The UK’s best cocktail bars have been revealed, and two of them are right here in Manchester.
We already knew that we had some great cocktail bars, but now it’s been made official – with two Manchester watering holes appearing on this year’s Top 50 Cocktail Bars list.
Hidden vegan cocktail bar Speak In Code and Schofield’s Bar, which took over historic Manchester boozer The Old Grapes last year, both made it into the top 20 – coming in at numbers 10 and 16 respectively.
Manchester Gin’s Three Little Words also got a special mention, taking home the 2022 Bar Team of the Year award
Image: Speak In Code
It’s a coup for both operators as well as Manchester’s drinks scene as a whole, which didn’t make the list at all last year (a bit of an oversight if you ask us).
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In total, ten of the Top 50 Cocktail Bars this year are found in the north of England.
Over in Leeds, four bars made the list with Jake’s Bar & Still Room, Roland’s, Below Stairs and Hedonist all getting a well-dseerved mention.
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Further afield, Liverpool’s Present Company, Sheffield’s Public and Newcastle’s Mother Mercy are also featured, with four more – Bramble Bar & Lounge, Panda and Sons, The Absent Ear and Hay Palu – getting a shout out up in Scotland.
Image: Schofield’s Bar
Acknowledging the growing number of northern bars featured in this year’s list, Top 50 Cocktail Bars publisher Christopher Lowe said: “London has always been seen as a global leader for cocktails but as you’ll see from the 2022 list, other major cities across the UK are now catching up.
“Our newly launched website will help cocktail connoisseurs discover the best of the UK bar scene with many of these very much still under the radar.”
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Image: Schofield’s Bar
Further proving the move away from a London-centric focus on the cocktail scene, taking the. number one spot this year is Cardiff’s Lab 22.
Tucked away above a well-known bakery, the experimental Lab 22 has jumped up 32 places in two years with its daring drinks menu from award-winning head bartender Max Hayward.
That said, London still dominates half of the list. Number two in this year’s Top 50 is Swift Soho, a much-loved regular on the list and in third place isThe Connaught Bar, also voted as the 2021 ‘best bar in the world’ in The World’s 50 Best Bars.
Image: Speak In Code
East London bar Tayēr + Elementary meanwhile is this year’s highest new entry, coming in at number 4.
This year’s winners were announced during the list reveal at One Night Records, in London, hosted by Aidy Smith.
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The Top 50 Cocktail Bars 2022 list is as follows:
Lab 22, Cardiff
Swift Soho, London
The Connaught Bar, London
Tayēr + Elementary, London
Satan’s Whiskers, London
Bramble Bar & Lounge, Edinburgh
Three Sheets, London
Oriole, London
Panda and Sons, Edinburgh
Speak in Code, Manchester
Yellow Triangle, Red Square, Blue Circle, London
Disrepute, London
Nightjar, London
Homeboy Bar, London
American Bar, London
SCHOFIELD’S BAR, Manchester
Opium Cocktails & Dim Sum Parlour, London
Coupette, London
Artesian, London
Scarfes Bar, London
Trailer Happiness, London
Lucky Liquor co., Edinburgh
Happiness Forgets, London
Jake’s Bar & Still Room, Leeds
Little Mercies, London
The Absent Ear, Glasgow
The Milk Thistle, Bristol
Berry & Rye, Liverpool
Laki Kane, London
Filthy XIII, Bristol
Lyaness, London
Roland’s Leeds, Leeds
Gungho!, Brighton
Hacha, London
The Hideout, Bath
Pennyroyal, Cardiff
Couch, Birmingham
Bar Termini, London
Below Stairs, Leeds
Hay Palu, Edinburgh
Public, Sheffield
Hedonist, Leeds
Present Company, Liverpool
The Pineapple Club, Birmingham
Publiq., London
Ojo Rojo, Bournemouth
L’ Atelier du Vin, Brighton
Callooh Callay, London
Mother Mercy, Newcastle upon Tyne
The Cocktail Trading Co, London
Feature image – Schofield’s Bar
News
Manchester United fans planning another major protest amid more upheaval around the club
Danny Jones
Manchester United supporters look set to stage another high-profile demonstration in protest against the INEOS Sports ownership group.
This is the latest response to the club’s continuing struggles, and not just the first proper organised mobilisation of the year, but the first since the most recent major march last spring.
Following the sacking of ‘manager’ Ruben Amorim, despite co-owner Jim Ratcliffe and his board of executives insisting that the Portuguese head coach (that distinction proving to be a crucial detail), the local sporting giants are once again starting from scratch and looking for another replacement boss.
With that in mind, militant fan group The 1958 announced their most recent protest ahead of a home fixture next month in a rather bold fashion…
As announced we protest against this dysfunctional co-ownership before Fulham.
Yep, neither Amorim, Erik ten Hag, Ole Gunnar Solskjær, nor any face even remotely associated with Old Trafford/Carrington is safe from an AI parody.
As for The 1958 group’s actual protest plans, speaking via the BBC this week, the supporters’ trust has confirmed that they will be making a vocal statement outside the stadium on Sunday, 1 February.
Travelling Reds already made their thoughts known with a very blunt, provocative and somewhat controversial banner in the away end at Turf Moor for the 2-2 draw against Burnley.
With Man United approaching a third-round FA Cup tie against Brighton and two big games in the form of a Manchester Derby at home and a trip to Arsenal, they have decided to choose the Fulham game at Old Trafford to stage the march.
Despite admitting that the results under Amorim were no way near good enough, they insist that the – most notably the overarching and Glazer family shadow ever looming over the organisation.
Further details around the actual timings and locations are still yet to be shared by the organisers, but you can expect this to be a well-attended, large-scale event.
Often convening at The Tollgate pub near regular matchday tram stop, Trafford Bar, before walking down Talbot Road towards the ground itself, we imagine Reds will then descend upon the Theatre of Dreams in their thousands.
In case you didn’t already surmise from the video itself, Ratcliffe and co. will be no doubt the subject of the usual chants, as well as more banners and flags.
What do you make of the latest plans, Man United fans?
Nothing will ever be quite as bold as the infamous Old Trafford break-in from 2022 (Credit: The Manc)
More Greater Manchester football matches called off as Storm Goretti sets in
Danny Jones
Yet more scheduled football matches in Greater Manchester and the surrounding regions have been postponed and/or cancelled due to Storm Goretti.
The increasingly cold, blustery and icy conditions moving over from France and across more parts of the UK have already caused schools to close, flights to be grounded, and plenty more disruption.
Another such inconvenience has come in the form of live sports, large swathes of which now look like they simply won’t be taking place.
One of the latest to be called off is Salford City‘s upcoming game against Swindon Town in the FA Cup this weekend, with various other games involving teams up and down the footballing pyramid now facing uncertainty over whether their third-round fixtures will go ahead as planned.
Ironically, this is just the tip of the iceberg, if you’ll pardon the very obvious pun.
Another game that was called off late last week, between Chadderton and FC Isle of Man, is yet to be rescheduled; the same is true of Rochdale AFC’s meeting with Brackley Town, Radcliffe v Oxford City, as well as games involving Bury, Stockport Town, Irlam, Cheadle Town, Prestwich Heys and more.
Other nearby outfits, such as Chorley, Warrington Rylands and Ramsbottom United, just to name a few, are also still unsure of when their next game will be.
In many cases, it is simply a matter of the grounds being largely or completely frozen and deemed unfit for use following pitch inspections.
Oldham Athletic – which has already been hit with plenty of snow and frost – yesterday confirmed that their Notts County clash wouldn’t be going ahead due to that very reason.
With winds of up to 90 miles per hour also being reported, yellow and even red weather warnings have been issued across various parts of the country, with people being urged to check their routes home from work by local authorities.
Storm Goretti should start calming down this evening (Fri, 9 January) and into Saturday morning, but the after-effects could still play havoc over the next few days.
For instance, over in Cheshire, Macclesfield FC are going so far as to call on nearby residents to help clear their playing surface from heavy snowfall.
So, if you’re in the area and fancy helping out, they could sure do with your help.
VOLUNTEERS REQUIRED
Macclesfield FC are once again requesting the help of the fanbase and the local community to help clear the remainder of the compacted snow from the surrounding areas of the https://t.co/fL99QEEJ4D Stadium.
Georgina Pellant -
1st February 2022 
