Well known for using cutting edge ingredients, their house kombuchas, and with a medicinal approach to mixology, its no surprise that Behind This Wall is one of Londons first bars to be using CBD in their cocktails. We hung out with Alex Harris, founder of this Hackney hangout to hear about their latest creations.
So you own Behind This Wall, what’s the story behind your bar?
Started as a club night at Plastic People but we always had an eye on food and drink. When the club shut down I spent 5 months in LA tailing food trucks, working kitchens and seeing how a going out experience could happily cross between food/music/drinks scene I came back to London and pitched a summer residency to Oval Space to take over their terrace with a full programme knitting all of this together. Off the back of that we were able to open our first permanent space called Behind This Wall in January 2016 and been pushing on with the formula ever since!
What kind of drinks do you make ?
Seasonal, minimalist, ethical to the motto ~ All ingredients selected or produced in house to exclude artificial additives, colours and flavours, high fructose, corn-syrup and unnecessary sugar as standard.
We hear your making CBD cocktails? Tell us about that
It’s something my business partner and I always wanted to develop. As soon as CBD became available this year and a soluble oil was developed I wanted to work on a syrup or tincture. Our first one is a honey syrup which we use as the base for our summer rum old fashioned called the Central Business District and a zero alcohol cocktail called Ginger Gear. This was more where the idea came to fruition, there’s something about the medicinal qualities of CBD that can be similar to drinking so developing a alcohol free drink alternative was high on the agenda.
Does the CBD have an health / functional benefits?
I’ve had some back pain as a consequence of 3 years running my own place down a long flight of stairs and it’s certainly helped me with that!
Are they popular?
Yes – hugely. The zero offering is our most popular ever in that category, although that follows the trend of low/no drinks on the rise, but everyone loves a rum old fashioned in the summer time too!
What other functional ingredients do you use in your drinks?
We tend to make all our syrups and juices in house and have always had an eye for something with a ‘medicinal’ benefit. We’ve been big endorsers of black strap molasses syrups over the years in place of simple syrup, or using real gum arabica to make gomme.
Anything else you want to tell us?
Come and try the drinks!
