London Bridge has a serious lack of cocktail bars. But, due to the area's saturation of pubs, it's almost impossible to get an alcohol licence. If there’s anyone who can do it, however, it’s Swift. Having gone from strength to strength, award to award and Soho to Shoreditch, the bar has now broken onto the Borough scene, and it's certainly made a splash.
For a trendy new cocktail opening, Swift Borough feels gloriously unpretentious. There are no gimmicky concepts like ‘fire, water, earth and air’ or the seven wonders of the world. Instead, there’s a cracking selection of cocktails, with a description of what goes into each one. The Irish coffee, we are told, is a fan-favourite. At the first velvety sip, it’s not hard to see why. The stout whiskey, coffee and cream are perfectly balanced, while the dusting of nutmeg on top adds a touch of luxury.
We exchange anecdotes with the staff as they effortlessly pick ice, stir and shake, often mixing a drink in each hand. The Hawker comes first, an old-school, louche number, laced with rye, brandy and plenty of obscure liqueurs. Elsewhere, the Golden Hinde is an effortlessly simple trio of tequila añejo, brown butter and mead. Fig is the ingredient of the month on our visit, and the Celeste sees the fruit pureed, then shaken with gin, hazelnut syrup and lemon. The result is a featherweight yet potent masterpiece. The final flourish, however, is the Phantom. Gimlet-like in appearance, one taste reveals an enthralling chord of tequila, mezcal, jalapeno and - most surprisingly - celery.
Drinks here sit around the tenner mark, which makes Swift shockingly good value. Perhaps our only qualm is the lack of food, but there’s plenty of that nearby. Regardless, this is set to become the best watering hole south of the river.