The Alchemist New York Street, Manchester

If you're looking for flamboyant cocktails, a night of surprise and excitement plus a great atmosphere, you can never go wrong with an Alchemist bar and restaurant.  The Alchemist has a chain of four bars: one in Leeds, one in London and two in Manchester, all of which specialise in molecular drinks curated by a team of highly trained mixologists.

Last week I was kindly invited to the Manchester New York Street Alchemist to try a few of their signature cocktails whilst I was in town doing a spot of shopping with my husband. My husband and I are regulars at The Alchemist in Leeds, but it was the first time I had ever visited one of the Manchester bars. The New York Street Alchemist is much larger than the one in Leeds. It is very spacious, has beautiful decor and a large bar where you can watch the drinks being made and socialise with your friends.

The New York Street Alchemist is just a few minutes walk from Piccadilly Gardens in central Manchester and is easy to find from both Victoria or Piccadilly train stations. The bar is conveniently situated in the heart of the Manchester shopping district enabling you to call in at your leisure whilst having a day of retail therapy and making it really easy to find on an evening if you have friends travelling from the outskirts of town. The Alchemist is more commonly associated with cocktails rather than food, but they also serve really scrumptious meals ranging from Thai food to gourmet burgers and sandwiches.

The first cocktail my husband and I had the pleasure of sampling was the Mad Hatters Tea Party. The Mad Hatter's Tea Party is one of The Alchemist's newest creations crafted from their top secret laboratory. The cocktail consists of Ketel One Vodka,  elderflower liqueur, Cointreau, citrus, gomme and water boiled up and infused with a fresh fruit mix. The mixture is boiled over a bunsen burner whilst you watch and then served up in smoking tea cups.

The Mad Hatters Tea Party not only looks spectacular, but tastes spectacular too. The cocktail is fruity and fresh and soft on the palette. It's not too strong but still packs a punch and it's every Instagramers dream. At £20 this sharing cocktail is one of the most expensive on The Alchemist menu, but it is worth buying it for the experience alone, nevermind the amazing taste.

The next two drinks brought to us were the Bubble Bath cocktail and Solero.  The Bubble Bath cocktail featured on the left is a mixture Bombay Dry, Chambord, Aperol, apple juice and a dash of sugar, whilst the Solero was a much tamer cocktail of Passoã, Ketel One, lemon and lime juice, orange and apple juice with a touch of mango syrup all garnished with white chocolate foam. I really liked the sweetness of the Bubble Bath and the way it was presented and loved the white chocolate foam on the Solero, even if it did feel a bit heavy on the stomach afterwards. 

Next on the menu was the 'Flavour Changing One'. I couldn't wait to try this cocktail as it incorporated two of my favourite cocktail ingredients - apple and raspberry. If you are someone who gets bored of your cocktail towards the end, this one is for you. It starts out with a juicy raspberry taste then progresses to a really tart, but juicy apple.  I love this cocktail because it is simple and elegant and still has a little bit of Alchemist magic. 

The final cocktail and my husbands favourite was the Vesper Martini, based off the 2006 James Bond film, Casino Royale. The Vesper Martini is a complicated blend of French vermouth, Grey Goose and Bombay Dry and comes served in it's own little hip flask that you are keep and refill once you have finished. The hip flasks are a really nice added extra to these drinks and make really nice presents if you don't want to keep one for yourself. The cocktail was far too strong for us at first, but one of the mixologists offered to add lemonade and in my opinion, it tasted so much better. 

My husband and I had such a pleasant time at The Alchemist New York Street and like always, The Alchemist didn't disappoint. If you're looking for something a little bit quirky and cocktails that are conservation makers, you really need to pay the Alchemist New York Street a visit.

Have you ever visited an Alchemist bar?

*This visit to The Alchemist was complimentary.