LTA Happy Hour: Rosewood London

The renowned Scarfes Bar at Rosewood London just debuted a new cocktail menu inspired by the caricaturist Gerald Scarfe. The visual-oriented menu (and taste, of course) is the brainchild of bar manager Martin Siska and head bartender Greg Almeida.

The new menu consists of 15 cocktails that capture the Scarfe’s caricatures of Charlie Chaplin, Harry Potter, James Bond, Mary Poppins, Macbeth, and Monty Python.

A few of the new drinks include: Make the Medicine Go Down (influenced by Mary Poppins), made with Johnnie Walker Gold Label, a roasted pineapple shrub, home-infused chrysanthemum Cocchi Americano rosa, and lavender bitters, served with a white chocolate rim and umbrella; and Polyjuice Potion (inspired by Harry Potter), a mixture of Ron Zacapa 23, pomegranate juice, black cardamom maple syrup, India Pale Ale beer, and lemon juice, served a vial-esque glass.

Usually a London bar that makes a drink inspired by James Bond would take the cake (by the way, the Orbis non Sufficient is made with Ford’s Gin, Roots Mastiha, pistachio-aged Vermouth blend, pink grapefruit and pickled walnut) but the Charlie Chaplin-based cocktail comes out on top.

The Walking With a Waddle

  • Spice Tanqueray 10 Gin
  • Pedro Ximenez Noe G. Byass Sherry
  • Apple, rhubarb, and cherry cordial

Method: Shake all ingredients
Double-strain into glass
Dust dried cherry-powder over a meringue in the shape of Chaplin’s famous hat and moustache

To create the cocktail menu, the team set out on an eight-month research and development process.

At the Scarfes Bar, both guests and locals can enjoy live music seven nights a week. The walls of the bar are adorned with Scarfe’s works. In one corner, dubbed the “Artfully Current” corner, guests can view a rotating selection of works based on current events.