- speakeasy
While vacationing in Los Angeles in September, I hopped on a bus to spend two days in San Diego. I was staying with a friend in the middle of the Gaslight quarter, one of the city’s historical neighbourhood, now famous for its vibrant nightlife. While it’s true it was really busy, even on a Tuesday night, I was in search of a proper cocktail bar, that wouldn’t be too far from where we were staying. The good thing with following bartenders on Instagram? You will always find helpful suggestions when you’re travelling. In that case, it led me to Noble
Genevans, get ready! The Geneva Cocktail Week is back for a third edition from 24 to 30 September! After a sophomore year assembling two dozen participating bars, the Geneva Cocktail Week organizers have refined their concept. The list is now narrowed down to a dozen true cocktail bars (in my humble opinion), with the likes of Little Barrel, the two Black Sheep (Etuves and Rive), Bottle Brothers, the brand new Casa Tiki, Voodoo Reyes, Dynastie or le Verre à Monique. Throughout the week, bartenders from Paris, London, Marseille, Zurich, Basel and Barcelona will take over some of the participating bars.
Imagine entering a whisky shop, perusing at the many bottles of your favourite spirit on the shelves, admiring the old bookcase at the back of the shop and suddenly disappearing from the other customers’ view to end up in a place of wondrous potions (aka cocktails). No, this is not the synopsis of Harry Potter and the Vanishing Liqueur Cabinet (sorry!). It is however what you can expect for real if you wander in London in search of The Vault at Milroy’s of Soho… When I arrived in London for the Christmas holiday, I had a whole list of bars
High on my list of bars to visit in Edinburgh was the speakeasy Bryant & Mack. I had heard of it through Tales of the Cocktail (TOTC), the bartending industry’s biggest seminar. Last April, nine months after opening, Bryant & Mack was already one of the official venues of Tales on Tour, TOTC’s annual abroad edition. Quite a recognition for a brand new bar! Ross Bryant, one of the two bar owners, even hosted a Dynamic Duo with the brand ambassador for Sazerac Rye. The event drew so many guests that “people were queuing around the block to get in”,
Hidden below ground in the heart of Edinburgh’ New Town, Hoot the Redeemer takes an original approach to the speakeasy concept. Hoot the Redeemer bar Instead of going the Prohibition route, Hoot the Redeemer sends you back to the 1950’s, with a setting reminiscing of a funfair of the time, complete with fortune telling machines, vintage magician posters, Tarot cards paintings and, of course, fair games and popcorn. I took a seat on the comfortable old leather couch facing the entrance from which I had a good view of the entire bar. The cocktail menu The menu is printed in
Yesterday I visited Geneva‘s brand new speakeasy bar : Le Jardin du Kraken (The Kraken’s Garden in English). As its name indicates, it is attached to Le Kraken, a bar on the Ecole-de-Médecine street, the hub of student nights out in Geneva. Accessing the speakeasy There are two ways to access Le Jardin du Kraken. During the week, you’ll get to the hidden bar through one of the main bar’s cupboards. On weekend nights…you’ll have to find for yourself! After all, the search is one of the enjoyable aspects of a speakeasy! Le Jardin du Kraken bar Once you’re inside,
A few weeks ago, I visited Kuala Lumpur as part of a two week holiday in Malaysia. The Petronas Towers are the city’s emblematic landmark . Several bars can be found in the neighboring skyscrapers with a spectacular view over them. While the sight is admittedly impressive, it’s well worth it exploring other neighborhoods of the Malaysian capital, going as far as to its outskirts. The residential suburbs are indeed home to excellent coffee shops, restaurants (I enjoyed a wonderful Malaysian dinner at LoKhaba in Bangsar Baru) and bars, including an awesome speakeasy. A truly hard to find speakeasy bar
Le 4e Mur, Montreal’s first speakeasy bar of the 21st century (I guess there would have been some in the early 20th century) celebrated its first anniversary last July. Its opening in 2015 was announced Hollywood style with a mysterious black and white teaser introducing the five founders’ alter egos – Dr EDD, Dirty Diana, Miroslav, le Corse (the Corsican) and Père Denis (Father Denis) – as the prime suspects in a criminal investigation led by a private detective. A second video was released in honor of the bar’s one year anniversary. Having met Dr EDD, aka Eddy, on a
After reading rave reviews about The Gin Joint in Charleston, South Carolina online, I was eager to visit it during my vacation in the USA. This bar is a true craft cocktail haven. I absolutely loved it and highly recommend it! After enjoying a nice dinner in one of the many restaurants in Charleston’s historic district, stroll along East Bay Street until you reach a small but lovely fenced courtyard. Walk no more: you’ve arrived at The Gin Joint! I visited The Gin Joint twice. On my first visit I sat at the bar which allowed me to talk with Chris,
The Southern states of the USA are famous for their cuisine and many companies offer culinary tours in cities like New Orleans or Savannah for tourists to discover the specialty dishes in their most famous restaurants. The Charleston Culinary Tours in Charleston, South Carolina, has taken the extra step of organizing visits to some of the city’s best bars. Naturally I signed up for one of their mixology tours when I visited two weeks ago! When I mentioned on registration that I was a cocktail blogger they generously comped my ticket. This is however an unbiased review. The programme The
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