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Peroni

The mixologist’s mixologists

We asked renowned bartender Simone Caporale to give us his insider’s choice of London’s best cocktail bars

Time Out in association with Peroni Nastro Azzurro
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Simone Caporale is assistant head bartender at Artesian, one of London’s very finest sipping points. As well as his award-winning work at Artesian, Caporale is also head mixologist for The House of Peroni, the regular London residency showcasing the best contemporary Italian food, drink, design and fashion. 

We asked him what makes a great cocktail bar, and to share with us his favourite places to head for a well-mixed drink when he’s not on home ground. ‘For me, a highlight is always ensuring my customers feel special – we treat all of our guests like loved ones and kings! That’s the essence of hospitality in my eyes.’

The magnificent seven – Simone Caporale’s favourite London cocktail bars

Bar Termini
  • Bars and pubs
  • Cocktail bars
  • Soho
  • price 2 of 4

Bar Termini is a five-star combination of coffee and cocktails, thanks to a working union between alco-alchemist Tony Conigliaro and Marco Arrigo, Illy’s head of quality. With Conigliaro’s background at 69 Colebrooke Row and Zetter Town House, it’s no surprise that the combination of simple good taste for the classics and the imagination to mix new flavours has worked brilliantly here. The select drinks menu also features a handful of well-chosen other options, like Peroni Nastro Azzurro Piccola.

The Connaught Bar
  • Bars and pubs
  • Hotel bars
  • Mayfair
  • price 4 of 4

The Connaught Hotel is a lesson in understated elegance and true class. Its Coburg Bar has the feel of an affable gentleman’s club, but the star space is the Connaught Bar – an elegant space, all low lighting, mirrors, silver leaf and luxurious places to sit and catch up over a well-prepared classic cocktail. If you like something dry, ask for the martini trolley and watch your refreshment mixed at your table.

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Dandelyan
  • Bars and pubs
  • Hotel bars
  • South Bank
  • price 2 of 4

At Dandelyan at the Mondrian London hotel, Ryan Chetiyawardana (aka bartender Mr Lyan) has continued with the innovation and attention to detail that has earned him high praise for his own bar in Hoxton and his range of bottled mixed cocktails sold at Selfridges. With exotic ingredients including chalk bitters, crystal peach nectar and dandelion capillaire, everything here has a hint of the garden about it and all of it is eminently drinkable.

Dukes Hotel
  • Hotels
  • Luxury hotels
  • St James’s

This classy St James’s bar is one of the very finest places in London to lift a glass, and the bar snacks are pretty stunning, too. Stylish but discreetly so, Dukes is a welcoming place for regulars and newcomers alike. Go for the Martinez (gin, sweet red vermouth, orange bitters and maraschino) and see how easily you’re tempted to have a second.

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Happiness Forgets
  • Bars and pubs
  • Cocktail bars
  • Hoxton
  • price 2 of 4

Hugely popular (they keep some tables for walk-ups, but we suggest you book ahead), Happiness Forgets is Hoxton’s foremost drinking spot. And that’s saying something, given the wealth of bars in this hip end of town. Friendly bar staff will bustle about and bring wondrous mixes to where you sit.

El Nivel
  • Bars and pubs
  • Cocktail bars
  • Covent Garden

A Mexican bar without the obvious trappings, El Nivel’s stocks lesser-known spirits from Mexico (sotol, raicilla and bacanora) as well as several mezcals and one or two well-chosen tequilas. A smoky and salty Mezcal Fix is mixed with roasted pineapple syrup, Cynar artichoke liqueur, lime and ‘saltwater spray’, while the Durango gimlet is a simple yet delicious combination of Ocho tequila and grapefruit cordial.

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The House of Peroni

‘The bars at The House of Peroni are among some of the best in London,’ says Caporale. ‘I love to work with Peroni Nastro Azzurro as it provides me with real freedom to discover and experiment with delicious and interesting flavour matches, such as cypress tree aroma, fresh coriander and coffee.’

The House of Peroni, October 29 to November 25 2015.

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