On Tuesday afternoon, Anchor Distilling Company, the U.S. importer of British spirit and wine merchant Berry Brothers & Rudd, held an intimate cocktail party at Chinatown speakeasy Apotheke to introduce its new No. 3 London Dry Gin to a group of editors and United States Bartenders’ Guild members. Modeled after European apothecaries and 19th-century absinthe dens, the Victorian-style craft-cocktail lounge provided the ideal setting to sample the traditional dry gin from London’s oldest wine and spirits shop.
“The original Berry Brothers & Rudd boutique in London opened in the late 1600s, so we wanted to find a venue that exuded the same old-school feel—like it had been there for hundreds of years,” said Anchor’s events and PR manager, Liz Brusca. “And it was great to be able to have Apotheke’s mixologists on hand to design a menu of creative, artisanal cocktails.”
The elements of the event were subtly based around the numbers 3 and 6. In addition to the gin’s name, which itself is derived from the address of the original Berry Brothers & Rudd shop at 3 St. James Street in London, the formula contains six ingredients: three fruits and three spices. “There are also three ingredients in a classic dry martini—vermouth, gin, and a twist of lemon,” said Anchor president David King. “So we have three people in the band, and three drink stations each offering two cocktails for a total of six options.”
In addition to indulging in the cocktails and passed hors d’oeuvres made by Apotheke’s next-door sister restaurant, Pulqueria, guests could also make their own flipbooks using a variety of British-style props that included fake mustaches, vintage books, and royal crowns.
