A brand new concept not to be missed, PAR. pushes the traditional boundaries around what a cocktail can be – featuring small batch custom cocktails with an emphasis on tasting through the smell of the drink, the team at PAR. strive to take you on a journey unlike any other bar on the scene, and if you’re in the neighbourhood, that makes this one stop not to be missed!

A warm and open space, stepping inside PAR can be a little bit confusing at first – with the focus on minimalistic themes you can be forgiven for wondering where all the alcohol is. The large wide dark mahogany bar dominates the centre of the room, with a strangely bare back bar – all your staples are there but there isn’t any great show-off-y library shelving that has almost become a prerequisite to calling yourself a small bar in today’s age. What this place offers is something else – specially designed cocktails that push the boundaries of what a cocktail is – and they’re hiding in the fridge!

So what is this weird and fantastic new cocktail method you say? Well, the team at PAR. have created a new style of “neo” cocktail that is an infusion of small batch and – dare I say it – wine-style tasting and aromatics. A 3 day process is strictly followed to infuse the flavours and consistency of each cocktail – from liquor to fruit skins – and strained and clarified before storing in nondescript bottles in the fridge. This now suspiciously wine-looking cocktail is then served neat in wine glasses, emphasising the aromatics when sipping in much the same way that you might taste and smell a fine wine.

With no ice to dilute and all that magic infusion happening over the 3 days, sitting down to enjoy your first sip of “excuse me sir I asked for a cocktail; this looks like wine” will be one of – at least in my case it was – wonderment at how something that looks, almost smells like a complex wine, can taste like a full on flavour explosion with the fruits, smokiness and spice of a masterfully crafted drink and not at all what an unsuspecting onlooker would think. The flavours of these drinks are more complex than a regular cocktail, due in part to the long infusion time with fruit skins (or in the case of one cocktail, an entire grapefruit – juices, rind and all) and due to there being no dilution from any ice whatsoever – in fact, all their specialty neo cocktails are ice/dilution-free – so go steady!

If trying this new style of “Neo cocktail” isn’t your thing, the team serve all the classics as expertly crafted as you’d expect, as well as a decent wine selection with beers available as well. Super friendly and happy to take you on a journey with them, the knowledge and banter of the guys means that sitting up at the bar will serve to be your best friend. And don’t be surprised if one of the local regulars start telling you about how great the bar is – because it really is that unique.

So if you want to try new things and take your tastebuds and olfactory senses on a new journey, or if you’re just intrigued about wine but in cocktail form… or cocktail in wine form… or you’re just confused by this review, then you have no choice now but to pay the team at PAR. a visit – a truly one of a kind bar that will leave you wanting more.