The gardens provide the inspiration. Spring provides the occasion. Reid’s Palace, A Belmond Hotel, took advantage of the traditional Madeira Flower Festival to present a new cocktail menu at the 1891 Bar.
Designed to showcase Madeira’s flora, local produce, and the creativity of the team, the 1891 Bar celebrates the year the hotel was founded through a botanical concept incorporating aromatic herbs, flowers, and endemic fruits from the island.
Joel Quintal, who leads the team, explained to Essential that the inspiration for the new menu came directly from the hotel gardens: “All of our cocktails were created using the botanical elements we have in our garden. You can find basil, fennel, sugar cane, thyme, among many other things. The menu was also designed with the summer season in mind. All the cocktails are extremely refreshing, and that was very much our starting point.”
While retaining some best-sellers from the previous menu, such as the Bis-Bis and the Madeira Negroni, the new selection introduces seven completely new cocktails, all conceived to reflect the connection to Madeira and its flora. Joel Quintal highlights the importance of working with local and fresh products: “We try to work with the most local ingredients possible. We opt for spirits produced on the island, such as rum or gin, among others. And even drinks that are not made here still have some connection to us, like Per Se, which is Portuguese.”
When it comes to creating the cocktails, Joel Quintal explains that the focus is on using “as much fresh fruit as possible. None of our cocktails contain artificial purées; we always try to work with the freshest fruit available, which makes a huge difference when enjoying the cocktail.”
Sustainability and making full use of ingredients are also key pillars of the new menu. Joel explained, for example, the creation of the cocktail The Scone, inspired by the afternoon tea service: “We sometimes have leftover scones and cream that cannot be served at the table. We decided to use those leftovers by infusing whisky and bourbon with them and applying the fat-wash technique, where we place the whisky together with the scone and cream in the freezer. A layer of fat forms, which we then filter out, leaving us with our cocktail.”
The Scone is served in traditional afternoon tea crockery and accompanied by a red berry preserve, allowing guests to adjust the intensity of the alcohol or the sweetness as they drink, transforming the cocktail into an interactive experience.
Another example of the team’s creativity is the cocktail Zero Km, born from a sustainable approach to drinks production. “We infuse Madeira rum with pineapple pulp, but then we also use the pineapple skins to create a fermentation with peach, ginger, cinnamon, water, and sugar over two days. The result is a fermentation-based cocktail that is both interesting and sustainable.”
The connection to Madeira and nature is also reflected in the cocktail Pico, inspired by the island’s mountains, combining eucalyptus, rum, and Madeira wine. “We create a kind of sweet crust that is brought to the table and cracked open, which adds a certain theatrical element to the cocktail,” Joel explains.
This attention to presentation and mise-en-scène is a hallmark of the 1891 Bar: “Guests do not come here just to drink a cocktail, they come for a complete experience. Every cocktail is served with the customer’s expectations in mind, using techniques and theatrical touches that transform the drink into an unforgettable memory.”
The menu’s approach also reflects contemporary trends in cocktail culture, with less sugar and lower-alcohol drinks responding to changing customer preferences: “We are now focusing more in that direction because the trend is for guests to seek out cocktails with lower alcohol content. We already have some cocktails identified as low-alcohol, and demand for alcohol-free cocktails is constantly increasing. In the past, non-alcoholic cocktails tasted like tutti-frutti. Nowadays, they are designed for people who do not drink alcohol but still enjoy the flavour and that bitter element. For example, we created the Lapsang Refresh, a cocktail made with alcohol-free gin infused with smoked tea and tonic water, which resembles a smoked Negroni.”
The development of the menu is the result of a team effort combining experience, creativity, and a strong connection to the island. Joel Quintal underlines the importance of roots and Madeira identity: “The cocktails belong to the team. But I brought in a little of my Madeiran roots, because my whole family is from the island, with strong ties to the countryside and local produce. All the bartenders on the team identified with that story.”
With this new menu, the 1891 Bar refreshes its offering while reaffirming its position as a landmark destination. From late afternoon onwards, after tea service, guests can enjoy the famous Reid’s Palace terrace overlooking Funchal Bay. On selected evenings, there is also live music, creating a cosmopolitan yet welcoming atmosphere.
