Pothecary Gin, Bulgari Hotel
We were invited to join Lukasz from Pothecary Gin at the Bulgari Hotel in Knightsbridge.
We arrived in the elegant bar to be greeted by Ago behind the bar with a friendly "Oh, you must be the martini guys'. We settled in, and Ago started the mix.
The Bar at the Bulgari Hotel, Knightsbridge London
He began with adding vermouth - more than we would normally use - to a couple of large chunks of Eskimo ice and stirred. As the mix was happening, we nosed the gin itself. It's a very floral and intense nose, with a sweet honey scent, lemon and lavender, among others. The honey scent comes, apparently, from Polish Tilia flowers - a new one on us.
Interestingly, the wetter mix change the resulting martini quite significantly. The intense floral nose became a much gentler taste, but at 44.8% still has the required kick of a functional martini.
We tried a few more mixes, and discovered that adding a sprig of thyme as the garnish changes the predominance of lavender to that of the lemon. We finished with a negroni, and being Knightsbridge, it was made with a large lump of gold leaf covered ice.
Pothecary is a rather pleasant and versatile gin, and our thanks to Lukasz for a very enjoyable evening. Other gin distillers take note!
