Core by Clare Smyth opens new bar

As part of the extensive refurbishment of the three-Michelin-starred Core by Clare Smyth, the Notting Hill restaurant has opened a new whiskey and cocktail bar.

Whiskey & Seaweed is both the name of the bar and of its signature cocktail, a take on a whiskey sour inspired by Smyth’s signature dish, potato & roe.

Whereas Smyth’s dish (to massively simplify it)is a slow cooked, marinated potato topped with trout and herring roe, a beurre blanc and chives, the cocktail consists of butter-washed Irish whiskey, kelp, sea lettuce & black cardamon.

Other cocktails on the list include the Core-tify which, as the name alludes to, combines the fortified wines of the Douro, Jerez and Madeira with Nolly Pratt & absinthe, and Giant Causeway, a nod to Smyth’s Northern Irish nationality, which contains Luxardo Bitter Bianco liqueur, Vault Coastal Vermouth, mead & seaweed.

The list of wines by the glass covers a wide range of origins and styles, such as NV Billecart-Salmon Brut Rosé (£28 for a 125ml glass), 2013 Tokaji Aszú 5 Puttonyos Dorgo Vineyard (£25 for a 100ml glass), and Taylor’s Very Very Old Tawny Coronation Edition (£75 for a 100ml glass).

The 47-page-long whisk(e)y list covers the Anglo-Celtic Isles extensively, with Welsh and English spirits joining their more well-known Scottish and Irish counterparts. Additionally, American, Japanese and Australian whiskies also feature, as does a selection of cigars.

According to Hot Dinners, bar snacks include fired chicken with caviar, lobster roll and a caviar sandwich.

The bar’s manager is Vincenzo Ciacco, who is returning to Core after a five year absence, and Uriel Sasson is serving as head bartender.

Related news: ‘Bucket list’ whisky bar reopens after £500k refurb