When it comes to launching new cocktail menus, bars often lean in on a theme. It helps create a sense of occasion, after all – and it also makes sticking to one a challenge when there’s a narrative to make it all the more alluring.
One theme that never seems to get old fashioned (apologies), is that of Hollywood and its heyday. The image of Humphrey Bogart and a French 75 in Casablanca, Cary Grant ordering a Gibson on the train in North by Northwest, Marilyn Monroe and her Manhattan in Some Like it Hot and, of course, Bond and his ubiquitous martini – it never loses its appeal.
Of course, the purists among you will be balking at my reference to Bogart. It’s not him who orders the French 75, catapulting it into lore, but Madeleine Lebeau. A spin on it features in a new menu recently launched at the Bar Americain at Brasserie Zedel, with this offering taking inspiration from Hollywood’s Golden Age.
Here, the ‘Bogart’ is a spin on the French 75 – something crying out for a refresh, if you ask me, as the original is rather uninspiring. This is far more interesting. A pandan and ginger cordial weaves subtlety through the gin and champagne, and there’s fresh citrus on the sip, as you’d expect, but then the panda gives it a long, long finish. Like a film you don’t want to end.
It’s the most interesting cocktail I’ve had in a long time and, if you’ll forgive the hackneyed analogy, completes the scene, complementing the vibe of low-lit table lamps and a 3-piece crooning classic serenades in the corner; we could have been sat in Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood, mixing with the likes of Chaplin, Fairbanks and Flynn.
Cocktails have evolved substantially since that era, often being a spirit and a mixer in their purest form, and another 1940s tipple that’s been given a major makeover is named after one of the founding fathers of cinema – and what comes out is as epic in scale as its namesake, the DeMille. It’s delivered by Angele, the bar manager – nay, the director, if you will, of this new menu. Wafting stylishly through the bar, looking like she could have stepped off a film set herself, as I take a sip I quiz her on where they got their inspiration.
“As an American bar, we always try to play around with classic cocktails, and for this menu our starting point was cocktails in movies – or inspired by that era. At the time people were drinking whisky highballs. So that was our starting point for the deMille, and then we went to town, adding more complexity, washing the whisky with hazelnut butter and adding oloroso sherry, then enhancing the soda with mint and apple.” Like the Bogart, it’s a tour de force in a glass, with layers of depth and complexity that are a testament to the talent behind the bar.
I wrap up with a Sabrina, tipping its head to the titular Audrey Hepburn character, and so named for its blend of florals and earthiness, paying tribute to the character’s transformation from ingenue to leading lady. Featuring the bar’s own rum blend and a honey aperitif, I try to put my finger on the flavour that comes over the top – it’s beetroot, and it’s pickled, giving it a subtle sourness that’s then offset by honey.
The menu features six new serves altogether, each with their own distinct style and storytelling, capturing an era that we all wish we could have been a part of. What’s disappointing is that this only lasts for six months, so unlike the movies that can be enjoyed again and again, you’ll have to get in quickly to experience these new stars of the silver screen.
The Golden Age menu is available now at the Bar Americain at Brasserie Zedel. For more information, and inspiration, please visit www.brasseriezedel.com.
