This is a first for the Dessertees - an often-talked-about-but-never-materialised plan, but at other non-DDT times a reasonably regular social activity... COCKTAILS! So it was decided that we must also showcase the exciting cocktail scene in the city (to start with) on our regular tours!
I could not help but start with a cocktail bar with catchy name of Rabbit Hole - who can resist starting the evening with 'Down the Rabbit Hole'! And it was a worthy start, for the cocktails were creative and delicious.....
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| Orange Fairy: Cointreau, mandarin liqueur, orange juice, lemon, orange bitter,
fairy floss , cointreau peals |
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| Blue Haze: Larios Gin, Cointreau, Pineapple-Orange juice, Bitters, Lime, Fairy
floss |
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| Kraken's Prey: Kraken rum, Licor 43, vanilla, lime, squid ink & chocolate; Wood and Smoke - Laphroaig 10yo, Auchentoshan Three Wood, Jim Beam Devil’s
Cut, acid solution, cinnamon smoke& bitters (not the Japanese whiskey of the glass) |
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| And a couple of mocktails for the sensible and healthy participant :p |
So a cocktail each later, we walked out of the Rabbit Hole towards another watering hole ... Wait, where is this? How do we find it? The Burrow wasn't easy to find, but it was totally worth it: Great decor and atmosphere, very small, and excellent creative cocktails.
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| Didn't want to keep my friends waiting so I took a group shot, and because there isn't a menu online, I can only say that these were delicious... From back row - a gin, raspberry and thyme and vinegar concoction; two "Vietnamese coffee" concoctions, a "dark secret" something or other, and the only one I remember (because I had it) - "The Hard Stare" that looks like a glass of iced water. |
Surprisingly I was still able to walk a straight line after that potent glass of "iced water" ... and again, the next stop was not easy to find! The Gilt Lounge was upstairs at the back of a hotel, walk through this stair case, through that corridor, it's at the back of something ... We found it eventually, and it was another worthy find, with amazing cocktails (again)!
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| A Spanish dessert wine Primitivo Quile Muscatel (not cocktail, sorry) at the front, a couple of refreshing and cool drinks at the back (didn't ask what my friends had!) and a spectacularly unusual "Ghost of Mary" - tomato consomme, pancetta and jalapeno vodka (it smelled like chilli!), celery bitters. Cool... I mean, HOT! |
And that was it. Aimed for 5, expected to do 3, and we did. And walked out still standing tall and with no hangover the next day. And there are now a few places we wish to revisit to sample more of their goodies!
CS
