The new menu takes inspiration from iconic figures of the twentieth and twenty-first century, representing them in each cocktail. 

Bar manager at Velvet, Christian Maspes, told Drinks International: “Choosing the name of a cocktail is always a very complicated step in creating a new menu. The team and I spend weeks brainstorming ideas, sometimes the inspiration is directly in front of us, and sometimes it requires deeper thinking to create a name with purpose, but also appeal to our guests and be memorable.”

Each drink on the menu is held in its own vessel, portraying the inspiration of the cocktail, such as a strawberry helium heart-shaped balloon floating for Banksy’s ‘Above the Clouds’.

The bar works with multiple manufacturers to create bespoke glassware as well as creating its own wax vessels. When deciding what glassware to choose, “we wanted the vessels to be theatrical and an extension of the cocktail, not just an addition to the drink”, Maspes continued.

Calabrese added: “You taste with your eyes, nose, mouth and hands. Feeling the glass is important to the journey of the drink. From the aroma when you first pick it up, to the last taste of your last sip.”

The Quote Book was released to celebrate the 1st birthday of Velvet and includes 21 new cocktails, ranging from £22 - £45.

When creating the cocktails for the new menu, Maspes added they “wanted to utilise AI to help in envisioning how the famed quotes and icons would be transformed into mixology. We also wanted to make sure that the figures we chose represented all generations, so our guests of any age could come into the bar and see a cocktail from someone who is an inspiration or significant figure to them.”

The bar still offers Salvatore’s list of classic cocktails such as the Salvatore’s Martini, but for the new menu Maspes adds they haven’t carried any of the previous drinks through from the old menu as they wanted it to be “completely unique and different” to what they have done before.