freshly grated coconut, to garnish
* For the Date-Infused VS Cognac (makes 750 ml/25 fl oz):
3 large dates, sliced
750 ml (25 fl oz) VS Cognac
** For the Pineapple Coconut Simple Syrup (makes 250ml/8½ fl oz):
125 ml (4 fl oz) fresh pineapple juice
225 g (8 oz) coconut sugar
METHOD
For the Date-Infused VS Cognac, add the sliced dates to a large non-reactive container and then muddle gently. Pour over the Cognac and stir. Let sit for 6–8 hours, or longer depending on desired intensity. Stir occasionally. Strain the infused Cognac into a sterilised bottle, reserving the infused dates for future use.
For the Pineapple Coconut Simple Syrup, simply mix together the pineapple juice and sugar until the sugar has completely dissolved.
To make the cocktail, combine all the ingredients in a cocktail shaker filled with ice and shake. Double strain into a Turkish teacup and top with grated coconut to garnish.
Thrills can come cheaply in Istanbul, absorbing street life from a Beyoğlu terrace, say, over meze platters and cloudy, liquorice-scented glasses of raki. Those with more prodigal preferences will assuredly be sated at Çırağan Palace Kempinski, where Ottoman sultans lived and frolicked in the 17th century. Attractively positioned on the banks of the Bosphorous, it has the tranquil manner of a resort. In the mornings, guests preface their Topkapı Palace jaunts with balcony breakfasts; when they return it is time for sunbed cat naps, sudsy hammam sessions and dips in the infinity pool. By evening they are ready to retreat to the palm tree garden and Le Fumoir, the bar kitted out with lanterns and a billowing fabric ceiling. Single malts and cigars will suffice for most, but those with the deepest of pockets might be curious enough to splurge on the $2,500 nightcap-ready ‘Gilded Sultan’s Elixir’: a base of rare Hennessy Richard Cognac married with coconut-infused pineapple juice, honey syrup and fig bitters, suitably garnished with a rim of edible gold dust. Compared to checking into the commodious Sultan Suite, prized by royalty, it’s a regal bargain.
The Gilded Sultan’s Elixir isn’t a cocktail made for everyday sipping, so New York bartender and educator Franky Marshall made the riff (known as the Sultan’s Pick-Me-Up) reinterpreting the extravagent beverage’s ingredients through a far more accessible lens. Enjoyed as either a nightcap or morning reviver, it balances out the sharp fruitiness of the pineapple with layers of bittersweet chocolate, coffee (a nod to Turkey’s richly caffeinated history), coconut and a ‘fruit and nut’ mix with dates that mellow out the Cognac and add silkiness to the mouth feel.
No. 30
Whiskey-A-Go-Go
LIBRARY BAR AT THE NORMAN TEL AVIV, ISRAEL
INGREDIENTS
30 ml (1 fl oz) Spiced Pomegranate Juice*
50 ml (1¾ fl oz) rye whiskey
20 ml (⅔ fl oz) lemongrass syrup
20 ml (⅔ fl oz) freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 star anise, to garnish
*For the Spiced Pomegranate Juice (makes 1 litre/34 fl oz):
1 litre (34 fl oz) pomegranate juice
6 cloves
6 cardamom pods, crushed
8–10 pink peppercorns
METHOD
For the Spiced Pomegranate Juice, combine all the ingredients in a non-reactive container and refrigerate overnight. Strain in a sterilised container and store for up to 72 hours in the refrigerator.
To make the cocktail, combine the ingredients in a cocktail shaker filled with ice and shake well. Double strain into a Martini glass and garnish with a star anise.
White City, Tel Aviv’s residential enclave of Bauhaus-style buildings, received a dose of modernity when The Norman (named for Norman Lourie, the South African-born filmmaker and founder of Israel’s first luxury resort, Dolphin House) opened across two circa-1920s buildings in 2014. When they aren’t at the rooftop infinity pool ogling the Mediterranean Sea, or in their suites with the brilliant ceramic tiles, French doors and writing desks, there’s a good chance that guests are in the bar. True to its name, Library Bar provides them with an assortment of books to pore over should they feel so inclined. Some do, others can’t keep their eyes off this joint, which whispers of the 1940s with a burnished pewter bar, hexagonal stools and bouquets poking out of vases. Classics, including the underrated ‘Bamboo’ and ‘Angel’s Share’, are on the cocktail menu, but better to sample the region’s culinary bounty with signature drinks that make way for the likes of Jaffa oranges. Norman gin, made in collaboration with the Israeli Jullius Distillery, combining dates, almonds, citrons and Galilee herbs, is the spirited backbone of the ‘First Date’, with lemon juice, date syrup and grapefruit just picked from the hotel’s garden.
Pomegranate juice spiffs up the Whiskey-A-Go-Go and gives it Israeli flair. Although the Library Bar creates a sous-vide blend of freshly squeezed pomegranate, cardamom, pink peppercorns and cloves, home bartenders can follow the easier variation here.
No. 31
Burj Royale
SKYVIEW BAR & RESTAURANT AT BURJ AL ARAB JUMEIRAH, DUBAI, UAE
INGREDIENTS
20 ml (⅔ fl oz) Grey Goose La Vanille vanilla vodka
10 ml (⅓ fl oz) Chambord
10 ml (⅓ fl oz) Monin gum syrup
1–2 fresh raspberries
1–2 fresh blackberries
100 ml (3½ fl oz) Louis Roederer Brut Premier Champagne
edible gold dust, to garnish
METHOD
Muddle all the ingredients except the Champagne in a cocktail shaker, then shake. Double strain into a chilled Martini glass, then pour the Champagne over a bar spoon to layer on top. Garnish with edible gold dust.
Futuristic high-rises dominate Dubai’s ever-changing skyline, yet Burj Al Arab, the seemingly fluttering sail-shaped hotel designed by British architect Tom Wright, is undoubtedly one of the most wondrous and enduring. When it opened in 1999, the all-suite Burj Al Arab was a turning point for Dubai, shaping the emirate’s narrative of a desert-turned-megalopolis ruled by illusion. Ascending from a man-made island, the steel-glass-aluminium skyscraper with the towering atrium and bevy of butlers encapsulates over-the-top grandeur; a place where choosing from nearly 20 different types of pillows to sleep on, running your hand over 24-carat gold leaf, and splashing around in pools prettified with 10 million mosaic tiles is the norm.
Shisha smoking unfolds in the aptly shiny Gold on 27, complemented by cocktails such as ‘Scent of the Souk’, with apricot-
