Last night seen the launch of Belfast’s Cocktail Week in the Cocktail Bar in The Merchant Hotel, hosted by the amazing owners of Bar Swift in Soho London, Bobby Hiddleston and Mia Johansson and two of their fantastic barmen Max and Sam.
Bobby, Mia and barman Max
Barman Sam
Sam working his magic
Mia and Bobby opened their dream bar in December 2016 and not even a year old it has already had rave reviews and won Best International Bar 2017 which is an amazing achievement in itself.
Talking with Mia you can see the passion and determination she has of their bar and it was so lovely to hear about their journey to opening Bar Swift.
Mia and Bobby met 7 years ago whilst running Milk & Honey in London. They then made the move to New York to run another successful bar called The Dead Rabbit which is where they met the owners of the Merchant. From here they moved back to London to run a bar called Callooh Callay and finally they found investors and opened up their dream bar – Bar Swift.
Downstairs in Bar Swift
Upstairs bar
Bar Swift is a two floor bar open 7 days a week offering live music to bespoke making cocktails. The downstairs bar is a reservation only super cosy and relaxing stylish bar with a strong focus on whiskey and a very lengthy cocktail menu with them offering nearly 300 different whiskeys, this is a whiskey lovers dream. Below is their signature Irish Coffee.
Upstairs is a pub style service and is set in a very funky glamorous bar which is great for a spontaneous drink with a short menu of light cocktails.
Their main emphasis has always been to offer super fresh ingredients into every cocktail made and is all about building flavours. Having tasted quite a few of their incredible cocktails I would have to agree that the taste is incredible and unique. Not something you get anywhere else. The finished product is a work of art and are delicious. Some of my favourite cocktails are below.
The Sgroppino – Lemon sorbet, prosecco, Italicus
Both Japanese – Monkey 47, Lillet Rose, strawberry, lemon, white cacao
The Medallion – Lemongrass Monkey 47, grappe, lemon sherbet, mint, absinthe
Max kindly made me a unique cocktail
Belfast Cocktail Week is running events around the city all week so check out the website here for all the event details and I definitely recommend you popping into the Cocktail Bar in the Merchant where Bar Swift staff will be there to make you up one of the nicest cocktails you will ever taste! and should you ever be in London make sure you visit Bar Swift for a truly unforgettable experience.
