Scotsman Helps Liquorish Buzz
When a bar is regarded as one of the most chic in South London, everything about the ambience, decor and drinks has to make a style statement. Liquorish, in the fashionable borough of East Dulwich, opened late last year to rave reviews about the cutting edge design of everything from the lighting to the huge range of speciality cocktails it serves.
The cocktails on the menu card include standards such as margaritas, but it is for the more exclusive cocktails such as the Cuban-influenced feijoa mojito the venue is known for. A mix of premier vodka, pineapple, mint, lime and sugar, at £6 it is the most popular cocktail Liquorish sells.
An essential part of the visual impact of cocktails like this is the crushed ice that makes it such a long refreshing drink. While some cocktail bars choose to crush cloudy ice cubes formed in a basic icemaker, Liquorish went for the high-end of ice systems, with a Scotsman ACM 225 for producing the ice and a Scotsman Crushman for produce crushed ice. Hubbard Ice Systems, the UK distributor for Scotsman, supplied both machines.
Liquorish general manager Nathan Barton says everything the bar offers has to be the best and ahead of the pack in what is a hugely competitive market. "It might be that not every customer notices the quality of the ice and remarks on it, but itÂ’s an important part of why they are enjoying the drink. Customers don't analyse everything in a cocktail, but the bartenders know that when every ingredient is the best available, the end result will be, too."
The visual chic of the Scotsman gourmet cubes combined with the high production rate were key reasons for Liquorish choosing the Scotsman ACM 225. The gourmet ice produced in the Scotsman ACM225 is not a cube but rather a thimble shape, which has a greater cooling area in the drink.
The production process is ultra reliable and while ice from other machines is often cloudy, the gourmet ice produced in the Scotsman ACM 225 is very hard and crystal clear. Maximum output of the machine is 7,250 'supercubes' (145kg) over a 24-hour period. The Scotsmans integral storage bin keeps the ice hard and clear during quiet periods, holding up to 70kg in prime condition to cope with demand when Liquorish starts to seriously buzz.
