Cocktails at Cape Town One&Only’s Vista Bar

I don’t know about you but I have been loving the drinks section on Food24 lately – especially The Mixology Report series written by the restaurant editor, Cath Shone who (poor thing) had to spend 5 days aboard a luxury cruise ship on the French Riviera following SA’s best bartender, Nick Koumbarakis  who competed in the Diageo Reserve WorldClass Bartender of the Year Awards.

Read all about it here.

Unfortunately Nick didn’t win but he was a fine representative for SA and truly impressed the judges. It’s so nice to see our bartenders excelling on an international stage and I only hope that more and more people in this country start getting into mixology and appreciating it for the true art that it is.

Last night I was fortunate to attend Vista Bar at One&Only for the launch of their Spring heritage cocktail, “Sixteen72” (appropriately named after the year that Brandy was first distilled in the Cape). It was created by Vista Bar’s Johan Blaauw – who actually made it through to the national finals of the Diageo Reserve WorldClass competition.

A line – up of Sixteen72’s. Pic: Food24

The Sixteen72 was made with KWV 10 year old Brandy, Rooibos syrup, apple juice and lime juice. It was a beautiful cocktail but much too sweet for my taste. I only managed a few sips before relinquishing it. I preferred the creamy, dreamy deliciousness of the Afropolitan (created by Yanda Njokwenie.) He told me that in it he put Klipdrift Gold, Black Cat peanut butter, wild Africa cream, heavy cream and chocolate syrup.

The Afropolitan

Being a chocolate (and general dairy) lover, this totally hit the spot! The addition of peanut butter was a cheeky surprise that I absolutely loved! A few if us agreed that the Afropolitan is the perfect drink to have in place of dessert. So decadent! And the great thing is now I can make it at home. Yanda was kind enough to share his recipe:

Afropolitan

25ml Klipdrift Gold

1 teaspoon smooth Black Cat peanut butter

25ml Wild Africa cream

75ml Heavy cream

12.5ml Chocolate syrup

Blend ingredients together and pour into a Brandy snifter. Garnish with a Chocolate ice ball.

If you want the real experience of watching a mixologist make your cocktail, then I suggest you leave work an hour early tomorrow, grab a friend who’s got a sense of fun and head to Vista Bar to catch Johan and the boys in action.

Make your Happy Hour count!

---