Edinburgh bars: The Alchemist at St James Quarter serving new cocktail originally designed to poison enemies

Popular bar has launched its most innovative and playful drinks menu to date

Edinburgh bar and restaurant The Alchemist has launched a new cocktail menu designed to inject some fun into late-night drinking – including the addition of a cocktail originally designed to poison enemies.

The St James Quarter venue will be serving up Pick Your Poison in an ‘assassins teapot’. The trick teapot, originating from China, consists of two separate compartments in which liquid can be poured out of either one depending on where you place your fingers.

The terrifying contraption was allegedly used in the Ming Dynasty to assassinate an unsuspecting enemy, since you could pour out tea from one compartment for yourself and pour a second drink laced with poison for your opponent in which they would unknowingly drink.

Edinburgh bar and restaurant The Alchemist has launched a new cocktail menu

Pick Your Poison is a sharing cocktail consisting of two drinks: Red – Mount Gay Black Barrel rum, Cointreau, strawberry, lime and orgeat or Blue – Mount Gay Black Barrell rum, yuzu, citrus and disco blue.

The Alchemist has also added more new playful cocktails such as the Piña Co-lava Lamp, a twist on the classic served in a vessel which lights up with disco light and Cosmic Oysters, an upgrade from your standard shots, instead a mini cocktail shooter of Bombay Sapphire Premier Cru gin, yuzu, citrus and disco blue served in silver oyster shells complete with passionfruit pearls.

The new cocktail menu is now available now and The Alchemist is open until late with DJs every weekend.