Matchmaking with cocktails

Robbie Bargh and Jason Fendick know a thing or two about cocktails. Their company, the Gorgeous Group, is responsible for making over and creating many a cocktail bar around the country and beyond these shores. So when they invited me to a cocktail dinner, I couldn't say no.

Yes, you did read that right: a dinner with cocktails matched with the food throughout.

The new Malmaison hotel in London's Clerkenwell offered up its new basement bar, itself created by Messrs Bargh and Fendick, for this novel exercise.

"There's a lot of over-mixology going on in London bars at the moment," declared Bargh, at the bar. "I've just got back from Sydney, where things are going crazy. They're using all kinds of fresh produce in their drinks. We need to strip back all the mess and do the simple things well - give me a nice naked martini, any day."

This was the thinking behind the Malmaison bar, which offers a classic line-up with a few trademark Gorgeous Group twists. The list is split into three sections: aperitif, digestif and straight up, with cocktails ranging from classics such as White Lady, Negroni and Sidecar, to new classics such as the Smokey Martini and the White Cosmopolitan.

In their wisdom, the boys thought, why not extend the cocktail hour into dinner? Bargh explained: "You've heard of the three-martini lunch? Well, the idea here is to overlap the aperitif into the starter and beyond, if it fits. We want to set a benchmark here." He cited vodka, gin and whisky as being great spirits to pair with food. "But avoid cocktails that are overly sweet," he warned. "A Negroni with a plate of Parma ham and melon is a beautiful thing."

Our gastric juices were set flowing by the boys' trademark White Cosmopolitan (Ciroc vodka shaken with white cranberry juice, lime and Cointreau) - "I always keep white cranberry juice in my fridge," said Bargh - and we chose a selection of different starters, mains and cocktails, guessing at possible matches.

What did dining partner and food and wine pairing guru Fiona Beckett think? She said: "What makes cocktails potentially such a successful match is the fact that you can serve them ice-cold, which lowers the sensation of alcohol on the palate but doesn't detract from their intensity."

She added: "I think the idea will be of more use to bars that want to build up their food offering, rather than to restaurants. It's something that could work brilliantly well with shared plates."

I'll go along with that.

Negative points? A cracking hangover. Thanks, boys.