IN CELEBRATION OF THE V&A INDIA FESTIVAL AUTUMN/WINTER 2015

The V&A India Festival this autumn, featuring a series of incredible multimedia exhibitions, marks the 25th anniversary of the opening of the Museum’s Nehru Gallery, which displays some of the most important objects from the V&A’s South Asian art collection. To celebrate, The Kensington, just a five-minute walk from the museum, will launch a menu of six exotic cocktails, evoking the mystery, wonder and vibrancy of India.

The menu, served in the bar alongside the hotel’s feted Town House restaurant, offers visitors to the V&A the chance to extend their Indian experience, with drinks combining premium spirits and notes of coriander seed, cumin, and ginger balanced against mango, coconut and tonic. The cocktails, created by The Kensington’s award-winning mixologist, Alessandro Pizzoli, will be mixed at the bar to offer a multi-sensory experience, with the evocative scents of India brought alive to guests before them while the drinks are prepared.

All five cocktails are clever spins on classic recipes, using fresh ingredients skillfully blended and artfully presented by Alessandro and his team. The Old Delhi Margarita with its Ocho Blanco Tequila, Cointreau, saffron, lemon juice, dry chilli; the Kakdi Tonic, made with Bombay Sapphire gin, coriander seed, fresh cucumber, lemons, sugar and tonic; and the Mumbai Martini with Ketel One vodka, lime juice, sugar, fresh ginger and curry powder are all exotic version of familiar drinks. The feminine elegance of the Dry Gulab, a Champagne cocktail; with Ketel One vodka; white sugar; dry roses and plum bitters is set to become a popular choice for celebrations, while the festive flavours of the Badi Shape Julep, with Jonny Walker Black Label whisky; lime juice; sugar; star anise; cinnamon and soda water is sure to be a popular choice in the run-up to the Christmas season.

For those looking for an alcohol-free taste of India, the Adharak Sour is a deliciously balanced blend of sweet and tart flavours, with passion fruit, lime juice, coriander seed, strawberry syrup and ginger beer. 

The V&A India Festival stands to attract visitors drawn to both the individual pieces and the museum’s international reputation for incredible curation, following in the footsteps 

of the record-breaking success of the Alexander McQueen ‘Savage Beauty’ exhibit. A series of exhibitions will run as part of the festival, including ‘The Fabric of India’, from 15th October 2015 until 10th January 2016, which will be the first major exhibition to explore the dynamic and multifaceted world of handmade textiles from India from the 3rd to the 21st century. Another highlight will be ‘Bejewelled Treasures: The Al Thani Collection’, running from 21st November – 28th March, which explores both the tradition and modernity in Indian jewellery, and includes Mughal jades and a rare jeweled gold finial from the throne of Tipu Sultan. The Kensington have a long-standing and valued partnership with The Kensington, as a local hotel partner, offering innovative experiences to complement their top exhibitions.

Those looking for the ultimate ‘India Festival’ experience are able to book into the hotel on their ‘A Slice of the City: A Taste of India’ package, which includes a night’s stay at The Kensington, two tickets to the Fabric of India exhibition, two cocktails from the special menu, a special spice bag and recipe card to recreate the cocktails at home, and a copy of the accompanying book ‘The Fabric of India’, edited by Rosemary Crill.

Available from 15th October 2015. ‘A Taste of India’ cocktails are priced at £12.50, or £7.50 for the non-alcoholic cocktail. ‘A Slice of the City: A Taste of India at the V&A’ package is available to book online, priced from £280 per room per night.

www.doylecollection.com/kensington

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