Cocoa Cabana Ancoats, Manchester

Four words were all it took for us to book the next available train to Manchester to check out the latest establishment to be featured in our bar blog series:

Bottomless Brockmans & Chocolate.

We’re at Cocoa Cabana: a chocolatier, cocktail bar and cafe in Ancoats, Manchester, where you can order coffee and cocktails all day and all night. If that wasn’t enough, they also offer a bottomless brunch experience every day of the week, with unlimited glasses of their Cabana Spritz… made with Brockmans. You can understand why we booked the first train out of London.

We’re welcomed by Bar Manager, Luke Behan, who explains more about the Cocoa Cabana concept.

“Cocoa Cabana was started in 2019 by owner Sarah Gallacher who also owns Cocoa Cabana Chocolatiers. She lives in the Ancoats area, and wanted to create a space where coffee, chocolate, and cocktails could co-exist. Our cocktail menu draws on the ancient traditions of cacao and modern-day elements of a chocolatier’s finest craftmanship. On our menu you’ll find chocolate twists on cocktail classics – for example, our Dark Chocolate Chilli Daiquiri, our Goji Spritz, or our Salted Caramel Sazerac.”

This place just keeps getting better. Now on to the bottomless Brockmans…

Luke explains that they offer a bottomless brunch 7 days a week, at £33 pounds for 90 minutes. The tipple on offer? The Cobana Spritz: made with Brockmans Gin and Kwai-Feh Lychee Liquor, topped with prosecco. The combination is delicious — a refreshing way to start the day. Luke confesses in all his years of bartending, Brockmans has always been one of his favourite gins to work with.

“I started out as a barback at the Alchemist in Manchester, then moved into a bartending role. After a few years there, I moved onto a bar called The Botanist. The Alchemist was very science-ey, and The Botanist was more about using herbs within the cocktails, something I really enjoyed. After that I ended up working in a herb shop in London, I learnt about herbal health and now I’m interested in trying to combine the two.”

“I’ve worked in the industry a long time, and Brockmans has always been one of my favourite gins to use. I like the fact that it’s not a flavoured gin, it’s so unique and more premium than what you see on the market at the moment. I like that it is smaller owned. You don’t have to compromise for investors and that shows through the quality of the drink. Plus it helps that Brockmans is good for the soul…”

Luke is not wrong.

Head to Cocoa Cabana to try one of their bottomless brunches, Open Tues-Sun, 9am to late.

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DESCRIBE COCOA CABANA IN A FEW WORDS:

A luxurious, chill place.

WHY DO YOU THINK GIN IS SO POPULAR?

I think it has a lot of sophisticated flavours, which hit tastebuds differently than most spirits.

WHAT IS IT ABOUT BROCKMANS THAT APPEALS TO YOU?

Firstly I really like the branding and the bottle that it comes in. The flavour is amazing, it’s such an easy drink to drink but at the same time it has a lot of depth. I love the way it mixes with other flavours when designing a cocktail, it really compliments most things you drink it with.

IF YOU COULD HAVE ONE LAST DRINK BEFORE YOU DIED, WHAT WOULD IT BE?

A Talisker Old Fashioned.