Cocktails in the City | Manchester

Cocktails in the City was a great event, offering 23 different cocktails from 23 popular Manchester establishments.  Lovers of gin and whiskey would be at home here, as mostly top class and top quality brands were celebrated.

The event in Manchester took place at the old plot where the remnants of the old Granada Studios still stand. Inside, the setting is bare and rustic, like most street food festivals and venues encompassing a hollowed out shell of an old building, factory, or warehouse.  It was the perfect setting for this event.  Close to the entrance offered guests to try out their surfing skills at HULA where they had a mechanical surf board to test balance and endurance.  This area had a very relaxed beach bum theme.  Nearby, guests could enjoy a round (or more) of UV Golf hosted by Junk Yard Golf.  

A stage was set up for presentations, and the first up was Tom from The Liquorists with the theme "Five Cocktails that Changed the World".  I've had the pleasure of taking one of The Liquorists Tequila Trails around the Northern Quarter, and it was brilliant.  Not to mention, Tom is a really nice guy, and remembers everybody, and is always happy for a quick chat.  The Liquorists presented a variety of cocktails accompanied by stories and facts, giving the audience a well educated session on specific cocktails.  We also got to sample some of the cocktails on offer.

Before one arrives at the main studio area, there was TATTU and Agave Garden occupying two rooms.  TATTU looked like a spicy oriental themed establishment with mannequins dotted around for guests to graffiti, and somber red lighting.  That was fun! 

The main studio had the remainder of the bars occupying differently designed stalls, and it all looked fantastic, from Narnia themed to Mad Scientists to Floral to rustic wooden; Cocktails in the City had it all.  Check out the photos!

I like whiskey and I like gin!  Therefore after having a look around and looking at the nifty cocktail brochure/event programme, I sampled the following:

Woodford Reserve Old Fashioned from Tipplesworth.  It was bloody lovely!  Woodford Reserve Bourbon, orange zest, sugar syrup and Angostura Bitters.  Perfect combo for a whiskey cocktail, and great first drink to kick off the evening.

A really flavourful gin cocktail by Cane & Grain called American Gangster made with Death's Door Gin mixed with "homemade" citrus & rhubarb cordial, Yuzu juice, fresh lime, Branca Menta Salt Solution, and Seline Air.  Very tasty!  I recommend this to all gin lovers!

My favourite cocktail of the night was Fairytale of New York, made with The Pogues Irish Whiskey by The Fitzgerald; mixed with plum bitters, cherry heering and Gomme, the cocktails offers sweetness to a whiskey cocktail, which should please both whiskey drinkers and non whiskey drinkers.   

Oriental Expression from TATTU made with Opihr Gin.  This cocktail was perfect to end the evening.  A cocktail that offers oriental spice mixed with ginger, bell pepper, lemon juice, lychee, and ginger beer.

As well as cocktails, on each night, the event offered food from three street food vendors.  On the night I attended was Bart's Dog Kart, Chaat Cart, and Poffertjes King.  All great vendors, and I opted for Chaat Cart's delicious Chicken  Burger, with an onion bhaji on top.  Yum!

Currency was easy:  guests purchased tokens at £6.50 a pop and then used the tokens for food or cocktails.

Fantastic evening full of wonderful stylish guests and a fantastic array of vendors.

Yelp at BistroVin | Manchester, UK

Another great evening with the Manchester Yelp Community; this time at hidden gem BistroVin, situated on busy Deansgate opposite the likes of La Tasca, Prezzo, and Las Iguanas.

Walking past, one would think it was just a normal store specialising in wine, and spirits. However, once one is inside and takes a stroll upstairs, one is greeted by a lofty atmospheric dark woodened decor and furniture, which seems quite cosy for an establishment situated on Deansgate. With (more or less) floor to ceiling windows looking out over the street. The upstairs divided into two sections, with one side hosting a full cabinet full of splendid spirits, and a counter full of cheese.

After the normal meet and greet (with Champagne or Prosecco), and catchup between the Yelpers (from veterans, elite, and newbies), and then a brief intro from Lewis (joint Manager) we were ready to begin. BistroVin had set up three stalls, splitting the group up into the same number, the present a selection of their stock. This was a variety of red an white wines split between two tables, and a gin, a whiskey, and a rum set up at the third table.

My group started off with a selection of three good wines: French white wine Touraine Sauvignon; Chilean white wine Secret de Viu Manent; and French red wine Lauran Cabaret Minervois. With a quick demonstration on how to fully enjoy a wine tasting, we went through and tasted each wine. The sauvignon was quite fruity, full of flavour, and seemed to be a favourite amongst the group. The Chilean white was described as having a muddy texture, but I proposed it was more an earthly taste and quite sharp, but this was a bit hit-and-miss amongst the group, However, the red was a big hit with everyone: this had an old woody texture, very flavourful.

Moving on to the spirits presented my Jonathan, we had: Pinkster (gin), The Ben Riach aged 10 years (whiskey), and The Duppy Share (rum). Don't let the name or colour deceive you with the gin. The pinkness comes from raspberry, and it had a nice sharp taste to it, and one can quite easily drink this without a mixer. I know some gin fans, who I would recommend this to. One for the list! Apparently retails around £40. The rum was Caribbean and was quite sweet and had a warm taste, which is made from sugar canes. Finally, the whiskey! The smell was beautiful! Such a powerful aroma, and tasted great! Again, it had a very smooth taste and can easily be drunk without a mixer, which is what I would recommend.

The final table presented by manager Lewis had three more wines (one white, and two red). The first was white wine Saint Clair from New Zealand, which has quite an oceanic taste to it, and I would recommend this for a perfect evening on a beach front when all you have to do is relax. The second wine was red Bourgogne, which was quite nice, but my favourite wine from the evening was red wine Vibo Punta del Vienta; a flavourful fruity wine, with a bit of a savoury pinch to it.

After all the tastings, the Yelpers were able to mingle once again and going back and trying their favourites as the evening came to an end.

A super evening, and a fantastic establishment, and I look forward to returning, especially to attend one of their whiskey tastings. check out their Facebook page to see what tastings they have on offer, occurring every Thursday.