Stanley Tucci on Dublin

Even when I was a kid, I liked the ritual of making cocktails – of watching my dad making them or, when I got older and could afford it, going to a nice bar and watching somebody make a proper martini. I thought it was the most elegant thing. A part of it is a romantic idea of cocktails. I used to watch a lot of old movies when I was young and everyone was incredibly well dressed and always making cocktails in them. I always wanted to live my life that way. And here we are in 2024 and I really love to get dressed up, make a cocktail and go out to dinner – all that stuff. It’s lovely. Life is difficult, there’s a lot to do and it can be boring and painful at times. Why not make it a little more fun with an elegant cocktail?

I seem to be becoming a bit of a regular in Ireland [through his Tanqueray No. TEN partnership]. It’s only an hour-long flight from London and I was in Dublin just the other day, doing some stuff for Diageo – unfortunately just for one night this time as I had to fly back for my daughter’s birthday party the next day.

I probably first went to Dublin 25 years ago and, for me, seeing the food scene change over the years is incredible. There are so many great restaurants and not, like, super-crazy expensive restaurants, but incredibly high-quality ones, with amazing chefs. It’s a joy; it’s become a real food city. This time, my wife Felicity and I went to Library Street and I really loved it.

During the trip, I went to The Sidecar bar in the Westbury Hotel, which is incredible, one of the loveliest hotels I’ve ever stayed in. And The Sidecar is gorgeous. You walk in and it’s almost as if you’re walking into an Art Deco scene, it’s so beautifully done.

I met with three bartenders and they each created different drinks. The first one was a ‘New Found’ by Oisin Kelly. He made his own tincture (I guess you’d call it) and used all Irish ingredients – an Irish vermouth that was made on a little island, and then it was grapefruit juice and sea salt and rose – and he used that as the mixer with Tanqueray No. TEN. It was really cool and delicious – it had that saltiness.

The previous time I was in Ireland was last year. I’d gone to Dublin again for Diageo and got to spend a bit more time there. Afterwards, I went to Dingle Literary Festival. The weather was miserable, but we had the best time – saw some friends, met new friends, and went to some really nice places. Dick Mack’s is a great old pub that’s so cool, and there’s a seafood place called The Fish Box.

I like to try new places and my wife is really good at it. She’s the one who finds everything. She’ll say, “We’re going here, we’re going here, we’re going here.” And I’m like, “That’s great – let’s go.”

Tanqueray No. TEN presents a window into exceptional cocktail artistry with a season of residencies across the UK, Ireland, Italy and the USA. Tanqueray No. TEN’s global brand partner Stanley Tucci kicked off the season with a bespoke cocktail in partnership with Director of Mixology Ago Perrone at The Connaught Bar in London.