London Cocktail Week with Regal Rogue

Tiki bars, handmade infusions, floor to ceiling wine racks, inflatable kangaroos, lemon skin hoopla, fencing in a restaurant… This madcap mix of fun and frivolity can only mean one thing – London Cocktail Week.

As a guest of the fabulously unique vermouth brand Regal Rogue, I found myself swept up in the mayhem and loved every minute of it.

Starting with a superb lunch of sharing plates and matched cocktails at Granger & Co in Clerkenwell, the Rogue boys did a sterling job of getting everyone up for it with entertaining toasts, including a Scotsman’s ode to Australia with nods to Susan Kennedy’s bad tattoos and Alf Stewart’s well honed legs. Who knew?!

The Australian theme runs from the Regal Rogue product itself, made from 100% Australian wine and native Australian herbs and botanicals, before being shipped to Turin to be blended and finished by a master Italian vermouth maker. It is a truly unique product and with vermouth enjoyed a well deserved revival at the moment, it’s perfectly placed to ride that wave. And best of all, you’ll soon get to enjoy it yourself at Cin Cin pop-ups and, ultimately, on the drinks menu at our restaurant.

The LCW ‘Hub’ at Spitalfields Market hosted a huge range of brands and products, all with their own temporary bar/van on show. My fave was the Ape van from Pococello who are the only Limoncello producers here in the UK.

Closing out the week in true roguish style, the RR boys hired/hijacked the Jago restaurant off Brick Lane on Saturday afternoon with a short cocktail menu changing every hour, interspersed with free fencing. Yes, fencing. With swords. And cocktails. Nobody lost an eye but lots of fun was had and many friends were made. I’m already making plans to get our van in there next year!