When Alex Young first floated the idea of opening a cocktail bar in the Dorset market town of Blandford Forum, it was met with scepticism. “They said cocktails wouldn’t work in town,” but, he adds, “I’m a stubborn bastard.”
Three years later, Young has dispelled that myth in style. Launched with his wife Emma Woodward in May 2019, Ginger Viking (a nickname Young and his huge beard acquired from some Danish friends) has found a loyal audience among discerning locals often pleasantly bemused to find a regular at national bartending competitions mixing drinks in Blandford. That their goodwill has translated into OFM’s 2022 Best Place to Drink award “still hasn’t sunk in yet”.
