Cocktail Corner

Bar: Prohibition Bar at The House of Machines Address: 84 Shortmarket Street Contact: 021 426 1400 Cocktail: Dark and Stormy Price: R50 Ingredients: Mount Gay dark rum, ginger beer, lime juice TOP SPIRITS over fancy drinks is the name of the game at the Prohibition Bar. True to its name, the limited opening bar at the biker-themed establishment offers a simple selection of drinks, made from premium imported liquor.

Bar manager Johnny Cabanagh makes the Dark and Stormy by placing ice in a jam jar, then adding freshly squeezed lime, Mount Gay dark rum and a topping of ginger beer.

The rum is imported from the West Indies, where it is produced in a distillery in Barbados.

It has a sweet wooded taste and seems unspiced. It mixes with the rest of the Dark and Stormy to make a sweet, fizzy drink with good ginger flavour. The drink would be appreciated by those who prefer their liquor a little more straight up.

Owner Brad Armitage says the bar is a modern take on the Prohibition theme. He says the drinks on offer are the sort your grandfather would have had.

Exposed beams, old brick walls and a rock music soundtrack add to the nostalgic theme.

There is no smoking, so smoke before or after you go to the bar.

The bar uses the new SnapScan app, allowing you to make payments using a smartphone.

The Prohibition Bar at House of Machines is only open on Thursdays and Fridays from 5pm. wendyl.martin@inl.co.za Twitter:@WendylMartin