Breadcrumbs [Home](/index%2Ephp/) > [3 Next-Level Cocktails To Make This Weekend](/index%2Ephp/markdownify/node/2789) ![3 Next-Level Cocktails To Make This Weekend](https://media.slman.com/XuV80Os6ryCgcv-T5RBPi0h38co=/800x0/smart/https%3A%2F%2Fslman.com%2Fsites%2Fslman%2Ffiles%2Farticles%2F2024%2F04%2Fsl-man-site-assets-thumb-connaught-bar-book.png) Photography: CONNAUGHT BAR [Recipes](/index%2Ephp/life/food-drink/recipes) / 10 April 2024 # 3 Next-Level Cocktails To Make This Weekend It’s not just the handsome location within a five-star Mayfair hotel that makes the Connaught Bar legendary. Thanks to Agostino Perrone and his team, it’s also a fount of world-class mixology. Now, thanks to Ago’s new book of recipes, you can bring a little bit of that Connaught magic into your own home. Here are three of his classic cocktails to get you started… Photography: CONNAUGHT BAR All products on this page have been selected by our editorial team, however we may make commission on some products. **Though I have come a long way from how I discerned flavours at the start of my bartending journey, my childhood continues to shape my taste and my standards of flavour.** When I was a kid, we travelled every year to Puglia, in southern Italy, where my uncle maintained a piece of farmland. He grew tomatoes, olive trees, fig trees, watermelons – all sorts of traditional fruits and vegetables. Running around in the dusty red soil of those heat-baked fields and climbing trees to catch the summer breeze was my normality. So was working the harvest. **My heart still brims with the magic of those days:** that sunlight, the air filled with fruity aromas, the sweetness of those tomatoes, the resin from the trees we climbed and that stuck on our hands – treasured in antiquity as myrrh. What I hadn’t realized until recently is that my senses are still saturated with those memories. This charivari of flavours and aromas is so strongly rooted in me that it has become a sort of sixth sense. **It is this sense that guides me to discover new ingredients and to create new and different styles of drinks.** It’s this sense that tells me that something is authentic and delicious. Or not. And it’s my childhood experiences and my Italian background that have set the foundation for my standards of flavour – the ones I apply to making cocktails. **While I could not possibly do what I do today without all the wisdom and brilliance of the people I have come across during my years as a mixologist**, equally I could not do it without the sensory deluge of my childhood. World travel, a love of photography, contemplation about emotions, sights and sounds, plus encountering a diverse range of guests help evolve our concept to include the visual nature of a drink’s presentation and inspiration with ingredients from many countries and cultures. Introducing our guests to chicha morada from Peru, amaros from Italy, umeshu plum wine from Japan is our shared journey. We change our menu each year and continue to evolve what we present in subtle ways from these inspirations now that more and more of our team is involved in a collective way of thinking about the drinks we make and how we serve them. --- ## Inspired? Try one of these this weekend… [ ![](https://media.slman.com/-5zjujcwYj6Wcxthv8Xlalb-Z-4=/800x0/smart/https%3A%2F%2Fslman.com%2Fsites%2Fslman%2Ffiles%2Farticles%2F2024%2F04%2Fslman-connaught-bar-book-italian-job.png) ](https://amzn.to/3U5FFMa) ## Italian Job *This drink appeared on our first menu as a seasonal option. Fruity with a light, dry finish, the Italian Job can be customised to suit your mood or to express a special moment. Although the recipe appears to be a passion fruit martini with an Italian touch of Campari, you can make it your own by trying it with a different fruit purée such as mango or papaya. The possibilities are endless.* Ingredients 50ml of vodka 15ml of sugar syrup 20ml of fresh lime juice 30ml of passion fruit purée 30ml of pineapple juice 10ml of Campari ½ passion fruit, pulp scooped out ½ passion fruit, to garnish Method Step 1 Combine the vodka, sugar syrup, lime juice, purée, pineapple juice, Campari and passion fruit pulp in a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Step 2 Shake vigorously until the drink is sufficiently chilled. Step 3 Double strain into a chilled cocktail glass, then float the passion fruit on top. [ ![](https://media.slman.com/0lp9uA_c0E16aGall6DSJvngFiA=/800x0/smart/https%3A%2F%2Fslman.com%2Fsites%2Fslman%2Ffiles%2Farticles%2F2024%2F04%2Fslman-connaught-bar-book-black-l-orbe.png) ](https://amzn.to/3U5FFMa) ## Black L’Orbe *This drink is dark and deceptive. It is made like a classic vodka martini, but delivers so much more to the nose and palate. At our bar, the stripe of black edible paint on the bowl of the glass sets the stage for this concoction of caviar vodka and crème de cacao with elegant notes of sherry, calvados and Cocchi Americano (a wine-based aperitif). Served with a wedge of salty cheese such as feta, edam or roquefort, this cocktail delights and surprises in its universe of the unexpected.* Ingredients 30ml of caviar vodka 30ml of Cocchi Americano 15ml of dry sherry 10ml of crème de cacao 7.5ml of calvados Optional Edible black paint, to decorate the glass Method Step 1 Paint a coupette with a streak of black edible paint and set aside. Step 2 Combine the vodka, Cocchi Americano, dry sherry, crème de cacao and calvados in a mixing glass filled with ice. Step 3 Stir until well chilled. Step 4 Strain into the coupette. [ ![](https://media.slman.com/Wyxusj39LNlffFaDiNmmYfAd9aI=/800x0/smart/https%3A%2F%2Fslman.com%2Fsites%2Fslman%2Ffiles%2Farticles%2F2024%2F04%2Fslman-connaught-bar-book-the-bentley.png) ](https://amzn.to/3U5FFMa) ## The Bentley Cocktail *Our take on the classic was crafted to celebrate the creation in 2016 of a new Bentley model. The drink was made to be prepared in advance and served in the car’s little bar. If you cannot find ginseng-bergamot bitters, blend equal parts of a bergamot liqueur with a gentian liqueur.* Ingredients 50ml of single-cask whisky 20ml of fresh lemon juice 10ml of sloe gin 10ml of egg white 10ml of 30-year-old sherry 2 dashes of ginseng-bergamot bitters Carved lemon peel Optional A spray of green mandarin essence, to garnish Method Step 1 Combine the whisky, juice, sloe gin, egg white, sherry and bitters in a cocktail shaker. Step 2 Shake vigorously. Step 3 Add enough ice to fill the shaker, and hard shake. Step 4 Double strain into a coupette, and garnish with a carved lemon peel and a spray of green mandarin essence. [ ![](https://media.slman.com/N_NuCX224zKIOU3Hspxm_HOFDYY=/800x0/smart/https%3A%2F%2Fslman.com%2Fsites%2Fslman%2Ffiles%2Farticles%2F2024%2F04%2Fthe-connuaght-bar-book.png) ](https://amzn.to/3U5FFMa) [*The Connaught Bar*](https://amzn.to/3U5FFMa) by Agostino Perrone, with Giorgio Bargiani and Maura Milia – with a foreword by Massimo Bottura – is out now, published by Phaidon. Visit [Phaidon.com](https://www.phaidon.com/store/cookbooks-food-and-drink/the-connaught-bar-cocktail-recipes-and-iconic-creations-9781838668105/) All products on this page have been selected by our editorial team, however we may make commission on some products. DISCLAIMER: We endeavour to always credit the correct original source of every image we use. If you think a credit may be incorrect, please contact us at .