
Kiearan MacDonald and Family Trade
Is the past really more interesting than the present, wonders the gal? Sometimes a little voice says Yes, but most of the time another little voice says NO, appreciate today, which many people do not – the newspapers, certainly, are full of nothing but doom and woe, as though we were all born on a Monday.
Think positively. I happened to call in on The American Bar at The Savoy, a Fairmont hotel, and loved its recreation of cocktails going back to 1889, the year of its birth – the earliest commemorative cocktails include La Dame de Fer, a reminder that the Eiffel Tower is also that vintage (Château Boulard Calvados, Trois Rivière Rhum, lemon juice, sugar syrup, leather-infused Angostura bitters, and matcha tea dust, if you want that brew). I preferred the cocktail of the moment, Family Trade, a reminder of the fact that the Nolet family has been distilling Ketel One vodka for ten centuries. Here it is, held by the boss of the Savoy, Kieran MacDonald – it is blended with the luxury hotel’s own-made copper and corn cordial, and stirred with Savoy Dry vermouth.
And, guess what, it is ABSOLUTELY delicious. This champagne and wine drinker learned something, positively.