The Alchemist, Brick Lane

My ideal location for a good night out is anywhere that does awesome cocktails. By Reef Choudhury

So, when a friend told me that The Alchemist is known for doing awesome cocktails, I was inclined to go. The verdict: Yes, the Alchemist does awesome cocktails. For me, an excellent cocktail (as well as tasting delicious) should look like something that the average person could not recreate at home.

I started off with The Bubblebath, a delightful mix of gin, Chambord, Aperol, apple juice and a dash of sugar syrup and most importantly, some Alchemist magic! This is certainly a ‘fun’ cocktail, one which requires you to keep on slurping  so you can beat the bubbles that keep on appearing. With so much going on – bubble, fizz, and sweet, tangy liquid – this cocktail was like a party in my mouth.

My fav cocktail of all time has got to be the Old Fashioned, so it was great to try the Smokey Old Fashioned at The Alchemist, which was just marvellous. It was slightly on the sweeter side, but that was completely overshadowed by the fact that the bartender came to our table and made them in front of us.  Instant brownie points for The Alchemist, as I love when there is some real theatre behind the creation of a cocktail.

I’m going to let the picture speak for itself here…

If you’re after some snacks to soak up some of the booze, go for the Sharing Platter – it was the perfect amount for two people and came with a yummy mix of cheesy nacho’s, wings, beer battered prawns and chicken pot stickers (which are basically dumplings) and a load of dips!

If you’re going to The Alchemist, I would recommend you try and nab a seat at the bar so that you can witness a live show in the great art of cocktail making. This is what in my opinion pushes The Alchemist from being a ‘great cocktail bar’ to being an ‘excellent cocktail bar’.

This is one bar that I will visit again, for some more Smokey Old Fashioned goodness.