You know the guys who do The Botanist and Smugglers Cove and The Club House? Well, they’ve got a new venture. And it might just be the prettiest place I’ve ever seen.
The Florist on Hardman Street was host to a weekend-long launch over the 21st and 22nd of April and Sophie’s Scran was lucky enough to be on the guest list!
The weekend was full of an array of workshops and masterclasses run by their in-house and hired-in experts, as part of “The Floral Collective” and my oh my, it was brilliant.
I could only attend on Saturday evening, but managed to fit in three of five workshops they were running on the night. As well as sampling lots of lush cocktails… All in the name of research!
Sadly, I wasn’t able to return on the Sunday for the roast dinner, but I link to the lovely Becky from Eat Liverpool below as she went along, so you can check the food out too 🍽️😋
About The Florist
In their words “The Florist believes in the fundamental principles of floristry, to charm each of the senses. Step into a sensory world and discover an arrangement of culinary delights, fragrant cocktails, daily beats and nightly DJs.”
In a nutshell, it’s a stunning bar with the most carefully crafted drinks menu I’ve seen in ages. They also have a great menu with lots of veggie and vegan options too (yay!) and host a series of ‘sensory experiences’; expertly led masterclasses to discover the art of cocktails, ales, gin and floristry! Ideal for parties or special occasions 🌺🌼💮
So here’s what we got up to…
Masterclass one: The Art of Floristry
We were first in-line for this one, little eager beavers! It was a great, practical lesson in master floristry with the ladies from Joseph Massie Flowers, a Liverpool based florist who supplied the flowers for the evening. These ladies really know their stuff, the class was fun, practical and we got to take our creations home, too!
Key takeaways were that every floral arrangement should consist of a focal area flower, accent flowers and foliage fillers 🌸
Masterclass two: Gin Discovery
This was a mini masterclass in at-home gin distilling! With the lovely Jen and Seb, founders of Manchester Gin and makers of NWTC’s own creation called “Secret Gin”. We learnt all about how the couple grew their business from their dining room, to be one of the most acclaimed gins in the country. It was also a masterclass in tonics too, we tried each gin with different Fevertree tonics and it is astonishing the difference it makes to the flavour of the gin.
Key takeaways? Grapefruit is an excellent garnish for g&t which I was chuffed to hear as that’s what I always use! And to avoid Schweppes and lime garnishes at all costs!
Masterclass three: Florist Mixology
A cocktail masterclass with the one and only Nick Whitby. Nick wittered on (😋) all about how he and his team created this awesome-sounding cocktail menu. And I must admit, these are some of the best cocktails I’ve ever tasted. So delicious, refreshing, fragrant, light and clearly handcrafted to absolute perfection. And at about £7 quid a pop I think that’s pretty great value! Budvar on tap too, an absolute winner.
We tried the geranium and lychee cooler (gin based), hibiscus margarita (tequila and mezcal-based) and the elderflower and lychee daiquiri (white rum based) and they were all stunning. The cooler especially! All complete with bamboo straws and stunning garnishes. Hello, Instagram!
Key takeaways? I’m not great at cocktail making as mine somehow tasted like crap, so think I’ll stick to the other side of the bar from now on 😉🥂🍹
The Food
I am the worst food blogger in the world, I know. I didn’t try the food tasting as I was fitting everything in before the last train home (10 pm, really?!) so for now, head across to Becky from Eat Liverpool blog as she went back to try the roast the next day, and they do look pretty good:
Have you tried The Florist yet? If not, is it on your list?
What a fab day and a lovely looking venue. I don’t get over to the ‘pool’ enough.
Author
hey Jo! there are so many lush places there now. The place next door to The Florist is called OKTOPUS and is meant to be incredible!