The Alchemist Cocktail & Tapas Bar, Fitzroy

Whenever I think of alchemists I think of people in cloaks drawing weird circles on the ground, creating fire from thin air, reviving the dead and making weird and wonderful things out of whatever are lying around. The influence was, of course, from watching too much Japanese animations, especially the one called Fullmetal Alchemist where two kids go on a journey to find the Philosopher's Stone in order to retrieve body parts that were lost in a failed attempt to revive their dead mother. I would never dare to revive the dead. How scary is that? If I was an alchemist, I would be the world's best pastry chef where I can make perfect desserts every time as long as I have the ingredients in front of me and what's better than doing it instantly by clicking my fingers together? :D. Oh, I might also make myself pretty clothes and handbags so I'd never have to go shopping again. Ah…I'm daydreaming…

The Alchemist Cocktail & Tapas Bar, situated in the middle of the hustle and bustle of Brunswick St Fitzroy, which is also a neighbour of Naked For Satan, is another bar that I've recently visited and liked. Prior to this adventure, I've never really fully enjoyed going to bars. I believe this could have been the influence of my Asian flush genes which renders me unable to drink more than one standard drink at any one time.

I liked the name and the idea behind the bar. The decorations are fitting although the open space in the middle of the room makes the place seem a little less mysterious. Maybe they should draw some alchemist circles on the ground! What I definitely liked was their website. If you haven't already done so, check it out at http://www.thealchemistbar.com.au/, it's very unique and a bit of fun to look at. I felt like I was casting spells!

They have a nice collection of alcohols available. Cocktails on average cost around $20 a glass. For the quality and size we got, I didn't think it was all that fantastic. It was by no means bad, maybe I'm just not used to such expensive drinks as I'm reasonably new to the drinking scene.

The cocktail I got was The Fifth Muskateer for $20 which is described as 'a beautifully balanced, punch-style cocktail with dried fruit and citrus flavours, made with Appleton 8yr old rum, classic muscat, Aperol, house-made pomegranate syrup and lemon. This is a hearty drink to enjoy at anytime.' The grapes were fresh so I'm not sure where the dried fruit comes in. It was definitely rummy in flavour but the citrus didn't stand out. It wasn't my favourite drink ever. Mind you the photo below is a bit deceiving because Yuye took a sip or two from the glass already.

I was there to catch up with Winwin and meet her friends so we got a few plates of bar food to share. The night was still young and the truth was, I was very hungry. Maybe I should have just ordered some mains and eaten dinner there! The snacks were nice though and freshly cooked. I didn't get to try the salt and pepper squid ($12). By the time I realised, they were already gone! Shows how good they were I think.