Ice. It’s not the most exciting thing in your glass when you’re drinking a cocktail, but you don’t realise how important it is to use the good stuff until you’re drinking a weak glass of cocktail squash because somebody’s used poor quality stuff.
We use a technique called directional freezing - the moulds are insulated on all sides except the top, so the cubes freeze from the top down for 24-48 hours, forcing air and impurities through a hole in the bottom. Less impurities mean a clearer ice cube which just looks ✨nicer✨, but less air means denser ice, which means it melts a lot slower, which means the drink tastes as it should all the way down.
Larger cubes have a greater volume to surface area ratio which also means they transfer their coldness without melting - and the added bonus it they provide a handy platform across the surface of the drink to rest garnishes on - like a little housemade butterscotch candy that comes with Handbag Snacks.
Licking the Spoon - a rum punch with La Hechicera and Havana Club 3yr Old, Raspberry liqueur, Vanilla, Maple and Cream Soda. Clarified with Coconut milk to give it a cake-batter-y mouthfeel.
Once the coconut solids have done their job, we whip them into a smooth raspberry cake frosting, served on a spoon for you to, well, lick. Part of our current Small Joys menu.
Small Pleasures come in all forms - the menu categorises them into Little Treats, Moments, and Nature, but there’s so many feelings and emotions tied to the Small Joys that link seemingly unrelated experiences. Nostalgia is a big one. Call us sentimental
Standing on a stool in the kitchen licking the spoon clean while baking, being given a sweet from the bottom of a grandparent’s handbag, being surprised by a bunch of spur of the moment flowers. Rose-tinted memories brought back to life by Licking The Spoon, Handbag Snacks, and Supermarket Flowers. Part of the soon-to-be-changing Small Joys menu - get them before they become a distant memory…
Blinker, Below Stairs, The Hideout
Some day was had last Tuesday after NRB, thanks to everyone who made this such a success. Some delicious drinks, friendly faces and good times!
#nrb #takeover #afterparty @belowstairsbar@hideout_bath
📸 @kittyfish_
BLINKER x BELOW STAIRS x THE HIDEOUT
Your first stop after NRB!
On Tuesday 10th March (4–8pm), we’re handing the bar to not one but two absolute heavyweights of the UK scene… Below Stairs and The Hideout, for a proper post-NRB link-up.
Leeds meets Bath meets Manchester.
Three cities. One bar. Zero excuses.
Below Stairs have been holding it down in Leeds for years, considered, creative, relentlessly good.
The Hideout have been making serious noise out of Bath, bold drinks, big energy, no half measures.
We’ll bring the northern charm.
They’ll bring the heat.
You just need to bring yourself.
Expect standout drinks, great chat and the kind of industry night that turns into “just one more”.
Tuesday 10th March. 4–8pm.
Blinker.
Don’t miss it.
TOP 50 BABY! 🎉🎉
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This evening (Tuesday 10th Feb) team Below Stairs are taking on London and attending the Uk Top 50 Cocktail Bar awards to celebrate another year being selected for the list!
Not to mention we’ve also been shortlisted for Sustainable Bar of the year - it’s gonna be one heck of a night and thought that it was only right for the whole team to head down and have a wee boogie
We reopen on Wednesday the 11th so come by then for a drink and tell us how much you missed us
🍸 BELOW STAIRS 🍸
Our faves are back once again! We’re stoked to have one of the best cocktail bars on the planet in Leeds, even better that we get them for an entire weekend in May 👌
…and yes, you can drink them all with your festival ticket 🤝
Our final Christmas Small Joy of the season is an excuse, as if you need one, to garnish a cocktail with a festively oversized lump of cheese. Inspired by the joy of hunkering down on Boxing Day, with no commitments other than comfort eating and comfort watching - in this case, Wallace & Gromit. We’ve gone for flavours of toast, jam, and of course Wensleydale. Happy Boxing Day.
This one goes out to the joy of those small theatrical flourishes and moments of spectacle to at make Christmas so special. When else would you risk setting your dining table alight to get a few oohs and aahs from your auntie? That’s showbiz, baby! Here’s a Christmas Pudding-inspired rum cocktail you can make at home which captures that precise joy.
Mulled Kalimotxo - bringing a little bit of basque warmth in a dreary Christmas market staple. Good way to use up leftover wine too (if those two words happen to exist together in your vocabulary). Cheap cola for sweetness and an indiscernible cloud of warm spice, and whatever extra hard spices you’ve got to hand, not a prescriptive recipe, more a suggestion, some guidance. Use it wisely or, even better, unwisely
Smells Like Christmas Spirit - our first festive small joy, inspired by the sweet, spicy aromatics lingering thick in the air around this time of year. You can make this one at home, and all you need is cranberry sauce, bitters, and the ingredients for a Cosmo, though it’s categorically NOT a Cosmo…
(Small) Joy to the World! We’ve come up with four Christmas-tinted Small Joy cocktails which aren’t available at the bar, but can absolutely be made with the contents of your Christmas booze and kitchen cupboards. Maybe a little jaunt to the off license, but isn’t getting away from the family and go for “a walk” a small joy in itself? They’ll be coming out over the next few days, but in the meantime let us know some Christmassy joys of your own in the comments
