New: Black Rock – The boundary breaking whisky bar, Shoreditch

No it’s not a new bar for ageing heavy metal fans, Black Rock, Shoreditch is waaaaay cooler than that.  From the owners of The Whistling Shop (the critically acclaimed Victorian cocktail haven), Black Rock features the table everyone wants in their lounge and take our word for it, this is no ordinary centrepiece.  It’s the new style bar that everyone wants to sit around, because this 18ft, 185 year old oak tree-trunk actually acts as an interactive cocktail ageing system.

Yep, through the two glass channels which run from one end to the other, the whisky cocktails being poured in are happily getting older and tasting better while you’re sat there having a jolly old time.  One’s lined with American charred oak and the other, a toasted European oak, while the cocktails themselves make their way to you via the pouring taps at the end of the trunk.

Black Rock’s contemporary stripped back space will be accompanied by a some cool electro, hip hop beats.  Don’t fancy one of the tables whiskies?  No problem, grab a roaming bartender who can sort you a cocktail at your table, while there’s also a whisky library with over 250 to choose from, sorted by flavour as opposed to origin.

We’ve got our eye on the 40 Shades with Black Bush, Granny Smith and fennel pollen (£8), washed down with haggis balls and Scotch marmalade.  If you thought trees were for climbing in your youth and whisky was for your dad, it’s time to think again.

No reservation necessary.