TULCHAN SPEYSIDE SUPPER CLUB
Tulchan Gin launched their Tulchan Speyside Supper Club last week. For this first Supper Club, Tulchan Gin together with Scottish chef Mark Greenaway from Pivot Bistro and Bar created an immersive dinner and drink journey. Through a curated dinner paired with Tulchan Gin cocktails, we enjoyed the taste and flavours of Speyside, Scotland without leaving London.
Brand Ambassador for a Tulchan Gin Tom Jones talked us through the brand, which has its home in an idyllic Scotland estate. This London Dry style gin is influenced by its Scottish homeland and Scottish flora from the estate, including sloe berries, elderflower and blackberry leaves. We enjoyed a Speyside 75 followed by a Tulchan Gin and Tonic. This was light, crisp and refreshing. We garnished this ourselves using oranges (to enhance the citrus notes) and rosemary on the table which compliments the elegant character of the gin. Tom’s suggestion is to singe some rosemary before placing in a g&t, something we are all keen to try. A Tulchan martini was served with the second course. Given it’s a wet martini, it has more room to play and as such being a out more of the flavours than a traditional martini. A Tulchan Hedgegrow Negroni garnished with blackberries was served with desert, bringing out the subtle berry sweetness of the gin.
Pivot Bistro and Bar in Covent Garden hosted this first super club. The name reflects that the menu changes based on the seasons and fresh ingredients available. Overlooking Covent Garden’s famous Piazza, Pivot spans two floors of a historic London Townhouse. It features an all-day menu curated by award-winning Chef Mark Greenaway. At the ground floor bar we enjoyed canapés including pork cracking crisps, sausage rolls and croquets.
Dinner was served upstairs in an intimate space and is served in a communal way with dishes serving about 3-4 people. The table was set with tartan made near the Tulchan Estate and is a nod to the bottle which features tartan. To start, we had a selection of four dips with pita: whipped goats cheese, English pea hummus with cashews, whipped Devon crab butter and spinach, artichoke and sweet potato. The crab butter was given high praise all around the table for its creamy light texture.
For the first course, we enjoyed fresh seafood in the form of Scottish native oysters with red wine vinegar, and gin and charcoal cured Scottish salmon. The salmon had been lightly cured for one week which meant more of the flavours come through and made it one of the highlights of the evening. There was also venison carpaccio with crispy parsnips featuring Scottish venison that had been marinated for 24hours before being seared on the outside to give an incredible taste. Summer courgettes with pomegranate, feta and beetroot dressing, and roasted beetroots with Tulchan Gin infused whipped crème fraiche rounded out the first course. The pomegranates and the crème fraiche both came from farms in Scotland.
Next we had free range chicken with tarragon cream sauce, Plank roasted Scottish halibut with juniper and gin shallots, roasted cauliflower pomegranate molasses, roast Jerusalem artichokes in smoked garlic butter and charred hispi cabbage with breadcrumbs. Again the seafood was the highlight due to its melt-in-your mouth texture ms and flavours.
The deserts were equally delicious with fresh strawberries and cream providing a contrast to the Scottish Clootie dumplings with meringue. My favourite was cracking open the raspberry pavlova to discover lemon cream and raspberries inside, and drizzling it with caramel sauce.
Tulchan Gin is aiming to have a number of Supper Clubs in various venues across London. Unfortunately, there’s no set date or time for the next Supper Club, so keep checking their website for further announcements. Overall it was superb food and amazing drinks in a beautiful setting.
For Tulchan Gin:
Website: https://tulchangin.com/
Instagram: https://instagram.
For Pivot Bistro and Bar:
Address: Pivot British Bar & Bistro
First Floor – 3 Henrietta Street, Covent Garden, London, WC2E 8LU
Website: https://www.
Instagram: https://instagram.
Email and phone:
Written by Caitlin Neal
