QUINTESSENTIALLY | Insider | Culture

Just outside of Delhi’s bustling city centre, Aman New Delhi dozes in idyllic surroundings; it breathes in deeply and exhales a purer air.

The resort serves to enhance the senses and luxury is the order of the day. Think lots of me-time, spa-time and down-time. Herbal tea on the balcony which overlooks the green city of Delhi and at times the magnificent Humayun Tomb, gentle laps in the scented pool, evening cocktails in the atmospheric lounge or an early morning Pilates class to reinvigorate. Activities framed within the gold and beige textures of the Gangapur Sandstone on the walls, the autumn tones of the Khareda stone on the floors, the splashes of the vibrant orange of the marigolds and the natural fragrance of the tuberoses and Jasmine flowers spread through the resort.

Space is a precious commodity this close to the city. The high-vaulted ceilings in the lobby, the floor-to-ceiling windows, the mirrors and muted tones that drink in the light; the minimalist, lamp-light easiness on one side and expansive greenery in the gardens somehow blend together in your mind until clutter and noise seems to disappear. That’s just how it is here; all thoughts dissolve into one collective and spiritually satisfied sigh…

We sip on Champagne in the restaurant and look up at silver-leafed ceilings and over towards the hum of the open kitchen of the Lodhi Restaurant. The Aman Restaurant serves a delicious array of Indian, Thai and Japanese cuisine, with French Kaiseki at the Naoki counter.

In the sunken courtyard where the sun’s coming up, some are starting their day with a Hatha Yoga series. I look out through colonnades of stone and at the water with that thirsty azure reflection of blue glass.

They have that decidedly boutique art hotel attention to detail. The soft play of light and shadow that dances across the room reflects through the Jaali, cutting changing shapes that evolve throughout the day with the moving sun. It runs across the Khereda stone and the hand-crafted rugs which juxtapose with dark timber panels and antique writing desks that look out into the terrace and evening skies.

Walk across the hotel lawn where the moon climbs above the trees; visit Lakshmi Narayan Temple, where ancient chants and the ringing of bells accompanies your waking dream; experience the grandeur of Rashtrapati Bhavan; meditate in the green serenity of Lodhi gardens; take in the fairytale colours of the city streets where local traders sell Eastern delights – from marigold garlands to Henna tattoos – before the Prasad-sweet smells carry you off towards The Hanuman Mandir, temple of the Monkey King.

For more information, please go to www.amanresorts.com/amannewdelhi/home.aspx.

In a night of British unity that even the SNP would approve of, the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra headed south to the Royal Albert Hall to play an evening showcasing the works of some of the greatest English composers. Led by chief conductor Donald Runnicles, the orchestra performed some famous and other lesser-known pieces from the early decades of the 20th century. The concert featured some notable performances and Prom debuts for both performers and pieces.

John Foulds’ ‘Dynamic Triptych’ made its BBC Proms debut more than eighty years after its completion. The piece is tanned by Foulds’ intrigue into Eastern music; he experimented with the music of India and integrated irregular rhythms into his work. He was a professional pianist at the time of composing and working in Paris, creating soundtracks for silent films while dreaming of lands far away. Ashley Wass played admirably throughout the ‘Triptych’ when called upon. ‘Dynamic Mode’, a toccata like opening to the piece, is based on an Indian, seven note scale which brought some mysticism and spirituality to the Royal Albert Hall. The second movement, ‘Dynamic Timbre’, is calmer, building slowly and giving Wass an ounce of respite before the climactic ‘Dynamic Rhythm’.

Next, 16 young soloists joined us onstage for Ralph Vaughn William’s ‘Serenade to Music’. Fittingly written as a tribute to the founder of The Proms, Sir Henry Wood would go on to conduct its first performance in this very building,  the latest generation of young Scottish talent worked superbly with the strings, oboes and harps, making us long for eras gone by.

After the interval we retook our seats for the second Vaughn Williams’ piece of the evening and the Proms debut of the precocious Nicola Benedetti. She would perform the almost legendary violin part of ‘The Lark Ascending’.  So popular is this work today that it is often voted as the public’s favourite piece of classical music ever written. Miss Benedetti stood assured on stage and made her violin flutter, each note ringing throughout the Hall. The piece is breathtaking, transporting one to quintessentially English summer fields. It left me seriously questioning my decision to move into the Big Smoke.

The night would end with Sir Edward Elgar’s ‘First Symphony No.1 in A flat major’ and what a finish it was. One of two of Elgar’s completed symphonies; this piece usually comes in at over 50 minutes, and requires the conductor and orchestra to walk a fine line, balancing the intricacies of the piece and its volume. Mr. Runnicles excelled in his control and the orchestra was one, executing their individual roles to perfection.

More Elgar at The Proms
Prom 67, 5th September
More Elgar and Vaughn Williams at The Proms
Prom 76, 11th September

For more information, and to book tickets, please go to www.bb.co.uk/proms.

Historical accounts of the now legendary Château Haut-Brion, tell of noblemen, artists, philosophers, musicians and writers in France in the 15th century – all from varying class and socioeconomic backgrounds – joining together to drink Haut-Brion; discussing what one can only imagine to be the politics of the day, a recent sporting event perhaps, fabric dying techniques, the solar system, the existence of God or of Gods. These informal gatherings allowed those from varied professions, skill-sets and birth rights to share their experiences over a few hearty goblets of wine.

Honouring this social tradition, the first ever luxury brand celebrates the 75th anniversary of its acquisition by Mr. Clarence Dillon, by hosting a series 8 extraordinary dinners in eight of the great cities. The guest list for each is an assemblage of some of the world’s most notable figures in politics, art, philanthropy, theatre, fashion, cinema, music, media, design, finance as well as the crème of aristocracy from across the globe.

The 8 cities visited include the following: Paris, London, New York, Los Angeles, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Tokyo and Moscow. These events will be held in prestigious locations with dinners prepared by 8 of the world’s most celebrated chefs.

The launch of the festivities started in May 2010 in Paris where seventy-five VIPs were invited to the International Diplomatic Academy, a fitting venue since Douglas Dillon, Clarence Dillon’s son, was a member of the Academy when he was the US ambassador in France in 1952.

I was fortunate to attend the London dinner, hosted by Prince Robert of Luxembourg, which took place in the grand dining room at Lancaster House under a glorious stained glass atrium. At two long parallel tables the guests were seated in various interpretations of black-tie, some in traditional silks and brocade while others opted for gothic Alexander McQueen and Avant-garde headpieces.

Seven of the finest Domaine Clarence Dillon wines were served, including Château Haut-Brion Blanc 1994, Château Haut-Brion 1961 and Clarendelle Amberwine 2003. These wines accompanied an exclusive menu of dishes designed to underline the exceptional character of Domaine Clarence Dillon’s wines. The Prince’s guests enjoyed Rillette of Wild Salmon, Ravioli of Pigeon, Herb Crusted Saddle of Lamb, with Brillat-Savarin cheesecake to end.

Today, Domaine Clarence Dillon, a family-owned company enjoys the unique privilege of producing four of the greatest wines in the world: two red wines and two white wines emanating from the prestigious estates of Château Haut-Brion and Château La Mission Haut-Brion.

They have recently developed a new brand structure in order to create a comprehensive collection of wines to be enjoyed on all occasions. All the back labels now bear the ‘Domaine Clarence Dillon’ seal of excellence, a proof of quality and a reference for wine connoisseurs all over the world.

The New York dinner took place on 12th July at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and notable guests included: former President Bill Clinton, designer Zac Posen, Mr. and Mrs. Christopher Forbes, Ms. Gillian Hearst, Lady Lillana Cavendish and Mr. Charlie Rose.

The next celebration dinners will be held in Shanghai on 18th October at the Peace Hotel, Hong Kong on 21st October at the Four Seasons and Tokyo on 27th October.

Los Angeles and Moscow dates and locations still to be decided.

Image by Chris Christodoulou

Mahler 4 followed by Mahler 5: Thursday night at the Royal Albert Hall was a sell-out. All seats were taken for the appearance of Valery Gergiev’s World Orchestra for Peace, the orchestral master group that Georg Solti put together to mark the UN’s half-century. They have played together only twelve times in the fifteen years since then, but who could tell? Those who rose to their feet for ten minutes following the Rondo-Finale of Mahler’s Fifth were applauding the effervescent beauty of Gergiev’s translation. Carefully exploited silences; the intricate interplay between woodwind, strings and horn; the subtle rendering of sounds worked up into one pure mood – maddened, profoundly melancholic, sadistically ambivalent.

Most of the Russian’s ‘moments’ came towards the end, however. The Fourth Symphony – compared by Mahler to a ‘forest with all its mysteries and its horrors’ – was never quite tragic enough. It’s supposed to end with a child’s vision of heaven; and yet these children are not pure, and what Mahler meant by ‘child-like’ didn’t carry forward. In Mahler’s text, the children suffer intensely, but in their suffering prove sublimely callous. In the first movement, they lead a ‘guiltless, patient, a lovely lamb to death!’ The Finale’s soprano is too white, too empathetic to the cries of oboe and low horn to remind us of that this paradise shimmers with milk and blood, an ambiguous, even perverse heaven where ‘Saint Luke is slaughtering the oxen’.

Gergiev obviously saw all this ‘Heavenly Life’ as a passing fancy, an appetizer to the Fifth’s more grounded theme. If Mahler’s work is a self-portrait – the artist never too far removed from the art – then his life was certainly more interesting when he composed this famous Fifth symphony, unleashing the impulsive power of the brass to devastating effect. The Fifth was started in early 1901, when he met and fell feverishly in love with Alma Schindler. It was finished in the summer of 1902, six months after he was almost killed by a sudden hemorrhage. And these extremes of emotion are compounded in the five movements – boundless optimism suddenly shaken with a convulsive terror.

Timur Martynov, with his bold trumpet solo, ramped up the first movement before the ‘suddenly faster-passionate-wild’ brass burned in agonizing duet with the violins. The frisson of danger subsides into the second movement, but the lonely stroke of the timpani, and the Siberian bleakness of the muted trumpet is too much too soon, and we plunge head-first into hell-on-earth without even a glance at eternity. After the second part comes the most popular of Mahler’s works; The Adagietto is a feverish protestation of his love for Alma. And what Gergiev did was steep it in a tender sensuality. The second violins took centre stage, quietly undressing their sounds before the first strings came back with more warmth, a gentle masculinity. The tempo was perfect, and Gergiev found just the right sentiment to expose Mahler’s masterpiece.

With Mahler, the details usually matter. Gergiev did well with the big-movements, the tragic poise – his talent too rich to waste on painstaking calculation. He spared us the perfection of style and structure often associated with Mahler, and gave us a raw freshness that few conductors manage to rake from it.

More Mahler at The Proms
Saturday 21 August, 7.30pm Prom 48
Wednesday 1 September, 7.30pm Prom 62
Friday 3 September, 7.30pm Prom 65

For full Proms listings, and to book tickets, visit www.bbc.co.uk/proms.

I’m resting on a grassy knoll at the Secret Garden Party, eating strawberries and whipped cream – Champagne in hand – waiting for a live execution by guillotine. The beheading will take place at 3pm sharp (terrible pun) carried out by a fellow dressed as a large fluffy bunny rabbit.

A hush falls over the crowd. The blade drops. The ladies gasp. I lose a few expensive berries. The head falls below into a wooden crate. Silence.

But wait! Something’s slowly moving. We see an eye open. Ta-da! He’s come back to life the crazy rabbit!

Just a bit of magic folks…

It’s Saturday mid-afternoon and there’s a Mediterranean sun in Cambridgeshire, England. 17,000 festival goers, from toddlers to pensioners (mostly unusually attractive 18 to 25 year olds) are taking in the entertainments.

Having survived the audio tour of the Colosseum in Rome last month, listening to historical accounts of Titus opening the grand arena with 100 days of games (and the killing of a mere 9,000 live animals) – I can’t help but feel relieved that a good deal of our modern blood lust can now be satisfied by PG rated activities like ‘dance-offs’, mud-pit wrestling in fat-suits, heavy metal karaoke and long-haired-dudes attempting to stand for the duration of a water slide.

So the appeal is that – and the music. Whether it was the pitch-perfect Sarah Blasco mesmerising peeps by the main stage, I Blame Coco with her band of merry trendies and catchy new-wave pop anthems; Gorilla Sound System raising arms and spirits; deep house and dirty electro in the big tents; indie kids riffing away, or ska heads, Rude Boy and Rascal bringing down the house at the bunting-lined ‘town hall’. At The Secret Garden Party, you don’t need to ask… You shall receive.

My experience of the festival was one of continual bright-eyed wandering and stopping. Wander to the live Lewis Carroll tea party, stop for a spot of food. Wander to the bar for a peachy tipple, stop to photograph an art installation of paper origami penguins. Wander into the smoke-machine & laser tent, stop for a bit of music and boogieing. Take a seat in the middle of an author’s lecture; rest against an industrial size Moroccan pillow; dip into a life drawing class; get your hair and make-up done like a 1940s starlet; enjoy a Pimm’s on the lawn; listen to the banjos; take shade under the trees; chill with a book in your tent; engage in any number of live, competitive – and generally no more dangerous than slap-stick comedy – events.

Once vegetarian, since converted to die-hard carnivore – the food selection was almost exclusively organic, which I imagine is to be expected in a wholly non-corporate environment. There’s any number of vegan food stalls offering the usual and often frightening assemblage of shredded cabbage, tahini, Moroccan tagine, oat cake crepes. The saving grace: pulled pork in a roll with apple sauce and greasy! shimmering! terrifically bad for me crackling!

The best bit of the festival: the undeniably fantastical element of the place itself – especially at the dawn of each evening. These storybook estate grounds boast the topographical ornaments of a never-never land: a large centrepiece pond surrounded by garden walkways, decorative hills; under-lit trees of candy green, anonymous whites and electric blue.

Cross the wobbly bridge and in the distance you see a manicured pathway that one fairly assumes leads to the main estate house.

I like to imagine the owner of this exquisite property, an eccentric nobleman weaving through the festival. The older gent ditches his tweeds and Churchill brogues, donning the disguise of an aging hippy: bearded, dread-locked; in an almost dream-world he is dancing like a wild, carefree teenager.

For more information, please click here.

The Swedish House Mafia is a collaboration of three superstar disk jockeys and producers: Axwell, Steve Angello and Sebastian Ingresso. They are fast becoming one of the most identifiable music brands in Sweden. They wear their hair long and look contented, the way leather-clad clubbers look in the VIP area of one of those impossible-to-get-into Parisian night clubs. They’re aware of the cliché that comes with the territory; what it means to be a brand as well as a band with a flair for turning rousing Euro-House into a mainstream commodity.

But what do they really do? In short, they make, mix and play an assortment of House tunes that are popular in Stockholm. They rank highly in the fresh wave of super producers that have recently emerged on the scene, having worked with Madonna, Kylie, NERD, Justin Timberlake and Moby, and they know how to sell the hedonistic lifestyle like few others can. Self-consciously cool,  their ‘making it up as we go’ bohemian spirit plays a large part in their philosophy. Their act is a combination of DJ set, theatre, party, demonstration – and the appeal of three rising stars that are very much in tune with each other.

Many cite their massive success is simply down to the music itself; the euphoria in the segue that follows an expert fusion of dissimilar melodies and beats… Listening to their debut single ‘ONE (Your Name)’ – currently #7 in the UK charts and featuring the unmistakeable vocals of Pharrell Williams – it’s the beautiful simplicity of an incredibly catchy synth line that is quickly turning it into one of the hottest underground soundtracks of the summer. Undoubtedly increasing their already substantial cult following ‘One’ is a great radio-friendly introduction to get us revved up about their forthcoming album.

Swedish House Mafia have a 16-week residency at Pacha in Ibiza this summer with Masquerade Motel.

Quintessentially Music, in association with Swedish House Mafia, are giving away three signed copies of the single ‘ONE’, along with an exclusive t-shirt.

For your chance to win, simply send an email to james.bath@quintessentiallymusic.com along with your full name. The competition closes Monday, 9th August at 10.30am.

The winning name will be selected and notified by email on Tuesday, 10th August.

Although a well known name in London, New York and Singapore, STRIP: Ministry of Waxing has finally come to Hong Kong, much to the delight of the ladies and gents in the city. Their funky landmark store on Lyndhurst Terrace, decked out with waxy artwork, wax-coated furniture and pumping house tunes, is definitely a world away from your usual spa experience.

Kat, one of STRIP’s therapists (or Striperellas as they like to be known) told me they’re ready to defuzz Hong Kong one bod at a time after over one month of intensive bootcamp training in Singapore, home to STRIP’s headquarters. STRIP has made waxing an art form and all their therapists have been taught to do it the STRIP way. Key to this is their HSQ mantra: hygiene, speed and quality.

Hygiene means no double dipping. In my individually-sealed hygiene pack were disposable gloves, spatulas and everything needed for a wax. Speed – their Striperellas promise to have even the most hirsute of homosapiens stripped in fifteen minutes flat. And quality – their pre- and post-care products and in-house berry chocolate wax have been specially formulated to ensure an almost painless experience. Made from pine resin with a beeswax base, this hard wax can remove short, stubborn hairs easily and smells good enough to eat!

Kat told me that their lavender soft wax is more suitable for use on large parts of the body, such as the legs, while hard wax is better for sensitive areas such as underarms. You name it and they can almost certainly wax it – from fingers to toes, back, shoulders, midriff as well as the more conventional eyebrow and upper lip and even…take a deep breath guys…boyzillians. They also have IPL available for men and women looking for a more permanent hair removal solution. For nervous first timers, they provide a friendly stress-ball orangutan, Bach Rescue Remedy and then it’s time to, well, strip.

And they live up to their promise – in the gentle hands of Kat, I found the waxing was virtually painless. Cynthia Chua, who set up STRIP eight years ago in Singapore has now expanded to 27 branches world wide, attributes this to their constant innovation. By improving the tools and techniques used in the waxing process, STRIP’s reputation as the global authority in hair removal has been secured.

On your way out, don’t forget to pick up a tub of X’ed Out Cream (HKD 300) as well as Ice Cream (HKD 300) to soothe those tender, post-IPL and waxing spots. They’re also the only store in Hong Kong to stock the full range of Malin and Goetz goodies – I’m a huge fan of their B5 Body Moisturiser (HKD 330) which sinks in quickly and smells lovely and fresh.

Cynthia also revealed that she’s bringing Browhaus to HK in September, STRIP’s sister eyelash and eyebrow grooming bar. Given the trend for eyelash extensions that’s taken over the city, she’s no doubt got another winner on her hands. Keep an eye out for more information!

For more information on STRIP: Ministry of Waxing, please visit www.strip.com.hk.
17 Lyndhurst Terrace, Central, Hong Kong

Martin McDonagh’s reputation as both a playwright and filmmaker has grown immensely since the first production of his debut play in 1996. With the much acclaimed crime thriller In Bruges winning critical plaudits and awards by the bucketload, and with later plays such as The Pillowman and The Lieutenant Of Inishmore sealing his status as an enfant terrible of the theatre – a sort of Irish Quentin Tarantino of the stage – it makes a fascinating experience to revisit The Beauty Queen of Leenane which, in the Young Vic’s highly assured staging, reveals that McDonagh’s talent was evident from the beginning.

The set-up has nightmarish echoes of a bleaker, Irish Steptoe and Son. Maureen Folan, a plain, downtrodden virgin is living with her domineering, demanding mother Mag, whose most frequently voiced requests are for Complan, shortbread fingers and porridge. Maureen, who has only ever been kissed twice – ‘two men is two men too much!’ – has her head turned by the decent but somewhat diffident neighbour Pato Dooley, who she attends a party with. Mag, however, sees nothing in her daughter’s potential relationship but her own abandonment, and schemes to plot its downfall. Things go very, very badly wrong.

In the first half, it seems faintly unclear as to where the play is going. Nods to Beckett and Pinter (and possibly even a touch of Tennessee Williams) jostle alongside digs at Irish convention, as Pato’s idiotic younger brother Ray offers his lack of surprise that a nearby priest has had an illegitimate child  – ‘now if he’d punched that babby in the head, that’d be news!’ However, in the second and superior half, beginning with a bravura one-scene monologue as Pato attempts to compose two letters, McDonagh ramps up the tension and black comedy to near-unbearable levels, as audience sympathy begins to shift and turn.

The Young Vic’s fine production, more than capably directed by Joe Hill-Gibbins, boasts an authentically grim set (designed by Ultz, who did similar wonders with the set for the recent Jerusalem) that perfectly captures the horrible atmosphere that the protagonists find themselves in. It’s extremely well acted by Rosaleen Linehan as Mag and Susan Lynch as Maureen, although Lynch is far too striking to fully convince as a woman described as plain, and David Ganly offers excellent support as the decent Pato.

Given the warmth of the audience reaction, there seems little doubt that this will be a sell-out hit, and so you’d be well advised to get to the Young Vic to see this fine production sooner rather than later.

Until 21st August. Young Vic, The Cut, London SE1. www.youngvic.org

Sacha Jafri, the London based painter, is now considered one of the world’s leading young artists. His paintings investigate the human being, and the intrinsic relationships with surrounding environments. Quintessentially Art had the opportunity to meet with him, and discuss what makes him paint, his interests,
and his upcoming series ‘Universe of the Child’.

You’re known for your visually strong paintings. Why painting of all mediums?

Painting is what really inspires me. It is the most tangible of expressions for me in that I am very much a painter of the 70s or a purist painter. The thing now is that there is a lot of concentration on the finished product; my work is very much not about that. It’s sort of the antithesis of that, it’s about creation of the product and the best thing I can do is paint.

What do you mean by the theme of magic and a style of magical realism and how do you use these themes in your work?

It’s not really a theme of magic, it’s making your world, your reality that you know and recognise and awakening something that was maybe sleeping. It’s a bit like an electric shock to the senses. Magical realism is about the viewer being able to dip in and become part of it but it’s not material enough to one you know, you become part of that and you start competing the narrative.

What are the main themes that you have painted so far?

All of my paintings are about human beings, how we fit into our natural surroundings, how we relate to each other and to our surroundings both natural and man-made; how we converse with each other. Within that, there are different narratives told, within that there are different paths of subconscious. Some of it is very deep; its more about a journey or an investigation into the subconscious which becomes more about the dream world and some of it is more lucid and more about the world and what is around us when we are awake. It’s all about people, all about narratives and all about relationships.

You are now working on a series called ‘Universe of the Child’ – What is that about?

It started in Darfur. I realised that I didn’t want to paint about the darkness of humanity but about the strength of humanity, in what is amazing and inspiring. I found the only way to get to the truth in these countries, to get something different, poignant, and to find the truth, would be to work with children. They have a purity and they have a truth that is quite amazing. The idea is that it would be the essence of the country through the eyes, heart, mind, soul of a child you would find the essence of the country. It’s quite a big journey which is exciting.

To find out more about Sacha Jafri and his upcoming exhibition at the Saatchi Gallery, contact Diana.Graham@QuintessentiallyArt.com.

Straight ahead there is a Persian indigo portal to a dimly lit room; we enter to find the friend we are meeting sitting by the bar sipping a glass of champagne. It is instantly clear why this is called the Purple Bar – your eyes dance around the shades of purple which adorn this luxurious space; flickering between the comfortable seating which would not be out of place at a mad hatters tea party, and then to the engravings on the mirrors reminiscent of a child’s jewellery box, and finally to the huge slab of stone that forms the bar.

To mark their ten year anniversary, Roland, Purple Bar’s chief mixologist and manager, has scoured the globe to create some truly unique cocktails. Six are featured on this “Ultimate” cocktail list and each brings something different to the table, making for a well balanced line-up. Not the most expensive, but the most fascinating, is the ‘Manhattan 1913’, made using the last bottle of pre-Prohibition McBrayer Bourbon 1913. This drink stimulates the imagination to thoughts of speakeasies, rag time and booze running; history embodied. Then there’s the ‘B&B King’; Brandy and Benedictine was one of the favourite cocktails of the 1940s and Purple Bar have brought it back to life using extremely rare ingredients. Roland mixes one for me and displays the blue blaze technique which is both practical and jaw-dropping, illuminating the room with a tinge and opening up the cocktail. ‘The Proposal’ is another interesting idea on this list but for a very different reason. The drink is actually two flutes of a cocktail using Dom Perignon Oenotheque 1995 as its base with an engagement ring in between them, the perfect way to pop the question.

These drinks mirror the ideology of Purple Bar; the venue is luxurious but not just for the sake of it. Roland’s list is not just the most expensive bottles of spirits blended together to sound good, it is a well thought out combination, and quite ingenious. These drinks are made from the best ingredients, regardless of cost, but in many cases a more expensive brand has been forgone for a superior one. This is the way that any pursuit of perfection has to be.

We move onto the “Divine” list. A collection of cocktails using pure chocolate, melted down, then blended seamlessly with a variety of spirits, to create a drink unique to this bar. The use of real chocolate gives this drink a rich smoothness, yet it remains light; perfect for an after dinner treat. I have never come across a drink where this execution is used with these ingredients.

Aside from the lists that Purple Bar has developed the talented bar staff will mix your requests or suggest a few drinks that aren’t on the list. Everything here is top shelf, not just the spirits, and the service and attention to detail are unsurpassed. This comfortable venue, delicious drinks and warm hospitality made me want to stay throughout the night but unfortunately pressing engagements, which I had already pushed back half an hour, beckoned and we strolled off into the Soho night…

For more information, please click here