Hottest bar openings in June 2015
A local for every liquor lover; bar owners across the world are thinking outside the box from visually-stunning gastronomical delights in Hong Kong to exclusive drams in Edinburgh.
If you’re looking for something slightly different, London welcomed a real-time stock market bar – where prices change throughout the night – and a new piano bar complete with its own set of piano-playing “human jukeboxes”.
Meanwhile Texas welcomed a cocktail bar that pays royalties to resident bartenders for each of cocktail they sell.
No matter what your poison, it seems all bases have been thoroughly covered in a bid to cater to characters of all kinds.
Click through the following pages to discover our pick of the hottest bars to open around the world in June 2015.
Reserve Stock Exchange, London
This is London’s first real-time stock market bar, where the prices are set like a financial market and fluctuate according to their popularity throughout the night. A smartphone app enables patrons to keep track of brands going up and brands going down, with a live market price board displayed by the bar. Like in real stock exchange offices, bells will be rung and sirens sounded to signal a crash – but worry not, here it can only mean one thing: cheap drinks.
Whisky Galore, Edinburgh
Formerly a members-only venue for members of the Scotch Malt Whisky Society, 28 Queen Street is now permanently open to public. The Society is an award-winning whisky bottler and international membership club which each month releases more than 20 single cask whiskies, and since it was founded in 1983 in Edinburgh, it has bottled whisky from more than 130 different distilleries in Scotland and around the world, in addition to other spirits such as rum and Bourbon. As well as an exclusive Society selection, the bar also boasts the largest collection of single malt whisky in the UK. A must for whisky enthusiasts!
Blue Room LA Athletics Club, LA
This bar has earned its reputation as the “hardest bar in the city to get into”, and not just for the fact that its hidden away on the third floor of LA Athletics Club behind a bookcase which was last used in the 1920’s during prohibition. To gain entry, you either need to be or be recommended by one of its 20 members. This tiny drinking space was created as part of the club’s multi-million dollar makeover plans, and is decorated with vintage athletic equipment and fancy designer furniture. The cocktail menu is reportedly still “in the works”, but it promises to be something special.
The Envoy, Hong Kong
A new bar and restaurant perched on the 3rd floor of the boutique Pottinger Hotel in Hong Kong, which offers a selection of cocktails are as delicious as they are beautiful. Each drink has its own back story and unique presentation – from “blood bags” served on a surgical tray, to bird-shaped cocktail glasses and drinks served in a “dinosaur” egg shell.
The Piano Works, London
The Piano Works is set in a Victorian listed piano warehouse which has been brought into the 21st century with a new life as an all-singing all-dancing piano bar. Two pianists and a band take to the stage and play requests from the crowd in an interactive “human jukebox” format. The bar serves a wealth of self-titled “classically strange” cocktails, from an Aperol Spritz to a Zombie and everything inbetween.
The Townsend, Austin, Texas
The Townsend is a revolutionary new bar which pays royalties to resident bartenders for their original, well-made cocktails. Guest bartenders are invited to submit three recipes each, and will be paid a 1% royalty each time one of their drinks is purchased. The program of cocktails will feature guest spots from both local and nationally-known bartenders in the industry, alongside a set menu of 12 regular cocktails. After all, musicians get royalties – why shouldn’t mixologists?
Vasco, Singapore
Vasco is Singapore’s first Latin American-inspired cocktail bar and restaurant, and only stocks spirits native to South America such as mezcal, cachaca, rum, pisco and Tequila. The leather booths, copper lamps, and distressed tiles strike an atmosphere embodying the carefree lifestyle adopted by Latinos. Vasco has 10 signature cocktails, which include the Hand Of God, made from Fernet Branca, Mate tea, lemon, and honey; and the Pina A la Parilla, made from grilled pineapple which has been soaked in sugar syrup.
Playground, Croydon, London
Take yourself back to secondary school science lessons with a boozy twist at Playground. Nearly every drink on the menu boasts some form of specialist molecular gastronomy technique in its creation, from orange zest-infused balloons and green tea ice spheres to experiments with foam, mint air, and edible lipstick.
Highwire, Tuxon, Arizona
HighWire Lounge has brought a wave of molecular gastronomy to Tucson. Try out The Contortionist – made from a New Amsterdam vodka, Smirnov Vanilla vodka, fresh white cranberry and pineapple juices, garnished with pop rocks and Fluff It Up cotton candy – or the Elbulli Bubbles Prickly Pear Margarita, which features prickly pear foam topped with El Jimador Silver Tequila “bubble drops”. The bar also offers a tube of “Flavour Tripping Elixir”, which makes sour and bitter flavours such as lemon become sweet for around an hour after consuming.
Camino, Bankside, London
An authentic tapas bar that prides itself on serving drinks “the Spanish way”. The prominent cocktail bar serves up Spain’s finest spirits, wines and beers. Camino has been a hit in King’s Cross and Blackfriars, and it looks as though the success will continue by the Tate Modern.
