Cocktail chemistry Alchemy & Apothecary is the brainchild of Curtis Clissitt. Mary meets him and his business partner Zac Cotterell
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LD STAMFORDIAN CURTIS left school wanting to be an actor so did a degree in drama and theatre. He’s still waiting for Hollywood to come calling and after a few years running bars he retrained to be a primary school teacher. But he missed the buzz of hospitality and his transferable skills of theatrics and entertaining people; because we all know a good bar manager is someone who does just that. And Curtis did a bit more than that as he was perfecting his cocktail making skills. During this time he was managing the Cozy Club in Stamford where he employed Zac and then moved to manage the Exeter Arms in Easton on the Hill. In the back of his mind all the time was that he wanted one day to work for himself and ultimately run his own bar. And it turned out that Zac had exactly the same ambition which they bonded over. Curtis and Zac, along with their head barman Mark Szulc have a love of food and flavours, the environment, sustainability and helping the planet so have combined all that by setting up their own cocktail business, lchemy pothecary. This clever name reflects all that they stand for; mixing potions with the precision of a chemist all with a bit of dramatic flair. The boys offer a mobile cocktail service within a 100 mile radius of Stamford. They will come to your house and run a masterclass for up to 1 people where you learn to make your own cocktails with a group of friends and have a lot of fun along the way. I know this is very popular for private parties, birthdays and hen parties and everyone loves it. They will also go to garden parties and serve cocktails to your guests, deliver cocktails to your door they were about to drop 0 off for a party when I met them) and will even post them. Weddings and corporate events are also on their radar and they offer a bespoke service; whatever you want they can do including running a bar and providing waiting staff, alongside the cocktail mixing. Because the service is bespoke you can decide on what cocktails you want and urtis and ac will suggest some too once they nd out your likes and dislikes; collaboration is key.
Curtis’ love of the dramatic really comes to the fore when you see the wonderful cocktails he produces; beautifully decorated and garnished and served with a flourish. But the flavour is what is most important,’ he says. And all this is done as sustainably as possible. Fruit and veg is sourced locally and sustainable alcohol brands are chosen. Recycled paper is used at all times. They make their own fruit syrups and coffee li ueur using spent coffee grounds and carbon negative vodka. I have visions of the two of them making syrups in their kitchen with their wi ards hats on, reflecting the name of the company, but maybe that’s just me…
24 November 2022 / theactivemag.com
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19/10/2022 11:09