Adding a touch of glamour to the weekend ahead, Scottish Field’s Rosie Morton tries out The Register Club’s new cocktail menu…
The 1920s and 30s. A time where revelry reigned, and rules were positively hurled from the window. Goodbye wartime austerity, hello lavish décor, raucous jazz, and an excessive supply of cocktails.
Launching their new winter cocktail menu is a venue that oozes all the glamour and opulence of this Art Deco era. Bedecked with rich greens, geometric lines, and metallic accents, The Register Club has all the necessary grandeur to transport its visitors back to F.S. Fitzgerald’s fabulous Gatsby epoch. Stride across the marble atrium of Cheval The Edinburgh Grand, whizz up to the fourth floor, and sweep into this stylish bar and lounge and you’ll feel like Nick Carraway himself. Greeted by drinks specialist Ruben Goncalves, who joined the team three months ago, this is the perfect place to indulge in a cocktail or two.
Ruben Goncalves, the master at work. [Rosie Morton]
Glancing through Ruben’s list of ten signature drinks, the creeping smiles across our faces were similar to those of children let loose in a candy shop. Sweet tooth? Try ‘Gin Lane’ (Tanqueray 10 Gin, Amaretto Disaronno, Tio Pepe, and strawberry syrup). Lacking energy? Perhaps the ‘Crimson Skye’ (Talisker 10YO, madeira wine, coffee and cherry syrup) will enliven Friday night’s festivities. It was, however, the nutmeg and spices of the ‘Uxmal’, named after a Mayan temple (tequila, mezcal, orange, falernum, absinthe, lime and angostura) which saw the brows furrowing and the heads nodding sagely in approval.
The Grand, one of the ten new cocktails on the menu. [Rosie Morton]
Employing the full gamut of cocktail gizmos, watching Ruben behind the bar was like seeing a video on fast-forward. Blow torching, spinning, twisting, and muddling, it was worth standing by to watch the theatre unfold. Jars of raspberry ‘leather’ (dehydrated berries) sat by vials of homemade syrups, balsamic vinegar strawberries, and countless other secret ingredients. Ruben’s show-stopping party trick – pouring between two shakers from a height without spilling a drop – earned him audible (and well deserved) gasps. Seamless.
As I left, I couldn’t resist leaning over the atrium banister to admire the dizzying staircase below. Originally built in the early 1800s as a hotel, the site on which The Register Club now stands was bought in 1825 by the Royal Bank of Scotland and was redesigned in 1936, hence the Art Deco-inspired theme. With the geometric flooring below, I can just about see Gatsby throwing his silk shirts from the top to his beloved Daisy below. Perhaps next time Leonardo DiCaprio will make an appearance to top off the Fitzgerald experience.
The dizzying staircase of Cheval The Edinburgh Grand. [Rosie Morton]
Find out more about The Register Club HERE.
The Golden Age cocktail. [Rosie Morton]
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