To celebrate its 5th Birthday (which conveniently happens to fall on World Gibson Martini Day), The Gibson Bar in Old Street has created ‘The Gibson 5th Anniversary Limited Edition bundle’, featuring a bottle of vintage, aged Gibson Martini like no other! We’re lucky enough to have gotten our hands on one of the 50 bottles prior to only 25 being sold today (20th November) at 5:05pm.
The term “speakeasy” has been bandied around a lot over the past ten years when describing the London bar scene. It’s become almost like a catch-all marketing term for any cocktail den with a bit of character and dim lighting. Put the staff in suspenders and bowler hats and you’ve nailed the gimmick. There are a few however that truly capture, not just the decor, but the atmosphere of a secret club from the 1920s where the booze feels special and illicit, the company is a delicious mix of bawdy and refined, and stepping through the door really feels like you’ve stumbled into a different world. One such is The Gibson.
The Gibson Bar
Hidden in plain sight, The Gibson sits unobtrusively on the corner of Old Street and Timber Street, it’s dark tiled facade framing frosted and etched windows behind which warm light and blurred shadows flicker. Art Deco style writing and a pinstripe awning adorn the front, hinting at the venue’s proclivities. However it’s not until you step through the impressive double swing doors that you realise the extent of what you’ve happened across. A glitching time machine throwing out Belle Epoque Paris glamour, 1930s American sass and London grit on top of an Edwardian bone structure, with cocktails from the past, present and future, The Gibson is a stunning headf*ck of a bar that is somehow entirely of its own era.
Run by Marian Beke (formerly of Nightjar), this intimate 40-seater hotspot is well-known around the globe for dishing out breathtaking cocktails with exceptional presentation, and often live music. It takes its name from the famous Edwardian cocktail (The Gibson Martini, served with a pickled onion), which has become – along with a range of in-house pickled products – a focus at the bar. So, it’s no real surprise that this time-warping phenomenon has decided to celebrate its fifth birthday with a Gibson Martini as unusual as it is.
The Gibson’s 5th Anniversary Limited Edition Vintage Gibson Martini Bundle
The Gibson’s 5th Anniversary Limited Edition cocktail blends five vintage alcohols, aged from 50 to 100 years old – two rare gins and three vintage vermouths – in a ratio of 5-to-1 for a wet style martini. Included in the bundle are the bar’s new saffron-brined, truffled and smoked, homemade onions, pickled in a 12 year old balsamic vinegar from Modena, along with porcupine needle skewers for garnishing, and a full set of instructions on how to make the cocktails.
Is that special enough? Not quite.
Each bottle has been hand-labelled, signed and numbered from one to 50. This release will be available only as 50 bottles but just 25 will go on sale on the 20th of November at 5.05 pm at a mere £50 each (that’s £50 for a bottle of history that will serve five well-sized vintage Gibson Martinis).