C’est la vie – a cocktail that takes a bit of love

Posted on June 10, 2016 by admin

One of cocktails on our aqua shard signature menu, C’est la vie takes patience, attention and care, because good things take time!

The key to this drink is the lime, which is clarified over 24 hours. This process creates a transparent liquid that has a clean taste, creating a refined and elegant cocktail.

Each week the bar makes three litres of clarified lime juice, this is done over three nights, so whilst London sleeps, cocktail creating is still going on in the Shard’s heights.

To begin with, the fresh lime juice is brought to the boil, and left to boil for three minutes, then agar-agar is add and whisked till it has dissolved. Agar-agar is a jelly-like substance that is made from algae, this solidifies the lime juice and allows you to take out the impurities later.

After the agar-agar has dissolved, the lime juice it is taken off the heat and left to cool for about half an hour. It is then vacuum sealed and put straight into the freezer overnight.

In the morning, the first member of the bar team to arrive in the morning takes the now jellied lime juice out and strains it. This process takes an entire day, the team set up a large strainer and line it with a cloth napkin or coffee filter and let the liquid slowly melt and filter through into a container, drop by drop. This means that even the smallest impurities are left filtered out.

To make the C’es La Vie, the lime juice is then shaken with Ciroc Vodka (a French vodka made from grapes), sugar and Poire Eau de Vie (a French pear brandy), then served in a martini glass with fresh grapes as a garnish.

Come and visit and try this cocktail! Our bar is open Sunday – Thursday 12noon – 1am, and Friday – Saturday 12noon – 2am, no reservations necessary, first come first served.