The Maven is a hidden speakeasy bar located in the depths of Call Lane. Look out for the ‘M’ and the black staircase leading towards the venue where old meets new. They offer a range of cocktails with vintage and classical twists. The bartenders are super talented as you watch them put all of their strength into shaking up the perfect cocktail. The main menu cocktails range from £8-£10 so you are getting the best quality cocktails at a reasonable price. Or you can give the bartenders some flavours you enjoy, and they’ll create the perfect, customised cocktail for you.

The festive tasting menu consists of six strong cocktail samplers accompanied with nibbles to make the ultimate flavour pairing. The flavour pairings have been formulated to activate different Christmas memories, such as getting an orange or chocolate orange on Christmas morning. Our favourite cocktails within the group were ‘Christmas Morning’, ‘Berry Christmas’ and the ‘Mince Pie Mai Tai’ – all of which can be purchased as full-sized cocktails from the festive menu.

 The ‘Bermudan Christmas Storm’ was a strong ginger-forward cocktail which we believed should have been paired with the classic gingerbread man, rather than the controversial candied ginger. Although we enjoyed the idea of the ‘Candy Cane Punch’, this was perhaps the most disappointing as the contrast between the mint and rhubarb was a little unpleasant. Indeed, although the full-sized cocktails are reasonably priced, I feel that the tasting menu is a little overpriced for £30 and I would have expected more impressive and substantial nibbles to accompany the tasty cocktails.

All-in-all we had a lovely time at The Maven. The bartenders were lovely and the effort they went to make this a wholesome Christmas experience was admirable. If you get a chance to head to The Maven for some Christmas drinks, then I would highly recommend trying the ‘Berry Christmas’ as this was the biggest hit amongst the group.