Dukes Bar, Dukes Hotel London
Venue: Dukes Hotel Bar, London Recipe: Plymouth, Own Vermouth, straight to glass, lemon twist Price: £20.00 – but worth it! WBM score: 98/100
We were alerted to Dukes Hotel bar by our follower @newopenings, an online guide to new bar openings in London.
The legendary Alessandro Palazzi
Dukes, however is far from a new opening. It looks like the front room of a well-to-do family home, and hides down a side street in St. James.
Upon entering we were met by Alessandro, the head bartender. We were shown to our table, away from the tiny bar. Normally we would sit at the bar and observe the bartender in action, but the bar in Dukes is far too small to accommodate seating. What we didn’t expect was that upon ordering two of their house style Martinis, a trolley arrived with the gin (frozen), two glasses (also frozen) and an array of ornate small bottles. This is the famous ‘Martini Trolley’ that allows guests to observe the ritual that is Martini making in Dukes.
The house style is Plymouth gin, and a tiny dash of their own recipe vermouth. No shakers or other devices, simply two frozen standard Martini glasses, a microscopic splash of vermouth, and topped to the brim with cold, clear gin. An enormous lemon was produced, and two large twists were cut from the unwaxed peel. The lemons are, of course, especially imported from Italy just for Alessandro.
It was a superb demonstration of how the simplest of cocktails can be an event. We may just have discovered Martini heaven.
We then tried the WBM benchmark Martini – again, frozen Tanqueray 10 and two glasses, and a bowl of – yes, specially imported- olives arrived on the trolley. Again, the tiniest drop of house vermouth, and fill to the brim. The result was of course perfection.
We chatted to Alessandro about our quest, and were please to find a kindred spirit – but one that makes us look like mere beginners. Alessandro is undoubtedly the King of the Martini in London.
Unless of course you know better?
