With a shake here and shake there off my umbrella entering out of the rain into Two Ruba for a cocktail masterclass there was a different kind of shaking to be had.
I was invited down on a complimentary basis along with some other member of Love Pop Ups London to show our cocktail making skills.
TwoRuba at Hilton Tower Bridge
TwoRuba is a place where you can lounge, enjoy a drink or nibble on some food within Hilton’s Hotel in Tower Bridge.
With a dash of glamour and lashings of luxury you can enjoy an expertly selection of their trusted favourites from old and new world wines, a wide selection of bottled beers, carefully hand-picked Champagnes, international mixture of spirits or a carefully crafted cocktails by expert mixologists. Also at TwoRuba you can enjoy creative small plates as well as sharing platters all within their sophisticated bar and lounge area.
Open Monday to Saturday from 7:00 am – 1:00 am
Sunday from 7:00 am – 12:00 midnight
Cocktail masterclass
Certain nights you can book to practice your hand at cocktail making at just £45 per person which includes a welcome drink of prosecco, 2 cocktails and 3 canapés.
Classes are available from 6 till 8.30pm
Classes hold up to a maximum of 14 people per group.
Discover more click here or email to book info@tworuba.com
Cocktail time
Entering within a private area of TwoRuba feeling like we have stepped within a Ski Lodge and greeted by a cuddly polar bear.
After mingling with everyone and sipping on a glass of prosecco before meeting the head barman Liam for our 2 hour cocktail masterclass it was then time for us to become a cocktail mixologist ourselves.
Liam is a really bubbly guy with loads of enthusiasm, he explained about the two cocktails we will be making on the night before starting and both sounded as exciting as each other.
Firstly we made a Mai Tai which used Deadman’s Fingers, Cointreau, Lime Juice and Orgeat. We learned that trader Vic’s invented the drink and is said that when he tried his concoction that he cried out Mai Tai which means the best out of this world in Tahitian and this is how is got it’s name.
After watching Liam it was then time for us to all grab our cocktail shakers. Pouring in the ingredients with the addition of Marie Brizard Curacao Bleu to give this drink a slight twist to make it blue we soon all started to shake, shake, shake.
Once our hands got really cold whilst holding the shaker it was time to pour then finish it off with some garnishing of mint and pineapple.
The drink looked beautiful and I think Liam’s twist of adding the Curaco Blue was a great idea.
The drink is quite sour drink but all the flavours mingled well with each other.
Then without the use of a cocktail shaker it was time to make our next drink of a Ratterwick which uses Chase Grapefruit Gin, Aperol, lemon juice, grapefruit juice and sugar syrup. Aperol is a classic Italian bitter apéritif made of gentian, rhubarb, and cinchona, among other ingredients and has a vibrant orange hue.
After watching Liam it was time to then pour all the ingredients into our own glass and then finally top off with soda before finishing it of by garnishing with a slice off mandarin and sprig of mint.
This drink did not disappoint. It had a real great punch to it, a slight bitterness then a big kick from the lemon and grapefruit juice.
Plus throughout our cocktail masterclass we were treated to a variety of canapes from topside beef to crab.
I especially enjoyed the beef canapes as the beef was cooked to perfection and tasted lovely.
Verdict
We all had a great time shaking along with my team in making the Mai Tai and Ratterwick cocktails. I will certainly be trying to recreate these at home.
Head on down to TwoRuba
TwoRuba Hilton London Tower Bridge
5 More London Place
Tooley Street
London
SE1 2BY
Open Monday to Saturday from 7:00 am – 1:00 am
Sunday from 7:00 am – 12:00 midnight
Click here to discover.
Thank you to TwoRuba for inviting a group of us of Love Pop Ups London to become mixologists for 2 hours.
Click below to be redirected to get links to all our write ups from the TwoRuba cocktail making and past other visits from a variety of other members. All their views are of their own honest opinions.
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