Black Rock Whisky Bar in Shoreditch: Tuesday Tastings

Black Rock is a whisky bar in a basement at 9 Christopher Street, Shoreditch, London EC2A 2BS, and it exists to make whisky less intimidating. A different distillery visits every Tuesday, flights start at £45 for three drams, a welcome drink and a bar snack, and reservations are recommended but not compulsory. If you want a whisky bar in east London where someone will explain what is in the glass, this is the one to start with.

Black Rock sits at 9 Christopher Street, London EC2A 2BS, on a short street in the EC2A postcode that gives Shoreditch its City-fringe edge. Liverpool Street and Moorgate stations are both a short walk away, so you can arrive by Tube, Elizabeth line or National Rail without a long trek through the side streets. The bar is a small basement, so look for the entrance steps rather than a grand shopfront.

The bar's own website describes the space as the small east London basement that changed the game for whisky bars, and says it is now in its tenth year. That fits the timeline. Black Rock opened on 11 March 2016, according to the Hot Dinners launch report, and it has kept the same address and the same stripped-back idea ever since: put the bottles in front of people, keep the cocktail list short, and let the staff do the explaining.

Black Rock was opened by Tom Aske and Tristan Stephenson, the founders of the Fluid Movement bar consultancy and the team behind the Worship Street Whistling Shop, as The Spirits Business reported in February 2016. The launch plan called for more than 250 whiskies covering Scotch, Irish, American and Japanese bottles, shown in a Whisky Library and sorted by a simple three-tier price system so nobody has to decode a long menu.

The centrepiece is an 18ft oak tree trunk, reported at launch as 185 years old, which doubles as a table and a cocktail ageing system. Two channels run down its length under a glass top, one lined with American charred oak and one with toasted European oak, and each channel ages a different whisky cocktail while you sit on either side of it. The launch cocktail list in 2016 included a Campfire made with Bulleit and Lagavulin. Today's list may differ, so ask the bartender what is currently ageing in the trunk.

The best night to visit is Tuesday. Every Tuesday a different distillery comes to Black Rock, and brand ambassadors pour their whiskies around the 18ft oak trunk table, tell the stories behind each bottle and answer questions. The bar describes the evenings as relaxed and informal, and the format suits someone who has never tasted whisky alongside someone who owns a shelf of them. Tickets are sold through the Events page of blackrock.bar, so plan ahead rather than hoping for a free place on the night.

The room has also earned its reputation with the trade. The bar says CLASS Magazine has named it the UK's Best Specialist Bar for four consecutive years. That is a good reason to treat a Tuesday as more than a drink: you are tasting with people who pour for a living, in a bar built for exactly that conversation.

The three flight packages on the Bottles and Flights page are the clearest way to budget. The Discovery Flight costs £45 and gives you three drams chosen by the team, a welcome drink and a bar snack, with the staff talking you through each style. The Enthusiast Flight costs £55 and features three premium drams, each priced up to £18, plus the welcome drink and snack. The Connoisseur Flight costs £80 and features three top-shelf drams, each priced up to £26.

For a first visit, take the Discovery Flight and skip the Connoisseur. The £80 flight is aimed at people who already know whether they prefer smoky Islays or soft Speysides, and the Discovery Flight is built to show you that difference. If you already know your taste, Create Your Own Flight lets you pick any three drams from the library. Its price is on application, so ask what the three bottles come to before you commit.

Black Rock opens Monday to Wednesday from 5pm to 12:30am and Thursday to Saturday from 5pm to 1:30am. Its website lists no Sunday hours. Reservations are recommended but not compulsory, and you can book through the Reservations page at blackrock.bar. Because the room is small, the sensible move is to book for Thursday to Saturday evenings and for any Tuesday tasting, and to walk in on Monday or Wednesday right after the 5pm opening.

If you arrive without a booking and the basement is full, do not wait on the pavement. Come back later in the evening when the first tables turn over, or switch to a Monday or Wednesday when the pace is calmer. If you are planning a celebration, the bar also runs private blending sessions for groups of six to twenty, where a whisky educator walks you through the history and styles of whisky and you blend your own bottle to take home.

Before you head down the steps, Finsbury Square is a few minutes away and has lawns and benches for a short walk in the early evening. Liverpool Street station sits on the other side, and from there Spitalfields Market and the Shoreditch streets are an easy stroll if you want something to eat before a flight. Whisky tastings are better on a full stomach, and the Discovery Flight snack is a bar bite rather than a meal.

After the bar, the same streets work for the trip home. Moorgate and Liverpool Street are close, and the 1:30am Thursday to Saturday closing time means you should plan your last train or night bus before you order the last round.

Address: 9 Christopher Street, London EC2A 2BS. Email: hello@blackrock.bar. Hours: Monday to Wednesday 5pm to 12:30am, Thursday to Saturday 5pm to 1:30am. Reservations are recommended and are made through the Reservations page of blackrock.bar. Tuesday tasting tickets are sold on the Events page. Flights cost £45 for Discovery, £55 for Enthusiast and £80 for Connoisseur. The bar does not publish a Sunday opening time.

Who it suits: first-timers who want a guided start, enthusiasts who want a library of bottles in front of them, and groups of six to twenty who want to blend their own whisky. Ask Karpo APP for other whisky bars and tasting rooms near you in London when you want a second stop.