We visited independent cocktail bars in Lincoln and this is how it went

We all love a good cocktail. Pornstar Martini, Sex on the Beach, Mojito – it’s always a good time and a sure-fire way to get tipsy. This being said, it’s always a struggle to decide what you want, and then your friend’s cocktail comes and you’re bogged down with the worst drink envy. Cocktails are no laughing matter! At roughly just under £10 a pop, you need to choose wisely. This is where we come in to save the day.

The Curiosity Shop

Located at the bottom of Steep Hill, The Curiosity Shop is a cute little oddball, doing exactly what it says on the tin whilst having a pub vibe.

Aesthetic: 4/5

Music: 4/5

Drink Selection: 3.5/5

During our visit, we tried the Bohemian Raspberry and the Pink Gin Pornstar. Of course, the ratings for the actual drinks are slightly subjective, but we’re hoping this acts as a rough guide if you decide to give it a try.

Bohemian Raspberry: raspberry gin, rhubarb, cranberry, lemonade.

Name: 5/5 – A play on words with the almighty Queen? Yes please. We love the wit.

Presentation: 3.5 – Being a pretty pink drink only gets you so far. Nice and simple, but didn’t have the ‘WOW’ factor.

Taste: 4 – A complimentary mix of sweet and bitter, would have again.

Price: 3/5 – At £7.50 it not the best for a single cocktail, but also not the worst.

Pink Gin Pornstar: cherry gin, passion fruit, pineapple, prosecco.

Name: 1/5 – Where’s the originality?!

Presentation: 4/5 – We love a cute topping.

Taste: 3.5/5 – Lovely to start with, but just got sweeter and sweeter. Definitely try if you have a sweet tooth.

Price: 3/5 – £7.50

The Strait and Narrow

Just a stone’s throw from The Curiosity Shop, why not make it a cocktail crawl? That is, when you get your next instalment of student loan, of course. The Strait and Narrow has what we would describe as ‘cool bar vibes’. Dim lighting, neon lights, leather booths – a great place to knock back a drink, or two (or five). They also have a really cool feature with a phone at each table that connects to the bar, so lazy sods like us don’t have to get up to order their drinks.

Aesthetic: 3/5

Music: 3.5/5

Drink selection: 5/5

Now, we only tried one cocktail here, but one is enough to hit the spot – trust us. It was fun overhearing the table next door asking if their cocktail was meant to taste like paint stripper. The selection of drinks however is out of this world with the names following suit.

Although we didn’t try these, here are some honourable mentions for names alone: Miso Horny, Naked & Thicc, and Eat the Rich. As you can see, a unique assortment of ingredients! We tried Zom Collins.

Zom Collins: The Botanist Gin, Sacred Pirate Strength Gin, Hendrick’s Absinthe, lilt top, zombie comic panel.

Name: 4/5 – We love the twist on the classic ‘Tom Collins’.

Presentation: 5/5 – Are you kidding? The extras are so fun, and a cute memento to take home with you to *try* and remember the night.

Taste: 2.5/5 – Sis was STRONG. It was still tasty, but tasted a little too much of liquorice which some people may enjoy!

Price: 2.5/5 – It’s hard to part with £8.30 for a singular drink. This being said, half of the glass was alcohol, so take that as you will.

Craft

2-4-10 deals? Now you’re talking. Craft is filled with floral decorations and neon lights, perfect for many a photo-op. They also host student nights on Tuesdays. A real all-rounder.

Aesthetic: 5/5

Music: 4/5

Drink selection: 4.5/5

Due to the deal, a few drinks were ‘sampled’ here, it would be rude not to! We tried Rumble in the Jungle, Club Tropicana, Fluorescent Adolescent,  A Chockwork Orange and Kiss From a Rose. Let us just say, we are here for the punny names.

Rumble in the Jungle: peach liqueur, Midori, Malibu, passionfruit syrup, topped with pineapple juice.

Name: 5/5 – It just rolls of the tongue. Go on, say it.

Presentation: 3.5/5 – Points for the tiki glass, very thematic.

Taste: 5/5 – Like a holiday in a glass.

Price: 5/5 – You can’t get much better than 2-4-10!

Club Tropicana: Southern Comfort, vodka, Amaretto, orange juice, pineapple, grenadine.

Name: 4/5 – We docked a mark because unlike the song suggests, in club tropicana drinks are not free.

Presentation: 5/5 – Peep the ice lolly! Need we say more?

Taste: 3.5/5 – Kind of tasted like a victoria sponge which was… unexpected.

Price: 5/5 – 2-4-10.

Fluorescent Adolescent: vodka, blue curacao, passion fruit syrup, mango juice.

Name: 5/5 – ‘You used to get it in your fishnets’ and all that jazz.

Presentation: 2.5/5 – The blue/green colouring is cool and all, but that’s about it.

Taste: 3.5/5 – A classic, fruity mix.

Price: 5/5 – 2-4-10.

A Chockwork Orange: orange liqueur, chocolate liqueur, chocolate syrup, milk, toasted marshmallow skewer.

Name: 4/5 – Again, we love the pun.

Presentation: 4.5/5 – It had marshmallows on top. That is all.

Taste: 3.5/5 – We love chocolate, but this got a bit too much towards the end.

Price: 5/5 – 2-4-10.

Kiss from a Rose: Bosford Rose, peach liqueur, sweet violet liqueur, cranberry and apple juice.

Name: 4/5 – Ba-da-da, ba-da-da-da-da-da, ba-da-daaaaa.

Presentation: 4.5/5 – We will never get bored of a pretty floral.

Taste: 3/5 – Sometimes a bit too on the sweet side.

Price: 5/5 – 2-4-10.

Carousel

A cocktail bar with a theme! Carousel has an arcade upstairs and fairground themed drinks.

Aesthetic: 5/5

Music: 4.5/5

Drink Selection: 3.5/5

Whilst the drinks selection is perhaps a bit smaller than other bars due to the theme, each drink is so fun that the aesthetics make up for it.  Here we tried Dreamland Drop, Fortune Favours and Pew Pew! We also had a bowl of chips, but that’s neither here nor there.

Dreamland Drop: gin, triple sec, strawberry liqueur, cranberry juice.

Name: 3/5 – Points for alliteration.

Presentation: 4/5 – Dreamland Drop is far from a flop when it comes with candyfloss!

Taste: 3/5 – You’re meant to dissolve the candyfloss with the drink, so needless to say it can give you quite the toothache towards the end.

Price: 3/5 – £7.95 with no student deals. Sad face.

Fortune Favours: vodka, peach liqueur, pineapple juice, grenadine.

Name: 4/5 – It sticks to the theme and brings all of that nostalgia of visiting Zoltar back.

Presentation: 2/5 – For a drink that’s based on Zoltar’s crystal ball, there was no fancy smoke ball that you can pop in this visit! However, when they do use the smoke bubble machine, this rating gets bumped up to a 4/5.

Taste: 4/5 – Just peachy!

Price: 3/5 – £7.95.

Pew Pew!: gin, lemon puree, sugar, peach.

Name: 5/5 – Don’t mind me, just reliving my phase of pretending to use blasters from StarWars.

Presentation: 5/5 – While it looks like a crushed tin mug, it’s actually ceramic and we want to know where we can get some. The little water pistol just tops it off and creates a fun way to put the alcohol into your drink.

Taste: 4/5 – Whilst it’s sweet, it has just the right amount of bitterness to balance it out.

Price: 2/5 – My wallet cried at the loss of £8.50. RIP.

So there you have it, our rundown of cocktails. Let us know if you try any and what you think!

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