bar at Tales of the Cocktail in New Orleans earlier this year.
Hawksmoor’s new cocktail ethos is the result of six months of travel, tastings and tinkerings by teams led by Liam Davy (Hawksmoor Head of Bars) and legendary mixologist Nick Strangeway, who created their original list back in 2006.
On their travels, they came across a word coined in Renaissance Italy that seemed to sum up their approach: sprezzatura – a certain nonchalance, concealing all artistry to make whatever one does seem effortless. The result is a set of deceptively simple-seeming drinks that belie the hours of painstaking research and technique that has gone into them. There is a complete change in aesthetics of the menu, glassware and garnishes and a commitment to sustainability: the new menu cuts the use of imported fruit by 60%, minimising waste and focusing on UK and local suppliers as much as possible. Additionally, overall ABV is lower and there is also a bigger selection of non-alcoholic drinks.
The new list is divided into five sections. Highballs, Fizzes and Spritz features drinks like Ginza Highball, a carbonated in-house whisky highball that includes a splash of Empirical Spirits’ koji and kombucha-laced Fallen Pony, English verjus and lemon verbena.
The next section, Cocktails & Dreams revives and refines unfashionable faded stars such as the Pink Squirrel (above), where Fords gin is ‘washed’ with a delicious, 40 per cent cocoa white chocolate from Original Beans, mixed with passionfruit and Campari and sprinkled with Campari dust. Another highlight, the Reformed Pornstar (Absolut Elyx, passionfruit, jasmine tea, Champagne) sees the Pornstar Martini, that pinnacle of sweet, silly London excess meet a very old fashioned clarified milk punch.
The Hawksmoor Classics section showcases favourites from past years reworked and brought up to date. The Full-Fat Old Fashioned becomes the Fuller-Fat Old Fashioned, which still requires a painstaking process of infusing butter into bourbon in a water bath, but now has the added luxury of beurre noisette and a hint of the cigar box courtesy of sandalwood and cedar oil. Another favourite, Tom & Jerez No. 2 takes the flavours of the original (gin, almond, pear, sherry) and, using almond blossom-infused amontillado and pear eaux-de-vie, reimagines them as an elegant, clear, bone-dry aperitif. The only drinks that return to the list intact are the Shaky Pete’s Ginger Brew and its non-alcoholic cousin Steady Pete’s Ginger Brew.
The Flyby Five section in the new menu highlights the places that have inspired the team with drinks like Douglas Fir Silver Bullet (Hepple Vodka, Douglas Fir, Kummel, dill), a bracing aperitif made with vodka from Northumberland moors infused with Douglas Fir needles and freshened with dill. Finally, the Temperates section includes Mother Mule, a booze-free take on a Moscow Mule made with Mother Root, a delicious ginger drinking vinegar made in South London.
“We’ve travelled from Scotland to Copenhagen, Stockholm to Haggerston, constantly looking for inspiration,” says Liam Davy. “I think what we’ve achieved is the most delicious drinks list I’ve come across, and we’ve aimed to make it more creative, more sustainable and more technical, but most importantly, because it’s Hawksmoor, it’s really fun.”
Hawksmoor Manchester, 184-186 Deansgate, M3 3WB. 0161 836 6980. The new cocktail list is available across all their restaurants and bars.