Have you ever gotten drunk by breathing in a cloud of gin and tonic? Well Bompass & Parr are back with their latest interactive exhibit – Alcoholic Architecture offering just that!
Having missed out on previous Bompass & Parr experiences I was super keen to get tickets for this one. Luckily for me my friend Kimmy was equally keen and managed to get them booked! We waited outside this red brick building (the site of an old monastery) opposite Borough Market in Southwark and were soon led into a dark passage way.
When we got to the ante chamber we got suited up in plastic rain macs and headed into the next door bar area.
Freaky decoration!
Playing on the monastery heritage, it’s all a bit gothic. We headed first to the bar to check out the cocktails, the theme is carried into the ingredients showcased – a smoked frankincense gin and tonic, and an absinthe and champagne cocktail, as all the spirits are those created by monks!
Photobomb fail from the bar tender!
A close up of the Buckfast display.
Buckfast is another spirit made by Monks – this is a fortified wine so savage that Scotland has banned it!
But we weren’t there to drink, but instead to breathe our alcohol in!
This way to the gin and tonic cloud!
Breathe Responsibly – hmmm we’ll see!
Pre- breathing selfie
They pump the room full of gin and tonic vapour – 25 litres an hour, 140% humidity, so seeing anything is a little tricky….
Yup, it’s quite a fog of gin and tonic in here – we couldn’t tell where the walls were!
You could definitely smell/taste the juniper from the gin in the cloud. We found the best spot was right under the vent lol!
Kimmy breathing deeply
It didn’t take long in the fog before we were a bit damp – to the extent that gin and tonic ended up dripping off my eyebrows, nose and eyelashes!
Not sure if this faces helps you get drunk on the cloud – but it seemed helpful at the time!
What? Drunk? No, not us!
I did a quick calculation and reckon that we didn’t inhale too much gin… So we weren’t feeling drunk, even with the cocktail too. They limit you to an hour long slot, thereby limiting the potential for damage for people more susceptible to alcohol.
I thought it was an interesting new experience and a different way to experience my favourite drink! (Although it does leave you damp and sticky from the tonic, one for the end of the night, not the start of it!)
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