Cocktail books, both historic and contemporary, are being snapped up by food lovers, cocktail enthusiasts, and home bartenders. Tapping into this current cocktail “renaissance,” Lush Life will be live at Oriole, one of the best bars in the world, to launch the Lush Life Book Club. We’ll be dusting off these antique tomes and tearing open contemporary classics for an evening of cocktail history, cocktail recipes and, most importantly, cocktail drinking.
I will be leading the discussion, along with the author(s) with a Q&A to follow. Upon arrival, guests will be served a welcome cocktail and then free to enjoy one or more of the signature cocktails inspired by the author’s work.
October 13 (Wednesday) – Shaking It Up with Bond, James Bond – Sponsored by Ketel One
- Mia Johansson, Bobby Hiddleston & Edmund Weil – Shaken: Drinking with James Bond and Ian Fleming
Cocktails are at the heart of every James Bond novel. We are thrilled to be joined by Mia Johansson and Bobby Hiddleston of the award-winning London bar, Swift and Edmund Weil, their business partner and owner of Oriole, the authors of Shaken: Drinking with James Bond and Ian Fleming to explore more than just the Vodka Martini, shaken, not stirred. We’ll also discover the other cocktails that feature throughout Ian Fleming’s oeuvre and examine the Bond creator’s writings on the pleasures of drinking.
October 19 (Tuesday) – Mother’s Ruin in the Hottest Hotel in London – Sponsored by Bulleit and Kentucky Tourism
- Olivia Williams – Gin, Glorious, Gin; The Secret Life of the Savoy
The recipe for any cocktail at the American Bar at the Savoy Hotel in London includes a healthy dose of history. Olivia Williams, author of both Gin, Glorious, Gin and The Secret Life of the Savoy, invites us to check intoLondon’s most iconic hotel where she’ll guide us through its vibrant history, while we sip its most inventive classic cocktails.
October 26 (Tuesday) – The Brand Ambassador as Author – Sponsored by Tanqueray
- Jason Clark – The Art and Craft of Coffee Cocktails
- Pippa Guy – Let’s Get Fizzical
Acting as Brand Ambassador for an iconic spirit is a full-time job. Adding another full-time job on top of that is almost impossible. Our two guests have done just that by creating and writing two esteemed, cocktail books. Our first author, Pippa Guy, Brand Ambassador of Tanqueray Gin, is author of Let’s Get Fizzical, an homage to our favorite bubbly cocktails. Jason Clark, Brand Ambassador of Talisker whisky, explores coffee as a cocktail ingredient in The Art and Craft of Coffee Cocktails. Cheers!
Thank you so much to Diageo, Kentucky Tourism, and Sipsmith for
all their help in making these nights possible!
October 5 (Tuesday) – Distill My Beating Heart – Sponsored by Sipsmith
- Jared Brown & Anistatia Miller – The Distiller of London
If there is no distillation, there is no spirit; if there is no spirit, there is no cocktail. We welcome Jared Brown and Anistatia Miller as they guide us through the art of distillation. Jared Brown is the co-founder and master distiller of Sipsmith, as well as a multi-award winning drink historian. Anistatia Miller is a multi-award winning drink historian with 35 years in the publishing industry.
We deep-dive into their book, The Distiller of London. Written in code in 1638, The Distiller of London protected the distilling trade’s ‘mysteries’ practiced by the Worshipful Company of Distillers. Anistatia and Jared have deciphered these recipes and offer the modern-day reader a glimpse of English distilling’s evolution from medieval medicine to the social beverage of the aristocracy to the scourage of the poor to the most notable spirit in the cocktail repertoire. The book has been nominated for ‘Best New Book on Drinks Culture, History or Spirits’ at the Tales of the Cocktail Spirited Awards 2021.