Brain booze: The cocktail menu will features ingredients from reishi mushrooms to the ashwagandha herb
(Picture: Anton Rodriguez/The Standard London)Anyone who’s ever suffered one of those head-bursting hangovers that comes after a night on the cocktails will know that, fun and delicious as they are, these concoctions aren’t exactly known for their health benefits.
But a new bar at The Standard, London hotel in King’s Cross is out to change that, with what is thought to be the UK’s first cocktail menu dedicated to “energising adaptogens and nootropics”, from reishi mushrooms to the ashwagandha herb.
No bog-standard G&Ts here, then. Instead, these drinks will latch onto a bandwagon that has been gathering pace for some time and which has recently made its way into the mixology world; that is, the incorporation of ingredients grouped under the umbrella of nootropics of adaptogens, many of which have been used in herbal medicine for centuries. They allegedly improve cognitive function and mental wellbeing.
In the case of Sweeties, that means cocktails such as the Frothy Boi, made using lacto-rhubarb, gin, raspberry, pink pepper and fermented amazake oats, the Pick Me Up (a blend of eight mushrooms, brown vodka, cacao and coffee) and the Crystal Healing (spirulina, pepper dulse seaweed distillate, bergamot and coconut ice). And for those who want to banish any risk of a hangover whatsoever, the majority of cocktails will be available as non-alcoholic versions. The menu has been put together by mixologists Jack Sotti and Todd Austin.
This all comes with a disclaimer. A quick search online will show you just how debatable the world of nootropics is — some people swear by the transformative effects of these ingredients, while many point to a lack of formal scientific evidence backing up their supposed power.
Either way, the drinks will certainly provide a left-field alternative to many cocktail menus in the city, though a number of classic drinks will also be available. And the bar itself, found on the hotel’s 10th floor, seems as if it will be a fun one — with a heavy-hitting Funktion-One sound system helmed by a rotating cast of DJs, and a late licence that will keep the party going into the wee hours, with Sweeties opening Wednesday to Saturday from 5pm until 2am.
It’ll be a bit of a looker too, styled on “1970s Hollywood opulence” with velvet sofas, mirrored tables and what it describes as “a six-foot antique phallic sculpture”.
