A SPIRIT specialist and popular Altrincham haunt for cocktail lovers have teamed up to launch a spirit shop with a twist in the heart of the town.

A new specialist spirit shop, a collaboration between the owners of Riddles cocktail bar, in Greenwood Street, and spirit specialist Dave Marsland, owner of Drinks Enthusiast, is set to open its doors next week.

Riddles Emporium will sell a wide range of spirits, high-end products, cocktail equipment, books, bitters, homemade tinctures and syrups.

The Altrincham shop will be the “first of its kind” and will also host regular small tasting events on Friday and Saturday evenings, as well as the occasional classic cocktail masterclasses.

Located at the former Ivy House site on Regent Road, Riddles Emporium hopes to contribute towards the regeneration of the Altrincham Market area, and offer a unique retail experience for Altrincham residents.

The shop will adopt a similar vintage look and feel of Riddles, with a focus on classic cocktails and timeless flavour profiles.

“The most important thing for us is to share our passion for quality drinks, to enthuse others to be more adventurous with their choices and to introduce or take them further into the wonderful world of spirits and cocktails” said Dave.

Riddles owner Del Lowe said: “We are so excited about not only giving people the absolute best drinks in our bar but extending that into their homes too – and we know the people of Altrincham will love this. This town is definitely a knowledgeable and passionate place when it comes to fine drinking.”

To accompany the launch of the shop, Riddles bar is releasing a series of cocktail instruction videos entitled ‘Making Drinks At Home’.

Riddles co-owner Emma Rostaing said: “The intention behind these short videos is to inspire people to be more adventurous with drinks at their own social gatherings and to bring what we know into peoples homes.

“Obviously we love making drinks in the bar and nothing can beat the atmosphere of going out for a drink but those nights when you can’t get out or just need some peace and quiet, Riddles Emporium and these videos will give you the tools to create the perfect serve yourself.”

The shop will open to the public on Saturday April 1 and will be offering a series of five exclusive tasting events, free of charge.

There will be a variety of different tastings covering the world of gin, rum, tequila, whisky and vodka.

Only ten free tickets are available for each time slot. Tickets from Eventbrite, via a link on the Riddles Bar website, riddlesbar.com.

The website for the emporium will launch in the next two weeks, riddlesemporium.com, and products will be available to buy online.