London is knocking back the picklebacks

Believe it or not, the trendiest new tipple in town is a shot of bourbon followed by a glug of brine. They are picklicious, says Victoria Stewart 
Paul Winch-Furness
21 January 2014

If you’re fed up, I know a liquid solution to help you re-boot. You won’t find it on a wine list, it’s not in the cocktail category and only half of it can be classed as alcohol. Has the pickleback piqued your interest yet? It has now.

This drink, which began in Brooklyn and is now being soaked up by London bars in Chelsea, Soho and Shoreditch, involves having a shot of whiskey followed by a shot of pickle juice. According to the recipe in a new book out by the founders of the British BBQ restaurant Pitt Cue Co, they are “to be taken in quick succession”.

There’s something remarkable about this combination that makes you want another immediately afterwards. “It’s the idea that the sweet savoury liquor of the pickle juice acts as a natural antidote to the harshness of the whiskey,” says the book’s co-author, Jamie Berger, who uses Heaven Hill bourbon and a pickle brine made from peppercorns, coriander seeds, star anise and cardamom pods among other things.

At the new Soho Diner, which launched last week on Old Compton Street, a pickleback features under the “Strong Drinks” category and costs £8. At the Sebright Arms in Bethnal Green it’s served as a shot of rye whiskey next to a separate one of pickle juice.

Others are stirring it up. Having made a pickleback using pickled rhubarb and, for St Patrick’s Day, pickled celery juice, Berger says by varying the vegetable or spices — rather than the standard vinegar, water, sugar, salt — you can create your own concoction.

This week, a new pop-up opens serving a firier version of the classic. Behind This Wall — at F. Cooke’s pie & eel shop at Broadway Market— will use shallot vinegar, the same they use with oysters. At parties hosted by the team behind BarChick.com you will find it made with Jamesons “giving it a little Irish twist”.

Caravan Exmouth Market serves it with a peach and cucumber twist while behind the US-themed bar at Honky Tonks Chelsea is a blackboard promoting a single-shot version. Theirs is made of Buffalo Trace bourbon and pickle brines and served in a jam jar for £6. Beer sommelier Melissa Cole says: “There’s nothing guilty about a pickleback, it’s just a pleasure.” Curious? Try one.

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