welcome back january,
the month in which
we’re told to turn our back on alcohol and
all things fun. For those of you who are
serious, so-called ‘dry’ bars are a growing
trend in the UK. London’s alcohol-free roof
den, Redemption
(redemptionbar.com)
, for instance,
shakes up some great drinks (try a Coca-Rita) and you
won’t find a drop of the hard stuff at Liverpool’s café-bar
The Brink
(thebrinkliverpool.com)
– just a global range of
mocktails. Even Shoreditch’s new rock-star venue, Ace
Hotel
(acehotel.com)
, has a juice bar. No hangover, no
bust bank balance, no beer goggles…
Sounds good to us, but abstinence isn’t in our job
description, so we’re looking to banish the January blues
with a guide to positive drinking. First up, don’t mistake
liquid for low-cal: a Sex on the Beach is a not-so-sexy
300 calories, and this isn’t even the worst of them.
Luckily, London bars The Happenstance
(thehappenstancebar.co.uk)
andThe
Anthologist
(theanthologistbar.co.uk)
add a calorie count to their cocktail
menus, so you don’t have to anything
a size to your waist. Box ticked.
Nothing will sort your post-Christmas hangover quite
like coconut water - with a similar pH level as your blood,
it’s the most effective cure out there, and packed with
vitamin C and minerals. More to the point, it’s bang on
trend. To get the real deal, order a Cocoface coconut from
Babylon Beach in Ibiza
(babylonbeachbar.com)
.
Ask nicely and they might just spike it for you – we like
ours with vodka. Belvedere, if you’re buying.
Of course, if you’re keen on these drinks packed with
nutrients, have a Bloody Mary. Tomato juice is bursting
with vitamins and antioxidants; Worcestershire sauce
contains vitamin C; horseradish has cancer-fighting
properties, and celery reduces blood pressure. Where
to try the best? Our fave is in Amsterdam – so head to
Freddy’s at De L’Europe
(leurope.nl/freddys),
where they
add a ‘secret ingredient’ which they’ll take to the grave…
As to really banishing the January blues, there’s
one surefire way. Tequila. No, seriously: the
spirit releases happy-making endorphins,
so get yourself to La Perla in Paris
(cafepacifico-laperla.com)
, order a
Margarita and start smiling.
barchick.com
B A R C H I C K
Nothing will
sort your post-Christmas
hangover out quite like
coconut water – it’s the most
effective cure out there
ILLUSTRATION
TIM LAHAN
“Here’s to your health”
Struggling to cope with the January blues? Then booze your way out of it with
some positive drinking, says our secret drinks columnist
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