535 Kings Road, Chelsea, London, SW10 0SZ www.moonshinesaloon.com
Moonshine Saloon is the latest is the latest bar from the team behind BYOB concept Alcotraz – a one-of-a-kind immersive cocktail bar experience which transports guests from the streets of West London to the Wild West. Don’t forget to bring your own moonshine though, otherwise it will be a dry occasion.
The outside of Moonshine Saloon is inconspicuous, but from the second you step through the door every member of staff is in character, and within a few minutes you will be too.
The local tailor meets you and greets you with a Stetson hat, a shirt or waistcoat and of course a neckerchief before you are taken down into the bar and welcomed by the delightful bar owner Not before you hide your moonshine first though.
As you are seated the bartender comes and takes your bottle of moonshine and goes on to make you four personalised cocktails. In keeping with the theme, we took an American Whiskey and the cocktails that were made were unbelievably good.
We like our drinks to be slightly on the sour side, and they didn’t disappoint – we were treated to cocktails including a long, sour drink not dissimilar to a Long Island ice-tea that was refreshing and slipped down very easily, and a shorter raspberry-based drink that had hints of sweetness but brought out the natural sourness of the fruit. The bartenders definitely knew what they were doing, and every cocktail hit the spot every time.
Everyone at the Moonshine Saloon is perfectly in character, and it’s not just the drinks that make this a fantastic evening. Throughout the night, you will be entertained with undercover, secret gambling behind the sheriffs back, bar fights and a behind-the-scenes look at the illicit Moonshine distillery where the bar-owner’s husband brews his own Moonshine – he may even give you a taste if you’re lucky. There is so much more to enjoy, but I won’t give too much detail away, as some parts of the evening are better left as a surprise.
Once your time in the Moonshine Saloon is over, the night doesn’t have to end there. Upstairs from the Moonshine Saloon is the General Store – don’t worry, you’ll meet the General Store owner earlier in the evening – which has its own bar where you can enjoy an extra cocktail or two.
A visit to the Moonshine Saloon will make for an unforgettable evening. Fantastic cocktails, entertainment and a great bunch of people – and all at pretty good value too for £33.99 a ticket. I recommend you grab your horse and ride on down while you can, for the express to the Wild West will only be running until the 25th August, Wednesday-Saturday.