Launched in summer 2013, this sister venue to Bramble and the Last Word Saloon has 13 bottles of base spirit behind the bar and uses them to conjure up 13 cocktails with the drinks changing every three months or so. They also make some of their own syrups and cordials too which makes their creations unique.
If you’re a regular, you see the cocktail menu change, season by season; if you visit every few months you’ll be surprised by a whole new drinks list every time. The approach is experimental, the décor straightforward and if it wasn’t a permanent enterprise you could say the bar had the stripped down appeal of a pop-up. Not every drink is a gustatory challenge but one recent left-field effort involved tequila, aquavit, a bitter-orange digestif, lemon, mushroom syrup and aquafaba (liquid residue from cooking beans). Or you could have a chilled glass of Sauvignon Blanc.
Given the approach here (13 base spirits, 13 cocktails, regularly changing) evolution is key – and appealing. You might find something made from Laphroaig Quarter Cask, fig brandy, lemon juice and Lady Grey tea syrup on one visit, then months later ‘the whisky option’ will have morphed into something with Talisker, vermouth, a German herb liqueur, home-made orange liqueur, lemon and vanilla. Chapeau!