Interview with bartender Matt Whiley

You’re producing your own gin, etc. Would you like a bar stocked with your own spirits?

We definitely use the spirits we make but the drinks business is massive and what the bigger brands can provide for you is also invaluable. It’s about having a really carefully selected spirit list and not forgetting the small producers but also using the bigger brands. The bigger brands have done amazing things for our industry as well, in supporting bars and essentially helping us grow.

How integral is the rotary evaporator to your drinks?

It’s integral in every single cocktail on our menu. It goes pretty much all day every day. Our menu is as prep-heavy as any other cocktail bar I’ve worked in. The rotary evaporator means we can produce something different to set ourselves apart from everyone else. If everyone buys spirits from the same company, the playing field is very level. What we’re doing is changing the playing field.

Non-alcoholic cocktails: do you feel like there is a lot of scope for creativity in non-alcoholic cocktails? And are they sometimes not given enough thought on cocktail menus?

To be fair, I’ve been guilty of leaving them aside for all of my bartending career, up until the last 6 months. But we’ve developed non-alcoholics now and they’re becoming part of our thing. When people go out for drinks, it’s not just about people drinking alcohol and there are people who don’t want to do so, it’s about joining in and not just being a second thought. We’re offering drinks that are really well-balanced and have elements of an alcoholic cocktail just without the alcohol.

Where do you go to drink wine or beer?

Mother Kelly’s, The Fox, Euston Tap, Sager & Wilde - I love what those guys are doing.

You clearly like beer - what’s your favourite brewery?

Probably Beavertown, because their beers are a little bit out there. I love The Kernel, just because it’s like the birthplace of UK craft beer. But there are loads of new breweries I love like Brew by Numbers, Partizan, Fourpure…it’s hard to pick one favourite. Redchurch... oh, and Magic Rock - Highwire's my favourite beer. Cannonball's amazing as well, and Salty Kiss... it's so weird, so great.

And favourite destination for cocktails outside of London?

I’m going to be controversial and say somewhere that’s outside of the UK – definitely New York. London is as good as anywhere in the world for cocktails, there are some great bars in Edinburgh. If I was to be pushed to give somewhere in the UK, I’d say Edinburgh, like Brambles - which is amazing. There are some great places in Leeds too. But New York, like London, it’s only a small place but there are great bars everywhere.