Take The Vapours: London Drinkers Buzz Over A Cloud Of Breathable Alcohol

LONDON — Britons are buzzing over a temporary entry in the capital's already saturated drinking scene: breathable booze.

 

The pop-up bar, Alcoholic Architecture, uses a humidifier to pump a gin and tonic vapour into an enclosed space. Patrons absorb their alcohol from the "Cloud" by breathing in the vapours and by soaking it in through the skin and eyes.

 

The concept isn't new. Douglass Miller, a beverage expert at the Culinary Institute of America, recalls seeing the idea in action back in 1998.

 

Descending into a basement on the south bank of the Thames, customers are handed plastic ponchos to prevent the smell from permeating their hair and clothes, then are led into a corner of the bar sheathed in plastic strips.

 

They walk in. And breathe. Deeply.

 

"I think the last time I did something like this was where we accidentally spilled lots of vodka into the sauna," said Tom Foreman, 28, who works in marketing.