Hidden London | East London Liquor Company

Blogging sends you on some odd assignments.

I say 'sends you' - no one sends you; instead, out of the blue arrives an email offering some sort of trip, visit, and/or possible adventure.

I say 'odd', but I really mean interesting, different, not the usual thing you'd choose to do or even get the opportunity to do.

Last year, I partied on a Paris rooftop, cooked breakfast for the guys at Glenrothes, mixed my own whisky with Glenfiddich, ran the River Wharfe to the Valley of Desolation, and swapped the Northern Line for a week's commute along the golden sandy bay of Playa de La Concha.

Not bad really, when all's said and done.

I've also stayed a bit closer to home, a trip to the East London Liquor Company, for example.

After following Mat for a 'behind the  scenes' shoot for Natural Selection London the day before, we were both back on the same stretch of canal to visit the East London Liquor Company as part of Virgin Experience Days.

Being a one room distillery, the tour was short, but still damn interesting for a geek like me. It was then on to the best part of any alcohol tour, the tasting.

Gin, gin, and more gin. What a way to spend a Friday afternoon!

Unlike some of the other trips, this one is open to everyone. Check out Virgin Experience Days or pay them a visit yourself.

Here's to more trips, travel, and adventure in 2015!

Looking for more to do in London? Check out more in the Hidden London series.

Images: My Instagram.

Geek Hour | Hitman Go

Computer games are always about killing something. Soldiers, dragons, egg-thieving pigs, the list goes on. But they're not always so blood thirsty as to involve Mortal Kombat style red paint, splattered across the screen. Not every time anyway.

Soldiers can fade away, dragons can disappear in a bolt of lightening, pigs in a puff of smoke, and rather than screaming in agony as they are mercilessly garrotted, the enemies in Hitman Go tumble down like chess pieces.

That's because Hitman Go is a puzzle game, not a relentless blood and guts fest. Essentially, in true Pac-Man style, the goal is to work a playing piece through a maze, collecting certain things, avoiding others, and dispatching other pieces that get in your way.

It's a proper time killer of a game. The early rounds are easy, the later ones much much harder and to collect everything along the way requires a lot of skill (or endless trial and error).

Hitman looks good too. The levels are bright and the characters well crafted. There's also a good level of detail in the surroundings. Models laze by the pool while you knock-over a playboy musician. Airport announcements sound as you dodge another barking dog.

Yep, that's right. A barking dog. See, it has everything! What's not to like.

Hitman Go costs £3.99 on the App Store. Download it now!

Going Underground

I love riding the tube during the day. Those dead hours where the seats are mostly empty and leg room isn't at a premium.

Quiet and quick, it's the perfect place to collect your thoughts and shut off from the world - my carrier not offering wifi down here is a blessing in disguise.

There's the odd (most definitely odd) person now and again, talking to themselves, shouting at the doors, and riding the tube just to keep warm. 

Still, it's far better than stuffing your face into someone else's armpit and getting a suitcase pressed into the small of your back from Borough to Moorgate, and back again.

Images: my Instagram.

Hidden London | Discount Suit Company

London always does well in any 'World's Best Bar' competition. There are so many, that some bloggers have forged a career purely from covering bars in the city alone.

It's an envious job, but not one I relish. As with most things, once you scratch the surface of a seemingly simple subject (drinking), the complexity underneath is bewildering.

Besides, what makes a good bar? What makes a good cocktail?

I've been to many which offer one, but not the other. And, even when I've found one that ticks both boxes, I've no doubt that not everyone would agree with my opinion.

I'd find it hard for anyone to argue with the Discount Suit Company though.

I can't take credit for this find. It was my girlfriend who took me there and at first, I thought either she or Google Maps had lost the plot.

A very short walk from the bar laden streets of Liverpool Street, lies a complex warren of roads lined with cheap clothes shops and market stalls - all closed after 6.00pm. It's not a place you want to linger and not many people do, using it instead as a cut-through towards the bright lights of Spitalfields or the City.

But, she wasn't wrong (rarely is, to be honest - I should have known better!).

This is where the bar is.

Through a dark doorway and down an even darker flight of stairs, the low ceiling-ed basement bar of Discount Suit Company is hidden behind a thick black curtain. It's a cosy place, with a wall of yellow wall lights and tables of tiny candles dancing in jars.

So while the location may be dubious, the atmosphere gets a big tick. The drinks, however, get an even bigger one. The bar staff know what they're doing, mixing up perfect cocktails from a short, but well defined list.

I actually don't recall what we had. It was a while ago that I last visited - dragging Mat from Buckets and Spades along to have a look on one of our London blogging outings, sponsored by a beer company. Work that one out!

Regardless, I remember none of the drinks negatively and nothing negative about the whole experience. Even when full on a Friday (so perhaps not that 'hidden' after all), the bar service is lightning quick. Just what you want after a hard days blogging.

Pictures: Discount Suit Company and Jaxx Nelson on Instagram.

More Hidden London: Barbican Centre Conservatory and Soho Whisky Club.