Quaglino’s the upmarket live music European brasserie has created a”low and no” cocktails menu in collaboration with tropical Caleño.
The special cocktails can be enjoyed at the bar, as well as paired with a meal at the restaurant, until the end of February. The cocktails menu features a collection of four tropical inspired cocktails, two no-alcohol and two low alcohol all made with Caleño.
Caleño is a range of South American non-alcoholic spirits and cocktails with a diverse range of alcohol-free rum alternatives.
Featuring tropical flavours, from Spiced, to Coconut, and Mango & Passionfruit, they also come in a convenient ‘grab and go’ option, in a canned range of Ready to Party cocktails.
The brand was created by founder Ellie Webb when she spotted a gap on the market for zero alcohol mixers. The word ‘Caleño’ means ‘of Cali’, the Colombian city where Ellie’s mum is from, a place famous for its salsa dancing, cuisine, and culture.
The mixes contain a mix of local Latin American ingredients such as inca berry, kola nut and pineapple and designed to bring a bit of escapism to the daily life in Britain.
New research reveals a seismic shift in how Britons are combating winter blues. The study by Caleño shows that nearly 3 million adults are creating weekly ‘tropical escape’ moments to counter the harsh British winter and mounting cost-of-living pressures.
This tropical trend transcends more than just holiday planning and mini escapes. One in seven Britons are considering permanent relocation to warmer climates, while 5% plan to work remotely from tropical destinations this year.
I definitely fall into those categories, always thinking of palm trees. So today I am found trying the limited edition Quaglino’s cocktails menu that promise to provide the perfect tropical escape.
Starting with my favourite – Exotic Eclipse with Caleño Light & Zesty, mango, grenadine syrup and lime juice with fresh strawberries. It’s sparkling, a little zesty and incredibly fruity bursting with strawberries.
Generally I’m not too keen on lemonades or zero alcohol drinks unless it’s just pure loose leaf green tea. But in this case it’s really not bad at all. It has that kick to it that’s normally supplied by a spirit. And the cocktail has a multi layered palette, unlike just the standard sugary syrup and fizzy water.
It pairs very well with the 28-day aged beef tartare that Quaglino’s does wonderfully. The French style, it’s perfectly seasoned with a decent spice kick to it and a umami note from the fermented yolk.
To follow it’s a creatively presented, in a roll,l skinned fillet of salmon with a fennel and dill veloute. It’s delicately creamy and adds the needed fatness to a surprisingly light and fat-free salmon fillet meat.
As the Caleño cocktails progress we move on to the desserts. As mentioned here Quaglino’s has an excellent pastry team that regularly create theatrical desserts.
Like the limited edition Paper Plane for Valentines, only available on the 14th February.
But today my dessert is a pistachio & raspberry marquise. Incredibly light, like eating a bouncy marshmallow cloud with natural nuttiness of the pistachio.
It comes a well paired with a sorbet like raspberry yogurt ice cream. Everything is right about the dessert to the very detail, even the grinding setting of the nuts and raspberries.
Both the ice cream and the marquise are not too finely blended, retaining tiny pieces of pistachios and raspberry for a satisfying bite.
The prix-fixe menu is budget friendly at only £39 with the live music seating too.
The cocktail pairing for the dessert is Passion Punch with Caleño Dark & Spicy from the low alcohol range. Spiced with a bit of gingery Falernum and rounded up with tropical passion fruit, coconut syrup and cherry liqueur. It’s rich and sweet with an excotic touch.
The curiously part of me got me and I of course asked to try Caleño on its own, straight. It’s smooth and natural, one can easily sip it over ice like a quality rum.
Quaglino’s, 16 Bury St, London SW1Y 6AJ