Viva Lewes Issue #153 June 2019

RECIPE
Ruaridh Wightman
The Copper Top Bar
My partner, Tilly Webster and I worked in
and managed bars across France, Switzerland
and the UK and had wanted to do something
together as a project for a while. We weren’t
sure what, but we always wanted our
own venture together. At a street party in
Brighton, we saw a basic converted horse box
bar and we immediately started discussing
what we would do differently and what kind
of bar we would have (fresh cocktails and
gin it turns out). As soon as we got home,
we were so excited, we started searching for
vintage horse boxes and spent hours until
we found the perfect one. That was two
years ago, then we spent just under a year
renovating it ourselves and have been up and
running for a year now and we’re almost fully
booked for this year, which is great.
A renovated vintage Rice horse trailer, the
bar has been fitted out using local, reclaimed
wood and copper coins. It took almost a
year of us working up there each weekend,
designing, stripping it out, building the bar
and worktops, painting, salvaging reclaimed
pallet wood and creating the bar top and
light feature. All of it was done by ourselves,
or with friends and it’s an important reason
the bar looks the way it does. This meant
our idea of the finished product was able to
evolve slowly and had a lot more additions
and custom bits we wouldn’t have thought of
had someone else done it for us.
Sustainability is a huge thing for us. Tilly’s
background is in Ecology, and this informs
a strong and simple aim to minimise our
impact on the environment. My background
in events always infuriated me because of all
the wastage. We use biodegradable straws
made from paper or crushed sea shells, and all
our cups are recyclable.
There are so many cocktails we could choose,
but this one jumps out because it’s perfect for
the summer season. As a bar, we’re mainly
outside so good weather and good cocktails
is what everyone is after. At a summer event,
this seems to catch the mood and we can’t
make them fast enough. Raspberries, mint
and gin work brilliantly together and the
Prosecco just tops it off perfectly. If you like
the look of it, come down and see us at the
Gin & Fizz festival (29th June; see pg 11).
Mention Viva Lewes and we’ll make you an
extra special one! As told to Charlotte Gann
thecoppertopbar.co.uk
RASPBERRY GIN ‘MOJITO’ FIZZ
The recipe is as follows:
- Muddle fresh limes, mint and brown sugar
- Add in fresh raspberries and muddle them in too
- 2 shots of good quality local gin
- Shake with ice, then pour into glass
- Top up with fresh ice, some tonic water and a splash of Prosecco
- Garnish with a fresh sprig of mint
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