Meet the finalists: Best Drinks offer sponsored by Coca-Cola Europacific Partners

Albion & East​

London-based operator Albion & East has five sites across the capital with a sixth to follow soon.

Each opens early and closes late and caters for almost every type of client possible from coffee drinkers to food lovers through to party-goers.

Each of its sites has their own gin distilleries with the new site in Clapham set to have a vodka still. It makes eight Tiny Tower gins with other drinks including coffee from local company Ozone, cocktails are huge as are its kegged wine range and it also has a strong no and low alcohol offer.

Albion & East goes out of its way to stay local and Laine Brewery makes its house lager, which is poured at all sites while Sxollie cider is also close by. Brixton Brewery is also stocked on keg while bottled options are plentiful too.

The bottomless brunch offers generous time slots and are often sold out.

The business is not tied on any drinks so the range is its to get whatever it wants and that gives it a cutting edge.

It is strong on customer interaction and sustainability and its building, glassware and overall designs are original and sourced individually by its hard-working owners.

Casa Hotels​

Casa Hotels has two sites in Derbyshire – one is an upmarket hotel with great food, accommodation and has a number of bars where cocktails and spirits are the stand-out drinks.

The second is Peak Edge Hotel – a luxurious hotel that also houses a restaurant with a drinks offer specialising in wines and an ever-present cask line of Chatsworth Gold, from nearby Peak Ales.

Casa Hotel’s Barca bar houses a ‘Connoisseur’s Cabinet’ while the bar stocks gins, rums, vermouth, pisco, grappa and more. Its draught offer includes the likes of Estrella, Neck Oil, San Miguel and Old Mout.

Casa Hotels is proud of its cocktails that are put together by staff who have autonomy on what to make and use theatre to serve such as smoke and great garnishes.

A bottomless brunch has recently gone live and Casa hopes to build on its ability to bring in more locals along with its bounty of hotel guests.

A passion runs through the business for excellence along with a lust for sustainability as food and drinks miles are kept low by using the owner’s estate for a percentage of its meat and vegetables.

The Alchemist ​

The Alchemist is a unique ‘molecular speakeasy’ that serves a wide range of drinks at volume and speed across 21 UK-wide sites.

Theatrical drink serves are its main offer but it also operates a strong food menu. Concentrating on all spirits, its cocktails use scientific methods to stun customers including smoking beverages and swirling liquids.

Gin, vodka, rum, Tequila and mezcal are the main spirits used on its 50-strong menu but it has more that well-trained staff know how to make if required. Specific standards ensure every cocktail is the same no matter which outlet is visited.

The Alchemist has sustainability is its blood too and refuses to use fresh fruits in its drinks that have travelled long distances and any it does use in frozen formats, for example, is turned into marmalades for drinks. Spent coffee grinds go into a cold brew to be used in another cocktail.

Teams are challenged to be imaginative and can get their cocktail creations onto the menu – this helps retain staff too.

Another note of interest is that all the artwork hanging on the walls of each of its sites, which have an element of cool throughout, are available for customers to buy and this supports artists across the UK.