first look at the soft opening:
we were warmly welcomed with a nuclear daiquiri of sorts (with an apple sour ice cube / sweet at the bottom) and an impressive plate of snacks, a hint of small plates to come once fully open.
after a quick skim of the menu, we ordered our first round.
bandage of brothers (snow queen vodka, poppy liqueur, wolfschmidt kummel, sherbert, sweetener, gunpowder) came with a little army man attached via a plaster, and a banger to throw on the floor at any time - the element of surprise and all that. all good fun, though i'm not entirely sure how the super sweet drink connects to the title.
the shrub & shutter intrigued luke with blowtorched fennel & chlorophyll bitters garnishing a glass of gin, green chartreuse, maraschino, cucumber shrub and toasted fennel sugar.
lauren opted for a no stone left unturned - effectively a sour with a choice of spirits and rotating flavour based on the stone fruit of the day (cherry in this case).
however, i feel i made the best choice with does a bear shit in the woods? - st george's terroir gin (made with pine), akvavit (distilled scandinavian spirit), pine bitters and mancino ambrato vermouth served with smoked salmon on the side. i can't resist a "spirits-focused" drink and this scandi gin martini twist was right up my street, and the salmon (working well with the pine) was an added bonus.
for round two, caroline ordered pudding in the form of wonka bar - gin, vanilla ice cream, chocolate soil, truffle, gold leaf and truffle bitters. the finer ingredients seemed to get lost in the mix but it was a very drinkable boozy milkshake.
luke's little miss sunshine was one of the more conventional drinks on the menu - an attractive sunny bloody mary with beluga vodka, isle of wight yellow tomato, tomato water, roasted balsamic shrub, celery, spice & seasoning - very tasty at all times of the day.
vegetarians should steer clear of the deer hunter - woodford bourbon, orange, romeo y julieta bitters and birch sap, with a hunk of venison on the side for good measure. boozy and delicious.
dare i say it, i think i won round two as well. you can't handle chartreuse arrived in a wonderful bath-shaped glass (don't go stealing them now!), with chilled gummy bears and neat squares of green chartreuse jelly on top. if only bathtime always involved portobello road gin, del maguey mezcal, yellow chartreuse, pineapple, lemon & elderflower.
all the while we were serenaded by a jazz trio who squeezed themselves into the corner of the relatively small back room. live music will be a regular occurrence, think ragtime / blues piano.
only half the cocktails were available on our visit, so i'm sure they have plenty more surprises up their sleeves, including some wacky sharing cocktails. a return visit is in order for more research, but on this showing shrub & shutter will be a popular addition to the brixton bar scene. well done lads.