Cubanisto

Walking down a back street in Shoreditch, only to turn a corner and see smoke billowing out from an entrance way, could have been fairly alarming and was certainly enough to pique my interest. Knowing we were headed for a ‘secret’ launch party for this new rum flavoured beer, it seemed likely that this was the place and getting closer we were ushered in through the first door and down through a dense fog of smoke (no Saharan sand in sight). We emerged on the other side to be greeted by the curiously automaton-like men in front of us with the words ‘Welcome sir or madam, please confess here to proceed.’

So began a rather surreal, but entertaining evening. Having written our confessions on what looked remarkably like a cheque-book we were next ushered in, one by one (they were very specific about that) to a desk, where our confessions were taken by a pair of harmonised women who reviewed each with a sharp eye and indicated we should proceed on down a narrowing tunnel.

Finally, having received our masks and gone through a rather Alice in Wonderland-esque, miniscule door, we emerged out into a large space, lit and smoky and were presented with a bottle of the reason we were here for the evening and allowed to roam freely and find out all about the what the evening held in store.

A note on the beer; it was very pleasant, managing to combine the sweetness of rum and the malty-ness of beer without being cloying or too sweet. A fairly heavy hefty alcohol volume of nearly 6% is conducive to not over-drinking or indeed speedy consumption, which ensures that the sweetness does not overtake one. Well presented with interesting branding and the macabre, day-of-the-dead style skull really making it stand out, I’m sure it will find its niche well within the market.

The rest of the evening involved a series of challenges and activities revolving around matching up pieces of a puzzle to unlock a key, which in turn opened a door and revealed a small prize to keep one’s interest piqued for the rest of the evening. All the while this was going on a clock was counting down above the DJ’s booth and as it ran out a dark, masked figure appeared on stage and proceeded to wow us with his beatboxing skills before blending in with the DJ and leaving us to entertain ourselves and muse on the drink in hand, the skilfully and slickly done digital media and ultimately the overall impression of the evening.

More details of Cubanisto can be found here, as well as on Twitter and Facebook. The beer is now available in bars and supermarkets.

Make sure you are at the next one! Look out for details on our website

Peter Churchill