Slowpour sits in a basement on Bold Street, founded and run by Carey Hanlon and Caitlin Waugh under the company name New Wave Hospitality. The space was designed and decorated entirely by the two owners and a handful of family, with a local upholsterer brought in for the booth seating. Original stone floors and exposed brick have been left untouched, and the curved ceiling is taken advantage of acoustically through a bespoke hand-built horn-loaded speaker system by Turn End Audio in Northwich, paired with Pioneer PLX-1000 turntables. Music is vinyl only, with records displayed on the wall during play. Furniture is deliberately simple – low seating, round white tables – to keep the focus on the drinks and encourage guests to settle in and stay. A seasonal scent is dropped into the tea lights throughout the space, changing in line with the menu.

The back bar is carefully curated and ever-growing, with house spirits selected in part for their environmental credentials and format. 58&Co vodka and gin, DropWorks rum, and Los Arcos agave are all available in bag-in-box or eco-tote, reducing packaging waste and allowing for fortnightly rather than frequent ordering. In-house production is extensive for a two-person operation – syrups, tinctures, infusions, fat washes, milk punches, foams, and garnishes are all made from scratch, with a detailed prep spreadsheet using weight measurements to maintain consistency. The Ghost Ice system – purchased second hand – produces clear ice blocks in-house. Cocktail glassware is chilled throughout service, with the exception of the Coffee Dark, a hot serve using coffee from Two Words Coffee roasted in the same building, for which glassware is held in a sous vide at 70 degrees.

A Hospo Highball menu of pre-carbonated serves is available for industry guests visiting on their break. The sous vide, vacuum sealer, Thermomix, and carbonation rig are shared with the coffee roastery upstairs and are open to other bartenders in the city to use for menu development – trainings held for the upstairs team have since been taken into coffee festivals and competitions. Cardboard from deliveries is donated to local takeaways and a ceramics artist for reuse rather than recycling. 

At the end of each visit, guests receive a handwritten list of recommendations in the city tailored to what the team has learned about them during their stay – preferred cuisine, style of bar, late night venues – extending to other cities for guests who are travelling.