Pubs and Bars / Pub of the Week
Bar of the Week: Dutch
As the blood orange and elderflower cocktail is in the final stages of being made, the barmaid takes a twisted bar spoon and drizzles some ginger ale down it and into the drink. “It keeps it effervescent”, she says. “And it looks cool.”
Other than staff and two resident DJs figuring out the space and blasting some chilled house from the front alcove, there is only one other guest inside Bristol’s first dedicated gin bar Dutch at 10pm on a recent Thursday evening.
He wears a fitted tweed jacket, under which lie a pristine white shirt and black bow tie. Alongside him there’s a suede fedora and a pair of leather gloves to complete his aesthetic.
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“I tried for many years to like gin,” he announces, largely to the room, looking dreamily into the middle distance. He felt it was the thing to do. “Now I love it, and here I am, back for the second night in a row.”
Dutch on West Street in Old Market has a clear theme, and some 400 different gins to prove it.
The tables are decorated with sprigs of lavender and other dainty floral arrangements, arranged in tiny and not so tiny gin bottles. Presumably they had replaced the gin for water to nourish the flowers. But who really knows? Or cares.
The gins line the back wall and the two charming bar staff are knowledgeable and eager to please. They seem happy to oblige when asked to surprise with a spicy gin and tonic (£7.50).
The oriental Opihr London dry gin is spiced in an unexpected way, and the garnish of a squeeze of fresh orange juice, a blood orange and a stick of cassia tree bark are certainly different.
At 11pm a hoard of cooing 30-somethings come in, ogling the gins.
These are hardened fans that have trekked far from their usual haunts to get what they love most and they bring with them the ambiance.
“Fuck yeah”, exclaims one. “Fucking GIN!” It’s what they came for. And they were not leaving without.
For owners Alice de Haan and Julia Speed (both of vague Dutch heritage, hence the name), this creation is their dream bar. And their journey has only just begun.
With resident DJs Stone & West on Thursdays, they hope to make this their student night, along with live music on Fridays and other one-off events on Saturdays, soon to be held in a downstairs events space.
If you’re ever in need of Dutch courage, this is your one-stop-gin shop.
Dutch, 16 West Street, BS2 0DF
07833 681728
www.facebook.com/Dutch.Bristol
Read more: ‘Bristol is about as good as it gets for bars in the UK’