Shipping in expert help from the US for stuff we're already good at sometimes seems unnecessary -- then again, they're apparently the only players Fulham can afford. Bringing in a cross-pond player for their highballs: Happiness Forgets, now open.
Keen to replicate the sort of laid-back yet highly alco-complished vibe of US speakeasy culture, this unsigned low-lit basement has styled itself after a comfortable den (books intermingle with bottles on its shelves), and bussed in a head barkeep from Pegu, the bar that arguably led New York's cocktail vanguard; there'll also be guest 'tenders from other vaunted American haunts, starting with one whose reputation is "very hard to leaf", San Fran's Bourbon & Branch. The concise menu features a few of Pegu's more beloved addlements, like the Tantris Sidecar (cognac, Calvados, green Chartreuse, triple sec, pineapple); the 19th Century (Talisker, Lillet Rouge, lemon, cacao), and the Mojito-esque Old Cuban, augmented with Champagne & bitters -- reflecting the mixed emotions of handing over your country to Raul. Fresh twists on classics include the absinthe-touched Improved Gin Cocktail, as well as the tequila, Campari & agave syrup-sloshed Mexican Sunset, and a Dark 'n Stormy variant whose plum brandy addition makes it the "Perfect Storm", probably because after drowning in it, even men who look like John C. Reilly start thinking they're Clooney.
Thankfully, Happiness doesn't forget to feed you, with a small menu of Thai dim sum from upstairs' Yelo -- a far less controversial way than Man U of getting foreign help at the top.
