StreetStyleChi
by Alex Moresco
A Soho House Classic: the Eastern Standard
Posted on February 21, 2017
The classic Soho House Eastern Standard as they serve it.
Everyone has their go-to cocktail. Up until two years ago, my go-to “cocktail” was a great glass of red wine. That all changed when I had my first Eastern Standard at Soho House in Chicago. It is the perfect blend of freshness from the cucumber and mint with a little bite from the gin.
The Eastern Standard is not often found on drink menus in the United States- mainly because it was invented in London by Tom Kerr for Soho House Group. An Eastern Standard can be made with vodka or gin and while you can’t go wrong with either- the gin element allows the cucumber and mint flavor profile to shine through in a more enjoyable way.
This is a classic cocktail meant to be sipped on while sitting outside during the Chicago Spring. If you want to make this into a more party friendly cocktail, simply make your drink in a pitcher, add ice and top with chilled club soda. Below is the classic Eastern Standard recipe as told to Refinery 29, although I included a second recipe below that I have altered to taste.
When I first started to attempt to recreate the Eastern Standard at home, there was always something a little off about my version vs. the Soho House version. I found that if I infused my gin with cucumbers (fill a mason jar with cucumber, fill with gin and pop it in the fridge) it matched the exact taste of the Soho House version. Highly recommend!
Soho House Eastern Standard:
Ingredients:
50ml Bombay Sapphire gin
1 large lime, juiced
20ml sugar syrup
3 thin slices of cucumber
3 mint leaves
Instructions:
Shake all ingredients in a cocktail shaker and double-strain into a cocktail glass.
Garnish with a floating cucumber slice.
Ali’s Eastern Standard:
Ingredients:
3oz Hendrick’s Gin
1 large lime, juiced
20ml sugar syrup
6thin slices of cucumber, muddled
6mint leaves, muddled
Instructions:
Muddle cucumber and mint in a cocktail glass. Add lime, simple syrup and gin. Top with ice and stir. Double-strain into a coupe cocktail glass.
Garnish with a floating cucumber slice.
Wasalu Jaco (Lupe Fiasco) Spoke At Soho House Chicago And It Was Inspiring
Posted on March 6, 2015
This past Saturday, Wasalu Jaco, better known as rapper Lupe Fiasco, spoke on his growing interest in painting and art, as well as his latest album. The talk took place at The Allis inside of Soho House Chicago and Sky Gellaty of Team Epiphany moderated. These were my favorite things he said that I found the most inspiring:
Photo via Soho House Chicago
1. “I felt like my music career, even though successful, you can’t touch it. It doesn’t live in the world, it doesn’t take up space in the world,” Wasalu on why he started painting.
2. “How can I take something that is a pure raw experience and turn it into some type of narrative,” Wasalu on his creative process.
3. “More than being black, more than being a Muslim, I am an American.”
4. “Chicago is one of the few cities that actually influences global changes.”
5. “Just trying to stay creative and trying to constantly learn. If I have time, go back to school,” Wasalu on what’s next for him.
6. “When it comes to painting, I’m a starving artist. Even beyond being Lupe Fiasco, when you put paint to paper, you’re at zero. You have to go through the same struggles, through the same strife…”
7. “I don’t approach the world by being redundant.”
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