Greig Howitt is the Head Bartender of Seed Library in London. He makes us two cocktails, one with Whisky and Lemon Juice and the second with Whisky and Native Tropical Garum.
Greig introduce yourself
My name’s Greig, I love tasty things and making people feel special. I’m the head bartender at Seed Library in London. I’ve been here since day one and have been lucky enough to help steer it into what it is today. I grew up in sunny Edinburgh and moved down to London at 17 to study fine art photography (which I absolutely adored and still do!). However, it hit me very quickly that I’d need a job to survive, so when I turned 18, I headed straight for my local pub and somehow charmed my way into a job. I started out barbacking and deep‑cleaning anything in sight. I pressure‑washed the hell out of that patio. After three years, I moved over to Caravan restaurants, worked my way up from bartender to head bartender, then did exactly the same at Hawksmoor, and later at Seed Library. The Lyan company had always been my dream place to work, and now that I’m here, I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. It’s hard, rewarding work, and I absolutely love what I do (my back, less so…).
The classic you want to show us
Talisker Clover Club
50ml of Talisker 10 Whisky
25ml of Lemon Juice
15ml of Sugar Syrup (2:1)
4 Raspberries
1.25ml of Eau de vie Raspberry
2 dashes of Miraculous Foamer
The bar you dream of
I’ve been to Caretaker’s Cottage in Melbourne. What a bar. They do something truly special. The warmth, excitement & excellence they create in that space is second to none. It’s hyper‑unique, and for me, it is the best in the world. So my dream bar would be based on this model.
What do you do in your time off
I love to cook. Spending a whole day in the kitchen making something stupidly tasty from scratch is my idea of heaven. It’s genuinely my favourite thing in the world. It’s also a really excellent way of finding my zen and resetting and even better if I get to cook for the people I love and crack open a nice bottle of wine at the same time.
The spirit you like the most
This might sound predictable (being Scottish and all), but Scotch whisky has to be my choice. It’s a wild category with endless power to surprise and excite. Nothing in the drinks world gets me more emotional than sipping something spellbindingly transformative that feels like a true discovery. I’m especially obsessed with independent bottlers — the magic of tasting a slice of time and place that exists only for a limited window is transcendent.
What makes a good cocktail
Balance is absolutely everything. Without that, you can’t even begin to talk about technique, ingredients, or story. For me, I love drinks that challenge a classic structure and find harmony between hyper‑modern and traditional bartending — something that delivers new flavours, in a friendly and delicious way. That’s what excites me, and those are the drinks I want to drink.
What ingredient do you enjoy using in a cocktail
I use Lactobacillus a lot. It allows you to lacto‑ferment in different conditions, most notably lacto-fermenting without salt (big up Dr. Johnny Drain for this one!) It opens the door to lighter, brighter, transformative flavours. Fermentation in drinks can often feel performative or overly funky and not always delicious. I love being able to transform your perception of something in a way that’s undeniably tasty and exciting for guests. That’s the magic for me, although if you asked my friends, they’d probably say apricot brandy and Talisker 10 in a dasher bottle.
The signature cocktail you want to show us
Orkney Breezer
50ml Highland Park 12 Whisky
30ml of Native Tropical Garum (This is a hacked garum ferment inspired by North Ronaldsay sheep and their seaweed‑fed flavour transformation. It turns sea buckthorn and seaweed into tropical ice‑cream heaven using pancreatic sheep enzymes).
10ml of Lemon Juice
2 dashes of Miraculous Foamer
Where do you think we need to go to interview another bartender
Go and interview Adrian Forde Beggs at Lyaness, he’s got some great chat for sure and can still whack out a JD Coke as good as he can a spreadsheet. He’s an undeniably passionate visionary who’s been a big mentor of mine!