Instagram story viewer> @clearlyabartender> Posts

Alex Woods

@clearlyabartender

1.1K

followers

587

following

I make cocktails, clearly.
@farrandsbar
Giffard West Cup UK 🥇’26
Franklin & Sons Flavour in Motion Finalist ‘26

POSTS STORIES REELS TAGGED

11.11.26 taken in Leeds city centre by @clearlyabartender

96

14

5 days ago

Farrands x Hey Palu x Bramble

A huge thank you to Hey Palu & Bramble for making the trip down from Edinburgh and taking over the bar for one night only, and to Hennessy for making it all happen 🥃

And thank you to everyone who joined us earlier in the day for the Hennessy tasting and Alex Palumbo’s seminar, and everyone who packed the place out for the takeover that evening.

Leeds, you were brilliant.

And as for that little reunion at the end… 🥹❤️ taken in Leeds City Centre by @clearlyabartender

88

2

9 days ago

RUMMY DEAREST

Appleton 8 Year Old Rum - Banana Miso - Wheat Beer - Demerara

Sweet, umami and comforting. This drink comes to us from Somewhere, inspired by two very important lessons learnt from one of our mums: how to make a great banana bread and, just as importantly, how to win at rummy!

Part of our Somewhere // Nowhere menu taken in Leeds city centre by @clearlyabartender

64

5

a month ago

Are Pornstar Martinis overrated? 👀🍸 Alex certainly didn’t hold back on stage in London...

In all seriousness, we couldn’t be prouder of him representing Farrands at the @franklinandsons Flavour in Motion UK Final.

He might not have taken the top trophy home but making it into the top 10 bartenders in the whole country is huge. He went up there, did his thing and showed everyone exactly what Farrands is all about. Absolute class as always.

Big shoutout to the Franklin & Sons team for putting on such a great event and a massive thank you to everyone back home who sent over good luck messages and love! taken in Callooh Callay by @clearlyabartender

129

7

2 months ago

T.O.A.S.T
(Tasty, Original And Super Tasty)

Singleton 12 Year Old Scotch - Strawberry - Tarragon - Rooibos - Black Pepper - Schweppes Soda

Juicy, effervescent and vibrant! This drink comes to us from Somewhere. Remember being sat in the kitchen having toast and jam before school? This is that memory in a drink

Part of our Somewhere // Nowhere menu. taken in Leeds city centre by @clearlyabartender

105

9

2 months ago

FARRANDS X THE BRAIN JAR

A massive thank you to everyone who came down last night and made our takeover with @thebrainjar 🌶️🔥

Huge love and thanks to Matt and Ashley for making the trip over from Hull and smashing it behind the bar and to the Casamigos team for helping us bring the whole night together.

Most importantly, thank you to every single one of you who drank spicy margs for a good cause, we’re so proud to be sending 100% of those proceeds straight to @martinhousech to support the incredible work they do for local families ❤️

And the road trip isn’t over yet!

This Sunday from 5pm, Charlie and Archie are heading over to Hull to return the favour and take over The Brain Jar! They’ll be running the bar for the night, serving up the exact same spicy marg menu, hosting a pub quiz and raising even more money for Martin House.

If you’ve got friends in Hull (or fancy a Sunday trip), tell them to get down! taken in Leeds city centre by @clearlyabartender

360

8

3 months ago

HE DID IT! 🏆🇫🇷

We are absolutely over the moon to announce that Alex has won the Giffard West Cup UK Final down at Henri in Covent Garden!

He completely smashed it and now officially heading to France to represent the UK in the global final later this year.

We genuinely couldn’t be prouder of him, the hard work has completely paid off.

@clearlyabartender @giffard_liqueurs_syrups

#FarrandsBar #GiffardWestCup #LeedsBars #IndependentLeeds taken in Henri Covent Garden by @clearlyabartender

244

35

3 months ago

FLAVOUR IN MOTION

For the 2026 Flavour in Motion I recreated, as per the brief, the first drink I ever learnt to make: the humble Pornstar Martini. It was the winter of 2019 and I had just started my first bar job at a pop-up YurtBar on a golf club near Leeds. With a tiny cocktail menu, the Pornstar Martini quickly became my favourite. Maybe it was my sweet tooth, or maybe it was the dry/wet shake, the prosecco shot and the little floating piece of passionfruit. Whatever it was, it changed the trajectory of my life more than I could ever have imagined.

Now, having worked in bars for quite a few years now, I have come to learn that this cocktail doesn’t have the most favourable reputation amongst the hearts and minds of bartenders. However, I have always been under the impression that it was a pretty banging drink and have regularly defended it. Call it blind nostalgia, call it lack of taste, but don’t call me wrong because a well made pornstar martini is never a bad time - people just don’t want to admit it. This cocktail aims to show my progression from the start of my career all the way to now, and all the things I’ve learnt along the way.

@franklinandsons @tomcicala @jmantle97

#flavourinmotion #franklinandsons #pornstarmartini #cocktails by @clearlyabartender

35

2

4 months ago

COURVOISIER CONNOISSEURS 2026

We’re back baby. My entry for courvoisier connoisseurs this year takes its inspiration from the lesson I learned from last year’s competition - the moment that made me. It was the first time I was at a UK final, my first time in London as a bartender, and I was lucky enough to be surrounded by so many talented people.

They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, so with that in mind I have borrowed aspects from people I met last year and turned them into something new. A drink born out of the love for collaboration - which I think is our industry’s biggest strength!

For my remixed classic I chose the humble Jungle Bird. In my experience, it’s not a drink many guests of the bar are familiar with, but it never fails to disappoint when I recommend it. Swapping rum for cognac, this is more elevated and elegant serve of this particular cocktail - but still just as tasty.

These drinks have been super fun to come up with, plus with the welcome addition of some introspective thinking. Thank you to @campariacademyuk for the opportunity to take part in this competition! (and for my funky socks)

@courvoisier

#courvoisier #ad #courvoisiermoments by @clearlyabartender

37

3

4 months ago

SUN KISSED POMODORO

My entry for the @cointreau Margarita Challenge 2026.

My Shake It Up secret ingredient was tomato. Which I used to hate (seriously, until I was like 21 I hated raw tomato - I know, shoot me).

This drink is inspired by my gateway dish to actually enjoying tomatoes in their raw form: a caprese salad. I tried to get this as close to a drinkable salad as I could. Long story short - I did. And it’s tasty. It’s like sunshine in a glass.

#cointreau #margarita #cointreaumargaritachallenge #tomato by @clearlyabartender

41

2

5 months ago

GRAPE SCOT MARTY!

My entry for 2026 @ncneancreations has approximately 1.21 jigowatts of flavour.

Using only ingredients that started as either a grape or a grain, I have crafted this tasty little drink with the aim of taking us back in time to the simplicity of classic cocktails. No infusions, no flux capacitors, just base spirit, acid, sweetener and modifier.

#whisky #cocktail #bartender #wine #ncnean by @clearlyabartender

40

7

5 months ago

GIFFARD WEST CUP 2026

One Meal, Two Outcomes.

From Moonlight to Sunrise.

My two entries for #giffardwestcup 2026 aimed to show how using the same flavours can create two very different drinks. Not every guest you serve behind the bar is the same, and I wanted to show this in my two serves. I think one of the most rewarding aspects of the work we do in hospitality is being able to use the limited tools you have behind the bar to create multiple products that people with different tastes enjoy.

Short Rest is a boozy heavy hitter that is a great nightcap for the last guests sat at your bar.

Long Rest is a bright and fresh aperitivo drink to help rejuvenate any guest that had a bit too hard of night previously.

Both drinks are liquid versions of my most commonly had breakfast, the simple yoghurt and granola bowl. Both are named after recovery mechanics in DnD, which I often spend my mornings listening to.

Simple and effective, these drinks are designed to be approachable to multiple people - and to show that flavours can be expressed in different ways.

#giffard #giffardliqueurs #giffardwestcup2026 #bartender by @clearlyabartender

42

5

5 months ago