Betty is Back

‘Betty is a joy … she is far the best cocktail mixer in the West End’, wrote  a journalist in the 1940s about the Connaught Bar’s head bartender.  She first learned her skills working for twelve years behind the bar at the Hind’s Hotel in Bray on Thames. With her well-honed talents she served Connaught Bar customers for fourteen years from the wartime years  to a little beyond. This salute to Betty of the Connaught was the very first drink to appear on the refurbished Connaught Bar’s opening menu. Regular customers from when the doors reopened in 2008 love it so  much they keep requesting it. Betty is Back is a dry, bubbly sip with delicate floral and citrus notes from a complex blend of Aperol – an orange, gentian, rhubarb and cinchona aperitif – and elderflower liqueurs and fresh lemon juice, while the champagne raises a toast to this memorable wartime bartender and her customers, who kept returning  to this iconic spot for more.

This recipe is an extract from The Connaught Bar: Recipes and Iconic Creations (Phaidon).

Next up, why not try more cocktail recipes from the House & Garden archive.