East London Liquor Company

I’ve become a huge fan of this place. It’s gorgeous and you can get a pint of Camden Hell’s for £4! I mean where else can you get it that cheap? Really! I’ve been bringing people here since then and everyone has been in awe.
The whole place is designed wonderfully. The staff is always very friendly. The prices are fair if not dirt cheap for quality drinks.
Only knocks are the outdoor area is nice, but it’s next to a parking lot, but it’s not busy at all so not so bad. And you wish you were a few meters over and sitting on the actual canal, but oh well. Also it’s not always busy, but then again they are a distillery first and a bar second.
Which brings me to my final item. They have an off-​license and as I understand it will sell whenever the bar is open. There’s a building next door and just tell the bar keep that you want to look in. They have several of their own spirits they sell (Gin, Infused Gin, Rum, Whiskey, etc) as well as dozens upon dozens of rare and unique spirits from other distillery’s around the world. They can walk you through each one and they vary from the affordable (£19 for their own basic Gin) to more moderate £30 fancy spirits and up. I mean this little room is so much fun it’s worth 5 stars on its own.

I live local to this hidden gem of a bar. I finally managed to pop in after wanting to for a while.
I love a good G&T, where better to get one than at a Gin distillery! The bar is situated in front of the distillery which looks reminiscent of an old submarine, lots of shiny cooper tanks and pipes. It’s decked out in an industrial chic vibe, which is cool but nothing rave about and would look very plain if it weren’t for the distillery for interest.
Now to the Gin. You would think they would put a blurb on the menu about their fabulous Gins but instead one of the bar staff explained about it by shouting across to our table, which was a bit awkward as were weren’t the only ones there and I felt bad for the other customers. There is a nice selection of interesting cocktails, a bit of bar food available and local beers and cider too. I think there a was wine but I don’t remember looking.
Overall a nice quiet bar to come and sip cocktails, will definitely be coming back. Hopefully book in a tour one day!

I was invited into the heart of the East London Liquor Company’s operations as part of Unilocal’s Festival of Friendship 2015 for an hour long distillery tour. A small group of Unilocal users were greeted with a classic gin and tonic made with the Easter London Liquor Company’s London dry gin and had time to mingle and introduce ourselves before being ushered behind the bar to see how their gins, rums and vodka are made in situ. We were given an informative overview by James, who was obviously at the crux of the distilling process and offered a scientific perspective on spirits– we learned about the ingredients used in distilling gin and what chemistry is involved in retaining any infused flavours (the effect of rising gases and the significance of the head, heart and tails of a batch of gin were particularly interesting). I am not remotely empirically-​inclined and won’t profess to grasping everything, but it was nonetheless fascinating to be introduced to the many concepts behind an excellent bottle of gin!
After our tour, we were invited to sample three varieties of gin and their vodka– after such a detailed overview of the idiosyncrasies of the different batches, I was looking forward to discovering the varied notes for myself and found it very easy to drink all of the spirits neat because they were of such high quality. We sampled the house gin and the premium batches– number 1 and number 2– all of which had distinct flavours and were agreeable in their unique way. James helpfully suggested what garnish was appropriate for each gin depending on the flavour notes– a sage leaf for the herbier batch number 2, for instance, which was surprising.
There is a bottle shop onsite that sells the products distilled in the bar and a bottle of standard gin is priced at an affordable £18 while the premium gins are on sale for £21. The way that the East London Liquor Company is defining itself is highly focused on their price point, so they are committed to supplying a quality range of spirits at a much lower price than its competitors– when you sample the standard gin for yourself, I guarantee that you will be shocked that you can purchase it for the same price as some of the ubiquitous brands in your local supermarket.
The East London Liquor Company is a young London venture with a great product, so make sure to stop by their ambient bar to try their gin-​based cocktails for yourself.
Thank you to Pamela H and Unilocal for this opportunity to meet some interesting people and for arranging this event– it was elucidating and I relish opportunities to go behind the scenes of local start-​ups, so keep them coming!

Super delicious own brand Gin. Tucked away in a car park. Wouldn’t notice it unless you were looking for it.
Dangerously close to a gym.
Really lovely interior with a warm atmosphere (exposed walls with old bulbs etc). They make their gin in the back which you can see through the window behind the bar.
Was luckily enough to have a tour of the distillery and James was super informative and awesome. Drink the gin!

Managed to bag a spot on a Unilocal event, learning about and tasting gin.
Very interesting place, with the distillery on full display behind the bar.
Staff are extremely knowledgeable and passionate. There’s also a serious array of gin, whiskey and rum to get stuck in to.
If you’re into spirits you need to check this place out.

A bit hidden from the road, in Bow Wharf, next to a gym and a few very nice little shops, sits the East London Liquor Company. I went there on a sunday night, it was mainly young professionals, pretty quiet and friendly. The place looks like many bars do now — bit of an industrial cosy feel if you know what I mean. Quite nice but nothing very special. Seats are comfy, tables wide enough.
Behind the bar though, through a window, you can see where they make their own alcohols — particularly gin. Therefore, to my delight, they have many gin cocktails — with exotic names such as the Darjeeling Unlimited or Murder on the Mandarin express (which I tried and is very flavourful and original). When I went there they had a battle between two Oreo-​based cocktails, and the winner is going to be added to the cocktail list.
Cocktails are around £8−9 but for once well worth it. The staff is friendly, the place looks nice and is very near Victoria Park — you can enjoy a walk on a crisp winter day and them come here to warm up with delicious alcohols.
They also have food (cured meats from Reiner and Reiner and cheeses from another nice place which name I can’t remember right now) but I haven’t tried it.
The bar opened this year and already seems to have a few regulars. I can understand why, if you live in the area it’s ideal. Might be way busier on weekends though — I might try soon just to check.