Manchester bar Schofield’s has put the city on the map in a whole new way after making it into the extremely prestigious World’s 50 Best Bars list.
It is the first time a cocktail bar from Manchester has been featured in the annual list since it began.
The World’s 50 best represents the ultimate international guide to the world’s top bars and drinking destinations, providing an annual ranking of bars as voted for by 650 drinks experts from across the globe.
The list is revealed annually at The World’s 50 Best Bars awards, which will take place this year in Barcelona on 4 October 2022.
Image: Schofield’s
Image: Schofield’s
However, every year alongside the 50 Best the organisation also publishes an extended 51-100 list featuring some of the world’s best drinking destinations – including Manchester favourite Schofield’s.
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The eponymous bar from Bury-born brothers Dan and Joe Schofield ranks highly at number 59, sitting above London bars Three Sheets (#72), Side Hustle (#75) and Donovan Bar (#89) in what is a real coup for Manchester’s cocktail bartending scene.
Speaking on the award win, the brothers told The Manc: “We are honoured to have been placed as the 59th best bar in the world!
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“Especially when the organisation informed us we are the only bar in the country to have placed in the list outside of London since 2008 when the list officially started.
“It’s great to be part of this wonderful bar and restaurant scene in Manchester.”
Despite having only been open a year and a half, the bar has amassed an armory of accolades. Earlier this year it was named UK Bar of the Year and New Bar of the Year at the Class Bar Mag awards, making history in the process as the first venue to ever win both.
Opened inside the Art Deco Sunlight House, previously home to historic Manchester boozer the Old Grapes, on the menu you’ll find a list of carefully-curated cocktails, beers, wine, champagne and small plates.
Image: Schofield’s
Image: Schofield’s
Offering a mix of refined classics like sazeracs, martinis, negronis and manhattans, alongside house signatures like the ‘Lone Tree’, ‘Tattle Tale’ and ‘Guinness Punch’, the brothers draw on their combined 30 years of experience to create something truly special.
They have also launched two more bars in the city since opening Schofield’s: Atomeca on Deansgate Square and, just last week, the new drinking den Sterling, which is found in an old bank vault underneath Gary Neville’s Stock Exchange Hotel.
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Open from 12pm – 1.30am Wednesday to Sunday, walk-ins are welcome but you can reserve a table if you wish. To see the full menu at Schofield’s click here.
Feature image – Schofield’s
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Salford confirms another ex-player as new CEO of phoenix rugby club
Danny Jones
As Salford turns the page of a new chapter in its rugby league history, ex-Red Devils player Ryan Brierley has been announced as the new chief executive officer (CEO).
His appointment was confirmed on Wednesday, 24 December, giving Salford rugby fans some fresh hope over the festive period.
Brierley, who played as a full back at Salford Red Devils from 2022 before leaving for Oldham RLFC halfway through last season earlier this year, follows fellow former player Mason Caton-Brown in returning to the team in a leadership capacity.
Sharing the news on his own social media, he wrote: “Incredibly honoured to announce I have been appointed Chief Executive Officer of Salford RLFC.”
His official statement goes on to read: “I would like to place on record my gratitude to the board members Malcolm Crompton, Mason Caton Brown and Paul Hancock for this opportunity. I would also like to thank the RFL and Salford City Council for their continued support.
“Lastly, but most importantly, to the Salford fans: what we had to go through last year was heartbreaking. I think I can speak to the wider Rugby League community and echo the sentiments of all fans that no club should ever go through that experience.
“Thank you for letting me lead this organisation into a new era. I’ve always said Salford people are my people and I will protect this club, with its best interests at heart. It is important [that] expectations are managed, and patience is required.”
He signed off by simply asking for the same support he was afforded as a fan, adding: “I have no doubt in my mind that you will go above and beyond, it’s just what Salford fans do…”
Led by the aforementioned Caton-Brown (a retired winger who played for the Red Devils between 2014-26), as well as another pair of directors in Hancock and Crompton, the Salford phoenix club has officially been given a Championship license for 2026.
Although relegation from the Super League and liquidation after 152 years were dark days for the club, this new consortium has already provided fans with some promising signs.
Besides saving the Salford sporting institution from total extinction, having previous members of the old outfit who know the bones, the stadium, the culture and the city so well is obviously a big bonus.
For now, it is a race against time to get a squad ready for the season opener against Brierley’s last team, Oldham – though contracts for a head coach and several players have reportedly been “pre-agreed”.
Featured Images — John Moorhouse (via Geograph)/supplied (via Rumpus PR)
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Netflix drops the first trailer for upcoming Peaky Blinders film
Danny Jones
It looks like Christmas has come early for TV drama fans and cinephiles, because Netflix has officially dropped the first trailer for the upcoming Peaky Blinders movie.
Popcorn at the ready – even the teaser alone has got us fired up.
ln just 70 seconds, they’ve managed to pull us right back in, and we cannot wait to see Cillian Murphy back in full-on Tommy Shelby mode.
Not exaggerating when we say we have LITERAL chills.
As you can see, they certainly haven’t scrimped on the budget with the first-ever feature-length Peaky Blinders film, neither in terms of production value nor the cast.
Then again, having already hosted the likes of Sam Neill, Tom Hardy, Adrien Brody, Anya Taylor-Joy and others in the series itself, as well as going on to become one of the most successful BBC shows of all time, they were never going to.
We’re sure you spotted plenty of them for yourselves, but the debut trailer for The Immortal Man gives us not only our first glimpses of now Oscar-winning Murphy, 49, back in the saddle (both figuratively and literally) but also fellow blockbuster Irish actor, Barry Keoghan.
Other big names set to appear in the movie – set for a limited release in theatres before launching exclusively on Netflix – include Rebecca Ferguson and Tim Roth. It still remains unclear, however, as to how any of these characters will knit into the new season.
It’s also worth noting that the trailer shares a little snippet of the historical context, this continuation of the Shelby story is playing into, as we see what looks to be Nazi figures meeting on screen.
Creator Steven Knight has already confirmed that the plot will fast-forward some years to meet back up with Tommy at the outset of WWII and his ancestral home of Birmingham during the Blitz.
Having already confirmed 6 March as the theatrical release date ahead of it going live on Netflix a fortnight later, the anticipation was seriously starting to ramp; this latest look has only added to the tinderbox of excitement.
What do you make of the Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man trailer, and will you be watching it?
Georgina Pellant -
27th September 2022 
