History? I’ll drink to that.
A famous war-time propaganda poster warned Britons that “Walls have ears!” Well, thanks to a group of kooky British food scientists, a series of historic London walls also contain the raw ingredients for some very unusual cocktails.
Concocted using bitters that contain moisture extracted from the brickwork of the War Rooms, the £15 ($24) Churchill Martini has been created to toast Winston’s birthday in November. It will be served at the hotel named after him, the Hyatt Regency London – The Churchill (london.churchill.hyatt.com). The War Rooms bunker is where the great man lived during the Blitz, and where he broadcast several heart-stirring speeches.
Churchill would have approved of the cocktail, whose ingredients also include essence of cigar tobacco and rose hip, a nod to the roses his wife Clementine sent him every day. He was well-known for his heavy drinking; his recipe for the perfect martini involved drinking pure gin while looking at a bottle of vermouth from across the room.
Known as the Robin Collective, the food scientists have also taken essences from the homes and workplaces of icons like Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and the Elephant Man. “We’d love to bring the idea to America,” says staffer Brandy Wright, “and extract the essence of Marilyn Monroe.”