I’ve inadvertently discovered a few hidden gems recently. And the host venue for this post is another that I need to come back and revisit.
Last week saw me heading off to the wilds of Buxton after work, to visit Monk Cocktail Bar, for a night of cocktails with a difference. This was to be a sensory experience, one not just for taste and smell as you’d expect from your drink, but sights and sounds too.
Late last year Bols announced a global competition. Bols Around The World was their search for their next Bols Genever Pioneer. Someone to take their spirits forward into 2017 and onwards. Someone with ideas, skill and knowledge.
One of the entrants was Manachain Monaghan. I first met Mannie when I was asked to help judge the Manchester heat of the Don Papa Rum competition in 2015. His first competition, he was one of the two winners selected on that day. His skill was evident from that first meeting. I knew to keep an eye on him.
And I was right, Mannie has made it all the way through to heat four. He has competed with bartenders from around the world to make it this far, and this round meant that he had to host an event showcasing Bols Genever in his bar. Allowing him the opportunity to show his skills in a busy bar environment, as well as his ideas surrounding the spirit and it’s move forward.
And what a night it was. We began our evening with a Kopstootje – or what we would know as a beer and a shot. A tulipshaped glass of genever is served with your glass of beer, and the two are there to be enjoyed simultaneously. (It is worth noting, perhaps that kopstootje means “little headache”).
No worries here, however. Mannie had paired our Bols Genever shot with a small tot of mead, matching the honeyed notes of the spirit, and setting us up nicely for his themed night.
Mannie’s night featured two elements. Sense and sustainability. As part of the first round of heats, bartenders were asked to create a cocktail for the future. 2025. He believes (and I tend to agree) that sustainability would become more important in the future, and that in this world of technology and seeking to immerse ourselves in experiences, just drinking a cocktail wouldn’t cut it any more. We would want to stimulate all our senses.
So we began with instructions to bring our phones and our earphones. And to hunt out this Instagram page. Mannie would create cocktails using more sustainable methods, and we could dive into the experience of them by plugging in and switching on as we sipped. Though there was a cocktail menu, there were no clues not hints to the contents of our drinks. It was all about experience.
Inspired by the Dutch East India Company, the VOC cocktail featured was rich, sweet with notes of dried fruit. The glass had been spritzed with a salt and seaweed spray and a glass with black tea smoke had been placed on the table, again taking inspiration from the VOC and Bols’ history with the company. Ears plugged into the sound of the waves crashing against the ship we saw on the Instagram video echoing the salt spray on our glass, whilst the tea plantation and the spice market matched the scent of the smoke.
Blue was our third drink. Again looking seaward, we were taken to bright blue waters by our visual stimulus, whilst in the bar we took a small shot of lemon, and poured it into our glass of pale blue, simultaneously chaing the colour and the flavour – sour to balance the almost intense sweetness in our drink.
We then moved onto The B Cocktail. Mannie’s first round entry – his cocktail for 2025.
As such, we knew the contents from Mannie’s own Instagram post. Bols Genever Original, wild flower honey, bee pollen infused vermouth, bitters, topped with a sloe and rose foam and dusted with powdered golden bee pollen.
Visually, we were drawn to a summer meadow, much like the site he created for his entry – www.bcocktail.com. The website also tied into charities who are working to save our bees which are in chronic decline due to the overuse of pesticides and Colony Collapse Disorder. No bees not only means no honey, but is also means no pollination. No pollination means no fresh produce. No fresh produce means no food. And no drinks.
Yes, booze included.
Our final drink was the one created by Mannie for his second heat. Knowledge.
Again returning to his theme of sustainability, Greenery makes use of some of hospitalities biggest waste products. Juiced lemon husks. The husks are steeped in water, and balanced with malic acid. The resulting liquid is then combined with mace and sugar to create a syrup, which is then blended with Bols Barrel Aged Genever, peppermint and ginger tea, Galliano, basil leaves and a little water.
The resulting drink is fresh, and intensely green – pulling in the more herbal notes of the Genever and matching beautifully with the green forest we sank into on Instagram.
Mannie, Monk – thank you for a fantastic night. I love nothing more than to see creativity and passion, and that’s what you have in spades. Whatever happens, I’m keeping you on my ‘one to watch’ list.
And, dear reader, you should too.
