Whiskey is something of a crowd splitter. The marmite of drinks. You love it or you hate it.
The Gallery in West Hampstead have come up with a cunning plan to please both parties, a whiskey cocktail list designed to delight both the most seasoned connoisseur and the reluctant whiskey drinkers alike.
If you haven’t been before, The Gallery is well worth a visit in its own right. With exposed brick and walls lined with books, this venue has a cosy, neighbourhood vibe and it’s buzzing with locals every night of the week.
We nabbed a table by the floor to ceiling windows that line the front of the bar, that had been opened up so we could enjoy the uncharacteristically warm evening, and perused the whiskey menu.
The new Sweet & Sour cocktail menu takes the best of the 101+ whiskies on The Gallery’s bar menu and translates them into an inventive and versatile menu. Like light summery cocktails with a twist of fruit? Try the ‘How d’ya like them apples’ that fuses Jack Daniels with pink lady apples and a twist of lemon. Not got so much of a sweet tooth? Go for a Smokey, an intense twist on a sour – combining Laphroig and Monkey shoulder with lemon, bitters and egg white for a drink that packs more of a punch. There’s something for everyone.
Each and every drink is thoughtfully created and it shows. The bar staff are knowledgeable and friendly; there’s not even a hint of whiskey snobbery here. A quick chat with our bartender leads to my favorite drink of the entire evening – ‘Plum & Rye’, a bottled cocktail with vermouth, Rittenhouse rye and plum sake that I originally shied away from.
Two drinks in and we’ve already decided that the Gallery is the kind of place that we’d want to come back to again and again.
And that’s before we’ve even got started on the food – an amazing array of small plates that pack a real flavor punch. The perfect accompaniment to all those cocktails! We enjoyed some Bourbon BBQ squid which was perfectly cooked and tangy with cheddar and black cab stout croquettes that I would have married if that was at all possible. If you visited The Gallery and had only those, it would not be a wasted visit.
Cocktails are £8.50 each and well worth every penny. The perfect accompaniment to a summer evening in London.
The Gallery
190 Broadhurst Gardens
West Hampstead
London
NW6 3AY
The food and drinks at The Gallery were complimentary.
This review was compiled and written by Milly Edgerly.
