The Essence House by The London Essence Company

The London Essence Company announces the launch of The Essence House, an interactive space that will take guests on a journey of discovery to understand their individual palate profile. The experience will start with the exploration of London Essence’s distilled botanicals and end with the enjoyment of an exquisite bespoke cocktail.

At the heart of The Essence House, is a unique hands-on experience, curated by Dr Rachel Edwards-Stuart, one of only a handful of experts dedicated to the science of gastronomy and flavour perception in the UK. A series of interactive taste and aroma tests will help identify each individual’s palate profile, explore how nature and nurture play a part in the flavours that they like and dislike, and help to enhance their drinking experiences through the understanding of their taste preferences, resulting in an array of cocktail combinations uniquely crafted with a World Class spirit offering.

Some of the world’s most skilled bartenders will be on hand to distil drinkers’ palate preferences and craft a bespoke cocktail, carefully calibrated for each individual’s taste profile. Both exquisite alcoholic and non-alcoholic options will be available, perfectly pairing London Essence’s distilled botanicals and purest flavours with luxury spirits brands, including the fresh-tasting and new sophisticated spirit-drink, Ketel One Botanical, the World’s number one Scotch Whisky brand, Johnnie Walker, and the pioneering non-alcoholic spirit Seedlip, and topped with garnishes grown on site in hi-tech ‘Evogrow’ plant growing systems.

Elsewhere in the House, visitors can discover how The London Essence Company has been inspired by traditions which were established towards the end of the 19th century, with oversized, scented pages from the original essence book, unearthed from the company archives. They can experiment with London Essence’s tonics, gingers and sodas as they create their own individual cocktail at an innovative self-serve bar stocked with a range of luxury drinks, like the World’s finest Gin brand with a citrus heart, Tanqueray No. TEN, and the wine aperitif, Belsazar Rose Vermouth, and even take a peek into ‘The Essence Lab’ where live ice cutting, and drinks preparation will take place.

Commenting on the opening of The Essence House, Dr Rachel Edwards-Stuart comments: “The perception of taste is something which is so unique to every individual and it’s fascinating to see how flavour perception differs between individuals. The combination of the make-up of our taste buds, our own personal life experiences and external sensory factors can all affect how we respond to taste in food and drinks and this experience has been designed to explore our taste perception in a personalised way. The Essence House will offer guests a one-of-a-kind discovery into their individual palate profile, leaving them with an understanding of their preferences and sensitivities…and of course a bespoke London Essence cocktail to enjoy afterwards!”

Ounal Bailey, Co-Founder of The London Essence Company, says: “At London Essence, we’re fascinated by flavour; we select the finest botanicals and gently distil them to capture their true essence, creating drinks which are layered with the purest, most complex flavours.

“When it came to developing The Essence House, we wanted to share our appreciation for flavour with visitors. The unique palate profiling experience will explore drinkers’ relationships with taste and aroma to help them understand their likes and dislikes. Hopefully it will encourage them to open their minds (and palates) and explore flavour combinations that they may not have considered before.”

The Essence House, open from 3rd - 5th October, welcomes some of the world’s most influential bartenders, including Liana Oster, Head Bartender at Dante, New York; Lorenzo Antinori, Director of Bars at the Four Seasons Hong