CHARLIE'S SIGNATURE SPRITZ
Each of Charlie's Classic Cocktails comes with a unique garnish: our signature spritz. Invented by Charlie, our citrus spritzes, in orange and lemon, epitomise what Charlie's is all about: simplicity, honesty and authentic taste. No twist needed, just spritz, sip and savour the aroma.
OUR PERMANENT COLLECTION
We have carefully cultivated our range of drinks to make sure we represent the very best of classic cocktails.
We aim to deliver some which are familiar, some which are to discover, and breathe new life into some forgotten gems.
BLACK RUSSIAN
The precursor to the infamous White Russian. Invented in Brussels in the late 1940s for the American ambassador to Luxembourg, Perle Mesta, the bartender wanted to introduce her to something with Russian vodka, dark and mysterious, which she had never tried before.
Only a super premium Russian Vodka would do and so we have selected Beluga Noble to mix with the very best coffee liqueur, Mr Black. This combination, properly balanced, results in a stripped back, mature and truly sublime rival to an espresso martini.
SAZERAC
One of the world's oldest cocktails. Originating from The Sazerac Coffee House in mid-1800s New Orleans, the sazerac combined cognac with Peychaud's bitters from the local apothecary. A brandy shortage from France in the 1870s led to an improvisation with rye whiskey, leaving us with two different but equally incredible drinks.
We opted to respect the original version and so married the incredible Hine VSOP cognac with Peychaud's Bitters, a drop of La Fee absinthe and a very slight mellowing with light sugar.
RUSTY NAIL
First appearing at a British Industries Fair in 1937 New York, the drink was not widely popular until the 1960s when Frank Sinatra and The Rat Pack made it their drink of choice. The drink had several different names until the chairwoman of Drambuie herself declared the drink to be a Rusty Nail.
With Drambuie being an essential component, selection of the perfect whisky is vital. The Compass Box Glasgow Blend Scotch is an incredibly intricate whisky, with the perfect level of peat, making for an easily drinkable but increasingly complex cocktail.
VODKA MARTINI
During the events of Ian Fleming's 1953 novel Casino Royale, Bond orders a Vesper Martini, Fleming's own concoction as a variation on the ever popular gin martini. Several books later, Bond is simply ordering vodka martinis, and the American 1950s saw this cocktail proliferate in popularity.
We have selected Beluga Noble Russian Vodka as an incredibly clean and smooth base, then added just a detectable dash of Dolin Chambery dry vermouth. Dry, easily sippable and packed with flavour.
NEGRONI
The bittersweet classic of the moment for mature palates. Invented around 1919 in Florence, Italy, when Count Camillo Negroni asked for soda to be substituted for gin in his Americano (a drink of Campari, sweet vermouth and soda water).
We wanted to make our Negroni as true to the classic as possible and so use the irreplaceable and unique Campari, a subtle Italian sweet vermouth in Martini Rosso and a traditionally flavoured all natural gin Portobello Road.
OLD FASHIONED
Though the origin of the first cocktail may be lost to the sands of time, recipes detailing spirits, sugar, water and bitters began to appear around 1800. By 1895, an "old fashioned whiskey cocktail" was being published in cocktail recipe books in America. We now may think of this as one of many cocktails, but centuries ago this was the original cocktail.
We keep ours incredibly simple, using one of the highest rated bourbons available, Woodford Reserve. And letting this shine with only enough demerara sugar, Angostura bitters and dilution to balance the drink.
MANHATTAN
Aka The greatest cocktail in the world. Likely the very first cocktail which used vermouth as a modifier, which was becoming popular with bartenders in America in the late 1800s. There is no definitive recording of the first Manhattan but the drink started appearing in recipes around the 1880s. Without the Manhattan we would not have the martinez and thus the martini.
Woodford Reserve bourbon is perfect in this drink, using Martini Rosso so as not to overpower the whiskey and using Angostura bitters to balance the sweetness of the vermouth.
GIN MARTINI
The martinez (gin, sweet vermouth and bitters) started appearing in cocktail books in the 1880s, often described as a "Manhattan, substituting gin for whiskey." This in turn led in the early 1900s to the drink switching the sweet to dry vermouth and then leaving out the bitters. From the 1950s to today the drink has gone through many changes in the gin vermouth ratio.
We have settled on an off dry Martini, dominated by Portobello Road gin but with slightly more than a detectable amount of Dolin Chambery dry vermouth, the original and still wholly family owned French vermouth.
