Top 5: Chocolate Cocktails in LondonBy Rosie Crossman
“Happiness. Simple as a glass of chocolate or tortuous as the heart. Bitter. Sweet. Alive.”
― Joanne Harris, Chocolat
Chocolate is designed for weekends; so stuff your draws full of confectionery, ignore bossy labels instructing you to eat chocolate as part of a balanced diet and declare ‘everything in moderation, including moderation’. Here is some advice on how to get the most out of chocolate-based, liquid refreshment in London:
1. For the Chocolate Lover: Hotel Chocolat – Chocolate G&Ts
What: Ease into Chocolate week at Hotel Chocolat’s Cocoa centric bar and cafe Rabot 1745. Dive in with a White Chocolate Mojito, or sit back with G&T with cacao, macadamia and coriander-infused Gin, Fever Tree tonic and a twist of orange.
For home tippling, buy a bottle of the Cocoa Gin and mix your own Chocolate Week martini:
40ml Cocoa Gin 10ml Dry Curacao Shake with ice, strain and serve in a chilled glass with a spritz of orange and orange zest.Where: 163 Kensington High Street, London, W8 6SU
2. For Getting High: Paramount Bar – Chocolate Espresso Martinis
What: For a true Willy Wonka experience this week, hop in the lift and be elevated to paradise at Paramount Bar. On the 32nd floor lies the Golden Ticket. Chocolate sundowners come accompanied by some of the best 360 degree views of the city. The Dark Chocolate Espresso Martini is an unctuous triple hitter, providing the ulitmate fix of caffeine, booze and chocolate.
If you want to be gluttonous in your own company, grab a bottle of Absolut Vanilia –
100g Dark Chocolate 1 tbsp. Double Cream 35ml shot Espresso 50ml Absolut Vanilia VodkaMelt the chocolate (using a microwave or bain-marie). Once melted stir in the cream. Add a shot (or two if you want to bust like Beyoncé all night) of coffee and the vodka. Chill in the fridge for 30 minutes, then pour into a cocktail shaker over cubed ice. Shake, strain into a martini glass.
Where: 103 New Oxford Street, Covent Garden, WC1A 1DD
3. For the Big Kid: Hard Shakes
What: Bin your bathroom scales, chuck on something with an elasticated waist band and head out for hard shake fulfilment. The ‘Toblerone’ at Riding House Café (43-51 Great Titchfield Street, London, W1W 7PQ) is true dairy decadence, fortified with Mozart Chocolate Liquer, Frangelico and Kahlua. For rib-sticking sustenance at home blitz up your own take on Q-Grill’s Bourbon & Malteaser Milkshake:
25ml Jim Beam Honey 2 Scoops of Vanilla Ice cream 2 tbsp. Horlicks 100ml Milk A good handful of Chocolate ButtonsAdd all of the ingredients to a free standing blender, blitz until smooth our & pour into glasses. For added indulgence crumble freshly baked cookies over the top.
Where: Q-Grill: 29-33 Chalk Farm Road, London, NW1 8AJ
4. For the Liqour Lover: London Cocktail Club – Malt Jockey
What: If sugar induced comas aren’t your thing, head to the London Cocktail Club. Here the very best bartenders will provide you with a delicious twist on the Manhattan. Straight-up and hard-hitting, you can’t go wrong with the ‘Malt Jockey’. If you just can’t get enough, concoct your own:
40ml Monkey Shoulder Whisky 30ml Sweet Vermouth 7ml Maraschino Liqueur 2 dashes Chocolate Bitters (Mozart) Stir all the ingredients with ice, strain into a chilled glass and garnish with a twist of orange.Where: There are five LCC to choose from: Goodge Street, Oxford Street, Shaftesbury Avenue, Covent Garden & Shoreditch.
5. For an Incredible Experience: Artesian – Selfie Compatible
What: If you are looking for something mystical, which comes complete with a ‘don’t try this at home’ warning, head to Artesian. Last week the incredible bar was voted the Best Bar in the World at the 50 Best Bar Awards for the third year in a row. Be vain and order the ‘Selfie Compatible’, a multi-sensory cocktail which is all chocolate smoke and mirrors, with Zacapa Rum, beer and bitters. See more about the 50 Best Bar Awards here.
Where: Artesian, The Langham Hotel, 1C Portland Place, W1B 1JA
