Some places are just worth travelling for and indeed this is one of them. Whilst not all the way in West or East London, Dickies is far from the madding crowd. A curious and eloquent walk in Mayfair which will bring you to the doorsteps of Corrigan’s where the new Dickies bar has made it’s new home.
Dickie’s Bar by Richard Corrigan is a collaborative project with Gregory Buda from The Dead Rabbit, a famous and must visit spot in New York, voted the World’s Best Bar (World’s 50 Best, 2016) and Richard Ryan, founder of Drinksology. Partnering two experts and innovators in this way can only lead to one thing and that’s quality and creative flair.
You find all sorts of ingredients here that you wont get anywhere else because they are sourced seasonally from Richard Corrigan’s garden and farm, Virginia Park Lodge. Located in Cavan, Ireland, the farm focuses on bio-horticulture and produce is brought fresh to Corrigan’s Mayfair daily. The drinks take on a similar creation using the best of what’s on offer as a cornerstone of their ever changing drinks, they have even gone as far as to make their own home infused sodas and tinctures, heavily feature in the recipes.
Having heard about the opening I was very keen to pop down, and found myself in a seductive and lavish bar with high chairs and booths. The horse shoe shaped booths are coated in a blue and white zebra style retro pattern. The glassware evokes a scene from the grand Budapest hotel and the glistening bar sets the mise-en-scene. The occasion for our visit was their new monthly cocktail masterclass’s!
I enjoyed studying the main menu on arrival, which was designed as a storybook, telling the tale of Dickie’s Bar, the characters behind it and the journey of ingredients, from farm to glass. It’s both charming and pricey as you would expect in this location.
With Gregory Buda himself hosting a fun, vibrant and entertaining masterclass, the class was able to try a variety of techniques in cocktail making, and flavour combinations. What really struck me during the class was the use of homemade ingredients. Dickies homemade apricot soda was unique and full of flavour, I’m hoping they start to sell these so I can stock my cupboards to the brim!
Three plates of canapés and 3 cocktails later, I’m rather pink cheeked and bubbly. One can hardly be surprised as Buda informs us he’s a fan of adding a minimum or 2 -3 spirits in each cocktail to get the right flavour balance as well as encouraging spirit–specific drinkers to step outside the box. Let’s just say this was achieved on many levels! Below is the recipe from my favourite cocktail from the masterclass, a twist on a daiquiri named Ice Pit!
‘Ice pit’
4 dashes Pernod Absinthe
15ml Lime juice
25ml Rich Banana Cane
25 Ml Amontillado Sherry
30ml Apricot eau de vie
30 ml Rhum J.M Agricole Blanc
Shake & serve in a Daquiri glass
28 Upper Grosvenor Street, London, W1K 7EH
