The Spirit of Manchester Distillery lies within a series of Grade-II listed railway arches on Watson Street, tucked away between Manchester Central and Great Northern Warehouse. It incorporates a distillery making gin, rum, whisky and more as well as a gin-making school* where people can book in to create and distill their own bespoke bottle to take home.
There’s also a smart, elegant bar and restaurant, Three Little Words, and they’ve just taken some new talent on board who are keen to make their mark. New bar and drinks development manager, Daniel Clarke, has created the venue’s third signature cocktail menu: ‘Ground to Glass’. The premium cocktail bar recently won ‘Team of the Year’ at the prestigious Top 50 Cocktail Bars Awards under Dan’s leadership and the new collection of drinks celebrate the processes behind the on-site spirit-making operation.
Ground to Glass features sixteen intriguing new cocktails which explore and expand on the processes that take grains and plants and make them into alcohol and spirits. From cultivation of grain through to distillation, maturation – and finally the perfect first sip of your cocktail. A hell of a lot of thought has gone into these drinks.
We tried ‘For Miso Sake’, an unusual Asian-inspired cocktail featuring Manchester Gin Wild Spirit, red pepper, plum saké, jasmine and miso - served in a glass inside a traditional Japanese Masu Box. It's slight mineral savoury edge made it quite unique.
You might have already seen the striking ‘Under Pressure’ cocktail on Instagram. Manchester Raspberry Gin with watermelon infused Aperol, mint, lime distillate and apple topped with a show-stopping citrus bubble that releases a puff of smoke when burst.
Some drinks are super long and refreshing like ‘Second Chances’ containing homemade Limoncello (they didn’t want to waste all the lemon skins the bar was going through so put it to good use) with watermelon, white wine, pomegranate, basil and soda. Some drinks, like ‘Clear Waters’ with Haçienda Gin, Samphire, wine, fennel and nori are shorter and unexpectedly punchy. We even tried the fiery ‘Gimme Heat’ with ancho chilli distillate and home made lime cordial which is a good one who like things spicy but balanced.
Meanwhile in the kitchen, new chef Karl Kivell (formerly of Kala) has developed a selection of small seasonal plates to complement the cocktails – he’s also managed to cleverly incorporate some boozy elements here and there. And he has plenty to work with as Manchester Gin’s core range is made up of six unique flavours: Signature, Raspberry Infused, Wild Spirit, Overboard, Haçienda and Blackberry Infused. And it’s not just gin, The Spirit of Manchester Distillery also produces Manchester Spirit vodka and One Eyed Rebel rum.
Designed for sharing, menu highlights include an incredibly rich duck parfait choux bun with apricot and chives – highly recommended by Manchester Gin co-founder Seb Healey - and a spicy Italian-inspired sausage roll served with apple ketchup.
The Spirit of Manchester Distillery’s spirits take centre-stage on anchovy and heirloom tomato salad prepared with Manchester Gin Wild Spirit, or, one of our favourites, a tender beef skirt which had been marinated in One-Eyed Rebel Rum and is served with wilted spinach. We also really enjoyed Karl’s take on fish and chips with an excellent fruity chip shop curry sauce – except the shoestring fries aren't easy to pick up so could do with fattening up a bit .
Plant based plates include spiced orange carrots with crunchy chick peas and salsa verde - although we’ll have to come back to try tempura seasonal veg as well as their version of broccoli with romesco sauce and almond (Porta in Salford is the one to beat.)
What else is on?
Award winning bar Three Little Words and The Spirit of Manchester Distillery, have announced a brand new ‘Friday Social’ food and drinks offer with a menu that will change monthly.
Guests will be given insight and brief guidance during a neat spirit tasting, before they go onto enjoy a cocktail of choice from a selection of three options, plus two perfectly-paired small plates dishes from a choice of four . The offer will be available for £20pp every Friday from 12pm until 7pm for the perfect launch into the weekend.
On Sundays, Three Little Words hosts, Feed the Soul, a laid-back weekly event featuring Sunday roast and all the trimmings, unlimited gravy, fluffy Yorkshire puddings, live music, and cocktails including Bacon Bloody Mary’s.
*The distillery also offers a range of tours, where the team will guide guests through a gin tasting, a distillery tour and teach visitors how to make their own gin in the state-of-the-art distillery and Gin School. Packages include, Distillery Tour and Guided Tasting, priced at £25 per person and Gin Making Experience priced at £95 per person, which includes a bottle of home-made gin to take home. Additionally, Taste The Distillery, is priced at £25 per person and includes an insight into not only gin tasting, but rum, vodka and vermouth.
To make a reservation please visit www.threelittlewordsmcr.co.uk
OPENING HOURS:
Monday/Tuesday – Closed
Wednesday/Thursday 5pm-1am
Friday/Saturday 12pm-2.30am
Sunday 12pm-1am
Three Little Words, 10-15 Watson Street, Manchester, M3 4LP
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Also read: WHAT TO ORDER – PERU PERDU