Shaker rattles and rolls out

25 October, 2011

Shaker BarSchools, the international bartender training company, has moved into bar operating with the opening of a bar in London.

Shaker & Company lies just north of London’s West End, a stone’s throw from the Euston Road. Shaker founder Adam Freeth has taken an eight year lease on a former pub in Hampstead Road. The former Prince of Wales pub and then Positively Fourth Street bar has a capacity of 120. During the day it is a Shaker BarSchool. At 5pm it becomes Shaker & Company.

The bar has an impressive choice of spirits, approximately 500, on the back bar. Freeth says cocktail will range from £6 to £8, which is modest for a top bar in the capital and there will be a “concise list of 12 original and adventurous cocktails”. The food is described as “deep southern soul” and includes Hush Puppies – cheese, sweetcorn, ale fritters with a chilli dip; Crab Balls with a salsa dip;  Shredded Pork and Beans, Burger Sliders and Cajun Chicken Wings.

Downstairs there is a tasting room that seats 30. Freeth describes this as the “soul of Shaker & Company”. Up-and-coming events and features include the Benedictine Monastery and the Belvedere Red Room.

Freeth told Drinks International having developed training programmes and launched Shaker Consultancy and then Shaker Events, he felt it was time they had a crack at practising what they preach.

Shaker has bar schools in Capetown, Johannesburg as well as in London and Birmingham. The consultancy was involved with the launch of Nightjar one of the most talked about new bars in London. The events side has been involved with the prestigious Restaurant & Bar Awards and has worked with brands such as Cartier, Tatler, Claridges, Porshe, Samsung, Virgin, KPMG and Selfridges.

The Shaker & Company is described as “a 10 year celebration of fine cocktails created and consumed and looks ahead to the next generation of discoveries which fuels the energy of the Shaker offering”.

Enough said?





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