COCKTAIL CHEMISTRY

Alchemy & Apothecary is the brainchild of Curtis Clissitt. Mary meets him and his business partner Zac Cotterell

OLD STAMFORDIAN CURTIS left school wanting to be an actor so did a degree in drama and theatre. He’s still waiting for Hollywood to come calling and after a few years running bars he retrained to be a primary school teacher. But he missed the buzz of hospitality and his transferable skills of theatrics and entertaining people; because we all know a good bar manager is someone who does just that. And Curtis did a bit more than that as he was perfecting his cocktail making skills.

During this time he was managing the Cozy Club in Stamford where he employed Zac and then moved to manage the Exeter Arms in Easton on the Hill. In the back of his mind all the time was that he wanted one day to work for himself and ultimately run his own bar. And it turned out that Zac had exactly the same ambition which they bonded over.

Curtis and Zac, along with their head barman Mark Szulc have a love of food and flavours, the environment, sustainability and helping the planet so have combined all that by setting up their own cocktail business, lchemy pothecary. This clever name reflects all that they stand for; mixing potions with the precision of a chemist all with a bit of dramatic flair.

The boys offer a mobile cocktail service within a 100 mile radius of Stamford. They will come to your house and run a masterclass for up to 1 people where you learn to make your own cocktails with a group of friends and have a lot of fun along the way. I know this is very popular for private parties, birthdays and hen parties and everyone loves it. They will also go to garden parties and serve cocktails to your guests, deliver cocktails to your door they were about to drop 0 off for a party when I met them) and will even post them. Weddings and corporate events are also on their radar and they offer a bespoke service; whatever you want they can do including running a bar and providing waiting staff, alongside the cocktail mixing. Because the service is bespoke you can decide on what cocktails you want and urtis and ac will suggest some too once they nd out your likes and dislikes; collaboration is key.

Curtis’ love of the dramatic really comes to the fore when you see the wonderful cocktails he produces; beautifully decorated and garnished and served with a flourish. But the flavour is what is most important,’ he says. And all this is done as sustainably as possible. Fruit and veg is sourced locally and sustainable alcohol brands are chosen. Recycled paper is used at all times. They make their own fruit syrups and coffee li ueur using spent coffee grounds and carbon negative vodka. I have visions of the two of them making syrups in their kitchen with their wi ards hats on, reflecting the name of the company, but maybe that’s just me…

Images: Nadia Pistorius, True North Photography 'Curtis and Zac are always keen to collaborate with local companies and are developing quite a name around their home town, Stamford.'

Curtis and Zac are always keen to collaborate with local companies and are developing quite a name around their home town, Stamford. They work quite closely with Stamford Botanics for garnishes and decoration and run cocktail workshops at the Blonde Beet. The next one is on November 26 when they will collaborate with Verycraft tea and tickets are available now. And they have been doing foraging courses locally to source many of their own ingredients. It’s great to see local businesses supporting each other and working together.

They can make mocktails for the non drinkers and are even collaborating to make a healthy cocktail which will use CBD oil in the place of alcohol which sounds very interesting. If you look at their website you will see many of their own cocktail mixes are available as well as the more usual; spring garden is their best seller and I am determined to try their eucalyptus martini which looks amazing and has healthy properties too and should help clear the nasal passages!

Their cocktails are a premium product made with the best ingredients possible but they aren’t overly expensive; £14 for two portions by post. They are developing quite a name for themselves and getting lots of repeat bookings, always a good sign. It’s a niche market and Alchemy & Apothecary have certainly developed it. It would appear Hollywood can wait for a while, Curtis and Zac are creating their own magic right here.