CREATED BY IMBIBE DRINKS LIST OF THE YEAR WINNERS | HANDMADE IN DEVON
DARK BAR
ABOUT
Born from the trade, delivering to the trade
Founded by spirits and hospitality industry experts Patrick Fogarty and Tom Cullen, Dark Bar Drinks has evolved into a leading ready-to-serve cocktail company for hospitality operators.
DBD works alongside award winning bartenders & Michelin Starred chefs to develop premium cocktails that are handcrafted in batches using only the finest ingredients and spirits.
The range of complex drinks has been created by Patrick Fogarty along with the assistance of his Doctor Inks Curiosities management team.
Having spent over 20 years working in and running some of London’s top bars and private members clubs, Patrick returned to his hometown in Devon and launched Doctor Ink’s Curiosities in 2016 with his business partner Tom Cullen. Doctor Ink’s has been short listed twice (2018 & 2019) for ‘Imbibes Drinks List of the Year’, winning the ‘Best Themed’ category in 2017. The bar was also in the final for the ‘UK’s Most Sustainable Bar’ in the 2019 ‘Class Bar Awards’. These are the highlights for the bar alongside editorials in the national press and a plethora of other awards and achievements.
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Dark Bar Origins
On a research trip to New York’s ‘Craft Bar’ scene 20 years ago, Patrick witnessed the emergence of pre-batching cocktails as a growing trend to speed up service and allow the creation of complex drinks in a high paced environment. This was the catalyst which saw Fogarty implement similar concepts to bars he was running at the time in London’s West End.
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This ‘batching’ of drinks but in miniature became the heart of the concept for the Stir Crazy® drinks boxes.
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The challenges of recruiting highly trained bartenders outside of metropolitan areas has always been tough but it is now exasperated by the twin trials of both Post Covid & Brexit. In the spring of 2021, as the UK began the slow unfurling of the most recent lockdown, Cullen and Fogarty identified through their own businesses and that of their peers, that a ‘solution’ was very much needed for the Hospitality Industry.
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The amalgamation and the evolution of these concepts led to the creation of Dark Bar® Drinks...
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OUR LITTLE LAB
It's what's on the inside that counts
Hidden in the seaside town of Teignmouth, Devon - IMBIBE Drinks List of the Year Winners & Finalists Patrick Fogarty & Tom Cullen have established DARK BAR and their very own Area 51. A dedicated space to develop recipes that will scale without compromising the very ideals that earned them success.
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Dark Bar Drinks is for any operator who wishes to have a premium craft cocktail offering, without the need of a highly trained workforce or equipped bar. DBD is suitable for Hotels, Restaurants, Theatres, Event companies and festivals.
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COMPLEX COCKTAILS MADE EASY™
