Liquorette self-service cocktail

Patrons pour their own at new self-service cocktail bar

July 18, 2019
By Alana House

A self-service cocktail bar has opened in London, giving patrons the chance to pull their own cocktails from pre-filled taps.

Liquorette serves hand-crafted drinks created by expert bartenders, with customers able to choose their own glasses, garnishes, accessories and, crucially, the amount of ice to include in their drink.

There are also fresh bottled cocktails, which changed on a daily basis and feature options such as Rhubarb Negroni and a Blood Orange Cosmo. The tap options are swapped out every four months and currently include concoctions named “Glazed and Confused”, “Emico2”, “Vetiver + Ting”, “Nordic Spritz”, “Room 1” and “Monkey See”.

Liquoette self-service cocktail bar

Waiters are on hand to guide customers through the process, ensure the empties are counted and settle tabs.

Founding partner Kristina O’Neall said the idea for the self-service cocktail bar was inspired by a pop-up the company trialled in New York.

She said: “Our goal was to make a public space feel more like being at a house party rather than at a bar. People really latched on to it as a concept because it felt like the bar was theirs; that the place was free for them to own.”

It also eliminates long queueing for service on days when pubs and bars are packed.

Liquorette isn’t the first UK bar to create a more interactive experience for patrons.

Vagabond Wines offers drinkers the chance to dispense themselves glasses of wine from barrels in its six venues around London.

Indian restaurant and bar Brigadiers offering fast-pour, self-serve beer taps at its city location, and permanent self-service taps at Thirsty Bear in Waterloo.

Meanwhile in Australia …

It’s not self-pulled cocktails, but prosecco fountains have been taking off in Australia.

Prosecco fountain dispenses self-serve cocktail

Sydney’s The Winery hosted bottomless prosecco picnics during the 2018 festive season, featuring a pour-your-own fountain.

The deal saw patrons have two hours unlimited access to an antique-look fountain featuring a lion, which has a prosecco tap for a mouth, while enjoying a picnic meal.

In Melbourne, The Smith launched it’s own fountain in January –
allowing customers to pour their own prosecco and Sicilian spritz with blood orange liqueur while enjoying an extensive picnic spread and listening to live jazz.

And in February, the fountain moved to Paddington’s Darling and Co in Brisbane.

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