Cocktail Hour - The Gin-ess...

More Gin & Beer Based Adventures

Copenhagens' The Bird & The Church Key is known for its signature cocktail the Gin & Beer (reviewed here.)

I popped back recently for a few post 'flu medicinal gins and a chat with the manager Christian. He is always experimenting - fruits of his recent labours include a Guinness based riff on the Gin & Beer.

The use of stout adds a wonderful malty richness and the spicy liquorice notes to the finish - the latter coming from the botanicals used in Bulldog gin - complement the Guinness nicely. 

However, I missed the zestiness of the original fruit beer based version. It's worth mentioning though that Christian has also made a variant with No.3 Gin which gives the finished article a sharper profile.

This cocktail has not made it on to the menu yet - it's still a work in progress. I'd love to see Christian experiment with different stouts, though I suppose he'd have to re-name the drink!

If you're tempted to make your own assemble the following:

1. 2cl Bulldog Gin.
2. 3cl Cherry Heering.
3. Bottle, Guinness. (The Bird have it on draught.)
4. Ice.
5. Large brandy glass.
6. Cocktail shaker.

Pour a dash of Guinness in to the brandy glass, add ice. Give the gin, Cherry Heering a quick jolt in a shaker. Strain in to the glass and top with the rest of the beer. Simple.

Better yet, if you're in Copenhagen pop in to The Bird for a swift one.

Cocktail Hour

Gin & Beer @ The Bird & The Churchkey.

Another gin based cocktail this week, and a rather unusual one at that.

As an Englishman gin and beer both are dear to the heart. So the stiff upper lip quivered with excitement on finding out one of Copenhagen's newest bars, The Bird & The Churchkey, had combined the two in their signature cocktail.

Unsurprising then that the founding principle of The Bird is to provide excellent gin and beer. As such it is stocked with over 60 gins, and sports some 40 craft beers. At last count there were 20 types of gin & tonic gracing the menu.

The bar itself resembles a pleasantly down at heel 1930's London gin palace. Located on Gammel Strand, staggering distance from New Utility HQ, it was the work of a moment to nip round the corner to meet up with the The Bird's manager, Christian Tønnesen, for a re-tasting. (I've had this cocktail before but was too over-refreshed to take notes.)

First mixed by a barman at Cocks & Cows (a Copenhagen burger bar whose premises The Bird took over. Both are owned by Nord Gruppen), the original Gin & Beer used garden variety Kronenberg and dry gin. In addition to tweaking the quantities, Christian switched the cooking lager for Franziskaner Hefe-Weizer, a fruity German wheat beer.

For the gin he plumbed for Bulldog - with a very contemporary un-gin-like flavour profile, it is distilled using juniper, dragon eye (a relative of the lychee), poppy seed and other botanicals. A profile, Christian argues, more suited for use in cocktails.

Assemble the following:

1. 2cl Bulldog Gin.
2. 3cl Cherry Heering.
3. 1cl Simple syrup.
4. 2cl Freshly squeezed lemon juice
5. Bottle, Franziskaner Beer. (The Bird have it on draught.)
6. Ice.
7. Large brandy glass.
8. Cocktail shaker.

Pour a dash of the beer and the syrup in to the brandy glass, add ice. Give the gin, Cherry Heering and lemon juice a jolt in a shaker. Strain in to the glass and top with the rest of the beer.

In taste the end result is reminiscent of a strong Belgian fruit beer crossed with a zesty American pale ale. Initially the sweetness of the wheat beer and Cherry Heering are to the fore, with pleasingly sharp lemon & spicy liquorice notes to the finish - the latter coming from the botanicals used in Bulldog gin.

I urge those who love their gin and beer to patronise The Bird & The Churchkey.
An excellent establishment, it is staffed by people with a clear love for what they do. Unusually for Copenhagen the service is very friendly too.
I was particularly impressed that Christian crushes cucumbers each morning to make ice cubes of the juice. Detail is all.

Other recent liquid highlights include a Gabriel Boudier Saffron Gin G&T and a French gin, the name of which I was too squiffy to write down, garnished with grapes.

The Bird's liver threatening proximity means that, if I have not descended in to a gin soaked spiral of vice and destitution, I am sure to feature more from them soon. You can find out more here.

If anyone knows of any more beer based cocktails do get in touch.