If Jack Sparrow was to meet Sherlock Holmes – it would be here – in the seductive, wood-panelled Black Parrot Bar discreetly tucked away in an alley off London’s Fleet Street – 
welcoming rum lovers of all denominations and academic city imbibers in need of a rum fix… the obvious way to end to a working day.
This is a rum bar, with shelves and shelves of rum fun – it’s Hamleys for the connoisseur, and an entirely accessible way to be introduced to the tropical elixir – get the ladder, let’s go top shelf and let’s work our way through the cocktails!
If you can picture where gin left off – a mainstream spirit epidemic, offshoot mixers and an uprising for the lesser spotted cucumber, well the Black Parrot takes that to another level, Rum is the Daddy of the drinks cabinet and trust us, this is no phase! Rum is here to stay – you just ask anyone from the Caribbean, Venezuela, Mauritius and London… about the who’s who of rum; Diplomatico, Doorleys, Pusser’s, Trois Rivieres and Foursquare to name but a few…
And thanks to the stunning team behind, and in front, of the Black Parrot Bar we can learn, enjoy, nibble and try to remember the whole experience the next day!
With one of the largest rum collections in the world, don’t think you can catch the bar specialists out – they know it all and want to share the love.
Our experiences have been firstly, selfless (!), have included casual drinking and we have also been lucky enough to participate in a Masterclass – so let’s go with that!
For a modest bag of booty one can book the hour-long class – not only do you get one of the most welcoming smiles in the capital you will enjoy a rum punch to chat over with the other members of the crew!
Then let it begin – four different rums to taste, discuss, wonder at their provenance and attempt to raise a question that the incredibly well-read and rum palated aficionado Lydia can’t answer – forget it – what she doesn’t know about rum isn’t worth sipping at!
This is educated fun, everyone joins in – new friends are made and of course at the end – we want more, it is such a great way to spend a couple of hours, the masterclass we attended we met a birthday boy (at times I thought it was my birthday!), gifts (it makes a great gift voucher), lovers – what’s not to love, rum fanatics and even one turncoat that didn’t enjoy rum at 5pm and by 6pm was a true convert! Good job as no one wants to walk the plank!
The cocktails are sublime, varied and one has – just HAS – to sample the Old Fashioned, served with a beer while you wait… you can’t rush perfection!
The team has spotted the need for sustenance – after all, rum is an endurance sport – so choose provisions to make up a sharing platter, meats, cheeses, pickles and then to ward off the scurvy jump into a Dove Orchid cocktail; rum, passion fruit, pink peppercorn spirit and lime…
The cocktails are many, the rums are numerous and the knowledge in depth.
The bar is sexy and candlelit, the layout London with classic bar games – no, don’t think darts but charming handcrafted traditional games and the atmosphere is spiked with intrigue, anticipation and some great reggae backing.
The bar is open every day from 3pm apart from Sunday – it’s rum time, all the time…
So me hearties, and molasses make your way to this fantastic bar for a few scoops and spread the love – this is a great bar that leads the way for Rum, it is a wonderland of cocktails and knowledge and, if you must, there is an intelligent wine list and other spirits that shall remain anonymous as today my friends Rum is centre stage!