The Tasting Sessions

The Tasting Sessions worked with Peter Gregson to curate an immersive music and tasting experience for our guests at “Who is SMITH?”. Peter composed a unique music score for his electric cello performance based on an interpretation of the food and drink pairings. Check out the Smith Tasting Card while listening to Peter’s creations below for each of the food and drink pairings. We particularly loved the piece for the Clonakilla Shiraz Viognier 2009 and liquorice roasted pigeon.

ARE YOU SMITH?

Will you make it past the paparazzi into the lion’s den? At the scene of the crime, your every move will be under investigation.

A night of performance and intrigue will be brought to life by storyteller Ali Coco Epps and her troupe of detectives with elegant 1930’s costuming by Olivia Rigg’s Bizarre Bazaar.

The dapper Alex Kammerling will masterfully demonstrate how to create exciting cocktail matches, also showcasing his own boutique Kammerling’s Ginseng Spirit recently launched in London.

Join us on Wednesday 26 October, whilst we uncover the mystery of Who is SMITH?

We will be taking over the private member’s club at the top of The Gherkin. Our time and all profits will be donated to our friends at the Global Poverty Project, a charity supported by Hugh Jackman.

THE EXPERIENCE INCLUDES:

• Welcome drinks on arrival with canapés
• A 3-course taster menu with perfectly paired cocktails – a collaboration between chefs and bar chefs who are moonlighting with The Tasting Sessions
• Live musical compositions by Peter Gregson - cellist, composer and pioneer of contemporary music. Peter has performed across the world from The Royal Albert Hall to Twitter HQ. His electric style will intensify your pairing experience
• A mini-masterclass on how to create spectacular and unconventional cocktail matches at home
• Delicious cocktails throughout the night

A limited number of tickets are available to purchase by invitation only. If you haven’t received your invitation, please contact us.To stay informed about future events and happenings sign-up to our email updates.

For the past 2 years, The Tasting Sessions has been reinventing the food and drink experience. You never quite know what’s going to happen. We believe taste should not be a one dimensional experience. Expect secret locations, wild combinations of food and drink, performance and art which take you on a journey.

At the chocolate and booze experience, Deliver Us From Innocence, guests were challenged with temptations of biblical proportions. Taken on a journey through a fairytale forest they followed “Mr Truffus” through a cupboard door into BarNarnia and handpicked caged, golden apples from the Tree of Knowledge in the Garden of Eden. Guests became part of a live TV audience where Snow White, a young Cockney lad in dress, demonstrated the best way to cook with poison apples. Little Red Riding Hood proved to be less innocent than the legend when the Woodcutter (who was also the Wolf) tried to have his way with her. Each experience included a mind-blowing chocolate and alcohol pairing with creatively themed food produced by Michelin starred chefs. You can see the photos here on flickr and the video below:

At Tequila: The Reconciliation, guests were taken prisoner and made to face their nemesis in a Texan-style Slammer – The Shoreditch State Penitentiary. Checked in by prison guards they were given standard issue prison wear and “drug tested” (served Tequila Sunrise in a urine sample jar). Mug shots taken, guests were let loose in the recreation yard. Muscle Mary’s vigorously pumped iron whilst swapping skincare tips and guests could “get inked” at the Mezcal Monkey Tattoo Parlour.

An expert master class profiling a range of premium and ultra premium Tequilas, freed guests from past experiences and misconceptions and they were welcomed into a colourful Day of the Dead celebration with a gorgeous feast. You can see the photos here on flickr and the video below: