A luxurious high-end cocktail bar in the recently opened Corinthia Hotel, Bassoon offers seriously good mixology in lavish art deco surroundings.

The Venue
The Corinithia Hotel is the latest in a long line of luxury hotels to open in the capital. No doubt the owners have one eye on next year’s Olympics and newspaper reports even suggest that waiting lists are being compiled before room rates are confirmed, such is the gravity of the games. In the meantime, the hotel sits overlooking the Thames, from its superb location just off Embankment. Step inside its immaculately creamy walls on Whitehall Place and the impact is immediate: a huge cascading light feature illuminates a foyer area, which has enormously high ceilings, and beautiful white flowers (that must cost a fortune) are presented in huge amounts on tables at eye level. It’s all very impressive.

Take a right and you’ll end up at the doors of Bassoon. Head inside and you’re greeted by an art deco, music-themed room decked out in bespoke furnishings that even include a bar complete with a piano built into one side. It’s dimly lit, even on a swelteringly hot day, as chainmail curtains are drawn to restrict natural light. To enhance the musical influence, reproductions of classic American jazz art peppers the walls. Design has come from the much in-demand hand of the David Collins Studio, which means the overall effect is expensive, polished and decadent.

The Atmosphere
Small clusters of residents at the hotel gather in corners, mainly to drink wine and the odd G&T. A waste of the bar’s obvious prowess, its cocktail-making skills, there’s a distinctly low-key atmosphere pervading. Staff are keen as mustard though, and show a bit of interest in their cocktails and they’ll happily produce their extensive vermouth collection, giving you detailed backstories on each one of them as they line them up on the glistening bar top.

The Drink
Bassoon’s cocktail list is their biggest selling point. Whether it’s modifying their own spirits in wooden casks, making their own homemade bitters or sourcing vermouth from Italy that no other bars in London have, they’re dedicated to their craft.

Prices are in keeping with the luxurious surroundings so if £15 a cocktail makes you pull a funny face (not in a good way), then this is strictly for special occasions or expense accounts. A couple of highlights include the signature Bassoon Manhattan, a woozy claret coloured brew served in a vintage cocktail glass. Using their own rhubarb bitters, Amer Picon Club bitters and vanilla-infused bourbon this has a rich, well-rounded flavour that’s one to savour. The Bubblegum Martini (marshmallow infused vodka, lemon juice, sugar) adds theatre to proceedings to as well as a few oohs and ahhs thanks to the fluffy white cloud of froth that sits on top of the coupe. This one’s a bit sickly sweet, however, so it’s one for the sweet-toothed.

Champagne, premium spirits and quality wines are all available in impressive quantities. And it’s nice to see Meantime are the chosen beer supplier. Sipsmith's is the house gin, too, so London producers are very much being supported here.

The Last Word
Undoubtedly a very easy-on-the-eye bar with serious cocktail prowess, Bassoon has lots of fierce competition from 5-star hotel bars - from the kind that like to party (Wyld at the W Hotel) to the historically significant ones (The American Bar at The Savoy). It has more than enough quality to prosper, however, it just needs to cement its place as a destination amongst those who can regularly afford to work their way through the most excellent cocktail menu.

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