For a city with a legendary drinking culture, London’s pubs and bars often shut down just as the evening is getting good. Fortunately, the Shoreditch neighborhood caters to late-night denizens and the “sure, one more” crowd. Over the past decade, this corner of East London has become one of the city's most interesting nightlife districts, with ambitious cocktail bars that compete with the world's best. Whisky is particularly well represented, whether it's a bourbon cocktail served in a tin can or a scotch concoction finished with a red-hot poker. I spent 36 hours drinking my way around Shoreditch and its neighboring enclaves. Here are five bars worth seeking out—and what to order when you get there.
The Cocktail Trading Co.
68 Bethnal Green Road, E1 6GQ
Come for the playful (and delicious) cocktails, stay for the great vibes. The Cocktail Trading Co. is the kind of cocktail bar where the bartenders are having as much fun as the customers. The current menu is structured as a calendar you flip through, with a different beverage per month. Start with the Corn on the Cobbler, created by general manager Tris Carvalho. This melds Evan Williams Extra Aged and Mellow Corn with sweetcorn syrup, honeydew cordial, and a house sherry blend. Served in a corn can and topped with popcorn, it’s an easy sipper that disappears too quickly.
Follow it up with the Ikigai Drive-By, combining Suntory Toki, Maker's Mark, pine and bergamot liqueur, vanilla and cacao bitters, and dandelion-root tea syrup. It arrives inside a flask concealed in a fake self-help book, and you pour it yourself. Personal introspection has never tasted so delicious. Let assistant general manager Thomas Mialhe make you a custom beverage for your third round, or ask barman Dan Williams for one of his Espresso Martinis made with cognac or bourbon to close out the night. If you’re lucky enough, Williams may treat you to the house send-off: a Pickleback made with house-made brine.
Seed Library
100 Shoreditch High Street, E1 6JQ
If you don’t make a reservation, prepare to wait to get into this enclave tucked inside the One Hundred Shoreditch hotel. The brainchild of Ryan Chetiyawardana, better known as Mr Lyan, Seed Library pairs a clean aesthetic with cocktails that are far more complex than their short ingredient lists suggest. There’s also an excellent soundtrack, courtesy of a DJ spinning vinyl.
Orchard flavors seem to be a recurring theme on the current menu. They’re present in the Golden Spring Fix, which combines Maker's Mark, amaretto, elderflower, apple-cured egg yolk, and lemon. And in the Beeswax Old Fashioned, which uses Monkey Shoulder, sugar, bitters, and beeswax to reimagine an old standby.
There’s also the decadent Koji Hardshake, made with Johnnie Walker Blue Label, miso, koji, cream, sugar, and lemon, a Whiskey Sour turned inside out, with savory fermentation adding depth to the whisky. Want to branch out from whisky? The Dirty Mezcal Martini combines Del Maguey with dry vermouth and fermented tomatillo, creating earthy, crisp flavors in each sip.
The Sun Tavern
441 Bethnal Green Road, E2 0AN
Bartenders from other venues on this list hang here for a reason. The Sun Tavern has the easygoing atmosphere of a neighborhood dive, with a cocktail program that punches well above its weight. It maintains London's largest Irish whiskey selection (including plenty of rare and vintage bottlings) and what it describes as the world's most extensive collection of poitín, Ireland's historically illicit spirit.
The cocktail program here is more classical than experimental, but the menu is still as diverse. On the more imaginative side, you’ve got the Soi Cowboy, with Dewar's 12 year, Desi Daru mango-infused vodka, Thai milk tea, and coconut; a refreshing long drink that draws inspiration from across the globe. The Irish Coffee—Crested 10 whiskey, coffee, and cream—is tasty, but the Belfast Coffee is the winner. Made with Ban poitín, cold brew coffee, cream, demerara, and nutmeg, the poitín adds an earthy, fruity flavor that’s unexpected but quite cohesive.
FlipDog
104–122 City Road, EC1V 2NR
Founded by Ukrainian hospitality entrepreneurs Artem Skapenko and Alex Kostenyuk, this lively bar approaches drinks with a flourish. FlipDog takes its name from an old cocktail-making technique involving a red-hot iron poker, which it showcases in its Morning on the Platform. That drink combines sesame-infused bourbon, peated scotch, amaretto, oloroso sherry, and coffee, then finishes it with a poker heated to approximately 1,200°C. Next, opt for The Half Pint, which disguises Johnnie Walker, Nixta corn liqueur, sherry, and citra hops as a small beer, complete with a foamy head. It's an inventive twist for whisky drinkers who’ve seen everything.
A Bar With Shapes for a Name
232 Kingsland Road, E2 8AX
When iconic bartenders become obsessed with the Bauhaus art movement, you get one of London's most interesting drinking establishments. Founded by industry veterans Remy Savage, Paul Lougrat, and Maria Kontorravdis, this minimalist Haggerston bar substitutes geometric symbols for a conventional name. (Yes, seriously.) It earned the No. 35 spot on The World's 50 Best Bars list in 2023 and remains the late-night cocktail hotspot because it’s open until 4 a.m. and the cocktails always hit.
Try the Bogler, which combines Buffalo Trace bourbon, shiso, sesame, and lemon for a savory, citrus-bright experience you’ll order on repeat. Or the Atlas, which combines Redbreast 12 year old Irish whiskey with dulce de leche, Amaras Espadín mezcal, and tonka. While spirit-forward, it has a measured sweetness that keeps it balanced. For something lighter and more crushable, the Warp/Weft brings together Suntory Toki, banana, and flaxseed in a silky sipper. Sidle up to the bar and go off-menu by asking the staff—each clad in chromatic coveralls—for something different. I did and was served a banana-and-bourbon Highball riff that was a stunner.