The idea is to die young as late as possible. — Ashley Montagu — Friday July 17th — —

“What art does — maybe what it does most completely — is tell us, make us feel that what we think we know, we don’t. There are whole worlds around us that we’ve never glimpsed.” Greil Marcus — Friday July 17th — —

I love listening. It is one of the only spaces where you can be still and moved at the same time. — Nayyirah Waheed — Friday July 17th — —

Drink Factory

Last month, we were introduced to the London-based collective of bartenders named Drink Factory, which aims to expand their shared creativity and knowledge of cocktails. Founded some 10 years ago by cocktail master Tony Conigliaro, Drink Factory released its first printed publication with their unique vision on the fascinating craft of creating cocktails in 2014 under the theme ‘Gothic’, resulting in a dark and brooding issue. A month ago the second issue saw light and this time a lot more color is added to the palette, with everything resolving around ‘Silent Neon Flowers’. The underlaying concept is ‘silent flavor’, which resulted in botanical editorials by photographers Addie Chin, Ollie Harrop and Ruth Vatcher, translating the idea into their images, forming a stand out visual language for the magazine which places the subject in a truly unique light. For us, having found the extraordinary Drink Factory, all kinds of doors into the enormous world of cocktails are being opened, in which the new magazine forms an inspirational and insightful starting point for more exploration.

The ‘Silent Neon Flowers’ issue envisions a future in which humanity has disappeared and plants reclaim the city streets, and uses that idea as the starting point for a number of stand out cocktails. The Edelweiss Twinkle is a jelly made from one vodka and one champagne layer, flavored with Edelweiss cordial, while another creation features Lotus Flower Granita made from scratch. Like the cocktails served at 69 Colebrooke and Conigliaro’s other bars, the drinks in ‘Silent Neon Flowers’ are innovative and advanced. These aren’t recipes that you just throw together for a quick drink; rather, with scientific precision the field of cocktails is enhanced with new haute boissons.

Tony Conigliaro on what drives him in his craft:

After 17 years of experience in bars, I still love to see how far I can push ideas and challenge the concept of what a drink is. I am constantly asking myself: ‘How can I exploit new ingredients?’ ‘How can I subvert the way that they are consumed?’

Founded in 2005 by Tony Conigliaro, Drink Factory is a collective of like-minded bartenders looking to expand their creativity and knowledge of cocktails by pushing the boundaries of their respective crafts. At one time the lab was located above The Bar with No Name (69 Colebrooke Row), it then moved to a building on Britannia Row that was previously the recording studio for Pink Floyd and most recently the lab expanded once again and relocated to a larger, fully equipped space near to Broadway Market in East London. It is a research centre, as well as a creative space used for lectures, training and product development. Collaborations with Chefs, Perfumers, Designers and Chocolatiers has influenced the development of the techniques and practices that are used at Drink Factory. Drink Factory also hosts an international stage program, designed to share ideas and experience between industries.

For more information and to order the magazines see here.