Just around the corner from the city’s famous Corn Exchange, Boutique is a leading light in Leeds’ ever burgeoning cocktail scene. With a fantastic range of premium gins behind the bar, the inventive team under the leadership of Gary Hayward have gained a reputation for serving superb cocktails. They like to have a bit of fun with them too - hence the Gangbangs of New York and the Verry Merry Berry Sour both made with Hendrick’s. There’s also the opportunity to learn from the maestros at one of their regular cocktail master classes.

Epernay, the champagne expert who stock around 150 types of champagne, has now opened a first floor bar in Manchester’s Great Northern Tower. As you can imagine it’s proving a big hit for those looking for a taste of the champagne lifestyle and Manchester is not short of them. But champagne is not the whole story here and Epernay has a dead classy cocktail bar with a fantastic and unusual cocktail menu. Gin is big and there are more gins behind this bar than you can shake a stick at including all our Gintime faves. The signature gin cocktails are the delicious Wet Martini with a grapefruit twist and the absolute classics - Negroni, Gimlet, and Gibson Girl – not to mention some new concoctions such as their Botanical Garden, a fab mix of gin, mint, apple and lime. In the words of our Gintime spy: “Cosy and classy is the best way to sum Epernay up.”

Down some steps in a basement in The Calls, Leeds’ famous clubbing district is a proper cool bar serving proper cocktails and great food. Head honcho Jake Burger is a legend in the bar world and what he doesn’t know about making drinks is not worth knowing. There are bottles behind Jake’s bar that you’ve never seen before – and will probably never see again. There are also over 60 cocktails on this great Drinks List and as you might expect a Martini is the thing to drink here. Lunchtimes and early evening are a good time to sample the specialty steak - they're half price on some weeknights too. In the evenings Jake's comes into its own and becomes more party time. Our Gintime spies tell us that Jake’s is the place for a great night out in Leeds. It’s packed with a young, trendy crowd and house DJ’s on Friday and Saturday nights really get this joint jumping.