As I often say, sometimes it is not you searching for the best bar, it is the best bar coming to you. Thai is what happened to me in Bristol, when after having searched for a good cocktail bar without success (despite the fact that the city is packed with bars, mostly students-oriented), I popped into The Clockwork Rose, and found “the perfect spot”. This bar has everything you need: a lot of personality, a passionate bartender, great music and athmosphere, and of course amazing cocktails. Opened just six months ago, the bar reflects the passion and commitment of its Captain for Steampunk (look here if, like me before this bar, you do not know what it is) ad for good cocktails (if you are reading this, I guess you know what this is).
Everything I tried was about perfect, a classic Negroni with very fine ingredients and a Martini as it should be. Apart from these classics, the cocktail menu is filled with cocktails invented out of the bottles that the Captain had in his home when he created the list, which is very poetic in this era of cocktails massification.
On the creativity side: I was offered a special martini cocktail made with Stilton cheese infused gin (and I got a nice lecture on how a bottle of Tanquerey was treated to get to this). My skepticism did not last a lot and now I have a blue cheese martini among my great drinking experiences. Also to be appreciated the fact that the alcool-free cocktails list is absolutely stunning, so a great place for non-booze oriented fellows.
All in all, a bar to be visited, and visited, and visited. To get a feeling of the atmosphere, here how te bar is presented in their website “The Clockwork Rose is the fictional watering hole of the adventurer Captain Sebastian Commodore. When Captain Commodore would return to England he and the crew of his airship, The Nautimore, would gather at The Clockwork Rose to tell the tales of their travels.” Classic martini rate: 8.
The Martini Hour 