The Alchemist

Manchester is host to some very good cocktail bars. You might have heard of Cloud 23, the extravagant 23^rd floor bar in the Hilton hotel or the brilliant array of quirky bars in the Northern Quarter. For a flatmate’s birthday we ended up at a little-known bar at the back of Spinningfields, The Alchemist. It’s a fantastic place to drink cocktails and a great alternative to a heavy club night (at a similar price).

The bar is sleek and stylish with a few nice touches like a film projection on the wall. All the classic cocktails were flawless – the Long Island was served in a metal tankard with definite references to prohibition drinking, but more impressive were the “artisan” cocktails: nouveau-classics with clever twists. Writing this with a horrendous hangover is a failsafe sign of a good night out.

I’ll mention a few cocktails: the French Martini – Vodka, Chambord and cranberry juice topped with pineapple foam and raspberry dust, the Mexican Elbow – tequila, agave syrup, lime, Beck’s Vier and ginger beer, and the Antica Collins – a classic Collins mixed with Carpano Antica Formula vermouth. However, what most impressed me was the Smokey Old Fashioned, made in a conical flask and infused with oak chip smoke, served in hefty rocks of glass containing a ball of ice.

The price of cocktail bars will most likely discourage students from going, from £5.95 up to £10 a drink – but it’s really worth it. Look out for deals they have on food and drink on the Facebook page. Try it even if just to get dressed up for a birthday or post-exam celebration and make sure to keep exploring the great bars Manchester has to offer!