Martell cocktails at Pernod Ricard’s Sips & Sarnies event.

A pairing food menu for guests on arrival.

Pernod Ricard’s annual Christmas gathering in Central London on Friday allowed guests to discover the French wine and spirits giant’s broad portfolio, with a floor dedicated to whiskies and Martell Cognac.

Upstairs, the ‘Sips & Sarnies’ event paired cocktails from key travel retail brands such as Absolut, Chivas Regal, Jameson, and Perrier-Jouët Champagne with four distinctive sandwiches from Dom’s Subs. Seasonal names like the spicy Let it Pho, and the saucily named Mistletoe Moist Maker made with turkey and cranberry were on the menu.

Expert barmen (below) served up more cocktails using seven other portfolio brands: Altos, Beefeater, Bumbu, Lillet, Malfy, Malibu, Havana Club. Downstairs in The Whisky Lounge, the atmosphere was more intimate, with candlelit corners and cocktails from labels like Aberlour, Ballantine’s, Chivas, Martell, and Royal Salute.

Above: Pernod Ricard barmen and agave expert Simon Hodgson (right) at the ready.

Pernod Ricard’s ‘secret bar’ (above) held some interesting surprises.

Inside the speakeasy-styled space were some very rare liquids available for tasting.

A ‘secret’ guarded room, like a speakeasy, called The General Spirits Store, was the highlight (see images above). There, guests with special tokens could try some of Pernod Ricard’s rarest and most exclusive lines. They included a 30th-anniversary Del Maguey single-village mezcal that is not available to buy in global retail channels due to a very limited bottling, and The Glenlivet 19-year-old, a smooth-sipping liquid from the Cask Master’s Collection that’s exclusive to travel retail.

[All pictures © Kevin Rozario]