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London Cocktail Week is back! And it’s back bigger and better than ever, with more than 250 participating bars that will open their doors so you can sample the finest cocktails in London at the best price. Also, there will be Cocktail Tours, parties, street food and pop up bars, so prepare your liver, because this celebration lasts seven days… from the 5th to the 11th of October.
Photo http://www.deittisirkus.com/image/data/bar-463476_640.jpg
The first thing you need to do is get your wristband. LCW wristbands cost just £10 and wearing these will allow you to enjoy £5 signature cocktails in the participating venues and in the festival’s dedicated areas, so it’s a pretty good deal! To get your wristband you need to go on their site and buy it, then, once the week starts you can collect it either at the World Class London Cocktail Week Hub in Soho or at the London Cocktail Week Village in Old Spitalfields Market.
The Hub, during the festival, will have each room taking on a different personality to take festival goers on a cocktail journey like no other, and this year’s new incorporation of the Village will turn into an entire cocktail market with pop-up bars, trucks, vans, music and even bicycles!
Below we’ve selected a few of our favorite best bars in London participating in this year’s activities:
The Shrub & Shutter
This Brixton bar takes cocktails to the next level… Also, it isn’t your typical bar. Jars of almonds, nutmeg and barley gleam on the shelves; herbs and cabbages grow on the roof. With 22 cocktails as well as food specials on the blackboard it’s obvious they like to experiment; each is filled with unique flavors and crazy pairings.
White Lyan
This pioneer in the new cocktail movement will leave you impressed, as it’s the first bar that serves only pre-mixed drinks strictly without ice and any perishables. For true mixology lovers, this is probably heaven.
Barrio Central
Let your hair down Latin-style at the colorful Barrio Central. This fun, bright and friendly bar offers a drinks menu, ‘in Spanglish’, categorized by region or country, for example a Mayan Magic (dark chocolate, chili, agave and Cazadores tequila) represents Central America, a Hispaniola Spell (Brugal rum, shochu, jasmine, mint and ginger), the Caribbean… The great place to forget about the rainy London streets left behind at the door.
The Cocktail Trading Company
The CTC is located in the basement of a differently named restaurant/bar, so it can be hard to find, but it is definitely worthwhile. This bar is runned by award winning bartenders, and drinks are served in very interesting designs, like in wellies, bells, Chinese take-out boxes and graveyards, with real grass and everything. A must in the London nightlife.
Upstairs at the Ten Bells
They say, ‘good things come in small packages’ and that’s what Upstairs at the Ten Bells is proving to us. This bar has imported the New York trend of mixing delicious “shorty” cocktails at reasonable prices. The atmosphere goes perfectly with the drinks so you can sit back and relax, with miss-matched tables, old-wood, leather sofas, candlelit charm and iconic pieces of modern art.
