As it's Thursday I don't want to go miles and then find everywhere shut so let's stick to the town centre. I started by the Liver Building at what used to be Jurgen's Bar, but is now the Three Graces:
See what I mean about Thursday afternoon - it's shut. On to the Alchemist:
How irritating: There are eleven keg taps on the counter, none of which have any indication of what they serve. I had to ask the cheerful barmaid what beers they had, and chose somebody's (I didn't catch what she said but it came in a Brixton glass) pale ale, which was good.
The decoration in here is impossible to define in one word, but I like it a lot. Some faux industrial lighting goes well with the iron girders, glazed cupboards full of soda siphons, and so on. Not "my sort of pub" but very pleasant.
A smattering of customers at one o'clock, perhaps they do better with the after work crowd? Mind you, at £6.50 a pint they don't have to sell many! I browsed the cocktail menu, the average price was a tenner and I saw one at twenty quid. It had Johnnie Walker Blue Label as one of the ingredients!
It's all about the "theatre of cocktails" here, I noted a waiter heading to a table with a tray full of stuff that included something in a classic conical flask, like chemistry lessons at school.
Next, the Old Bank:
I'd forgotten what a gorgeous over the top interior this one has, including marble pillars with gold (coloured) capitals.
Even better, I had also forgotten the handpumps, and they still have three in operation. I had a hazy one from Sharp's which was a splendid sweet fruity brew. And only £3.50.
I've got a recollection of seeing a band in here when it was a somewhat tatty room with a stage at one end. Is that really the same place? Perhaps my memory is faulty. No, a check of the records shows that it did have a scruffy era as the First National. Was it the Funky Monks I saw here? My notes don't reveal that.
My next target was Neighbourhood, another former bank, but it wasn't open - Thursday afternoon again. Two doors down I found Liverpool Gin Distillery:
A very pleasant one room bar with some kind of distilling kit behind a glazed partition. Industrial decor again, and again very pleasant.
The barman was in the middle of making complex cocktails for the other two customers, so he advised me to take a seat, and soon after my pint of neck oil (£5.50) was delivered to my table. A delay getting served can be irritating, but a friendly cheerful barman negates that.
Like the Alchemist this is "not my sort of pub" and yet I feel comfortable and relaxed in here. Today's plan includes more "not my sort" places, I wonder how much I'll like them?
My opinion of the barman dropped very slightly when two more customers came in and I noticed he had to study the recipe book while making their cocktails.
Now I'm on Castle Street there are plenty of targets to go at, I think it's first come first served, no, on second thoughts I'll photograph all of them and start at the far end. So, Black Barrel rum bar:
One small room with a cement floor, bare brick wall and so on. Probably quite fun if only there were some people in here. Just the barman and me, so once he'd poured my Neck Oil (£6.00) he went back to his mobile phone. I don't think my pint will have paid his wages for this hour.
And it was freezing in here, I didn't take off my coat, unlike all the previous ticks. I often wonder whether turning off the heat is a wise move, people won't come back next time if it's too cold.
I wonder how a place like this does financially; I suppose a few rum drinking customers would boost the income massively, but at this precise moment I'll hardly be paying for the electricity, let alone wages. Perhaps the "barman" is the owner, so he's doesn't get paid as such.
I looked out of the window, it's throwing it down now. One more, I think; it would be better for my stats if I do one never before visited, so how about MITO:
Another deserted one, barman and I in a pleasant corridor bar. Moments later there were two barmen but still only me as a customer. The decor in here is Italian style, I guess (What do I know?) and it was (just about) warm enough to take my coat off.
There were two keg taps, offering Menabrea Italian lager, and "Jubel Peach Beer" from Cornwall. I've never come across that before so I tried it and it was gorgeous, a sweet peach flavoured brew. At £5 for a schooner it's not cheap, but I'm not complaining, it's lovely.
I studied Streetview and found that this used to be Sanctuary Tap, and the Cactus Bar next door (Not open - Thursday afternoon strikes again.) used to be Rox which I never visited.
Important mental note, I don't think I've paid yet, I must make sure I do so before leaving! [Update: I did!]
OK that's five pints (technically four and two thirds) is it time to go home? It's only half three so maybe one more tick? OK, let's do McGuffie:
Another tiny corridor bar, and another one that only does schooners. I chose Estrella from the two keg taps on offer, the other one was Asahi. £5.00.
In contrast to the previous two places this very narrow corridor bar had quite a few customers in, I counted eight, and the main sound in here was cheerful chatter. More came in as I wrote that.
I think this is the smallest of all today's visits, I'm not sure what makes it one of the busiest, it occurred to me that if two more people came in they could occupy all the free tables and it would be "full".
I looked at the long row of bottles on the shelf behind the counter. Is that absinthe? Yes it is. I watched as two cocktails were prepared, was that an egg white in one of them? What did they do with the yolk, I wonder?
OK, that's definitely enough, time for home... Most of today's ticks were not my sort of pub but I still enjoyed them.
Beer of the day: Sharp's Solar Wave
Miles walked: 1.3
Maybe coming soon: Kirkdale
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