The entrance is bright and welcoming but below is dark and cavernous. Walking in felt like entering an old fashioned library, except the rolling ladder leads you to various alcoholic concoctions - much like an American liquor store but a rarity here in the UK.

I wasn’t at TT Liquor to do any shopping - I wasn’t there for the increasingly notorious cocktail masterclasses either - I was simply after a drink on a Friday night.

I was led through the back and down into the cellar, where the light was dim, the walls were brick and the space was tunnel like.

Once seated, a member of staff came over to explain the innovatively interesting cocktail menu, designed around four definitive eras in the history of cocktails but each with a TT Liquor twist.

It takes you from the late 19th century, which saw the emergence of the cocktail, through to the bathtub gin era of the 1930s, then the move away from sophisticated drinks to colourful concoctions in the 80s and 90s and, finally, modern day in which people are trying to put their own stamp on drinks.

TT Liquor made going for a simple drink an eye-opening experience. Skimming through and sipping away you, if interested, can ponder the era and the effects on the mix. I found this exploration of history through liquor to be fascinating.

A favourite of mine was made with mango liquor distilled in-house, that tasted more like alcohol had been added to mango than the other way around.

We stayed for two drinks and at 7pm on a Friday it was quiet enough to discuss the history and blends of flavours, while being able to hear the lessons told by staff. But the DJ booth at the back foretold of a more raucous experience to be had later in the evening.

I look forward to returning for their ‘cocktail journey’, in which you are brought four drinks served one after another, each accompanied by a small plate selected to compliment the the character of that specific cocktail.

TT Liquor, 17B Kingsland Road, E2 8AA. Details: 0203 131 3490