Last month, we at The Sun Tavern dropped our all-new summer-ready cocktail list and had a good old-fashioned party to celebrate.

There were plenty of good vibes, good people, banging drinks, and a boatload of free Bánh mì to boot.

We also had the pleasure of welcoming through our doors Mr David Preshaah – founder and head spinner at our good mates, Hoxton Radio – who took to the turntables and threw out some non-specific rock ‘n’ roll goodness.

The real star of the show, however (sorry, David), was our cocktail list which was debuting on the night.

While our past menus have focussed on the indigenous spirits of the world, this list goes that one step further.

Drawing inspiration from the food and drink beloved of each country, the cocktails have been designed as true representations of each nation – using only indigenous ingredients where possible, while also keeping themselves accessible.

Furthermore, each cocktail has been christened with the name of revolutionary spirits from each of the nations on show, paying reverence to the likes of Italy’s Giuseppe Mazzini, Mexico’s Pancho Villa, Sakatomo Ryōma of Japan, and Ireland’s Patrick Pearse.

They certainly hit the spot, as each and every one went down a treat. So, without further ado, let’s introduce you to one another:

Mazzini – Campari | Amaro Nonino | Coffee Liqueur | Orange | Double Cream

Named in honour of the Italian revolutionary who spearheaded the reunification movement, Mazzini utilises only the finest Italian produce and we’re willing to wager it’ll be the closest thing to liquid tiramisu you’ll ever have tasted.

Muñoz – Apricot-Infused Pisco | Pinot Noir | Cinnamon | Balsamic Shrub

Next in the spotlight is this sight for sore eyes. Inspired by, and named after, the revolutionary spirit of Chilean general, engineer, politician and benefactor – Pedro Pablo Muñoz, the drink makes use of Chilean staples, Pinot Noir and Pisco.

Pearse – Irish Whiskey | Sweet Potato-Infused Poitín | Lime | Oat Stout Syrup.

Making our way back across the Atlantic to more familiar climes, this one’s for Patrick Pearse – teacher, barrister, poet, and one of the leaders of the 1916 Easter Rising. Widely regarded as the embodiment of the rebellion, the finest Irish ingredients are used to make up his honorary libation.

Villa – Mezcal | Popped Blue Corn Tequila | Chilli Liquor | Tepache Syrup | Mole Bitters

Hailing from the Mexican Altiplano, and christened in the name of the revolutionary general who once roamed it’s plains, we bring you Villa – a fiery serve with more than a little punch. Pancho would be proud.

Ryōma – Japanese Whisky | Umeshu | Yuzu | Ansam | Shisho Leaf Cordial

Named in honour of the man who overthrew the Tokugawa Shogunate, but who also at the same time paradoxically engineered peace between the remaining warring prefectures, Ryōma is our sweet-sour tribute to what some may call a complex man.

Paine – Bourbon | Rock ‘n’ Rye | Cassis | Lemon | Chocolate Peanut Butter Doughnut Syrup

Next up we’re turning our attention to the States, and the Englishman whose pamphlets inspired the American Revolution which in turn threw out his compatriots – Thomas Paine. Sweet, deep, varied and rich – much like the American sub-continent he called home – this serve’s a tonic for most occasions.

Le Bas – Calvados | Cognac | Green Chartreuse | Picon | Beetroot & Fennel Cordial | Club Soda

Named after the French revolutionary Phillipe-François-Joseph Le Bas (you can see now why we just opted for ‘Le Bas’), this libation utilises the finest French produce we have to hand to create a fragrant, well-balanced, and eminently drinkable serve. Some in his day called ol’ Philippe cold – but that’s just how we like ’em at The Sun.

Come and grab your favourite while they’re chilly and the weather is hot.

The 19th May was Whiskey Day the world over, and since we’re more than partial to the odd drop ourselves, we thought we’d put on something a bit special to mark the occasion.

One of the highlights of the day was the launch of our new Parliament Whiskey & Poitín list, with over 150 Irish whiskies and poitíns added to our award-winning whiskey list.

Up on the pedestal once more was our Private Collection. They were offered on our menu at cost price – to give our guests the opportunity to try something really rare and very special, all without crippling their bank balances.

We had the ‘Dungourney 1964 Pure Pot Still Special Reserve’, ‘Knappogue Castle 1951’ – 36 years old when bottled, and ‘Bushmills 1975 Millennium’, which was 24 years old when bottled for the millennium.

We also offered two tastings of some choice samples of our range – absolutely free.

And those attendees were in for a treat due to the calibre of liquids on show.

We had Bushmills, That Boutique-y Whisky Company, Jameson’s Caskmates, Redbreast’s 12 year old & some small batch courtesy of our mates over at the Teeling distillery.

That’s quite the list, but our whiskey wanderlust didn’t stop there as we introduced our Rare & Vintage list – featuring seldom seen Irish Whiskeys such as Bourbon & Sherry cask-finished Jameson’s 15 year old from the 1970s, a 30-year old single pot still Old Comber from the 1980s, and a particular bottle of Henry Thompson & Co. from the 1910s. That’s pre-war numbers right there.

Added on to this, we mixed things up a little by curating a ‘greatest hits’ cocktail list featuring all of our favourite serves from Whiskey Wednesdays gone by – all of which were available on the night for just £6.

To roung things off and to provide a musical soundtrack to festivities, we had our resident Umbrella Radio DJs on the 1s and 2s, throwing out the rock ‘n’ roll bangers ’til late.

All in all, we had a great time and hope you did too. ‘Til next year all!

On 17th March we celebrated Irish Christmas for the fourth successive year over here at The Sun Tavern. We spent the evening honouring the man who helped rid the motherland of snakes… and drinking a fair bit of the pure drop to boot.

Festivities got underway with a spot of traditional sporting activity on our big screen – with the hotly-anticipated England vs Ireland rugby ending with a fitting victory for the boys from the Emerald Isle to help us all get into the patriotic swing of things.

Spirits high, come the evening our favourite shucker, Oyster Boy, was on hand to add some sustenance to the night ahead.

He was dishing out the Oysters for nothing, taking a break from his regular vending activities down Columbia Road, Broadway Market and Leyton Food Market, to bring a bit of East London tradition to the table.

On top of this, for this year’s celebrations we teamed up with our good friends at Dublin’s Teeling Distillery to create three Teeling-based cocktails – all exclusive to the day itself – dubbed ‘Golden Triangle’, ‘Pear Drop’, and ‘Revival’.

Revival – Teeling Small Batch, Calvados, Pimento Dram, Apple, Lime, topped w/ Ginger Ale.

Pear Drop – Teeling Single Malt, Rinquinquin, White Port, topped w/ Sekforde.

Golden Triangle – Teeling Single Grain, Ruby Port, Demarara, Lemon & Thyme.

Predictably, the cocktail went down a treat and the pure drop was in fill flow come sundown. Spirits were kept Himalayan once Umbrella Radio’s DJs took to the decls with a Rebel ‘n’ Roll set until the small hours.

With a few of us still kicking come the morn, we stretched the festivities over two days.

Sunday saw us mixing some Bloody Murphys – a Bloody Mary with an Irish slant courtesy once more of the good people at Teeling – and welcoming an Irish trad band through our doors in the early afternoon to transport all of us to our respective happy places.

All in all, a great night full of good craic and plenty of good vibes..

Hope to see you all down Bethnal Green way next time round!

The 8th March saw a very special edition of Non-Specific, as our very own GM Ciaran Ó Dubhthaigh jumped on our turntables for the eve.

This departure from the norm was to mark the occasion of his imminent departure, since he is off to pastures new – namely, Melbourne in Oz -at the end of the month to get some much-needed sun on that Irish skin.

Ciaran has been an integral part of the team at The Sun from inception almost 4 years ago. In that time he’s helped mould everything from the floorboards up – including curating our vast (not to mention award-winning) Irish whiskey and Poitín collection.

The night itself kicked off as per the norm, with free Banh Mi flying out at breakneck pace.

Before long, the man of the moment had arrived full of beans and took to the decks, throwing out tunes that pushed Non-Specific rock ‘n’ roll to heavy new heights.

As ever, Ciaran was a hit – he got the crowd going, kept them in, and brought the good vibes.. and many, many shots of whiskey.

Who knows what’s next in store for our soon-to-be former GM, but none of us here have any doubts that he’ll be a resounding success down under. Best of luck matey!

On February 15th, Trampolene frontman Jack Jones joined us to spin another set of Non-Specific Rock ‘n’ Roll.

Fresh from supporting Liam Gallagher and touring the country, the boy from south Wales was back in town and headed Sun Tavern-wards to take his place at our decks.

To mark the occasion, we were all treated to an exclusive first hearing of “Swim Up” – Jack’s latest side-project away from his regular ensemble Trampolene.

Besides that the night was packed with an eclectic mix of musical numbers, with everything from Plastic Bertrand to Primal Scream being thrown out by Mr Jones.

Speaking of, our flyer art for this month was heavily inspired by Primal Scream’s seminal 1991 album, Screamadelica – made using turmeric, grapes, and black peppercorns.

Tastier-sounding delicacies than that were being handed out on the night, with large quantities of free Bánh Mi leaving our storerooms at speed.

As per the norm, a merry old time was had by all. If you missed out on this rendition of Non-Specific never fear, we’ll be back next month – March 8th will see our soon-to-be departed General Manager Ciarán Ó Dubhthaigh jumping on the 1s and 2s for what’s gearing up to be a very special night.

Hope to see you all there for a dram and a knees-up.

The eve of 26th January heralded the return of Burns’ Night to The Sun Tavern, the night during which we pay our respects to the great Rabbie Burns -‘Scottish national poet’, waxer lyrical on haggis, mice and red, red roses.

The night kicked off with a spot of spoken word. Our good friend and poet, Will Conway, took to the stage and gave us all a stirring rendition of ‘A Red, Red Rose’ in honour of the great man himself, before moving on to a couple of his own lyrical creations.

Meanwhile, the free haggis scotch eggs courtesy of Pig & Hay started making their way out. These proved to be a smash hit – with our stores emptied long before midnight!

As is tradition on Burns’ Night, next up came the age-old address of the haggis. The honour in this case belonged to Rennie – from Scottish legends The View – who took to the stage and recited the customary verses before jumping onto the decks and throwing out some rock ‘n’ roll classics.

Not before he sprinkled the room with a dash of patriotism, however, as a bagpipe-heavy rendition of ‘Scotland the Brave’ was selected for his first tune.

In terms of the liquids, we at The Sun Tavern teamed up with The Balvenie to create a Scotch heavy cocktail in tribute to the Ploughman Poet, which was available on the night for a discounted rate – the aptly named Wha Hae.

It went down a treat. Balvenie DoubleWood, Amaro Montenegro, Winter red ale syrup & oak bitters all came together to create a drink of rare depth. A fine balance of malty sweetness, against the Amaro’s herbaceous bitterness, were all grounded by the Balvenie DoubleWood 12yr and the oak bitters.

For those who came and preferred their Scotch a little neater, there was our award-winning Whisky list to work through! And work through it they did, with the nectar flowing readily all evening long.

A big thank you to everyone who came down and made this such a great night, hope to see you all again next year!