VEGA, the bar, restaurant and entertainment space above YOTEL on Glasgow’s Argyle Street, has launched a bold new cocktail menu offering eight classic serves in three different strengths of alcohol.
The VEGA bar team has dedicated a lot of time and effort to concocting and presenting this range of cocktails so that the full strength, low strength or alcohol free variants of each look and, as much as is humanly possible, taste the same.
The overall concept has been the brainchild of multi-award-winning mixologists Johnny Morrison and John Russell, and the venue’s expert team.
Food and beverage manager Russell said: “This menu’s been a real passion project for the whole team. It started as an idea to create something that genuinely gives people choice without ever compromising on flavour.
“We wanted to take iconic cocktails and rework them so they can be enjoyed in three different ways, depending on the moment, whether that’s full strength, lower alcohol, or completely alcohol-free for mindful drinkers or designated drivers,” said Russell.
“The key for us was making sure there was literally no change to the taste. That’s where the team has been incredible, really pushing things, experimenting with techniques and carefully sourcing the best alcohol-free mixers so every version still hits exactly the way it should.
“No matter the occasion, you can still have a proper, beautifully made cocktail… just without the hangover.”
As well as working wonders with the look and taste of the drinks, VEGA’s ‘No, Lo and Go’ cocktail menu has allowed the team to go absolutely pun-wild naming the variants.
Hence the menu’s Aperol Spritz sits alongside the low alcohol equivalent Half-It-All Spritz, and the zero alcohol Aff-It-All, while the Limoncello Spritz trio is completed by a Limon-mello and a Limon-zero.
In a similar vein, there’s the Daiquiri, the Sly’quiri and the Dry’quiri; the Rhubarb Negroni, the Rhubarb Lo’groni and the Rhubarb No’groni; and the Caipirinha, Slow-Pirinha, and Faux-Pirinha, all priced to an £11/ £9/ £7 pattern.
General manager at YOTEL Glasgow, Neil Taylor, added: “This menu is all about choice, flavour and inclusivity, but more than that, it’s about recognising how people’s habits are changing and making sure our offering evolves with them.
“We want to create an experience where everyone feels catered for, whether you’re drinking alcohol or not, and this menu is a natural reflection of that.
“It’s about giving guests the same experience, and the same sense of occasion, whatever they choose to drink.”
VEGA’s No, Lo and Go menu is now available for guests to enjoy, offering a ‘truly unique cocktail experience high above the city skyline’.
