Of all the gin tastings in, in all the upscale department stores, in all the world, I was fortunate enough to walk into one being run by Chris Hoy.
The man knows his gin. He also knows his vodka, whisky, tequila, bitters...
...though that is what you’d expect from one of the country’s top mixologists and 2011’s Chase Vodka National Bartender of the Year.
Hoy speaks of cocktails with a hint of sparkling alchemy – more refined than a “mad mixologist” but clearly illustrating why the press have been keen to dub him “Birmingham’s Heston Blumenthal”.
Monikers aside, Sutton Coldfield born Chris is set to take the Birmingham cocktail scene by storm when Ginger’s opens in October. The bar is part of Michelin starred chef Glynn Purnell’s new venture that includes the city centre relaunch of his restaurant The Asquith.
Named after Purnell’s red-haired son and drawing on the old-school Hollywood charm of Ginger Rogers, Ginger’s is set to inject a dose of glamour and cocktail culture into Birmingham’s business district.
“It is inspired by the classic American bar. The bartenders will wear three-quarter chef’s jackets – no one else is doing that in Birmingham,” explains Hoy.
Whilst the staff outfits will be out of the ordinary, it is the cocktail menu that will hold the real magic. Updated seasonally, it will use Hoy’s homemade mixers and syrups combined with some of the finest spirits and liqueurs available. For a bar called Ginger’s, you’ll be glad to hear that even the Ginger Beer will be made to an exacting and original recipe.
The Autumn and Winter Compendium features mouth-watering autumnal delights such as a Blackcurrant Caprioska, a blow torch-blasted lemon and vanilla margarita and a concoction called “Ginger’s Marvellous Medicine” – which Chris claims harnesses the health giving properties of the potent spice.
Hoy has managed to get his hands on 10 bottles of Chase Smoked Vodka, of which only 20 bottles can be found in the world. Chris proudly explains that the vodka has been smoked by a company who smoke for two other customers: the Queen and Heston Blumenthal. He plans to combine it with gin, white cacao, rhubarb liqueur, Peychaud and absinthe. He says that “a smoke martini would be too obvious”.
The most intriguing creations are the barrel aged cocktails – made in large quantities then left to mature for three months in oak barrels.
“The tannins from the wood smooth out the flavours,” says Chris. “They need to be stored at a constant temperature.”
The menu is set to deliver cutting-edge cocktails with more than a nod to the heritage of cocktail culture and the local area. Even the mixing glasses have been custom made in nearby Stourbridge.
It is this fine attention to detail that marks Hoy out as a world-class bartender. He talks me through the history and greats of bartending with a knowledge and reverence that a scientist would reserve for Noble Prize winners. There was Jerry Thomas – the world’s first flare bartender who invented the Blue Blazer, a flaming mix of whisky, sugar and hot water. Then there was Harry Craddock, who left Prohibition era New York to work at the Savoy’s American Bar in London.
Hoy will be honouring his bartending heroes later in the year, when he plans to produce a leather bound book of classic cocktails – from the nineteenth century through to modern day classics. Drinkers will be able to order a piece of liquid history whilst reading the stories behind the drinks.
Cocktails have prompted Hoy to travel the world. He left the UK to work in and seek inspiration from some of Australia and Asia’s finest bars. “Bartending is a great job but you can get bored - it happened to me. If it wasn’t for going travelling I would have quit,” says Chris. Thankfully, travel introduced Chris to molecular mixology and a host of exotic and unusual flavours. Chances of getting bored now rest at slim to none – for the bartender and his customers.
Ginger’s is due to open in early October at 11 Newhall Street, Birmingham.