Cressida Lawlor on her new Bourbon-focused Manchester bar
The former assistant bar manager of Sexy Fish Manchester is set to open her own whisky-focused bar in the city next week. Cressida Lawlor tells Millie Milliken why Bourbon takes a starring role and why Ego Death will have a zero tolerance approach to discrimination.
With a CV spanning the likes of London Cocktail Club and Sexy Fish, Cressida Lawlor is a familiar face in the UK bartending scene. Come November, and she will be opening her first bar, Ego Death, in Manchester’s Northern Quarter.
“Everyone says you’ll know when you’re ready,” says Lawlor of the professional landmark. “I’ve been wanting to do this for a decade.”
Opened in partnership with the team behind the city’s Socio Rehab bar (which closed in 2012), Ego Death will be an underground basement bar, hidden behind a burger shop and created as a space where people can ‘leave their ego at the door’ and enjoy top quality cocktails, Champagne by the glass and Bourbon.
“I love Bourbon, I love the States,” says Lawlor of the bar’s spirit of choice. “The bar is loosely based on Manhattan – combining Manchester’s exposed bricks and the grittiness of Manhattan. American whiskey tied in so nicely, I think it is such a great liquid to play around with.”
Lawlor’s first bar will add yet more kudos to Manchester’s cocktail pedigree
Building a bar
Inside the bar, exposed brick, low lighting and candlelit corners will greet guests who will be encouraged to be themselves in a space that will combine five-star service and drinks with casual, party-style vibes.
Lawlor’s pedigree in some of London and Manchester’s most training-led establishments has set her in good stead for how she wants run her own bar.
“I would love to run my business like old-school Milk & Honey in terms of training. I’ve got all the old manuals and I don’t think I’ve seen anything better. I’m also so inspired by how Sexy Fish create their spirits lists and market themselves, and London Cocktail Club has had a huge influence too.”
The menu has a dedicated Bourbon list that Lawlor will be constantly building in order to give the team the time they need to train and be educated on the bottles behind the bar and how to use them. “We want the team to be empowered and excited to learn while also looking after their wellbeing,” says Lawlor of her approach to building that list sustainably for a brand new team. Cocktails like a Bourbon Banana Colada and a Shamrock Shake will also put the spotlight on the American whiskey category.
No tolerance: Discrimination of guests and staff will not be tolerated by Lawlor or her team
‘no tolerance’ approach
Ego Death comes hot off the heels of The Quest for Queer, a documentary Lawlor launched this summer in collaboration with Scotch whisky brand Monkey Shoulder.
When it comes to creating a safe bar environment for guests and her team, Lawlor will be implementing a ‘no tolerance’ approach alongside more standardised initiatives such as the national Ask For Angela campaign.
“It’ll be about teaching the staff how to spot if a guest is uncomfortable and how to keep a watchful eye,” she explains. ‘There will be no tolerance to anything like transphobia, homophobia or racism.”
The only woman currently on the team, Lawlor says her staff are diverse in how they identify, and unity and personality have been the key factors when it came to hiring. “It’s 70% personality; the rest we can teach you. They are all lovely people who have genuine hospitality in them. I’m not looking for a superstar but a team of people who will get on really well and believe in what we’re doing.”
Ego Death opens at 12 Thomas Street, Manchester, on 28 November 2024.
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