Drinks interview: Chris Tanner, general manager of Pan Pacific London’s Silverleaf

Chris Tanner, general manager of Pan Pacific London’s new destination bar, Silverleaf, talks about the tenets of its cocktails and making high-quality drinks in large quantities

How did the Silverleaf project come about?

It was back in 2019 right off the back of opening the second Milroy’s site. I was introduced to Anne Golden, the general manager of the hotel, and she told me she had a space she wanted to have as an external venue. We [Tanner and Milroy’s managing director Simo Simpson] put together a pitch and concept for it and, well, ultimately, we won.

How did you approach the drinks programme for Silverleaf?

The initial pitch changed when Liam [Broom, bar manager] came on board. Liam and I had worked in the industry for 20-odd years and we’d both done consultancy and we were just making good drinks. We looked at what really makes a drink and we wrote four tenets that each drink had to fulfil, which was challenging but also meant we ended up with a clear identity. They were: use one approachable ingredient, use one hard to access ingredient , one modern technique and the fourth is a trade secret… We’ve also got a great selection of non-alcoholic beers and de-alcoholised wines.

And what about the space? How does that reflect what you’re trying to do?

I thought it was key to meet the designer Tom Dixon right from the start, so I invited the company for a drinks tasting. I wanted to do something that was a bit organic and had more of a universe to it and it really aligned with the place and they wanted everything to be about that process. It looks great.

How does prep and staffing work in a space like this?

We have 128 covers so it is quite easy to just be like “let’s make a station and just sling drinks”, but we’ve had to build systems. We work to 25/35 litre recipes, with 56 hours of prep a week, a lot of fermentation, a lot of stabilising and a lot of reliance on equipment. We don’t want any of our staff working five nights, so they work four nights and one day, and that day shift will be a prep day or R&D. We’re building the team so we can let them do what we want to do rather than just slamming a 10-hour shift.

Your private bar Alba is an interesting bar concept. How does that work?

Education is a huge part of what Milroy’s does. That started life as our tasting room, but with the pandemic we had more time to think about it. I decided I wanted to put a small bar in where, sure, we can make the same drinks as the main bar in there, but it’s an opportunity for the team to take ownership of their own drinks. We can also shake up the takeover model, where bars and bartenders can come and do a drop-in with 12 guests and tell them what they’re about.

Do you think this venue reflects what bars and drinks look like in 2022?

I hope it’s its own beast. I am conscious that we’re one of the first purpose builds of the year, and we might be the first purpose-built bar for a while – it’s a responsibility that isn’t wasted on us.

Seasonal food and drink pairing: Moscato d’Asti DOCG Fratelli Antonio e Raimondo 2019 with blood oranges

It’s officially blood orange season – huzzah! – and whatever form you serve them in (sweet or savoury) this Italian sparkling wine made using Moscato grapes is a popular match. This particular vintage brings sweet and fresh notes of white flowers and honey to proceedings and makes an ideal bedfellow for this sweet and tart fruit.

Cocktail of the week: Smoke Signal Negroni

Four Seasons Hotel London at Park Lane, bar manager: Ivan Arena

• 30ml Ilegal Mezcal
• 30ml bitter Campari
• 15ml Visciolata del Cardinale (cherry wine)
• 10ml Kahlua
• 3 drops bitters

Add the ingredients to a mixing glass over ice. Strain the drink in an old-fashioned glass with an ice chunk, garnish with dried orange and an amarena cherry. Serve in a glass cloche with smoke.