The Worship Street Whistling Shop is more laboratory than cocktail parlour… the most experimental of the Fluid Movement’s ventures. In a dark and moody Victorianesque cellar, guests lounge in velvet armchairs and sip extraordinary drinks created from only the strangest and most imaginative ingredients.
Don’t go expecting the same dramatics as Purl, the sister establishment – this bar, they will tell you, is much more about science and discovery.
We tried three drinks from the wildly innovative list:
Pell Mell Cup No. 2 – Woodford Reserve, WS Plum & Pear winter preservation liqueur, ‘Orstead’ treated pomegranate, Tio Pepe, vanilla smoke, malt of ‘Opium’.
Throat Oil – Jose Cuervo, Dubbonet, Cointreau, Heat treated blueberry Tawny Port, Chater peaberry coffee tincture, ‘Orstead’ solution, Vanilla Salt. Spoonful of Milk Porter (to help the medicine go down).
Panacea – Whyte & Mackay 13, Honey and Lavender shrub, lemon juice, sage dust.
They are certainly weird and wonderful… each recipe is presented in a different glass cup or beaker, garnished with exquisite seasoning. Suffering from a winter cough, Throat Oil seemed like the logical choice. It is perhaps the most eccentric drink on the list… a straight strong cocktail accompanied by vanilla salt and cream jelly which alter the taste accordingly. Pell Mell had a very pleasant flavour though some might think it slightly bitter.
Panacea is the most drinkable of the three, though I wasn’t sure about the sage dust on top, which looked (and smelt) more like cigarette ash. Floral but with a kick from the citrus, for the unknowing drinker it could be described as a kind of flavoured Martini.
The majority of the concoctions are priced around £10, reasonable considering the work and time which goes into creating them. Prepare to be surprised and amazed, these are not your average cocktails.
More information here.