Calling all cocktail connoisseurs looking for their next obsession – iconic Bar 190 in Kensington is serving up innovative sips to satisfy our fifth taste, encouraging guests to step outside their comfort zone with a new umami-rich cocktail menu.
Umami is an unforgettable savoury sensation and makes up the fifth basic taste; joining sweet, sour, salty and bitter flavours. While a salty Margarita or a bitter Negroni doesn’t go amiss, the cocktail movement continues to evolve and exploring this desirable flavour frontier is newly appointed maestro of mixology, Santo Borzi. His menu cleverly incorporates ingredients such as balsamic vinegar, vine-ripened tomatoes, truffle oil, pesto and sesame for an unconventional but uniquely brilliant taste.
Umami enhances saltiness and sweetness, while reducing bitterness, and blends perfectly with premium spirits to create compelling cocktails. Bar 190’s new creations include:
- The Unconventional Blue – cleverly marrying Japanese rice vodka and stilton cheese in an homemade distillate, gently stirred with vermouth and garnished with Sardinian carasao bread and fresh grape – a cheeseboard in cocktail form
- A Walk in Liguria – inspired by Northern Italy Riviera, and combining Broken Clock Vodka with Santo’s homemade vine-ripened tomato, fresh pesto and truffle oil
- Back To The Origin – made entirely from grapes and includes sustainable Discarded Vodka, Santo’s homemade white wine reduction, grape bitter, prosecco and balsamic glaze
- Japanese Tiger – a combination of green tea infused in Ginjo sake rice wine and floral Roku gin, which is topped with ginger beer drops and three brushes of green wasabi paste, the tiger’s claw, garnishing the glass
The original site of The Rolling Stones’ 1968 Beggar’s Banquet album launch party, Bar 190 has been entertaining locals, musicians and stars of the screen and stage for over a century and continues to provide cutting edge cocktails, both savoury and sweet. Best seats are at the bar where you can chat with the charismatic Santo, or for a louche experience, the Princess Carriage seating eight is the one of the city’s most surreptitious spots.
Reservations can be made online or by calling The Gore London – Starhotels Collezione on + 44 (0)20 7584 6601.
Bar 190 | The Gore London – Starhotels Collezione, 190 Queen’s Gate, London, SW7 5EX
IG: @bar190london | @thegorelondon
