Texture is everything: lessons in cocktails and creativity at Silverleaf

Silverleaf, the East London cocktail bar at Pan Pacific London, has launched a new menu titled “Texture Is Everything”. 

This intrigued me greatly because I don’t think we appreciate texture enough in drinks. When I read a whisky tasting note, I want people to describe the texture. I want to know how whisky feels (to the tune of I Want To Know What Love Is when you read that, please). It’s a big part of the experience but is often overlooked for aroma and flavour. 

Yet texture interplays with flavour. A whisky with a waxy or oily texture might feel more robust and substantial, enhancing the perception of body and depth. A drink with bubbles, like Champagne or sparkling water, can feel refreshing and light, bringing balance and structure. A creamy texture might amplify the richness of flavours. A lighter, more delicate texture can highlight subtle notes.

The texture of a drink, whether it’s tannic or effervescent, can change how flavours unfold on the palate.

Texture is everything

So Silverleaf creating a new collection featuring 13 unique cocktails split into six texture profiles – Delicate, Effervescent, Tannic, Smooth, Creamy, and Rich – is right up my street. I visited the bar and spoke with general manager Liam Broom to talk with him about the importance of texture in drinks. For him, it was another way to communicate the drinking experience to customers. 

“Silverleaf and myself have always been passionate about the interaction between liquid and art, with cocktails being art in their own right. For the first menu this was explored in abstract art; using colour and symbology as inspiration. For the second menu, the liquid itself was photographed at a microscopic level,” says Bloom. 

“I’ve always been passionate about trying to use different verbiage to describe drinks, on the first menu we had flavour profiles like smoky and woody and earthy, the second menu was ferments and highballs so for the third menu I wanted to look at another way of describing it again”. 

How Silverleaf Cocktail Bar creates a menu

To build a menu on the idea of texture Bloom once again looked to combine drinks with art, giving a brief to the London-based designer Ladina Brunner that he wanted to showcase the liquid but this time at surface level. “This led to an exploration of macro photography and a representation of the ingredients themselves and eventually to the texture and mouthfeel itself,” Bloom explains.  

Not only did Silverleaf want to represent an element of cocktails that is very important but not talked about often, but the texture was also seen as a great way of bringing a tactile element to the menu. “Not only do the textures in the menu describe the textures in the cocktails but they are represented on the raised embossings themselves,” Bloom says. 

He concurs that texture tends to get overlooked in the drinks world. “If you look at commercial products like bitters typically things like glycerin will be added which can change the texture. There is a big difference for me personally between a super dry Martini and a rich luscious Old Fashioned or a creamy drink like a Piña Colada and I think it’s really innovative and progressive to be looking at this in the scope of an entire menu”. 

From concept to cocktails

Having a concept is one thing, actioning it is another. Deciding which textures made the cut for the menu was rooted in an understanding of classic cocktails for Bloom and Co. “Classic cocktails really helped us dictate the list of textures. We discussed at length how we would describe specific classics like Martinis and Milk Punches and Old Fashioneds whether that would be rich or creamy or delicate. We had a rough idea at this stage what the style of drinks we were making were going to be so we were working concurrently”. 

The tricky part of establishing this theme is that not all drinks reflect an individual texture and some drinks could easily fall into several categories. Bloom says there’s some crossover. “Our take on a Negroni, the Passionfruit | Timur sits in the rich section but could be described as tannic or smooth. It’s more that we wanted each drink to be particularly representative of a unique texture and we worked hard to create based on what we personally thought was delicate, effervescent, smooth, tannic, creamy or rich. The Martini serve; the Cucumber | Caviar is clean and elegant and definitely fits the delicate brief. The Milk Punch serve; the Redcurrant | Whey has all of the creamy texture that the milk punch method brings. 

While the menu is high concept, Bloom’s main ambition is for people to enjoy their drinks. “I want people to leave the bar saying damn that was a cool menu. Yes, the menus at Silverleaf tend to be quite high concept but at the end of the day, our bread and butter is making sure that each and every one of our guests has a great time, whether they look at the menu or not. My personal philosophy is ‘reward the curious’ so if people want to ask questions to go a little deeper I am happy to acquiesce”. 

I recommend you do. The staff are friendly and informed, typified by the head of R&D Rueben Clark. Talking to him while he served drinks from the menu revealed the curious nature and practical thoughts behind each creation. Cocktails of this level are an artistic pursuit and drinks nerds shouldn’t be coy about categorising them as such. Let’s try some drinks.

Silverleaf’s Texture is everything menu

Delicate

The “Delicate” category features softer, gentler ingredients exemplified by the aforementioned Cucumber | Caviar, a combo of Hendrick’s Neptunia Gin, Caviar Distillate, Dolin Blanc, Vermouth, Fino Sherry, and Cucumber Cordial. Bloom describes this as “An incredibly subtle, vegetal, maritime Martini. A perfect Dry Martini drinker’s drink”. 

I’m usually more of a Dirty Martini man myself but the salty, maritime edge this drink had played perfectly for me. It was also very delicate, with the cucumber adding a fresh, elegant quality. It was almost halfway to a Gimlet. I would order again. 

Effervescent

The “Effervescent” section evolves the light elements of the previous style by adding bubbly, refreshing goodness. The kind you get when you sip Champagne. 

It includes a menu highlight in the Melon | Fig Leaf a refreshing tropical highball made with Grey Goose, Cantaloupe Melon, Fig Leaf and Fino Sherry garnished with Salty Fingers, a flavourful sea vegetable. Bloom calls this “A delightfully fizzy, fruity, highball. We found the only way to get the fig leaf flavour we wanted was to use actual fig leaves from around London so we foraged enough for the whole year – that’s a lot of fig leaves. The fig leaves add a super coconutty note”. 

I found the Melon Fig Leaf really interesting. It’s slightly perfumed, a bit coconuty, and has this great fino saltiness that balances beautifully with the rich melon profile. If I could make this fig leaf cordial myself I would drink it all the time. Full marks too for the little dotted droplets that mimic the appearance of Champagne bubbles.

Tannic

The “Tannic” section draws inspiration from woody and dry flavours. You’ll often taste these in red wine or whisky, for example.

Our showcase of this style is the Plum | Oudh cocktail, a variation on a Manhattan or Rob Roy with Glenfiddich 15, Vermouth, Plum and Oudh (a fragrant wood). Bloom says this is “An unbelievably detailed & layered twist on a Rob Roy – Rueben Clark our head of R&D at Silverleaf looks to perfume for a lot of inspiration and this is an incredible example of this; a fruity, smokey complex after dinner drink”. 

I thought the texture of this one was particularly great. Tannic is the word. Like tasting plum skins dipped into a flower filled with red wine and whisky. There’s also a rich smoky note I liked and the cordial gives it a gentle sweetness.

Smooth

The “Smooth” section I think is the most difficult to get right. What is smooth anyway? Licking a window is smooth. Not that I do that. I don’t. Anyway the point is, we often describe drinks as smooth when we mean there isn’t a lot of alcohol burn. But how that presents on your tongue is another thing entirely. How does Silverleaf do it? Well, for this section we have two cocktails to talk about as Bloom suggested a serve I didn’t try.

First, Pistachio | Matcha. This is Bloom’s recommendation, which he describes as “Cake on cake on cake”. Sold? Me too. He adds. “Aberfeldy 12. Good. Pistachio. Good. Matcha. Good. White Chocolate. Gooood”. I like this guy.

The cocktail I had, however, was the Quince | Beeswax. This combines Teeling Small Batch Irish Whiskey, Zubrowka Vodka, Capreolus Quince Eau De Vie, Martini Ambrato, Chamomile Cordial and Beeswax. It sounds weird, but this was like drinking a lovely pebble. That smooth. It was also waxy and rich, so it could have sat in different categories.  

Creamy

Onto the “Creamy” section, which is probably the easiest texture to capture in my mind. Loads of stuff is creamy. Like cream. Anyway, the cocktail I tasted with the Redcurrant | Whey, a combo of Monkey Shoulder Whisky, Redcurrant, Manzanilla and Whey garnished with a stroke of edible paint inside the glass. 

Blooms says this is the third in his series of milk punches on Silverleaf menus. “Each of the ingredients highlights one of my favourite tasting notes of whisky – Manzanilla for the saltiness, redcurrants for the fruit, cocchi americano for the citrus, and whey for the creaminess. Bosh”. The whey gives this the velvety, creamy quality you want. The tart, sweet redcurrant and the salty manzanilla are a nice combo. 

It’s also worth noting here for us whisky lovers how creative you can be with our beloved spirit. You might be a sip-it-neat and don’t-mess-with-it sort of drinker. I respect it. But do yourself a favour and give cocktails like this a go. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.  

Rich

Finally, we end with the Rich serve: Peanut | Kinako, comprised of Planteray 3* Rum, Brugal 1888 Rum, Peanut Butter Distillate, Discarded Cascara, Oloroso Sherry, Kinako Syrup, Shio Koji, and Vanilla Essence.

“My favourite drink on the menu,” Bloom reveals. “What reads like a simple peanut butter Rum Old Fashioned is actually a super interesting roasty toasty digestif. The koji adds umami notes, there’s a fruitiness from Discarded Cascara Vermouth. There’s even a little chocolate garnish”. I’ll be honest, my notes weren’t very detailed about this. I simply wrote: “Fuck yes”. I had tried a few cocktails at this point. But it obviously hit the spot.  

The Golden Serve and Signatures

Alongside these cocktails there’s some signature serves, including the now famous Pineapple Miso. This is the drink Silverleaf is known for more than any and it’s one of my favourite cocktails. It’s a mix of Craigellachie 13 Scotch Whisky, Brown Butter Infused Angel’s Envy Bourbon, Pineapple & Miso Caramel and I can’t recommend it more. There’s also one showstopper option, The Golden Serve, a blend of The Macallan 12 Double Cask Scotch Whisky, Amontillado Sherry, Junmai Daiginjo Sake, Cynar, Coffee Caramel, and Porcini Mushroom. Elegant, yet decadent and savoury, this is at £28 the most expensive serve by a distance but I don’t think you’ll be sorry if you splash out for it. 

The rest of the menu sits around £16-17 a drink, which I think is fair given the quality of the drink, the cost of ingredients and the craft going into it. The menu concept enticed me and I was rewarded with a great range of drinks in kind. Texture might not literally be everything, but it is such an important aspect it’s nice to see it get the spotlight it deserves. And Silverleaf casts one bright and brilliant light. 

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