Dram in Soho, London, which is currently number eight on the prestigious Top 50 Cocktail Bars list and this year’s Highest New Entry, has a major focus on innovative cocktails with many served on tap.
Chris Tanner, one of the owners at Dram said: “Dram is built on good cocktails, draught cocktails, highballs, that’s what we see a lot of.
“Flavours that people are asking about, we don’t see too much. I tend to work with whatever we can get our hands on with the season and what seems like fun.”
Fruit flavours
He added: “For us it’s a really big deal that everyone really enjoys what we’ve got going on.”
Eve bar in Covent Garden, London is part of the Adam Handling Group. An underground venue, beneath frog by Adam Handling, the venue aims to showcase the synergy between the kitchen and bar, utilising ingredients from the restaurant to form the basis of Eve’s drinks.
Bar manager Mario Hernandez outlined what guests are requesting at the West End venue.
He said: “It’s more fruity cocktails, carbonation and long drinks. People are looking for more fruity, not sugary but fruity and easy to drink, long drinks with intense flavours is what I’ve seen over the past couple of months.”
Adventurous customers
Fellow London venue Soma in Soho, which is number 28 on the Top 50 Cocktail Bars list, aims to combine the best cocktails in the capital with a sophisticated design, set to a soundtrack of smooth jazz in the early evening and hop hop as the evening progresses until the early hours of the morning.
Bar manager Robin Phileas also reported seeing a trend of draught cocktails alongside alternative flavours seen at Eve bar, illustrating the curiosity of his customers.
He said: “Drinks on draught (like Dram). Everything around pickling, people are more open to that, umami, fat washed, people are more open to try.”
