Overview
It's finally happened. London's latest and greatest pop-up bar lets you literally inhale alcohol, a project that could only be the work of wildly ambitious, gastronomic artists Bompas and Parr.
Built on the site of an ancient monastery in Borough and opened on July 30, the wonderfully-named Alcohol Architecture bar lets you walk into an actual cloud of cocktail. Sam Bompas and Harry Parr have used big ol' humidifiers to saturate the air with a cocktail of spirits and mixer, so you can simply breathe in the drink and let that sweet, sweet alcohol make its way to your bloodstream via lungs and eyes.
Of course, visitors to the pop-up are advised to "breathe responsibly" — and the hour session of inhalation isn't quite enough to get you drunk, apparently. You're given a robe to protect your clothes from reeking of cocktail afterwards, and you'll be surrounded by atmospheric sounds to intensify the inhaling experience.
#breatheresponsibly at @alcoholicarchitecture regram from @soniashahx
A photo posted by Bompas & Parr (@bompasandparr) on
"Inside, the sound is modulated, so that it is like you are right inside the glass," Parr told Bloomberg. "It's a dense atmosphere that builds into a thunderstorm with lightning. It's a new way of experiencing drink, and it's social because it's an immersive shared environment. You all have the same flavor sensation. "It's like going to the seaside and finding that fish and chips taste better. Part of that is that in a human environment, your ability to perceive taste is heightened. It's the opposite of being in an aeroplane. Alcohol tastes better, with more nuances: You can detect more subtle flavors when it is humidified."
We're on! Launch night of the bar tonight! A photo posted by Alcoholic Architecture (@alcoholicarchitecture) on
This isn't the first jaw-dropping foodie installation Bompas and Parr have dazzled us with in recent memory. After opening a pop-up which tailored cocktails to your DNA, hosting anatomical whisky tastings allowing you to taste different aged whiskies from their same-aged human body, and creating lava-powered barbecues, the pair brought one hell of a banquet to this year's Dark Mofo festival in Tasmania — which involved much nudity and the eating of an actually beating pig's heart.
If you're headed for London anytime soon, Alcoholic Architecture will be open until early 2016 at One Cathedral Street, Borough Market, London. Tickets and more info over here.
We chatted to Sam Bompas recently, head over here to delve into pagan feasts, Vegemite chocolate and Australian food trends.
Via Bloomberg.