Nico S'lip

A miserable, handless and out of shape statue of George II is sits in the middle of Golden Square in Soho. Upon his head shits pigeons, and at his feet sit TEFL students eating chips and pasties.

I stood and took it all in. A man screaming “Help me save my life!” tottered around wailing on Red Stripe. Media types poking at plastic sushi. Suits clutching pints. “I told ‘im if you want a life-size plastic ostrich you should fakkin geddit” reached my ears. A grim faced woman was terrifying her drinking buddy screeching too much detail about her love life.

I’d snaked my way through the tourists from Pall Mall to North Soho to land here and needed a new place to drink.

The Graphic Bar promised tables of office girls sipping colourful drinks. A lone businessman stood at the counter sending pictures of his G&T to someone. A clear liquid in a clear glass doesn’t make for exciting WhatsApp action I thought. I decided he could be dangerous and perched at the far end.

The barkeep was a giant, bearded and jovial Italian mixologist called Nico. I gave him the spec.

“OK, I make you something.”

The Graphic Bar is a serious Gin-head Palace with an impressive wall of spirits to choose from and a thick menu of cocktails. Nico reached behind and grabbed a bottle of Seedlip 108, the first time I’ve seen it in the wild.

“I keep it for pregnant women” he said.

“If only you could drink it in a martini” I lamented.

“Serve it from the fridge it’s fine. I’m Italian, I’ve drunk Campari since I was fifteen years old; I’m used to it.” I couldn’t decide if this was a good thing.

He filled a cordial glass with crushed ice for prep and began to mix grapefruit juice, orange juice, a single raspberry and some salt to produce a few millilitres of flavour. Into the glass and top up with a lot of Seedlip, squirt with some of the oils from a grapefruit peel and garnish with the same.

I was nervous. A bit of juice and Seedlip is going to taste of nothing but juice and Seedlip I thought. I glanced over at Nico who brushed off my probable are-you-serious face and gestured for me to drink. I took a sip expecting to hand it back for adjustments.
But, somehow it was perfect in every way. We had a winner – a sippable drink nurtured and enjoyed while the office girls knocked over their mojitos and margaritas.