BRINGING A COCKTAIL BAR TO YOU
lockdo“When wn happened, people couldn’t go to the bars and then they were searching online. With us doing letterbox cocktails, that’s when we saw a surge of demand in sales
IN 2016, mixologist James Vyse decided to start his own cocktail business from his bedroom. He had a passion for cocktails and imagined delivering top-notch tipples to people’s homes. The 28-year-old who is originally from Portmead in Swansea launched The Cocktail Man kits so you can get shaken and stirred while creating world class cocktails in your kitchen.
Five years later, he has created a multi-million-pound business.
He now works with some of the best spirit brands in the business including Hendricks Gin and Grey Goose Vodka. Corporate clients include Vogue, Amazon, Facebook, Google Space NK and Snapchat.
But success didn’t come easy for James – just two years ago he couldn’t afford his rent and he had to move back in with his partner’s parents.
His journey started on Swansea’s party capital, Wind Street, where he worked at bars including Revolution and Fancy a Rum for seven years before moving to London.
“When I went and worked in London, I got offered a job at The Shard, so this was the pinnacle of my bartending career, I remember speaking to customers then who were like, ‘we would love to make cocktails like this at home, but it’s so difficult we can’t find the right ingredients’.
“It got me thinking, there’s got to be a solution to this, there’s got to be a way of allowing customers to experience making cocktails at home.
“That was how The Cocktail Man was born. The next day I quit my job and went all in. I started from nothing. I’m a young lad from Swansea, from a humble background, I just gave something I’m very passionate about a go,” he said.
With all hospitality businesses shut due to the coronavirus pandemic, the lockdown led to sales going “through the roof”.
“When lockdown happened, people couldn’t go to the bars and then they were searching online. With us doing letterbox cocktails, that’s when we saw a surge of demand in sales. We grew so quickly I thought that was the time to look for investment,” James said.
The kits start at £24.99 and they also offer subscriptions for three, six, nine and 12 months. For more details find James on Instagram and Facebook or you can visit The Cocktail Man website https://www.thecocktailman.co.uk/