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If you’ve ever wanted to enjoy a cocktail and a virtual reality experience at the same time, London’s One Aldwych hotel may be your next stop.
Bar manager Pedro Paulo created the Showtime menu to go along with the hotel’s location in the Theater district. The drink list is separated into four genres — Comedies, Dramas, Satires, and Musicals — and each drink comes with a virtual reality experience.
CNN sampled the Origin cocktail, a whisky-based drink with champagne, cherry liqeuer, grapefruit juice, and chocolate bitters. After the drink is ordered, the guest puts on a virtual reality headset and headphones (pictured below) to experience the world of the drink as it’s being made. The Origin, for example, takes guests on a two-minute tour of the Scottish Highlands and a behind-the-scenes look at the whisky-making process.
CNN reports that the virtual reality experience still has room for improvement, but the personalized service and creative menu are worth a visit.
This is not the only multi-sensory cocktail experience available in London this summer. Jason Atherton is launching an augmented reality experience at City Social, where guests can hold their phones up to cocktails to see them surrounded by artwork.
VR and AR experiences are becoming more and more popular, but time will tell if the trend lasts in bar settings. At the very least, it makes it tempting to try a few different cocktails on the menu to see where each one takes you.
Virtual reality cocktails at One Aldwych are $23.
Images via CNN
