The Manchester Gin bar under the arches selling chocolate-topped espresso martinis
In celebration of the big reopening, Three Little Words is serving up an intriguing-looking spring menu - with new additions among the drinks and dishes.
Manchester Gin’s bar and restaurant under the arches is back with a bang.
After months of closure, Three Little Words is flexing its culinary muscles as the team revamp their small plates and cocktail menus for the new season.
The swanky little spot, which is tucked inside the Grade-II listed building between Deansgate and Great Northern, also acts as the sister site to the Spirit of Manchester Distillery – a venue renowned for its ‘gin experiences‘ (where you can make your own bottle to take home).
In celebration of the big reopening, Three Little Words is serving up an intriguing-looking spring menu – with new additions among the drinks and dishes.
The fresh cocktail list includes recipes like the Bonnie & Clyde, a blueberry flavoured vodka-based drink made with house vanilla and honey syrup, and a house twist on a Pina Colada served with rum-soaked toasted pineapple wedge skewer and pineapple leaves
But our must-try? A salted caramel chocolate-topped espresso martini called (wait for it) 99 Problems (but this drink ain’t one).
Not only does it sound delicious, it perfectly sums up the year (and then some) that Manchester’s hospitality has just had. Made with Manchester Gin’s own signature house blend, amaretto, freshly brewed espresso, dandelion and burdock, it’s then topped with a slab of salted caramel chocolate.
On the food side of things, new small plates include pork popcorn with juniper and fennel salt, red onion and chilli bhaji with sumac and yoghurt, and asparagus & dolcelatte arancini.
We also really like the look of the new pork belly bon bons, served with apple, maple bacon and lambs lettuce.
Reopen Wednesday through to Sunday, with a live DJ on Friday and Saturday evenings, Three Little Words serves until late with weekend close times of 2.30am.
Thursdays and Sundays feature live band entertainment, with doors shutting at 1am.
Nostalgic ready-to-drink Breezer makes UK return after a decade
Daisy Jackson
An iconic ready-to-drink favourite has launched back into the UK – oh yes, Breezer is back.
First launched in the 1990s, Breezers – then pitched as an ‘alcopop’ – were a staple on dancefloors and at barbecues right across the UK.
And now Bacardi has decided to bring these delicious, fruity, easy-drinking bottles back to British shores.
There are three new flavours to try as Breezers return to your fridges – Zesty Orange, Zingy Lime, and Crisp Watermelon.
And Breezer launched back into Manchester last night with a suitably memorable party, turning a spot in the Northern Quarter into a corner shop.
The ‘local Cornerbop’ was stacked with your usual essentials, plus shelf after shelf of these colourful glass ready-to-drink bottles.
Inside the Breezer ‘Cornerbop’ corner shop in ManchesterBreezer is back, in three new flavours
The Breezer relaunch party saw Tarsza and Rennie Peters spinning nostalgic anthems with a modern twist at a pop-up party in a corner shop.
Steve Young, business unit director for Bacardi in the UK & Ireland, said: “We know there is a lot of love for Breezer in the UK, and we are confident a new generation of consumers will fall in love with the new Breezer.
“RTDs are booming, however, the Flavoured Alcoholic Beverages category could do with a bit more excitement. By bringing back Breezer we’re definitely putting the fruity taste into FAB.”
The iconic ready-to-drink classic is back – and better than ever.
£1.8m revamp of Ancoats pub The Shamrock is FINALLY set to begin
Daisy Jackson
At long last, work to revamp The Shamrock pub in Ancoats is about to begin – and they’re calling on locals to rename the historic boozer.
The Shamrock, on Bengal Street, was taken over by Joseph Holt brewery in 2019 but has been firmly sealed shut ever since, with the pandemic halting its revamp.
But now the family-owned brewery is ready to get to work on the pub, with a £1.8m revamp kicking off very soon.
The Shamrock, which dates back to 1808, will be transformed from an Irish pub into a Joseph Holt’s venue.
Back in the turn of the 19th century, it was a popular watering hole for the Irish and Italian communities who moved to the industrial neighbourhood.
Obviously, Ancoats has gone through some pretty major changes in the years since, and is now one of the city’s trendiest and foodiest suburbs, filled with flats, bars, coffee shops and more.
It’s because of this that the Joseph Holt team felt like The Shamrock was due a new name for its new chapter, and are asking the public to help rename the pub, with a shortlist of five names drawn up.
The options on the table for when the pub reopens include The Victoria Arms (as a nod to the flats and accommodation across the road); The Fleet (the name of a former neighbouring pub); and The Linen Arms, reflecting the city’s cotton trade.
The historic Ancoats pub The Shamrock will finally undergo a £1.8m revamp. Credit: Supplied
The other choices for the public to vote on are The Spinners Rest, after the mill workers who lived in historic Ancoats; and Queen Adelaide, after another former pub around the corner on the main Ancoats Road.
Richard Kershaw, CEO of Joseph Holt, said: “As a family business with deep roots in the area, our pubs are very much at the very heart of the communities where they are located.
“With the moving forward of long-awaited refurbishment of The Shamrock – and with it a new name – we wanted our customers to feel part of the journey.
“So we brainstormed names for the pub that would respect the past and the local area while also looking to the future. Now we’re letting the people who matter most to us, our customers, decide which one to use.”
You can place your vote on the new name for The Shamrock pub HERE. One participant who picks the winning name will receive free drinks vouchers.
Georgina Pellant -
21st May 2021 
