Booze-free ‘water cocktail’ bars are coming to Britain… and could set you back £150 per bottle
Department store Selfridges is set to open a water cocktail bar in its London store later this year, which will only sell H2o-based beverages
IF you needed any more proof that hipsters have gone too far, then look no further than pricey ‘water cocktails’, which are as ridiculous as they are expensive.
Department store Selfridges is set to open a water cocktail bar in its London store later this year, with luxury bottles of water expected to shift for up to £150.
The bar will only sell non-alcoholic H2o-based beverages, creating some confusion as to what makes the drinks worthy of being called cocktails in the first place.
Thirsty punters will have the choice of still and sparking waters from around the world, with each water apparently gaining a unique taste thanks to where it was filtered.
Water tasting expert Martin Reise claims that water can have “complex” flavours, which differ thanks to the exact mineral make-up of each type.
He claims: “One can actually taste the region and depth from which the water comes.”
Other variety could come thanks to special water infusions, which could add fruity flavours to an otherwise dull glass of the clear stuff.
And although there is no official information about the bar just yet, Selfridges has experimented with fancy waters in the past, after they opened a pop-up water bar last year.
The priciest water around is from Kobe, Japan, which comes in glass bottles decorated with Swarovski crystals.
The water, which sells for around £150 per bottle, is filtered through the Mount Rokkō mountain range, which supposedly creates a unique taste.
Last year, a pop-up bar in Shoreditch, London’s hipster hub, made a splash for similar reasons – as the one-day-only venue only sold glasses of tap water.
The bar, called ‘H2Only’, was selling water to raise awareness for the RNLI at the time though, although serious water bars are surprisingly popular in health-conscious Los Angeles.
Some LA restaurants offer massive lists of waters to choose from, and this bizarre trend first came to London in 2007, when Claridge’s collated a water list for thirsty customers to choose from.
The most expensive water on the list, a volcano-filtered offering from New Zealand, set punters back £20 for a 420ml bottle.