Five-star Langham Hotel’s Artesian has been crowned world’s number one bar for third consecutive year. One look at their cocktail innovations and you can see why. Each one is a work of art, and they don’t lack innovation either. Ask them about their leather-aged cocktails, or why their ice is purer and colder than the rest, you’ll see what we mean…

The “digidiva” cocktail, made of Absolut Elyx, cypress and Aqua di Cedro. Photograph: courtesy of the Artesian

Five-star Langham Hotel’s Artesian has been crowned world’s number one bar for third consecutive year. One look at their cocktail innovations and you can see why. Each one is a work of art, and they don’t lack innovation either. Ask them about their leather-aged cocktails, or why their ice is purer and colder than the rest, you’ll see what we mean…

Set in the classy Langham and London 5-star hotel, the Artesian is a destination in its own. The bar lounge was designed by late David Collins and features an eclectic design with jewelled mirror panelling, purple and blue crocodile leathers and oriental-influenced chandeliers.

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Artesian bar. Photograph: courtesy of the Artesian

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Artesian bar. Photograph: courtesy of David Collins

But let’s not fool ourselves, we’re here for the cocktails.

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Forever Young: Drink your cocktail through a straw sticking out of a mirror and see how your attactiveness grows the more you drink. Photograph: courtesy of the Artesian.

Even the ice here is special: they produce it themselves to make it purer, colder and with a higher density, to make it last longer and your cocktails, cooler. 

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Above and Beyond: Zapaca rum, creme de banane, mandarin bitters and aged ZX cocktail. The catch is that it comes with a levitating balloon which is ceremoniously popped with a dagger, leaving a eucalyptus scent. In the image: Head bartnder Alex Kratena posing with team member and cocktail. Photograph: courtesy of the Artesian.

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Aqui Estoy: Don Julio tequila, falernum, smokey mescal, lime juice and rose water served from a skull. Photograph: courtesy of the Artesian.

Drinking from golden pineapples, traditional Czech crockery and Mexican skulls is part of the experience here. As Kratena explains in The Telegraph, the glass for him is “a stage, a way to communicate with a guest. Apart from being a vessel it’s a control mechanism, to keep the drink hot or cold. It’ll affect the way the drink will taste, how the liquid will hit your palette, how the aroma will form. If something doesn’t exist, we design it and create it the best way we can.”

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Camouflage, with Tanqueray No. Ten, americano, carrot, kombachu and sandalwood. Photograph: courtesy of the Artesian.

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The Selfie compatible, made of zacapa, Floc de Gascogne, verjus, beer and bitters. Photograph: courtesy of the Artesian.

Its new cocktail menu, themed ‘Unfolding and Exploring’, allows guests to ‘unfold’ new experiences and ‘explore’ unusual ingredients.

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Super Panda: This fun quirky-looking cocktail combines Botran rum, mango juice, citrus and almond over a slightly surreal panda head lantern which releases a tangerine aroma as you drink. Photograph: courtesy of the Artesian.

 

Have you been in the Artesian and tried something that rocked your world? Do share with us!