This London Lounge Wants to Make Punch 'Sexy' Again

The London Edition is inviting you over for a drink. Or maybe even two.

On June 10, the Punch Room, located within the hotel, will re-open with a new, innovative menu created by the bar manager Anthony Callegari. And following the successful opening of Punch Room at The Madrid Edition last month, Callegari promises this new menu will make "punch sexy again," too.

"The creation of this menu has taken us on such a journey, and we are honored to pay homage to these true pioneers of punch," Callegari shared in a statement provided to Food & Wine. "Each one has taken the concept in a different direction and started a new phase, so it only seems right that we honor them as we enter this new era for the Punch Room."

For those unfamiliar, The Punch Room is a contemporary reincarnation of London's nineteenth-century private clubs. With locations in London, Shanghai, Barcelona, and Madrid, it's a spot where one is invited to come and slowly sip and savor a drink again without distraction. Each space features custom furnishings, including deep tufted banquettes in teal velvet, overstuffed mint green leather tub chairs, and dark brown leather club chairs, which help set just the right mood. Throw in the bar's soundtrack of vintage jazz, reggae, and soul, and you're in for a real treat.

The bar's new menu is titled "Inception" and takes inspiration from four influential figures from the history of punch. Each chapter of "Inception" includes five iterations of punch, each focusing on one flavor.

"As a brand, we're looking at Punch as a spectrum with classics on one end and more avant-garde (modern mixology applied to classic) recipe structures on the other," Gates Otsuji, director of bars for Edition, who also leads the Punch concept strategy for the brand, shared. "All the Punch rooms now at Edition […] will be focusing on different parts on that range."

For example, chapter 1 is based on the adventures and travels of 17th-century German explorer Johan Albrecht de Mandelslo. The flavors of this chapter include the fruits, herbs, and spices he encountered on his travels through Persia, particularly his beloved Indian Roses. This includes cocktails like the Monsoon Punch made of Glenfiddich 15 y.o., rose petals tea, red port, lime juice, and CCC syrup.

Chapter 2 is all about the 18th-century author Eliza Smith, a pioneer of home cooking who created some of the most loved foods in the United Kingdom. She also happened to be a great lover of wines, cordials, medicines, and salves, with a focus on hops and quinine. On her menu, you can find drinks like Cockale Punch made with Buttered gin, Briottet apricot, Noilly prat, lemon juice, sugar syrup, and tonic.

Chapter 3 focuses on none other than Charles Dickens and his love of tea — infused with spice and alcohol of course. On this menu, guests can taste the Taj Mahal Punch made with Grey Goose, Muyu Vetiver, oak moss syrup, Earl Grey, and lemon juice.

And in chapter 4, guests will find modern drinks inspired by author, publisher, drinks consultant, and cocktail historian Jared Brown. The master distiller and co-founder of Sipsmith Gin, is known for his in-depth knowledge of alcohol as he's authored more than 30 books on the subject. On this menu, try the Boise Punch made with Sipsmith gin, sweet cicely cordial, Sandeman white port, Ancho Reyes, orange sherbet, and lemon juice.

The bar can be found in the London Edition at 10 Berners Street, W1T 3NP. It's open Friday and Saturday from 5 pm to midnight and Sundays from 5 pm to 11 pm.