Hot on the heels of its 10th anniversary celebrations, Shoreditch favourite Callooh Callay will launch its annual menu update next month. Known for its award-winning creative menus which add a playful twist to nostalgic designs, Callooh’s 2019 menu reimagines the iconic vintage Haynes car manuals of the 1980s as a guide to building the world’s best cocktail bar.
Curated by Callooh Callay founder Richard Wynne and his bar team and sticking closely to the distinct Haynes manual layout and design; the new informative menu, entitled The Cocktail Bar Manual, opens with a contents page listing the 26 new cocktails, all of which have been inspired by nine different stages of developing a bar from scratch. Sections include “The Plan”, “The Location”, “The Team” and “Keeping a Clear Head”, which is entirely dedicated to alcohol-free cocktails.
Submissions from every member of the bar team reflect Callooh Callay’s journey, since Wynne opened the doors on Shoreditch’s Rivington Street during the financial crash of 2008. For example, listed under “The Plan”, Nan’s Orchard is a smooth blend of Apple Cider Brandy, El Gobernador Pisco, Noilly Prat, Ginger Cordial, Lemon, Apple Pie Syrup, Citrus, Ginger Ale, which pays homage to Wynne’s grandmother, who provided the initial nest egg to get Callooh off the ground.
Reflecting the demand for grown-up non-alcoholic options amongst Callooh’s clientele, the new menu also features a kombucha of the week, made in house, and stylish hangover free versions of classic tipples, including the Pina con Nada, a refreshing blend of coconut cream, pineapple lime and salt and the All Flora no Dora with ginger cordial, lime, fresh raspberries and ginger ale
Callooh’s tradition for playful presentation extends to “The Build” section. The Builders Breakfast, a rum based concoction laced with tea syrup, is served in a builders mug for individual portions or a sharing flask whilst Jabberwocky Milk, with Tanquerey gin, lemon, marshmallow syrup, egg white, cream and soda is served in a miniature paint tin.
For those wanting to learn more about their drink’s backstory, drinkers will be able to scroll through dedicated pages of the manual menu for each serve, whilst imbibers with a certain craving can flick to the index of ingredients to find the perfect drink for them.
A year in the making, Callooh Callay Founder Richard Wynne said of the new menu:
“We’ve created some really fun and interactive menus over the years, and I’m hugely grateful to all the work the team who have put in a massive effort to make the Haynes manual-inspired creative a reality. They were huge when I was a kid, and I love anything with a bit of nostalgic retro value.
We’ve really dug deep into our experiences over the last 10 years to bring it together, starting with the seed money my grandma generously gave me to start the venture, so the finished menu is one of the most personal to me.
I strongly believe that the most important aspect of any bar is the team, and I’m proud to say that our new menu includes at least one drink from every one of our current bar team. The result is a wonderfully varied offering reflecting their individual backgrounds and tastes – from kombucha to sherbert – and a top-notch selection of non-alcoholic cocktails too. We’re now excited to see what our customers think about the Haynes-inspired menu, and introducing an awesome line-up of new drinks at Callooh Callay…”
The Cocktail Bar Manual will be available Wednesday 10th April 2019 with a seasonal refresh set to launch later this year.
DRINKS ENTHUSIAST 