This November, Harry Nikolaou, head bartender of Rotunda will welcome three of the world’s best mixologists to join him at the Four Seasons Hotel at Ten Trinity Square.
Bartenders from Singapore’s famed Manhattan Bar, Paradiso in Barcelona and Rotterdam’s infamous Dr. Rotterdam will celebrate their host’s former incarnation as the centre of the Port of London Authority.
Each bartender will host a one-off masterclass, showcasing their two exclusive concoctions for their residency, drawing on the flavours of the east and the west, reviving Ten Trinity Square’s role as the heart of global trade.
On 20 November, Cedric Mendoza of Manhattan in Singapore, repeatedly lauded as one of Asia’s 50 Best, will fly in to join Harry behind the bar. His first cocktail, Fighting 69th, is Cedric’s take on a Gin and Tonic and his second, Swinging West, will capture his bar’s American influence with a classic New York Sour.
The following week, on 27 November, Giacomo Gianniotti of Paradiso in Barcelona will bring his 30 years of mixology experience to Rotunda. Recognised as ‘The Bar to Watch’ in 2017, it has repeatedly appeared on the World’s Best 50 Bars list - tucked behind a fridge door on a back-street bar in Barcelona - Paradiso is a place for those in the know.
Giacomo will fuse influences from east and west for his take on the classic Negroni; with Negroni in Paradiso, laced with beetroot juice, passion fruit, balsamic vinegar and mango ice cream; and the Negroamoro Julep with bourbon, coffee, cynar, bitter orange marmalade, mint leaves, amaretto and truffle icing sugar.
Last to the stage, Chi-Ho Ta, of Dr. Rotterdam will round the series off with his near-medicinal libations; Shrubbaloony, which features Chi-Ho’s house-made Sopropo shrub, with holistic properties when shaken with Rutte Celery gin, Italicus and Chartreuse elixir; and Lost in Paradise, with its ‘healing properties’ of Rutte Paradijswijn, mixed with Italicus, cherry liqueur, and crème de cacao.
Hidden away in one of Rotterdam’s imposing townhouses, the building was a former hotbed of debauchery, and now offers a safe haven for distinctive drinkers, the spirit of which Chi-Ho plans to bring to Rotunda this December.