Valentine’s question time: Nick Gordon, Orchid

We chat to Nick Gordon of Aberdeen cocktail bar Orchid, SLTN’s 2017 Cocktail Bar of the Year

• Which drinks do you expect to be popular around Valentine’s Day this year?

As always, Champagne and Prosecco will be big sellers. We usually do particularly well with bookings around Valentine’s Day and often there is a request for either a glass of Prosecco or Champagne on the table for arrival.

Once the couple has settled, we usually get a good few cocktail orders in. It’s very much a day of the year where people drink less, but drink better – so Orchid is excellently placed in the market to provide this!

• Are you introducing any Valentine’s-specific serves or menus in your venue?

We’ll be reintroducing this favourite from a previous menu, which is aptly served with a rose petal as the garnish:

Pearadise City

35ml Porter’s gin

15ml Cocchi Americano

25ml spiced pear cordial

15ml lemon juice

2 dash Dr Adam Elmegirab’s Dandelion and Burdock Bitters

Add all ingredients to a shaker and shake hard for ten seconds before double straining into a coupe; garnish with a rose petal.

• How much of a boost do you expect Valentine’s Day to provide? Will the fact that it lies on a Wednesday this year have any impact?

Being on a Wednesday will probably benefit us. It will mean there is an extra day in the week that will be busier, as opposed to just the usual Friday and Saturday. With it being a Wednesday as well, we might find that there is a bit of a spillover onto the Thursday night and really help us boost sales during the week.

As a trade-focused bar, we might also find that bar staff that couldn’t get Valentine’s Day itself off will come in during the rest of the week.

• What’s your favourite Valentine’s Day cocktail and why?

I definitely think Valentine’s Day is a day for bubbles, so would have to go with a sparkling wine-based cocktail.

As it’s one of my favourite cocktails anyway, a French 75 fits the bill perfectly. Gin, lemon, sugar and topped off with Champagne. What’s not to love?