What if your cocktail came with its own soundtrack? Rake’s Café Bar at Andaz London Liverpool Street has launched The Sound of Cocktails, a new menu pairing ten original cocktails with bespoke playlists inspired by each drink’s ingredients, flavour profile and character.
From Japanese city pop accompanying a delicate blend of gin, umeshu, grapefruit and chamomile, to neo-soul paired with rich bourbon, butterscotch and absinthe serve, the menu invites guests to explore how different drinks might translate into sound.
The concept was created by Rake’s Beverage Manager, Guilherme Vieira, and Andaz London Liverpool Street’s music curator and resident DJ, Michelle Lynn. The two have combined their respective areas of expertise to come up with ten innovative new serves with curated playlists featuring genres ranging from commercial crowd-pleasers to leftfield, obscure cuts.
The concept is designed to encourage visceral and multisensory engagement with new music – asking guests to taste the beats they’re hearing and feeling and listen to the flavours they’re drinking. Exposing guests to selected recommendations from the hotel’s in-house music curator is also an intentional move away from the rise in algorithm-led playlists.
Each drink is served with a garnish tag and collectible coaster featuring a QR code, allowing guests to listen to its corresponding playlist during their visit or stream it at home. Michelle’s selections are also woven into the soundtrack at Rake’s throughout the evening.
The face and reverse of the collectible coasters for the The Aftermath and Kyoto Kiss cocktails, featuring artwork inspired by each playlist and a QR code linking guests directly to it
On the sonic inspiration behind The Sound of Cocktails, DJ Michelle Lynn said: “Guilherme and I have wanted to bring this idea to life for a while. We sat down together to taste every cocktail and talk about the flavours, textures and emotions each one evoked, before translating those into music.
“My favourite pairing is The Aftermath. Its rich herbal notes and buttery finish immediately lend themselves to neo-soul and quiet storm, with artists like Hiatus Kaiyote, Cleo Sol, Sade, and Charlotte Dos Santos creating exactly the atmosphere we wanted.”
Beyond the new concept, Michelle also curates Rake’s popular Brunch Paradiso every Saturday, where a rotating femme-focused line-up of London-based DJs provides the soundtrack to brunch alongside unlimited cocktails or prosecco. Later this year, Michelle will also start hosting DJ masterclasses at Rake’s, giving guests the chance to learn the art of mixing in one of East London’s most vibrant late-night destinations.
Michelle Lynn is the music curator and resident DJ at Andaz London Liverpool Street
Beverage Manager at Rake’s Café Bar, Guilherme Vieira, added: “Michelle has taken these cocktails to somewhere I could never have imagined. Seeing each drink transformed into its own soundtrack has added another dimension to the experience. It’s fascinating how a combination of Tanqueray, umeshu, grapefruit and chamomile can become Japanese city pop, while mango vodka, chilli and elderflower naturally find their home on the dancefloor to Bollywood EDM.”