This May, we’re hosting a supper club to celebrate spring in all its sun-dappled optimism and honey-soaked glory.
Plus the fact that it makes a great excuse for cocktails.
So to that end, it’s going to involve a lot of absolutely first-class gin, plus soulful live music, lush surroundings, and an absolute feast. It’s called Bees & Botanicals: A Spring Banquet With Silent Pool, and it’s happening on Tuesday 7th May, in the leafy oasis that is Clifton Nurseries.
The bad news is, it’s sold out. It sold out in under an hour. But the good news is we’ve kept back two tickets to give away as part of a competition, alongside a tour of the Silent Pool Gin Distillery in the Surrey Hills; a tasting and aroma masterclass; and a Silent Pool Gin gift set including a bottle of Silent Pool Gin and two matching Copa gin glasses.
Now more about that supper club….
For the one-night-only supper club, we’re transforming this greenery-stuffed haven into a candlelit, cocktail-paired dinner party – one that starts with canapés and welcome drinks, continues with a three-course spring menu put together by the excellent team at the London Basque Kitchen, and finishes with dessert, more cocktails, and some silky live jazz/funk/soul from the excellent Saara Kalma.
Each course of the dinner will come paired with a cocktail made using Silent Pool Gin – a distillery based in the Surrey Hills who are frankly obsessed with local botanicals, which they distill with absurd precision into their wonderful signature gin. They’re even mixing in a little Albury wine, which comes from the vineyard literally next door to them. On the menu you can expect:
To open:
A trio of canapés, including juniper berry, honey & lovage–poached rhubarb; a bite of Surrey Norbury Blue and pear croquette; and a slice of Silent Pool Gin–glazed ham, designed to wake up your palate.
Cocktail pairing: The English Garden Royale – Silent Pool Gin, strawberry syrup, Lillet, and Albury Vineyard sparkling wine.
The first course brings:
A bright, delicate dish of Cornish crab with lemon, water mint, broad beans, pear, asparagus, and edible flowers, or (for the veggies) an indulgent whipped ricotta and heritage tomato tart topped with pink peppercorn & coriander–pickled red onions and a touch of mint.
Cocktail pairing: Wild Pear – Silent Pool Gin, pear liqueur, Succo di Bergamotto, lavender & chamomile syrup.
For the main event:
Choose between lavender, honey, lemon & rosemary slow-roasted lamb shoulder, served with thyme & garlic Jersey Royals and a spring salad of asparagus, mint, peas and Ticklemore cheese, or a vibrant vegetarian option – a stuffed courgette, packed with spring vegetables and Sussex Charmer, surrounded by all the same seasonal brightness.
Cocktail pairing: Fino & Flora – Silent Pool Gin, fino sherry, apricot brandy, and Albury rosé wine.
And to finish:
A tangle of strawberry & rose petal Eton Mess, with pink peppercorn meringue kisses, strawberry sorbet, fresh strawberries, and a swirl of crème fraîche.
Cocktail pairing: Bee’s Knees Gimlet – Silent Pool Gin, homemade bergamot & tonka cordial, Lillet.
But it’s not just about the dinner. The event also marks the launch of The Beehive Collective – a new initiative from Silent Pool Gin and the British Beekeepers Association, which encourages bars, restaurants, and venues to protect our pollinating buddies (without whom we quite literally would starve) through genuine, boots-on-the-ground, real-world action, like planting habitats or installing beehives. It’s a celebration of bees, of spring, and of the joy that happens when craftsmanship meets nature and somehow it all ends up with a perfectly balanced drink in your hand.
The winning tickets include dinner, cocktails, live music, as well as the ultimate Silent Pool Gin experience…
NOTE: Bees & Botanicals: A Spring Banquet With Silent Pool Gin will take place on Wednesday 7th May, 6.30-10.30PM at Clifton Nurseries. You can win tickets by entering our competition here.
Clifton Nurseries | 5A Clifton Villas, W9 2PH
Like supper clubs? You’ll find a bunch more in our monthly pop ups guide…
