What Is It?
A tutored whisky tasting of six whiskies as chosen by one of The Pullman’s whisky sommeliers (BEST JOB DESCRIPTION EVER?!).
Plus some food ;D
Where Is It?
The Golden Arrow Bar @ The Pullman Hotel St Pancras
How Much Is It?
£45 per person
In a Nutshell
- 6 types of whisky, plus a little food in The Pullman’s sexy swanky surroundings.
- There are a few options. These include: Does Whisky Compliment Cheese?, Scotland Vs. Japan, Taste The Peat, What’s In A Barrel?, Taste Of The Irish
- Minimum 2 people – recommended 4-12 people.
- It is semi educational and lighthearted (despite the semi formal surroundings)
- Each session lasts 2 hours.
- Food comes in the form of some relatively light bar snacks – charcuterie, cheese etc.
- Tasting Britain are somewhat obsessed with whisky – so we didn’t learn too much from this session. Might be better for someone very new to whisky. Or maybe with a different set of drams (I’d tried all but one of these)
- Kinda leaves you wishing it’d lasted longer, and involved uh…more whiskies!
Five drams with Mattia
St Pancras is weird. Not quite Islington, not quite Camden, and possessed of a kind of manic energy that comes from the heavy traffic of Euston Road mixed with the proximity of St Pancras International, it feels like the kind of area that never really goes to sleep. And the Pullman St Pancras seems like the kind of hotel that doesn’t either.
(though having never stayed past 1130 I can’t say I’ve tested this theory)
From looking at it’s somewhat blocky and corporate exterior, you might not imagine that a bar of epic proportions lurks within…
So yeah whisk(e)y fans might be aware of The Pullman’s Golden Arrow Bar. It is in possession of some extremely rare and wonderful drams. Whisky fans may also be aware that Pullman host tutored tastings, if you ask nicely.
We ask nicely (we always ask nicely), and so end up standing in front of 4 bottles of single malt and Pullman’s brand spanking new whisky sommelier, Mattia. He might be new, but he knows his shit.
Meet Mattia
Mattia is Italian, from Verona, and despite his country’s disconnect with the world of whisky, possesses a kind of infectious enthusiasm for aged spirits which mirrors my own.
He delivers ‘the education’ with the energy and lilting tones of a Mediterranean person. He also compulsively tacks on ‘sir’ at the end of a lot of sentences. He can and will talk to you for hours about rum, whisky and cognac. He’s a great guy.
Time with Mattia is fun for many reasons. One of them being his use of new and improved variants on English convention. For example, he refers, continually, to the food as ‘tapestry’. Since these are small plates, I think this is his word for ‘tapas’. He also pronounces ‘casks’ as ‘cask-is’. And women as ‘womens’,
(this is him in his natural element)
Before the tasting he directs us briefly to a wall of delicious whiskies. These are not part of the tasting but can be enjoyed if you feel like going off the rails before/after said tasting.
The whisky shelf/porn
The collection includes some incredibly rare whiskies that I’ve either never heard of, or never seen in the ‘offline’ world.
These are not included in the tasting :3 / 🙁
Top shelf: see also some other 30+ and 50 year shit that will also crush your wallet.
The Atmosphere
Is slick like an oil spill. It plays the kind of downtempo background music that sounds like an add for a smartphone or a German car. The bar itself is located within the entrance…which is also the lobby.
The bar is also a restaurant. There are no room separations. This gives it the feeling of a ‘great hall’ or something similar. I like.
The corner of the bar area is reserved for tastings. Tastings are carried out stood up, and there are no stools or seats. I’ve never seen a tasting like it. It’s a bit like being at a standing desk, or working behind a bar. There are two such ‘standing tables’ reserved for the tastings (and I’d imagine other functions also)
The bar is split between the ‘regular’ drinks (which includes the lower priced whiskies) and the previously mentioned whisky pr0n installation. The clientele are hard to pin down. They seem relatively affluent visitors from the hotel. Mattia tells us that they don’t get all that many ‘walk ins’ here.
The Tasting
Edradour 2003 Chardonnay Cask
First time I’d tried this one!
Ardbeg Uigeadail
Mattia describes it as ‘oily’, which is a new ‘whisky term’ for me
Isle Of Jura Prophecy
Supposedly salty but a bit of a let down – kinda flat and generic.
Balvenie 14 Year Old / Caribbean Cask
Ridiculously easy to drink.
The Verdict
Pros
Mattia is fun, enthusiastic and cool Italian bro. The service and the staff are pretty great
We found the Jura to be a bit generic so he subbed it out for a Willett’s Pot Still Single Barrel bourbon. Which is cool!
Great surroundings in an unusual spot
One for whisky enthusiasts – but if you want to try some new varieties, make sure you
Cons
Feels like it needs a few more generous with the whiskies. Definitely would liked to have had a second dram of the Ardbeg!
Felt like there should have been more of an order to the consumption.
And perhaps a little more choice on the food.
The Details
To book: Email the Golden Arrow’s bar manager on H5309-fb1@accor.com or call 020 7666 9000
http://www.pullmanhotels.com/gb/hotel-5309-pullman-london-st-pancras/restaurant.shtml
