FOR a small, northern, coastal town, Whitehaven has become cosmopolitan in recent years.

It’s not that long ago ordering a small latte in a cafe got you a wee cup of tea, yet now you can have so many different types of coffee I don’t even recognise half of the styles – and I’m a coffee merchant.

The town centre has a number of cafes offering ranges from the obligatory ham sarnie and mug of tea to specials as special as smoked trout and avocado.

It should, then, come as no surprise our evening trade is now catering to what used to be very niche markets. On Duke Street there’s Shakers cocktail bar, and Lowther Street alone you can enjoy the sophistication and conviviality of Veuve Wine Bar or the chic style of La Venue’s cocktail bar.

The latter is a clever evening reincarnation of their ever-popular daytime cafe and it works like magic.

I know we’ve chatted about cocktails before, but it only seems fair to refresh our collective memories before introducing you to some of the selections available in Whitehaven.

Cocktails as a concept go back to the early gin bars of London in the 18th century and the idea exported itself to New York in the 19th century.

It was the innovative New York bartenders who changed the concept of a cocktail from something to make certain alcoholic drinks bases more acceptable to an artform.

By the turn of the 20th century some of the top cocktail bartenders were treated like film stars and the new concept of cocktails was re-exported back to the Europe.

I’ve heard several stories claiming to explain how the unusual name came about, but the one I believe to be closest to the truth is a tale of horse trading and ginger.

When trying to sell on a racehorse or even a gentleman’s steed, it was common practice among the more unscrupulous traders to shove a ginger enema up the horse just before viewing. The ginger perked the horse up and one of the outward signs was a perky tail as if the horse was not only in the best of health but happy with it, hence the term cocking of the tail.

One of the first flavours added to vodka and gin in London was ginger, which was easily sourced, cheap, and as the purpose of adding it was to give a rough or tasteless spirit some oomph.

It has long been common practice that cocktails are given unusual and often saucy names, but I’m happy to report the ones on La Venue’s menu are more classy than naughty, but that’s the embarrassed young Catholic lad coming out in me again.

They offer quite a substantial range, but the lovely and rather practical thing about cocktails is many of the base ingredients are the same – it’s the little bits of this and that which the bartender adds that creates the magic.

There are a couple of refreshing versions to start with such as the Baja Blast Mojito and the Long Island Iced Tea, which itself owes its origins to the pioneers across the Atlantic, but the one that really stands out in this group is the Bellini. It’s Prosecco and peach puree and originates from Venice, but served chilled.

It’s quite a mouth-watering drink.

Another old classic I’m delighted to report they have mastered on Lowther Street is the Strawberry Daiquiry, which consists of frozen fruit, Bacardi and lime juice.

Strawberries are a natural fit with any alcohol mix, but I had never had them blended with Bacardi before and the result was a rich creamy delight with only faint hints of the lime. The latter seems to add a bit of length to the finish as well as helping clean your palate so that the next sip is every bit as fresh and new as the first.

My very nature though means I always look for the premier cru or star blend in any establishment and there are several here – Godfather Part II, Bubblegum Daiquriy and Cosmopolitan, but the No1 for me has to be the Cookie Monster. Chocolate, Vanilla Vodka, Baileys, ice cream and white chocolate combine to provide the ultimate drink. Seriously, if you froze this it would be like ‘if Carlsberg made Cocktails’.

So there we are, it took 300 years for the cocktail craze to get to Whitehaven, but have we grasped it with both hands or what?