Alternative uses for tins no.4

While the tinned 'cocktails' I've tried so far (Bloody Mary beans, and the Pina Colada pineapple chunks of my previous post) have been somewhat lacking in their alcoholic content, that's not to say that you can't have a proper drink in a tin, should you wish to. There seems to be an growing trend in bars for using actual empty tins instead of glasses for their cocktails - here are two such examples I have tried recently:

This is the "reggae-infused" rum punch at Dub Jam, a tiny Jamaican-themed bar in Covent Garden. General decor of the place seems to be "beach shack chic", with tables constructed from salvaged wood, walls daubed with brightly coloured graffiti and light fittings made from reclaimed buoys and so on - so I suppose the recycled tins instead of glasses make sense alongside all of this. Sort of. I don't actually know what was in the cocktail other than a lot of rum, and for some reason a vast amount of cinnamon sprinkled on top, which to my mind made it a bit like drinking a scented Christmas candle, and hence it all felt a bit strange with the reggae music blasting out over the sound system.


A Jamaican beach shack bar may seem fairly unusual, but it's nothing compared to Cahoots, a relative newcomer to the London cocktail bar scene, at which the theme is 1940s Underground stations. Seriously - you enter down a flight of stairs tiled like the entrance to a Tube station, complete with "To the Trains" signs, leave your coats at a ticket booth-cum-cloakroom and then take your seats at tables in a reconstructed train carriage. The cocktails featured on the eclectic menu all have a vague wartime/transport theme, or at least a name with a pun in it, including the Vera Lynn (containing plenty of gin), the Drambusters (whisky-based, of course), the Pickledilly Circus (with a shot of pickle brine), and "Keep Marm' and Carry On" (with marmalade in it). In the picture here is the Red Dapper, the bar's take on the classic Red Snapper, one of several which are presented in tins with reproduction vintage labels. Oh, and the bar snacks include toasted SPAM sandwiches, of course. This place is amazing!


Even the drinks manufacturers seem to be getting in on the 'drinks in tins' act. In the supermarket the other day, I noticed that bottles of Havana Club rum are currently being sold with a promotional metal cup, ridged to look like a tin can, to serve up your cocktails in. A bit of a pale imitation of a real tin in my opinion, but less chance of cutting your lip on a sharp edge, I suppose.

No doubt all these examples will amuse/annoy the people behind the We Want Plates website, which encourages people to send in photos taken in restaurants and bars where the food and drinks have been served up on, or in, all sorts of strange recepticles other than plates and glasses. These range from the impractical, through the hilarious and downright strange, to the genuinely quite off-putting.



Despite being a Tin Cannoisseur, I think even I might baulk at having my cooked breakfast crammed into a tin though, as below. What happens when you try to tip it all out on the board? A sausage in your lap, and beans and egg yolk everywhere, that's what. Madness.

Saying that, I suppose if you wanted to have your brekkie on the go, it might be quite useful as a disposable container. As long as you didn't mind getting the looks from everyone else on the train or bus, who would either be revolted, or just think you were completely and utterly bonkers. Or both.