This summer sees renowned cocktail expert and mixologist Pippa Guy launching an all-new cocktail menu in partnership with Tanqueray at The 40 Elephants - the quietly decadent bar located within the Great Scotland Yard hotel.
Launching this Thursday, 20 May, and running through the summer, the menu is an evocative collection of gin-spirited serves that encapsulates the essence of The 40 Elephants.
The bar’s namesake is a clandestine, criminal syndicate of women who specialised in shoplifting, blackmailing and extortion in the West End throughout the 18th to 20th centuries.
The gang was notable for its longevity and skill in avoiding police detection - rather a fitting name for the jewel in the crown that is the Great Scotland Yard Hotel. The 28 seater bar has an inherent sense of the secret and special, which has been concisely surmised in the form of libations by Pippa Guy.
Guy is one of the UKs most respected mixologists and a Tanqueray brand ambassador. A specialist in champagne cocktails, Guy’s tenure as the first female senior bartender in over 100 years at The Savoy’s esteemed American Bar cements her as a conclusive authority on all things cocktail-related.
She has created six serves, using the different variants of Tanqueray. The star of the show and Guy’s personal favourite is ‘Diamonds Are A Girl’s Best Friend’, a mix of Tanqueray Rangpur, bay leaf, absinthe and champagne.
Each cocktail is served with an emerald gemstone matching one of the 40 token emeralds found in The 40 Elephants’ centerpiece chandelier - a behemoth mass of jewels suspended in the middle of the room.
The inclusive menu offers something for everyone. A martini-style Strawberry Smash and Grab is a heady cocktail delivering dryness through strawberry fino and finishing with a cool breeze of menthol courtesy of eucalyptus. Classicists will enjoy a sticky Seville Orange Negroni, or a Indian Summer - an aromatic take on a gin and tonic.
Tanqueray’s new Blackcurrant variant takes center stage in Guy’s twist on a Clover Club, the Club Royale (Tanqueray Blackcurrant Royale, blackberries, lemon, sugar and egg white).
The serves will be available as part of The 40 Elephants cocktail list throughout the summer, to those booked into the bar and also for guests of the hotel to enjoy in the comfort of their own rooms.
Guy said, ‘I had so much fun creating these cocktails and tying them in with the wild narrative of The 40 Elephants. The cocktails that I’ve created perfectly mirror the many natures of the gang and are all based with my favourite - Tanqueray.
'The drinks are playful and summery, perfect for entertaining throughout the long midsummer nights that lie ahead.’