...Pitch Black cocktail bar opens this week

There are no jokes about blackouts, being blind drunk or enjoying a shot in the dark.

Yet the drinker who has everything can look forward to at least the latter when a new bar launches in Liverpool this week.

Pitch Black is a “multi-sensory adventure unlike any other”. In this case a bar serving cocktails in complete cover of darkness.

Starting at £39 a head, some might say the only lightness to be found is in the wallet. However, that will buy you four drinks, although four of exactly what is anyone’s guess.

Pitch Black launched in London in 2016 “to much intrigue and interest”, encouraging drinkers to rethink their approach to mixed drinks over the space of 90 minutes, it says here.

During pre-booked slots, guests will enter a warmly lit space. They’re then introduced to their bartender, served a glass of prosecco, and have the opportunity to familiarise themselves with their surroundings before the lights go down. So no need to panic.
 
Once the switch is flipped, staff and patrons are encouraged to remain communicative, discussing the four cocktails presented.


After that, the only thing you’re allowed to put your finger on is the rim of your glass and, more figuratively, what might be in it. All is revealed at the end of the session, "often to much surprise!”

The people behind Pitch Black add: "When it comes to food and drink, sight is often the first of our five senses that we rely on; the presentation giving us visual clues as to what we’re about to eat or drink. Take that sense away, and things get interesting! Each of our other senses are heightened to compensate and in this instance in particular, taste and smell are tested to the max."

In keeping with this, punters are kept the dark in other ways. No light is shed on the location of Pitch Black until after their pre-paid booking has been taken.

In an antidote to Instagram: “The Pitch Black team strip things back to basics, focusing instead on taste, aroma and mouthfeel while you sip.”

Guests will leave with all of the details of their bevvies, including full recipes to recreate the cocktails for their friends and family at home.

How unlike those Smithdown Saturday nights when the dilemma was a litre of vodka or a top up on the leccy key. 

Pitch Black opens this Thursday (November 16).