Notorious Beam Team

I ventured out to Barts on Sloane Avenue having been tipped off by a friend at work. It claims in the same breath to be both "a new concept for eating and drinking" and London's worst kept secret.

I'm not going to give the game away and just leave this signs as clues for you...





We were greeted by a shifty looking chap in prohibition era get up who asked us for a password before letting us into the drinking den.



Once inside we were overwhelmed by the design. Its brilliant. Quirky. Inspiring. As if it has been curated by someone with far too much time on their hands. We loved the "computer says no" Mona Lisa and the luggage racks. It transforms a room in an apartment block into a speakeasy by paying attention to minute details.





A dressing up box encourages everyone to get stuck in too...



... which was embraced wholeheartedly by the buzzing crowd.





The evening was sponsored by Glenmorangie who were launching their soda siphon (which we've covered before). Drinks such as Glen'Malone (whisky, ginger, lemon grass and soda) and Sweet as Candy (whisky, candied orange, rose cordial and soda water) initially put some of the girls off. But once they'd got past the idea of whisky there was no stopping them. Personally, I loved the gingery cocktail and thought the idea behind the event and its execution were fantastic.





It would be a great venue for a Le Nez event, or better still a whisky event or two. I'm quite keen to organise a party there soon. I just hope this article is enormously unpopular and no-one finds out where it is!




Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

From Coolhunting:

"Hudson Manhattan Rye Whiskey, by Tuthilltown Spirits, is the first rye whiskey legally made in New York since prohibition and is fast becoming the connoisseur's drink of choice. At 92 proof, the spirit has a slightly spicy, fruity taste, concocted to compliment sweet vermouth in the classic New York–born cocktail, The Manhattan.

Ground, cooked, fermented and double distilled in Gardiner, NY, the bottles are hand filled, capped, waxed and numbered one at a time in limited numbers.

You can expect their second batch in stores and bars around the New York region in June. For those of you not in the New York area, contact Tuthilltown Spirits to reserve your bottle or even a whole cask."



If you have a prowl around their website it's fun to see you can order your own cask of whiskey. Pictures of hand labelling add to the mystique and sense of craftsmanship as well.