King Street’s latest cocktail bar opens its doors
Craft coffee and cocktail bar Roc & Rye has opened its doors on Manchester’s popular King Street.
Roc & Rye is the first stand-alone bar from bartender Sean Finnegan , formerly of El Capo, Kosmonaut and Mash and Air, alongside partners Maritza Haydon and Matt Bonner.
Situated in a landmark Grade II listed building in Spring Gardens, at the end of King Street, the new venue has taken inspiration from the architectural glories of the original 1880s interior, with authentic design features such as a reclaimed 1920’s oak dance floor.
The venue also includes a specially designed on-site laboratory for drink preparation and development, as well as a centrepiece barrel of aged Jameson whiskey behind the bar, providing whiskey-lovers with the opportunity to experience the tipple straight from the barrel, as it was originally served in 1965.
The creative eaterie-come-cocktail bar is set to give a nod to Sean’s Irish descent through a brand advocacy partnership with leading premium spirits, wine and champagne supplier, Pernod Ricard UK, distributors of favourite brands including Absolut, Beefeater, Malibu and the world’s most popular Irish whiskey, Jameson.
Sean Finnegan, Roc & Rye Founder said, “Putting whiskey at the heart of Roc & Rye, and specifically Jameson, seemed like a logical choice. We were lucky enough to meet with a 5th generation Jameson Master Cooper and their vision of training a new generation of Coopers, distillers and blenders really captured our imagination due to our shared values of craft, skill and commitment to quality.
“We also really wanted to give Roc & Rye customers the experience of sampling undiscovered artisan food from the local area and we’re proud to be able to curate a diverse menu that gives regional producers a platform to really showcase home-grown speciality cuisine.”
Alongside its range of inventive cocktails, the bar will appeal to Manchester’s daytime workers with the offer of workspaces and some of the best speciality coffees by Origin, ranging from espresso blends to regularly rotating single origin filter coffees.
Food served at the venue will also showcase regional food manufacturers, including homemade breads, bagels and chutneys from Trove of Levenshulme, macarons and cakes from patisserie Bisous-Bisous of Wilmslow Road, speciality cheeses from Didsbury’s The Cheese Hamlet, pork pies and scotch eggs from Beehive Food’of Deansgate and a bean to bar range of handcrafted chocolate bars and truffles from master chocolatiers Dormouse.
Roc & Rye is open seven days a week.
