Tucked underneath Harrild & Sonsat on Farringdon Street, 5cc City of London is bigger that the brand’s other sites, and has a mix of seating areas including booths for two or four, high leather bar chars and a private alcove area that can seat up to 20 people.
Unlike the other two 5cc sites, which focus mainly on cocktails, 5cc City of London has an extensive whiskey menu with over 80 bottles of rare whiskey from as far away as Taiwan, Japan and New Zealand.
A ‘Whiskey Porn’ section on the menu denotes the rarest varieties, including Dunglass and Littlemill 1967 from indie bottler Signatory and Laphroaig 1980 – a 27 year old Japanese exclusive from the Islay distillery.
The bar also has a new cocktail menu which features American rye and bourbon, Indian, Japanese and Scotch whiskies. Drinks include Modern Cocktail No.2 - a combination of Scotch, sloe gin, spiced raspberry syrup and orange bitters and H & Sons Big Rye Sazerac - made with smoked rye, cognac, absinthe and bitters.
There are also some eastern-influenced concoctions, such as Japanese Plum Sour - a mix of peated whisky, Umeshu plum liqueur, lemon, star anise & egg white and the aromatic Indian Cobbler - combining Indian whisky, home spiced port, marasca cherry, orange and lemon.
5cc’s classic cocktails, including the Aviation, Hemingway Daiquiri, French Martini, Bloody Mary and Tom Collins, are also available, as are the brand’s signature Forgotten Range - bespoke cocktails that have been aged over time in individual perfume bottles.
A new food menu includes freshly shucked oysters, lobster brioche rolls, veal schnitzel and quails egg sliders, and a selection of premium steaks and burgers.
Open on Monday to Thursday from 6pm to 1am, the bar hopes to capture the city crowd during the week. On Friday and Saturday night guests will have to book, and the bar will remain open until 3am.