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A Martini Maestro Behind One of London’s Best Is Opening a New Cocktail Bar

Salvatore Calabrese will open Velvet at the Corinthia Hotel

London’s best martinis at Dukes Bar
The Dukes martini, for which Salvatore Calabrese is famed.
Dukes

The bartender credited with instigating the process behind one of London’s best martinis will open a new cocktail bar in the city.

Salvatore Calabrese will replace the Bassoon Bar at the Corinthia Hotel with Velvet, which will incorporate some of his most famous drinks, including a breakfast martini which incorporates Cointreau and marmalade for a bitter citrus twist of a different kind. He is most famous, however, for his stint at Dukes in the 1980s, where — according to legend — he mixed a dry martini with frozen gin and glasses for travel writer Stanton Delaplane, which has now evolved into the Dukes martini, a legendary London drink in its own right.

The new bar will be designed by David Collins, who has form at the Connaught’s renowned bar, and will open on 7 November.

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