According to Charlie McVeigh, proprietor of The Draft House and new venture Bump Caves, the speakeasy is dead – and he isn’t too cut-up about its demise. Talking about his new place on London’s Tower Bridge Road, he reveals he’s “over” the whole prohibition thing, promising that at Bump Caves “you will not need to drink a cocktail out of a teapot”. Neither is he taking things back in the direction of a traditional bar model, either. Bump Caves is something completely different, driven by innovative, scientific distillation methods and a sensory experience inspired by the LSD-laced parties of the 1960s “Happenings”.
The central premise is a pairing of craft beers and bumps – spirits distilled in-house by barman/chemist Max Chater – with complementary flavours. Using pharmaceutical and kitchen equipment such as a rotary evaporator and a sous vide (molecular gastronomy’s very own water bath), Chater has managed to infuse all manner of flavours and aromas into a range of spirits, vermouths, fruit syrups and other uplifting tinctures, with the experimental vibe specially formulated as part of the overall experience. Tom Wolfe’s seminal counterculture work The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test is cited as a major influence on the Bump Cave, so expect boundaries to be pushed in search of greater enlightenment – via better cocktails. Mind-expanding stuff…
