The Solar System: Now Made Out Of Booze
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Last Updated 20 December 2017
It's booze, but not as we know it. The latest offering from the gastronauts behind the bar at Skylon on the South Bank is a solar system of cocktails. If you're looking for a stellar drinks evening, then this is the place to plan-et. (Sorry.)
As eye-catching cocktails go, Skylon nails it. When the wait staff orbit our table, landing the tundra-topped Uranus, and angry-red Mars (playfully decorated with a mini Mars bar) in front of us, we notice our neighbours ogling our galactic glasses. These are going to be good, we reckon.
But the witty visual touches don't always translate into amused palates. Flakes of dried coconut garnish, representing Uranus' frosty atmosphere, add nothing, and are left uneaten. The mini meringue cloud 'floating' above the rim of the Earth cocktail is jarring against the (actually delicious), herbiness of the vermouth and bitters.
The tie-in with Ciroc vodka works only partially too; thumbs up for its use with passion fruit and chilli in the Uranus; thumbs down for its presence in the Mars, which is a essentially a gin-less negroni, purged of the botanicals that make the drink a stone cold classic.
You can perhaps overlook the menu's foibles, for the extremely pretty cocktails, and suave setting — particularly if you're boldly going in search of Instagram fodder. While you're at Skylon (festooned right now with chic 50s-esque decorations — including plenty of stars), be sure to have a go on the in-house telescope, and pretend you're Brian Cox.
Solar system cocktails at Skylon, available until 31 January 2018
