Magazine


Christmas cocktails

BY ANGELA KELLY
22/12/2006

WHEN it comes to cocktails, Manchester is playing cosmopolitan "catch-up" on cities like Sydney, according to Nathan Williams.

Nathan, a 30 year-old from Auckland, New Zealand, is head bartender in Harvey Nichols' Manchester store and his bar experience spans the globe.

"Manchester is still catching up, really," he says.

"London, of course, has the gg edge but other countries have mixed cocktails far longer."

From the customer's perspective, the secret behind becoming a fan of cocktails is a willingness to "experiment with tastes", he believes.

And when it comes to making them, as Nathan explains: "It's a matter of using different flavours. You probably have 10 basic cocktails and then you build on those with various ingredients.

"People often say, `Well, I don't like whisky because I had a bad experience with it when I was younger'," adds Nathan.

" But I usually offer them the chance to have it with, say, raspberries and limes. I tell them if they don't like it, I'll drink it! It's a good line, and they usually like the drink anyway."

One of his favourites is raspberry honeycomb, macademia nuts and Caprioska (vodka).

Mixing skills are important, he states, but coming up with new ideas and flavours to mix is the way forward.

"We have about 30 different cocktails at Harvey Nicholls at present," he explains.

Typical cocktail fans currently are professional types, aged 25-40. "But," Nathan insists, "cocktails can appeal to all ages."


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