With a new crop of bars turned ‘apothecaries’ – with mixologists who not only know all manner of boozy libations but so, too, the medicinal properties of everything from red clovers to wintergreen – it seems, this year, we’re all drinking to good health.
We first tasted the trend at trailblazing bar Tonic and Remedy, where herbal tinctures and elixers are sourced from G Baldwin & Co, the oldest apothecary in London. Got a cough? Order a Salted Jimador, a cocktail blended with liquorice, marshmallow roots, oxymel, Benedictine and…tequila. A similar ethos is applied to the new menu at TwoRuba, which includes an apothecary range designed to target common winter ailments, from colds to sore throats, based on 16th century medicinal methods.
Carrying on the medicinal trend, First Aid Box has opened in Brixton by the guys behind Brixton’s Shrub and Shutter, and has all manner of cocktails inspired by health and nutrition. Cure alls come in the form of an eight-strong list of ‘Doctor’s Orders’ — from the vodka based Blueberry and Quinoi which includes honey, lemon and seltzer to the Luco-Z-Aid, a tequila blend with lucozade syrup and grapes.
And the next ale-ment establishment? Behind This Wall. The collective who’ve championed their version of ‘medicinal’ drinking, honed over their four month summer residency on the Oval Terrace, have now found a permanent home in Bethnal Green. Rather than tinctures and elixirs, head barman Alex Harris insists on good quality liquor from small-batch distillers, free of artificial additives, high fructose corn syrup or unnecessary sugar. The aim? Simply to reduce tomorrow’s hangover.
Cheers to that.
