Promotion
QUILL is already beginning to build a reputation as one of Manchester's most exciting new restaurants but its bar is also throwing new light on just what flights of fancy can be achieved with the cocktail.
Like something from the fevered imagination of Edgar Allan Poe if he'd given up writing and taken up mixology instead
That's not strictly true; the drinks are genius but light is in short supply at Quill. This isn't an everyday bar of bland Scandi brightness. It feels like more of an event, all dark, moody and atmospheric. The cocktails have a strange gothic insanity, like something from the fevered imagination of Edgar Allan Poe if he'd given up writing and taken up mixology instead.
The raven may have taken flight, but crows stare down intensely from various perches. In fact, The Crow's Nest is a real centrepiece. The extravagant sharer serves eight and allows groups to choose two of Quill's signature cocktails which are then placed in the branches of a blackened tree whist the eponymous bird looks on from its centre.
As The Crow Flies also takes old Corvus as its inspiration and, as the name suggests, it's a short drink. Dark in appearance, but almost dessert-like in concoction, it mixes chocolate, vanilla, cream and coffee and is topped with charred marshmallow.
As The Crow Flies
Our feathered friends have also given up their plumage for two more of the cocktails: Mrs Peacock and Of The Quill.
Mrs Peacock is decorated with an extravagant peacock feather but, in keeping with the darker side of life explored by Quill, it's not the beautiful bird which gives the drink its name but the murder suspect in Cluedo. Gin, jasmine and ginger are combined with a splash of secret blue to create a classic cocktail with all the chilling elegance you'd expect from Mrs Peacock.
Mrs. Peacock
Of The Quill is, as you might expect, one of the bar's signature creations. Mango and mandarin come together in a coupe of amber liquid, like alchemy in a glass, which is served with a mysterious ink shot and quill.
Of The Quill
Of The Pen is the other signature cocktail. Flavours of allspice, rum and ginger come at you through a haze of smoke, like that from a recently fired pistol. It's a powerful drink that proves once and for all that the pen really is mightier than the sword, or its more modern equivalents.
The Graduate is another popular item on the cocktail menu. It looks innocent but the photograph of Mrs Robinson with which it is served reminds you of just how easily it could lead you astray. Lemongrass gin, lemon barley water and thyme create a drink of utter temptation.
The Graduate
Cucumber And Wasabi is glacially cool in appearance but there's a fire inside. The heat from the wasabi and the tequila gives the cocktail a real kick which is beautifully tempered by the lime, elderflower and cooling cucumber pressé.
Cucumber and Wasabi
If you're after a Sex On The Beach, this probably isn't the best bet but if you're looking for something more daring, something to show you what the cocktail could be, then you must try Quill.
The Moonstone
