Bombay Sapphire Gin has teamed up with a top bartender to create a pop-up at leading bar Callooh Callay.
The Bombay Sapphire Imaginarium (pictured) is being created in a room at the bar in Shoreditch, east London, showcasing imaginative serves developed by Richard Woods from Duck & Waffle in the City of London.
He has worked on the pop-up with mixologist Sean Ware, Bombay Sapphire’s UK brand ambassador, after winning the brand’s 2014 UK & Ireland Most Imaginative Bartender competition.
It will run at Callooh Callay from May 19 to 24, offering 10 inventive cocktails such as a Blue Cheese & Chocolate Martini, which combines sweet and savoury flavours and different mouth feels for an unusual and unique serve.
Guests can also enjoy Richard’s re-imagined twist on a gin and tonic, named Mind Your Peas & Qs, which is made with Bombay Sapphire compressed with garden peas and mint with tonic water.
The Imaginarium will also offer a series of free gin master classes on May 20, 21 and 22 between 6pm and 7pm, hosted by Richard and Sean. Consumers can discover the essential ingredients needed to re-create some of the Bombay Sapphire Imaginarium;s serves and learn the skills needed to craft beautiful cocktails at home.
Richard said: “The Bombay Sapphire Imaginarium is a place of inspiration and pushing the boundaries of cocktail creativity.
“For me cocktail consumption and creation is an experience, providing an opportunity to play and experiment with flavour pairings. Hence the inclusion on my menu of drinks that have a host of unusual and aromatic ingredients at their core in order to deliver a unique sensory experience.
“The cornerstone of each is of course Bombay Sapphire gin, an incomparably fragrant gin owing to its 10 precious botanicals, and I’m thrilled at the opportunity to host my own gin-inspired pop-up in collaboration with Bombay Sapphire gin in the run-up to the World’s Most Imaginative Bartender global final.”
Richard will compete in the Bombay Sapphire World’s Most Imaginative Bartender global final from June 8 to 13 in London.
The 15 finalists from around the world will visit the Bombay Sapphire Distillery at Laverstoke Mill in Hampshire and learn more about the history of the brand. They will be encouraged to use these experiences as inspiration to create an imaginative cocktail with the ultimate goal of being crowned the World’s Most Imaginative Bartender 2014.
To reserve a space at the Bombay Sapphire Imaginarium go to www.calloohcallaybar.com or to book a place at one of the master classes call 020 7739 4781.
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