Born of JJ Goodman infamy, Craft Cocktail Company have taken your liquid pondering and made it a reality. Cocktails on tap, cocktails from kegs and cocktails all kinds of bottled, these folks have beaten us all to the mixology mark: here's the point at which I go and bother these clever cocktail clogs.
The Venue:
Tucked under a Bethnal Green train-track, Craft Cocktail Co is a tin drum of cool. Split across two floors, with a mezzanine overlooking their cocktail production area and front of house alike, Craft Cocktail Co feels all sorts of stuck in. Industrial with an artsy edge, furniture comes in the shape of hand-painted wooden palettes, all overlooked by 'Craft' in Hollywood neons. But this is no uppity cocktail arena, championing Bethnal Green's laid-back attitude, Craft Cocktail Co is more steel planking than it is strewn about sparkles. A fun-filled Charlie and the Cocktail Factory, this bar is a great workshop of kegs and live bottling.
A wondersome cocktail workshop in the heart of Bethnal Green.
The Drinks:
With kegs out back toting an endless supply of concoctions, it was nice to see that Craft Cocktail Co haven't blown their offering out of the water with an intimate 4 draft cocktails on regular rotation. Their Summer Fruit Cup came in at a really reasonable £6 for the 'Like Pimms but better' tag; from gin and hand pressed lemonade to angostura bitters and antica formula vermouth, it's a great showcase of their natural cocktail stance. But the shining light had to be their bottled sparkling cocktails (at 10% ABV might I add), all torn between the likes of a petit pois gin toting 'Southern Fairy' and the lychee, vodka and rose water 'Geisha'. I was personally won over by a smack in the back of the head 'Lavender Paloma' with 100% agave tequila, English lavender, juniper and pink grapefruit juice at a mere £7 a glass, £25 a bottle.
But it's not just the cocktails that have sass: their beers offers something of a local craft, delivering a small but devoted selection of local crafts, the beer offering at Craft Cocktail Co is equally as impressive. Serving up a Hackney Gold and a Shoreditch Blonde, it becomes clear that these guys refuse to be bogged down by quantity over quality.
Craft Cocktail Company champion a new approach to any and all concoctions: cocktails on draft.
The Atmosphere:
The bar staff at Craft Cocktail Co sure as heck weren't fleeting with their time - not only taking a monster-sized moment to explain the concept, they're encouragingly proud of the work that they do, taking the time upon each wooden palette of guests. And while they may have only been on soft launch (meaning that this nummy little nook hasn't yet benefited from a grandiose announcement and influx of Bethnal Green boozers), I don't doubt that the intimate selection of guests that I saw on the night will steadily grow.
Ask the charming bar staff for help and tasty hints, they'll settle down and discuss to no end.
Summary:
Heck, maybe it's the 10% ABV talking, but in the name of Billy Paul's 'Me and Mrs Jones', me and Craft Cocktail Company got a thing going on. From their cool archway plot and their insatiably helpful bar staff, to their petit pois infused concoctions, those with a penchant for a party on their palate won't be giving Craft Cocktail Co a miss.
