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Prohibition-themed bar opens in Warwickshire
Hush in Leamington Spa is a speakeasy-style underground bar inspired by the US Prohibition era in the 1920s and 1930s.
The bar, which will offer cocktails and live music, will officially open as a private members’ bar in January.
The 40-metre site has been unused for 10 years, having previously been home to The Robbins Well cellar bar.
The drinks menu has been created by general manager Matthew Nisbets and bar manager Bethany Gaunt. Highlights include the Flapper In The Frolic Pad, which blends gin, lychee, Italicus liqueur, ginger, grapefruit, Prosecco and Blanc de Blanc foam; the Bootlegger’s Blush, which features Tanqueray, rhubarb, lemon, ginger ale and grapefruit; and Peaching The Bulls, which is named after a Prohibition-era term used for calling the police and combines Bourbon, peach sencha, Paixao passion fruit liqueur, lemon and cream soda foam.
Gaunt explained: “It’s very cocktail-driven. If somebody wants a drink with certain notes, every member of our team will have the knowledge to be able to suggest something. They won’t have to run back to the bar because that just detracts from the experience.
“We want it to be a place where, as well as what’s on the menu, you can come and say” I really like this cocktail, but I’m not drinking at the moment, so can you put a spin on a certain mocktail? We want to be able to provide for the customer and not every bar has the freedom to be able to do that.”
The bar will offer 13 gins, 13 rums and 25 whiskies, including Scotch, Irish, English and Japanese. As well as spirits, 20 wines will be stocked.
The venue will be open to members on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays in the New Year.
Nisbets added: “The amount of money that you’re going to be spending on a cocktail here versus the quality of the ingredients, the care and time that goes into how they’re prepared, constitutes brilliant value.
“But it’s not just about the drinks themselves, but the entire experience: from the moment you find the unmarked door and order your first drink to the minute that you leave. What we have here has the wow factor as well, it is visually spectacular.
“Our USP is recreating the kind of nostalgic quality of the 1920s Speakeasy Gatsby-esque Style – opulent and a little bit provocative, in a fun way. We are looking to be playful and light-hearted but also quite secretive as well.
“You could find this sort of thing in London and the bigger cities easily but I think there’s a gap that exists in Leamington and wider area, so it’s about trying to target that niche.”
The bar features art deco design, with murals and artworks recreated by local Leamington artist Gemma Grao.
Grao said: “I have absolutely loved creating the artwork at this incredible new bar. The brief was to make people feel like they are stepping back in time to the 20s era, with flapper girls and jazz vibes.
“You will be taken on a journey as you enter the venue from the hand-painted mural in the ladies’ room, the original art canvases spread around, and through to the black and gold textured wall in the VIP room – all giving the venue a real 20s Prohibition theme.”
For more bar openings, check out autumn 2024’s hottest launches.
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