Three Little Words have released their third signature cocktail menu: Ground to Glass. The innovative menu, which celebrates the processes behind the spirit-making operation next door at the The Spirit of Manchester Distillery, is the handiwork of new Bar & Drinks Development Manager, Daniel Clarke.
Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Karl Kivell is heading up the team as Head Chef, crafting fresh, flavourful small plates which celebrate seasonality and have been thoughtfully developed to complement the cocktails.
The premium cocktail bar, which sits in Grade-II* listed railway arches in the heart of Manchester, recently won Team of the Year at the prestigious Top 50 Cocktail Bars Awards under Dan’s leadership. With Dan and Karl driving forward the venue’s creative output with an exciting, creative drinking and dining experience, the team are excited to further build on this achievement.
While the food and cocktail menus are separate, Daniel and Karl have come together to ensure that the tastes and aromas of the food and cocktail menus complement each other perfectly. In doing so, the pair have managed to devise an exquisite drinking and dining experience that is sophisticated, balanced, and full of flavour.
Ground to Glass
The 16-strong new cocktail menu, called Ground to Glass, is an exploration of the processes that take grains and plants and make them into alcohol, spirits, and finally, into Three Little Words’ speciality - cocktails. This cleverly echos the processes that take place in the distillery next door.
Dan and his team have meticulously employed these techniques throughout the menu to craft a series of intriguing drinks. From cultivation of grain through to distillation, maturation – and finally the perfect first sip in a cocktail, each element is touched on and highlighted.
As well as offering ‘accessible’ cocktail delights that will prove to be real crowd pleasers, the new menu also offers drinks that are a true sight to behold, with craftmaship and creativity coming second only to flavour.
Hero cocktails include, For Miso Sake, an Asian-inspired cocktail featuring Manchester Gin Wild Spirit, red pepper, plum saké, jasmine and miso - served in a glass inside a traditional Japanese Masu Box.
And there’s also the striking Under Pressure cocktail, a smokey delight with Manchester Gin Raspberry Infused, watermelon infused Aperol, mint, lime distillate and apple, topped with a show-stopping bubble made from citrus that envelopes the glass.
The new menu also includes a evolution of the Three Little Words favourite: 99 Problems – now called 100 problems, which incorporates oak-infused One Eyed Rebel spiced rum, homemade honeycomb cordial, pistachio orgeat and espresso, topped with a sprinkle of salt.
Three Little Words Small Plates
And when it comes to the food menu, the delights keep coming, with new Head Chef Karl dreaming up an array of delicious small plates – which are perfect for sharing and designed to complement the new drinks menu.
In line with Three Little Words’ daring and inventive cocktail offering, Karl had some fun with the food menu too. Highlights include the chef’s personal favourite – an exquisite duck parfait choux bun with apricot and chives, an Italian-inspired sausage roll served with a delectable apple ketchup, as well as using beef skirt marinated in One-Eyed Rebel Rum.
And that’s not the only place you can find The Spirit of Manchester Distillery’s spirits taking centre-stage on the food menu. Guests can feast on anchovy and heirloom tomato salad prepared with Manchester Gin Wild Spirit, or on the dessert menu, a Manchester Raspberry Infused Millefeuille.
Jen Wiggins, owner at Three Little Words and co-founder of The Spirit of Manchester Distillery, said:
“After an incredible start to the year winning Team of the Year at the Top 50 Cocktail Bar Awards, we’re really pushing ourselves this year.
“In this menu, we wanted to hone in on the countless fascinating processes that take place to turn grains and plants into the spirits and drinks that we all love. Every day in our distillery we work with these processes from distilling, extracting, infusing and macerating.
“We’ve taken 16 of these processes and harnessed them to inspire the cocktails and some of their ingredients on this menu, but it’s not style over substance - we’ve ensured that each cocktail has a place on the menu.
“In addition to our new cocktail menu, our new food menu perfectly pairs up with our enticing drinks offering, with several dishes incorporating our very own inhouse tipples into the recipe – making the menus a true match made in heaven.”
To make a reservation please visit www.threelittlewordsmcr.co.uk.