Project Halcyon Distillery might just be one of Manchester city centre’s best-kept secrets but with multiple coveted awards inside just six months of opening and a growing customer base, the word is starting to spread.
Better still, with exciting new innovations created alongside established and reputable names like Buffalo Trace, there’s all the more reason to come and try this hidden gem. We did exactly that and had such a great time we didn’t want to leave.
Teaming up with the popular bourbon brand who have collected quite a raft of awards themselves down the years for a brand new collaboration, Project Halcyon has just launched their brilliant old fashioned drinks trolley, making fresh glasses of the iconic cocktail with carefully selected blends by the expert staff and Buffalo Trace themselves.
The experience that launched this month will see the drinks trolley that many would associate with the like of gin and martinis reimagined for the classic whiskey-based cocktail staple to give that added personal touch that makes this speakeasy-style bar such a unique place to drink.
Boasting Best Newcomer on the UK’s list of Top 50 Bars, the Rising Star award for bartender Reah Owen — the youngest person to ever be nominated at the Manchester Bar Awards (it wasn’t hard to see why after being served by her) — as well as being voted best new bar back in March, it’s no wonder this lot are attracting big names.
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Having just recently launched their second menu, ‘A Time & A Place’, which aims to capture moments in history by emulating flavours, traditions and aesthetics from the past in drink form, Project Halycon are striving for theatre, nostalgia, care and a special connection every time you sit down at their bar.
That’s where the drinks trolley comes in.
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The newly rolled-out old fashioned trolley sees customers given a bespoke version of the drink carefully crafted to suit your tastes and made right in front of you. Using a collection of eight premium whiskeys, as well as six different house-made syrups and bitters, you can customise your cocktail down to the T.
The drinks themselves also include a special type of ice created by local company Ice Cubed Manchester, designed to deliver the perfect old fashioned. They really have thought of everything, down to the most minute detail.
You even have the option to have your drink smoked right at your table, allowing the Halcyon staff to show off the pageantry and finesse that has seen them earn such great reviews. Built by world-famous designers, Soak London, this one of the most spectacular ways you’ll ever be served a drink.
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Having seen the process first-hand, we can sincerely vouch for that — even the smoking contraption designed to look like the Buffalo Trace water tower had us staring on like excited little schoolkids.
This is truly an experience that is totally unique to Manchester, with nowhere else having ever made cocktails tableside in this way. Moreover, now being one of the only bars in Britain that stocks the full range of Buffalo Trace’s premium whiskeys intimate experience to its guests.
They even got one of the few rare bottles of the legendary Pappy van Winkle expressions, a whiskey so highly sought after it was the catalyst for ‘Pappygate‘, the now infamous heist that saw $25000 of the liquor go missing and even sparked a Netflix documentary.
Every inch of this place has something to marvel at and now with the Buffalo Trace old fashioned trolley experience on offer too, we’re going to be coming here more often than we already were — and we won’t be the ones.
When it comes to Project Halycon Distillery, there really is always more than meets the eye:
Manchester’s beautiful winter Teepee is back, with free pints this weekend and live music every day
Daisy Jackson
Nothing heralds the arrival of the autumn/winter seasons quite like the appearance of The Oast House’s beautiful winter Teepee.
The popular seasonal space is officially reopening its doors this weekend, and inside you’ll find roaring fires, a giant disco ball, live music, and plenty of pints to keep the colder months feeling a little less grim.
After giving its beer garden a major glow-up this spring and hosting a summer packed with live music, The Oast House is bringing back one of Manchester’s favourite winter hangouts – and it’s kicking things off with a proper belter of an opening weekend.
We’re talking twinkling fairy lights, faux fur throws, and a dedicated bar pouring Staropramen fresh from the tank, all inside its massive winter Teepee.
And there’s even better news for the first few through the door.
To celebrate the Teepee’s return, The Oast House team will be cracking open a full tank of fresh Staropramen on Saturday 10 October, with free pints up for grabs for the first 440 guests.
There’ll be live music every night in the winter TeepeeManchester’s cosiest venue is back
The Teepee will be keeping things lively seven nights a week throughout autumn and winter, with The Oast House’s much-loved Open House programme moving indoors for the season.
Expect everything from Bandeoke and Musical Bingo to Retro Sounds and Oast Acoustic sessions, meaning there’ll be something different on the cards every night of the week.
The venue’s free monthly live music festival, Oast House Live, isn’t going anywhere either. It’ll continue inside the Teepee on the last Saturday of every month, bringing even more live music to the heart of Spinningfields.
Of course, it wouldn’t be The Oast House without a menu worth getting stuck into.
The kitchen will be serving up its 12-hour-brined rotisserie chicken, alongside a line-up of tempting sides like Ziggy Fries tossed in chicken salt and chicken butter, cheddar and onion slaw, and charred corn on the cob drenched in house-made Scotch bonnet butter.
Food in The Oast House Winter TeepeeThere’ll be 450 free pints given away on SaturdayRotisserie chicken
And if you’re after something a bit different, the house-special ‘addictive’ Chicken (T)oastie is one you won’t want to miss.
Sundays are all about the roast, too, with the kitchen dishing up its signature rotisserie chicken alongside chicken-butter roasties tossed in chicken salt, all the trimmings and bottomless house chicken gravy.
Basically, if you’re after somewhere to escape the cold without sacrificing a good night out, you know where to head.
The Oast House and its Winter Teepee are open daily from 11am until late throughout the season.
The Oast House Winter Teepee opens Saturday 10 October, with free Staropramen pints for the first 440 guests.
For more information and to book your table, head HERE.
Science and Industry Museum’s adults-only ‘after hours’ event returns with a Halloween twist this month
Emily Sergeant
A popular adults-only ‘after hours’ event is returning to Manchester later this month… and there’s some spooky surprises in store.
If you need an excuse to leave the little Mancs at home, or you just fancy releasing your inner child, then one of Manchester’s most visited museums might have just what you’re looking for, as the Science and Industry Museum has announced that its popular After Hours event especially for adults is returning for one night only at the end of the month.
The museum will become your playground once it’s closed for the day as you settle in for a unique evening of live music, giant interactive games, and spooky surprises for Halloween.
Science and Industry Museum’s adults-only ‘after hours’ event returns with a Halloween twist this month / Credit: Science Museum Group
The Museum’s permanent galleries and displays will be open after hours, so you can get hands-on with science in Experiment, meet mighty machines in the Textiles Gallery, and discover Manchester‘s rich legacy of industrial innovations, creativity, and world-changing ideas in Revolution Manchester.
You’ll also get free access to the popular Horrible Science: Cosmic Chaos exhibition, which just opened earlier this year, and get to indulge your playful side in Power Up – with more than 150 consoles to choose from in the ultimate gaming extravaganza.
Especially for spooky season, you can look forward to some very special one-off events too, like stellar performances from Manchester drag royalty, Anna Phylactic, a cosmic cabaret with live vocals, and a monster mash-up soundtrack guaranteed to get you into the Halloween spirit.
There’ll also be a chance to meet Albert Slime-stein – a larger-than-life monster popping up the museum as part of Halloween in the City’s iconic Manchester Monsters trail.
And as this is an adults-only event, the museum’s events bar will be open on the night, serving up a wide range of wines, beers, and non-alcoholic drinks to wet your whistle while you’re looking around, with some delicious food to accompany too.
Museum After Hours is happening on Thursday 29 October from 7pm-10pm, with tickets setting you back £12 each or £6 for concessions.
Danny Jones -
19th June 2023 
