45 Park Lane celebrates its 10th anniversary with Art Deco cocktails

Dorchester Collection’s contemporary Mayfair hotel 45 Park Lane is welcoming back guests with a new selection of Art Deco cocktails to celebrate its 10th anniversary.

To mark this special occasion, and inspired by the hotel’s unique architecture and long standing relationship with Art Deco, 45 Park Lane’s bar manager, Francesco Orefici, has researched and recreated a selection of the best-loved cocktails from the iconic Art Deco period, dating from 1925 to 1935.

The cocktails are presented in beautiful and unique glassware inspired from the style of the time, created by Japanese artisans at Kimura Glassware.

Southside

The origins of this cocktail are subject to speculation - the Southside was crafted in either the South Side district of Chicago or at the Southside Sportsmen’s Club on Long Island. This early 1900s cocktail is thought to have been a preferred beverage of Al Capone and was a hit throughout the era of prohibition in the USA.

Ingredients: Monkey 47 gin, lemon juice, simple syrup, fresh mint leaves

Tasting notes: Savoury and refreshing with a hint of mint

Whizz Bang

Created in the 1920s, the name Whizz Bang is thought to be derived from a term widely used by Allied servicemen to describe field artillery shells and the ‘whizz bang’ noise made by the shells as they were fired, travelling faster than the speed of sound. It’s no surprise that cocktails created in the years between the two World Wars (referred to as les années folles), were also thought of as cocktails that had ‘some kick to them’.

Ingredients: Glenfiddich 12 year old single malt whisky, dry French vermouth, grenadine syrup, absinthe, orange bitters

Tasting notes: Sweet and dry aperitif, with herbal notes and bitters to follow

Ward 8

Ward 8 was created in Boston at one of the oldest restaurants in the city, Locke-Ober. This cocktail was to honour a politician of the time, Martin Lomasney, who for 50 years,held considerable power in the city. The story goes that this drink was created to honour his election wins and the city’s ‘Ward 8’ which historically delivered him a winning margin. Interestingly, Lomasney, a practicing Catholic who went to church regularly, led a quiet, almost ascetic life, and never drank. He vehemently opposed Prohibition because he knew that it would force the local tavern keepers to take up bootlegging.

Ingredients: Bulleit Rye whisky, lemon juice, orange juice, grenadine

Tasting notes: An absolute crowd pleaser with a fresh pomegranate and citrus finish

Between the Sheets

The origin of this cocktail is usually credited to Harry MacElhone of Harry’s New York in Paris during the 1930s - it is a derivative of the Sidecar, differing only by using less cognac and adding rum. MacElhone was born in Dundee, Scotland in 1890 and began his career working at Ciro’s Club in London after World War I. By 1921 he had published his own cocktail book. He later worked in New York City and is credited with inventing many other well-known cocktails such as Bloody Mary, Sidecar, Monkey Gland and Boulevardier. He became the owner of Harry’s in 1923 and his descendants continue to run it to this very day.

Ingredients: Plantation rum, Remy Martin, Cointreau, Lemon juice

Tasting notes: Well balance with a hint of sweetness, finishing with a burst of orange flavour

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