1 Atlas Bar | 376 Deansgate, Manchester M3 4LY | Manchester | Huge global list, Manchester and UK craft gins front and centre. | A local Manchester gin and tonic from their ‘gin bible’ list. | Like someone turned a spreadsheet of botanicals into a bar. Ideal for ‘just one’ that becomes a vertical tasting flight. |
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2 Three Little Words (Spirit of Manchester Distillery) | 12–13 Watson Street, Manchester M3 4LP | Manchester | Home of Manchester Gin with tours, tastings and house serves from the still next door. | Manchester Gin classic G&T, then one of their distillery specials. | Textbook example of reducing travel time between lab and results. Gin goes from still to glass faster than City go from midfield to tap-in. |
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3 The Washhouse | 19 Shudehill, Manchester M4 2AF | Manchester | Playful, high-spec gin cocktails buried under the speakeasy theatre. | Whatever gin-led signature they’re pushing that week. | You pretend it’s about the secret-door gimmick; really you’re here for nerd-level drinks in the dark, hiding from your inbox. |
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4 Science & Industry | 49–51 Thomas Street, Manchester M4 1NA | Manchester | ‘Drinks laboratory’ doing technical, often gin-based riffs with house-made ingredients. | A gin-forward cocktail from the seasonal list, ideally something they’ve centrifuged for fun. | Closest thing to my day job: white coats swapped for waistcoats, same level of over-engineering. |
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5 Alston Bar & Beef / 1837 Gin Bar | Corn Exchange, Cathedral Street, Manchester M4 3TR | Manchester | Restaurant built around meat and an extensive gin list, with a tucked-away basement gin bar. | House-infused gin before or after a steak, ideally both if you’re not driving. | Comes dangerously close to my idea of a balanced diet: one part beef, two parts small-batch gin. |
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6 Speak In Code | Lloyds House, 7 Jackson’s Row, Manchester M2 5ND | Manchester | Inventive, often low-waste cocktails with plenty of gin hiding behind the lab gear. | A gin-based drink from their current menu theme; let them pick based on what you usually drink. | Feels like someone crossed a Hi-Fi shop with a tiny lab. Precise, nerdy, and somehow still laid-back enough for a midweek debrief. |
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7 Project Halcyon Distillery | Unit 2, Bonded Warehouse, Grape Street, Manchester M3 3GS | Manchester | Distillery-meets-cocktail-bar with a serious spirits programme and juniper well represented. | A martini built around one of their own-distilled gins. | Looks like a villain’s lair, drinks like a well-run lab. Perfect for when you’ve had a week of failed experiments and need one that definitely works. |
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TheLysts
