RIGHT now is the best time in history to be a drinker. Really. Think about it...
Forget Hemingway, call me Bond
Microbreweries have practically reinvented beer, normal folk can now look sommeliers in the eye without soiling themselves, and we've got 1370% more bars to fall over in than our parents did.
Not only that, but the flair and competitive spirit of a new wave of young, spunky, bow-tied, elbow-banded bartenders (no no no, never 'mixologist') has not only reignited 'cocktail culture' but turned it into an artform.
Still, with most bars now offering a cocktail list as long as War and Peace, the huge range of cocktails on offer can boggle one's bonce.
So below, with the help of critics, bartenders, winos and degenerates all, we've listed the finest cocktails you're likely to find anywhere in this fair city.
VODKA MARTINI | Cane & Grain
49 Thomas Street, Northern Quarter, M4 1NA
A man's drink this one, bitters, salt and nothing pink or blue or smoking; as pared back as a Hemingway novel, as harsh and satisfying as a brutal hike on the moors on a grey day. Forget Hemingway, call me Bond. Penelope, of the fine and intimate bar upstairs in Cane and Grain, expertly explained the drink. I took notes. Take two Beluga vodka shots, do something cleansing with olive brine and Cocchi dry vermouth and...er...“I’ll just drink this Penelope, cheers, you’re a genius.” Jonathan Schofield - Confidential Editor
RHUBARBRA STREISAND | Epernay
Great Northern Tower, Deansgate, M3 4EE
Being a bartender I am often privy to upcoming cocktail menus around town and recently got to taste my way through their great new menu. One drink that caught my eye was the brilliantly titled 'Rhubarbra Streisand'. A tart, twisted and seasonal version of one of the most popular drinks ever created, The Pornstar Martini. It's got it all, the smooth vanilla, the tang of the lemon and the rich taste of salted caramel, tied together with the fresh taste of rhubarb. The original is a real guilty pleasure of mine but this remake is a cracker. Nate Booker - Bar Manager at Mr Cooper's House & Garden
OLD FASHIONED | Mr Cooper's House and Garden
The Midland Hotel, Manchester, M60 2DS
Gordo's favourite? It's as much about the place as it is the actual cocktail itself. Even then, many times it's about the person making it. In Gordo's never-particularly-humble opinion, in Manchester it's the bar in Mr Coopers, residing in the hotel where Mr Rolls met Mr Royce at The Midland back in 1904. And the drink? An Old Fashioned of course, a good whisky poured over a sugar cube dissolving with bitters in an 'old fashioned' chunky tumbler, fat ice cubes rolling about bashing up orange rind. Mr Kipling himself will walk up, shake your hand and declare 'you'll be a Man, my son', when you grip one of theses beauties. Gordo, epicure, and publisher of the Confidentials.
THE FAR EAST JULEP | San Carlo Fumo
One St Peter's Square, Manchester, M1 5AN
Jamie Jones’ artful reinvention of the American Mint Julep swaps classic bourbon for the big-hitting Japanese ‘Nikka From the Barrel’ whisky and adds Branca Menta, sweet with bitter notes, and cold peppermint tea for a breathy menthol hit. It’s a drink of bitter-sweet balance and refined flavours, yet Jamie also has an eye for aesthetics so it arrives, promptly, in a dinky copper julep tin under an Asian parasol. Intricately clever, yet simply delicious - everything a good cocktail should be. Thom Hetherington - Northern Restaurant Bar Director
ESPRESSO MARTINI | Gorilla
54 Whitworth Street West, Manchester, M1 5WW
A memorable mix of coffee and spirits (rumoured to have been first created for Kate Moss who wished for something to 'wake her up and f*ck her up'). I'd choose this over Alchemist’s Smokey Old Fashioned, but only just. Strong, toasty and sharp, it really is greater than the sum of its parts. Taking in Cariel vanilla vodka, Patron XO coffee tequila, sweet Kahlua liqueur and a shot of espresso, there are few cocktails that are fitting for breakfast, lunch or dinner. This ticks each box with ease. Ruth Allan - Confidential restaurant critic and MCR Wire Editor
RYE HARD | PLY
26 Lever Street, Northern Quarter, M1 1DW
PLY - the latest effort by NQ bar pioneers Kosmonaut - is the poster-bar for all that looks set to sweep across Northern Quarter in the coming months; Skandi'd up to buggery, sourdough pizzas and a considered craft beer and cocktail list. Their Rye-Hard cocktail, small, dark and unassuming is the best of their lot. Rittenhouse rye, Italian digestif Amaro and marmalade. No poncing about here, smash up the marmalade in a shaker, chuck in the liquid, shake about, sieve out the chunks and serve over ice. As smooth as Otis Redding in silk pajamas, kicks like James Brown after a bottle of bourbon. David Blake - Manchester Confidential Deputy Editor
SHAKEY PETE'S GINGER BREW | Hawksmoor
184 Deansgate, Manchester, M3 3WB
For me, the best drink in Manchester and one of the best in the UK is Shakey Pete's Ginger Brew from Hawksmoor. I'm fortunate to know the creator, Pete Jeary, and have been an advocate of this drink for many years. The combination of gin, lemon juice and ginger syrup in a drink doesn't scream individuality, but add in half a bottle of bitter and blend it up, you get something very, very special. Served in a frosted beer mug (which from first appearance resembles a pint of bitter itself), the first sip greets you with a light, citrusy nose, with the foam carrying through small flecks of crushed ice adding fantastic texture. The drink is long, refreshing and ridiculously moreish. Drink it and drink it all again. Jamie Jones - Manchester bar consultant and 'World's Best Gin Bartender'
TONIQUE NO.5 | Elixir
123 Deansgate, Manchester, M3 2BY
“Bartender make me something exciting,” I say, sprawled over the bar in my best frock and a fascinator. “Certainly me Lady,” he says before setting to work on a TONIQUE No. 5, the alcoholic equivalent to Chanel No. 5; equally fragrant and Parisian. He shakes up a blend of Prosecco, gin, 'violette liqueur', aloe water and a ‘soap sweet' absinthe’. A single rose petal floats on top of a pool of a sweet yet substantial concoction, while perfume enthused dry ice billows out and engulfs the room. He disappears into the midst (or rather pops out the back). They aren’t 'alf theatrical at Elixir. L'Oreal Blackett - Body Confidential Editor
BACK OF THE BODEGA | Under New Management
6 Barlow's Croft, Salford, M3 5DY
At daft o'clock you'll often find myself and other staff chucking back frozen peach margaritas in Crazy Pedro's followed by a few mezcals. Still, the most interesting thing I've tried recently was a 'Back of the Bodega' cocktail at Under New Management just over the Irwell in Salford. A blood orange twist on a Negroni with sweet Aherry instead of Vermouth. I liked it so much I asked it's creator, Tony Hogan, to come work with me at Hawksmoor. Richie West - Bar Manager at Hawksmoor
THE GODFATHER | The Alchemist
The Alchemist, 3 Hardman Street, Manchester, M3 3HF
Before Alchemist opened in December 2010 there was only office blocks, a WH Smith and a collection of miserable chains on Leftbank. Then wallop! Manchester was introduced to 'mixologists', smoking bourbons and prawns on lollipops. Still, as pink and fluffy as most of Alchemist's cocktails are, there are a handful of cocktails that'll not only put hairs on your chest, but also on your knees and elbows. One of these is The Godfather, which isn't technicaly on the menu, but any Alchemist bartender worth their small black pinny should know off by heart; Monkey Shoulder whiskey and Disaronno garnished with a Rittenhouse Rye and cherry brandy 'atomizer' - a mixologist term for 'spray'. Blast it with a blowtorch (this is Alchemist after all folks) for theatrics and off you pop. Best sit down, mind. David Blake - Manchester Confidential Deputy Editor
THE QUEEN MARY | Smithfield Social
Smithfield Market Buildings, Thomas Street, Northern Quarter, M4 1BD
Smoky bacon and black pudding are not the cocktail staples of everyone’s dreams but in the hands of a master mixologist like Smithfield Social’s Tiki Tony they help create a savoury Bloody Mary like no other. For The Queen Mary he infuses Absolut Vodka with strips of grilled, smoked bacon, then blends a double shot of this with black pudding puree before adding a secret spice mix and a splash of tomato juice. After a slow shake it’s presented on a wooden board with a hickory smoked celery stick, homemade horseradish sauce and a fresh fennel pork scratching. Weird, innovative, brilliant. Neil Sowerby - Confidential food and wine writer and Taste of Manchester Editor
THE BLOODY MARY NO.7 | Hawksmoor
184 Deansgate, Manchester, M3 3WB
My favourite cocktail currently is The Bloody Mary No.7 at Hawksmoor. They use horseradish infused gin, tomato juice, house spice mix and lemon juice topped with Runaway smoked porter and served with a salt and pepper rim. Delicious. I love the bar at Hawksmoor. It reminds me of The King Cole bar in the St Regis Hotel in NYC where the Bloody Mary (Red Snapper) was born in the 30s. Sit back, relax, and get served by some of the best bartenders in town. Lyndon Higginson of Liars Club, Crazy Pedro and Cane & Grain fame
